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CHAPTER XIII.
VALUE OF ROUGH DIAMONDS. |
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HE valuing of rough Diamonds requires much technical experience, and is quite a business of itself.
Although
the Diamonds of all parts of the world possess certain characteristics
in common, yet the stones from different places have special
peculiarities by which good judges generally find themselves at once in
a position to declare the locality whence they have been obtained,
although they cannot always define the grounds of their judgment.
In
valuing rough Diamonds it is necessary to consider the following points
: firstly, the form and proportions of the crystal, whether it can be
cleaved to advantage ; and then the loss of weight likely to be
incurred in cutting, as an irregular or broken piece obviously requires
a greater sacrifice of weight to form it into a perfect Brilliant than
a well-proportioned crystal. The best forms to choose are the
octahedron and the rhombic dodecahedron. Chips or splints are often
fashioned by the cutter with very little loss of weight. Secondly, heed
must be taken to distinguish the degrees of colour, and purity of the
specimen.
It
must not be forgotten, in estimating large Rough Diamonds, especially
those from the Cape, that certain tints of colour may be brought out in
the cutting, which do not appear in the stone in its rough state ;
thus, perfect polish, and the power of reflection, characteristic of the
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