Cutting Diamonds

Diamonds are mined and got in the raw form. Diamond cut forms an important part of its beauty. Only once they are cut and polished that you as a consumer appreciate its true value. There are special techniques that are used to cut and shape a diamond before it reaches the market.

There are four basic techniques used by diamond cutters to cut diamonds.

Cleaving

To cut a rough diamond down to a manageable size, it must be cut along its weakest point, which is called the tetrahedral plane. The cutter will have to use a mold made out of wax or cement to hold the diamond in place before he carves a sharp groove along the plane. He then puts a steel blade in the groove and using force cuts the diamond into two pieces.

Sawing

There are times when diamonds have to be cut even where there is no plane of weakness. Since this cannot be done with cleaving, a harder approach has to be used. In such as case, the cutter will have to saw the diamond off, which he can do using a phosphor-bronze blade rotating at about 15,000 rpm. Another method to cut diamonds is through lasers but this can be slow and time consuming.

Bruiting/Cutting

This technique gives diamonds their shape. Bruiting is the process of cutting by hand and cutting here refers to the use of machines. When the cutter uses his hand to shape the diamond, he relies on the diamond's hardness as his tool, in that he uses diamonds to cut diamonds. A small, stick-like instrument with a cement-filled bowl is used to hold the diamond at the tip. The diamond is inserted in cement with one corner exposed. Using one stick in each hand, the cutter rubs the exposed diamond parts together to bruit them. In the mechanical process, the diamond is placed in a lathe, and another diamond in it rubs against it to create the rough finish of the girdle.

Polishing

Once the diamond has been cut and shaped, it needs to be polished. To acquire this finished look, the cutter puts the diamond onto the arm above a rotating polishing wheel. The wheel is coated with an abrasive diamond powder that helps smoothen the diamond giving it the polished finish as it is pressed against the wheel.