For many centuries, the work of jewelers has been highly valued all over the world. Diamond cutting is the pinnacle of their career. Almost everyone knows that diamond is one of the hardest minerals on our planet. Mined gemstones tend to be irregular in shape, so they need to be given a certain look in order to create an excellent piece of jewelry. Cutting diamonds is a very painstaking and complex work. During it, everything superfluous is removed from the precious stone, which allows you to see the true beauty of the diamond.
A long time ago, when technology did not allow the processing of the hardest gemstone, crystals did not have the beauty they are acquiring now. Diamonds were only ground and polished, they did not have clear edges, so they did not shine with their graceful beauty. Over time, jewelers have learned to give the stones the correct shape. They realized that the friction of one diamond against another leads to the appearance of facets, due to which the brilliance increases many times over. First of all, natural octahedral crystals were processed by uniform grinding of all opposite vertices until a large flat face was formed. The ancient cut of diamonds was different, but most of allit was octahedral crystals that were valued.
Over time, the processing of diamonds has become more and more complicated. Jewelers tried to create a large number of facets, because due to this, the number of refracted rays of sunlight increased, which revealed all its beauty. The natural mineral (depending on its configuration) was given the shape of a certain polyhedron with a fixed orientation of the faces. It is believed that in Europe the first jeweler who learned how to perfectly cut diamonds was Ludwig Van Berken. It was he who in 1475 cut the world-famous Sancy stone.
Gem-cut diamonds are called diamonds. Despite the fact that during the grinding work most of the natural stone is lost, its value only increases. Of course, if the jeweler ruins one of the facets, the entire diamond will lose its value significantly. The first stage of jewelry processing of natural stones is their sawing. The quality of a diamond cut largely depends on the structure of the crystal itself. After sawing the stone, the jeweler sees all the advantages and disadvantages of the diamond and decides how he will process it further. This process is very labor intensive. It often takes days or months (depending on the size of the crystal). Today, diamond cutting is done by ultrasound, laser and electronic cutting.
Crystal turning is an important process during which a workpiece is given a certain shape. The defects of the stone are eliminated, and itpreparing for cutting. This work is carried out on special machines, invented at the beginning of the twentieth century, but greatly improved today. Diamond cutting is the final stage of a jeweler's work. During it, the stone is given an aesthetic shape, cracks, gouges and other defects are eliminated. The jeweler carefully polishes the diamond, gives the facets a clear shape, and then polishes them.
Cutting diamonds is a responsible process, on which their price largely depends. In addition to working skills, a jeweler must also have artistic taste. Cutting is carried out using a cast-iron disk, which rotates very quickly. Diamond powder combined with olive or burdock oil is rubbed into its surface. The shape of the stone should be such that most of the light that enters it does not pass through, but is reflected back from mutually located faces.
The main shapes of diamonds: rectangular (baguette), round/fantasy (oval, marquise, pear), rectangle with cut corners (emerald). The parameters of round and fancy stones are set during turning, and the rest are achieved during cutting.
