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industry has been very much disorganized. Gem-cutting also nourished in Germany—Idar Oberstein. In America also there used to be many cutting centres, where diamonds for industrial purposes were cut and shaped. Gem-cutting establishments have sprung up in South Africa and in the United States.
History of gem-cutting
As gem-stones had their origin in the East, i.e. India, gem-cutting was also prevalent in the East. Tavernier (1665) travelled extensively in India in the seventeenth century buying gem-stones. He visited all the diamond mines of India between the years 1636-62 and he also stole the stone now known as the 'Hope' diamond. According to him the gem-cutting industry in India nourished from ancient times. He found a large number of diamond cutters at the Baolkonda mines; Karwan on the main road to Golconda -was the place where the diamond cutters and polishers lived. Each of them was supplied with a wheel of steel about the size of a dinner plate, and they worked on one stone at a time. He also stated that the Indians were better in cleaving and splitting diamonds than the European cutters of the times. They did not use diamond dust for polishing as in Europe. According to Indian ideas, the cutting was mainly to remove faulty portions and a natural octahedron with polished faces was preferred. The general forms were the thick stones, table stones and thin stones: the first was known as the Indian cut. The oriental cutter followed the outlines of the rough stone and tried to reduce the loss of material to a minimum whereas with the European cutter, the development of its properties is of prime consideration and economy of material is only secondary. In most cases the Indian cut stone passed into the hands of Europeans and were recut again. Some European cutters were also present in India.
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