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"The Art of Diamond Cutting", Introduction
Today almost 99 percent of all diamond workers are
semiskilled and haven't served any formal apprenticeship in one
of the four diamond cutting disciplines that require it. While
these workers are needed for round brilliant production, they
are only taught to cut a few facet angles. Sawing and bruting
have also been simplified, so it is almost impossible for any
of these workers to learn the overall skills associated with diamond
cutting.
There are many excellent colored-stone faceters
who have perfected the art of gem cutting, both on the amateur
and semiprofessional level. These gifted and self-taught individuals
are well suited to diamond cutting, since they already possess
the basic skills of facet alignment, meet-point faceting, and
symmetry.
Amateur and semiprofessional colored-stone faceters
have a natural inherent ability that enables them to explore new
frontiers while continually striving to perfect their craft.
They constantly experiment with different materials, angles, and
polishing techniques in order to improve upon what they achieved
on the last stone they cut. Most are self-taught and learned
their skills through trial and error, magazines, books, etc.
Nonetheless, to such individuals, faceting a diamond is the zenith
to which they can aspire, so one can take courage from the following
statement: Once a bench, tang, and dop system are in place, all
that is needed to complete a standard round brilliant diamond
is to follow the procedure in this book, which covers the ABC's
of diamond cutting. For more advanced designs and skills, the
book Diamond Cutting by Basil Watermeyer is a follow up for colored-stone
faceters who want to become diamond cutters.
The whole idea behind this book is to encourage
the colored-stone-faceter to use his skills in a rewarding and
profitable venture; that is, those with the initiative to further
their craft can garner great financial rewards. Experienced colored-stone
faceters know that it only takes a little courage and the knowledge
that repetition is the mother of perfection.
Availibility of rough diamonds for the individual
and low-volume buyer is one of the first questions to consider.
Rough is obtainable, but just as important to supply is its cost.
In order to guide the diamond cutter in this critical area, the
Michelsen Rough Diamond Index was developed. This complements
the existing Michelsen Gemstone Index, which is a wholesale pricing
guide. Using both, the diamond cutter can determine not only
the cost of the rough, but what the finished product can sell
for. The Michelsen Rough Diamond Index covers grading criteria
for shape, color, clarity, weight, and price, which serve the
diamond cutter as an excellent reference tool for purchasing rough
and also for management of inventory, profit, and cost control.
Another consideration is the cost of tools and equipment
Benches can be built and selective purchasing of tools will keep
costs down. Other tools can be acquired as the range of diamond
designs expands. Sawing and bruting can be handled by supportive
firms that specialize in the fields. All fancy designs are shaped
by faceting techniques which dispense with bruting. Though some
shapes can be bruted, it will eventually lead to bearding of the
girdle in medium to larger stones.
While we have tried to cover all necessary aspects
of diamond cutting, a warning might be necessary here: A number
of diamond cutting schools might spring up at this early stage
of development, so always consider what area of diamond cutting
you wish to enter, the older, more traditional or the new vision
sector. Only those gem cutters who have succeeded in today's
new specialty diamond cutting will be qualified to run such training
schools; otherwise, this brave new industry sector will slip into
oblivion.
The transition from colored-stone faceter to diamond
cutter is much simpler than one can imagine, and the following
chapters will reveal the disciplines, techniques, and special
skills needed to know and understand the diamond crystal. How
good a diamond cutter the reader becomes is purely a matter of
application. The challenge to discover and unleash a diamond's
full potential of fire, beauty, and financial rewards are all
here to discover. By incorporating our new vision techniques,
greater weight retention is possible from selected sizes. About
70 percent of all rough-diamond shapes have a potential for fancies,
so it is important to understand the rough crystal and the correct
application of the appropriate design. The technique of selling
brilliant-cut fancy designs with all the attributes of the round
brilliant is simple if you share your profits, gained through
greater weight retention, with the consumer, whereby creating
more demand for the unique. To order click here!
The award-winning book Diamond Cutting, by
Basil Watermeyer, fourth edition, covers the total spectrum of
diamond cutting from the correct selection of tools to the finest
details of techniques and designs. References to appropriate chapters
are given at the back of this book.
Most laymen firmly believe that diamond cutting is
steeped in mystery and that its secrets are passed down through
families, from one generation to the next. But with some explanation,
the "secrets" of this seemingly enigmatic art will be
revealed. There are six separate disciplines in the fashioning
of a diamond: designing, cleaving, sawing, bruting, cross-working,
and brillianteering. The last four require a full apprenticeship.
Since the departments remained strictly within their own boundaries,
they failed to integrate and thus failed to gain the knowledge
necessary to extract the secrets from the hardest and potentially
brightest of all gemstones.