George Frederick Kunz

“ The greatest ingenuity is used to make a speck of colour, as in a sapphire, tone up an entire gem, by cutting it so that there is a point of high colour at the lower side of the gem.
In later times a few facets are sometimes cut upon a generally rounded stone. The cabochon method is still used for opaque or translucent stones, as opal, moonstone, turquoise, carbuncle, &c.; but for transparent gems the facetted cutting is almost always employed, on account of its fine effect in producing brilliancy, by reflection or refraction of light from the under side of the gem. ”

“ The modern method is that of numerous facets, geometrically disposed to bring out the beauty of light and colour to the best advantage. This is done at the sacrifice of material, often to the extent of half the stone or even more—the opposite of the Oriental idea. There are various forms of such cutting, but three are specially employed, known as the brilliant, the rose and the table-cut. ”

“ Any valuable gem must first be trimmed, cleaved or sawed into suitable shape and size, then cut into the desired form, and finally polished upon the faces which have been cut. The stages in diamond working are, therefore, (1) cleavage or division; (2) cutting; (3) polishing; but in point of fact there are four processes, as the setting of the stone for cutting is a somewhat distinct branch, and the workers are classed in four groups—cleavers, setters, cutters and polishers. ”

“ The cutting of amber is a special branch of lapidary work developed along the Baltic coast of Germany, where amber is chiefly obtained. The amber traffic dates back to prehistoric times; but the cutting industry in northern Europe cannot be definitely traced further back than the 14th century, when gilds of amber-workers were known at Bruges and Lübeck. Fine carving was also done at Königsberg as early as 1399. The latter city and Danzig have become the chief seats of the amber industry, and the business has increased immensely within a recent period. ”

“ At the close of 1895, however, there were still some fourteen establishments in and near New York, employing about 500 men. Since then the industry has gradually developed. Many of the European diamond workers who came over to America remained and carried on their art; and the movement then begun has become permanent. New York is now recognized as one of the chief diamond-cutting centres; there are some 500 cutters, and the quality of work done is fully equal, if not superior, to any in the Old World. ”

“ He taught this process to many pupils, who afterwards settled in Antwerp and Amsterdam, which have been the chief centres of diamond cutting ever since. Peruzzi was the artist who worked out the theory of the well-proportioned brilliant of 58 facets. Some very fine work was done early in London also, but most of the workmen were Jews, who, being objectionable in England, finally betook themselves to Amsterdam and Antwerp. Efforts have been lately made to re-establish the art in London, where, as the great diamond mart of the world, it should peculiarly belong. ”

“ The hands must be protected with leather gloves. The powder produced is carefully saved, as in the former processes, for use in the final polishing. When one face has been produced, the alloy is softened by heating, and the stone re-set for grinding another surface; and as this process is necessary for every face cut, it must be repeated many times for each stone. An improved dop has lately been devised in which the diamond is held by a system of claws so that all this heating and resetting can, it is claimed, be obviated, and the cutting completed with only two changes. ”

“ The leading position in diamond working still belongs to Amsterdam, where the number of persons engaged in the industry has trebled since about 1875, in consequence of the enormous increase in the world’s supply of diamonds. The number now amounts to 15,000, about one-third of whom are actual cleavers, cutters, polishers, &c. The number of cutting establishments in Amsterdam is about seventy, containing some 7000 mills. ”

“ Diamond cutting in the United States is now a well-established industry. From 1882 to 1885 a number of American jewelers undertook such work, but for various reasons it was not found practicable then. Ten years later, however, there were fifteen firms engaged in diamond cutting, giving employment to nearly 150 men in the various processes involved. In the year 1894 a number of European diamond workers came over; some foreign capital became engaged; and a rapid development of diamond cutting took place. ”

“ In the Peterhof works are to be seen the largest and most remarkable achievements of the lapidarian art, vases and pedestals and columns of immense size, made from the hardest and most elegant stones, often requiring the labour of years for their completion. ”

“ The date of about 500 B.C. marks the beginning of a period of great artistic taste and skill in gem carving, which extended throughout the ancient civilized world, and lasted until the 3rd or 4th century A.D. Prior to this period, all the work appears to have been done by hand with a sapphire point, or else with a bow-drill; thenceforward the wheel came to be largely employed. The Greek cutters, in their best period, the 5th and 6th centuries B.C., knew the use of disks and drills, but preferred the sapphire point for their finest work, and continued to use it for two or three hundred years. ”

“ To make a quartz ball, a large crystal or mass is chipped or broken into available shape, and then the piece is trimmed into a spherical form with a small steel hammer. The polishing is effected by grinding with emery and garnet-powder and plenty of water, in semi-cylindrical pieces of cast iron, of sizes varying with that of the ball to be ground, which is kept constantly turning as it is rubbed. Small balls are fixed in the end of a bamboo tube, which the worker continually revolves. ”

“ This led to the founding of an industry which now employs at least a thousand people. The work is done either at the great imperial lapidary establishment at Ekaterinburg, or in the vicinity of the mines by lapidary masters, as they are called, each of whom has his peculiar style. The products are sold to dealers at the great Russian fairs at Nizhniy Novgorod, Moscow and Ekaterinburg. The imperial works at the last-named place have command of an immense water-power, and are on such a scale that great masses of hard stones can be worked as marble is in other countries. ”

“ The materials of which they are made are hard and resistant to any change through time, and there are many ingenious devices for producing the appearances usually believed to indicate great age, such as slightly dulled or scratched surfaces and the like. ”

“ Whereas formerly wheels were made to revolve by steam, they are now placed in direct connexion with electric motors, although there is not a motor to each machine. The saws for slitting the diamond can thus be made to revolve much more rapidly, and there is a cleanliness and a speed about the work never before attained. ”

“ Plenty of water must be used, to prevent heating and cracking. The polishing is effected on a wooden wheel with tripoli. Work of this kind is now done in the United States, in the production of the spheres and carved ornaments of rock-crystal, that is equal to any in the world. ”