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Ch. 1: Cutting Diamonds

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30 DIAMOND CUTTING
the rough diamond is fastened with cement to the end of a wooden holder and a tiny groove is scratched with another diamond on the stone at the point where it is to be cleaved. The stone is then held by the clamp in correct position, and then a heavy steel blade is placed on the diamond, and this blade is struck a smart tap on the back and the stone divides along the line previously determined. The operation seems very simple, but is one that requires excellent knowledge of the stones as well as experience.
Sawing has been used some twenty years or more, and enables the cutter to divide the stone along any plane, independent of its structure, while a diamond can be cleaved only along its natural cleavage lines. The diamond saw is about three and one half inches in diameter, and consists of a very thin piece of a special alloy, the edge of which is treated with diamond dust. The work is done very slowly, several hours being required to cut one diamond, so that one workman operates a large number of saws at the same time.
After being cleaved or sawed the stone is again examined by an expert, and a plan for further work on that particular stone is deter­mined on. The most important point in this is
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