Article Breaking Diamonds

[psadmin]

Yoram Finkelstein from Gemconcepts has created an interesting article about diamond cutting called "Breaking diamonds".

https://www.pricescope.com/journal/breaking-diamonds

Thank you, Yoram, for taking the time and sharing this information with us.

 

[Tekate]

That was truly fascinating. I follow Gem Concepts on IG and avidly read what Mr Yoram says here (as I do with Brian and any other vendor).

Is this why it's taking a chance if one wants to recut their diamond to more perfect dimensions?

Thank you for this very informative article

 

[MarionC]

Thanks for a great article. It makes one appreciate even more beautifully cut stones.

 

[Irishgrrrl]

This was fascinating, especially the part about how diamonds used to be cut by cleaving! I can’t even imagine how difficult that must have been. I wonder how many of the gorgeous old-cut stones that we’ve seen were cut by cleaving? It’s hard to imagine using such an imprecise method to get such a beautiful result!

 

[foxinsox]

This was fascinating, especially the part about how diamonds used to be cut by cleaving! I can’t even imagine how difficult that must have been. I wonder how many of the gorgeous old-cut stones that we’ve seen were cut by cleaving? It’s hard to imagine using such an imprecise method to get such a beautiful result!

Imagine how your heart would have been in your mouth hoping you got the cleavage plane right as you tapped!
That was such a fascinating article. I really enjoyed it. The information about the grain and different tensions and types of diamond were especially interesting. I would love to learn more about this.

 

[OoohShiny]

Great article but the pictures need to be much bigger!

That round diamond is incredible - it was only the other week that we were telling a new poster that his round 'diamonds' were not, and could not, be diamond, but it appears round diamonds do exist!

 

[Karl_K]

Great article but the pictures need to be much bigger!

That round diamond is incredible - it was only the other week that we were telling a new poster that his round 'diamonds' were not, and could not, be diamond, but it appears round diamonds do exist!

There is a seller out of India spamming diamond dealers on FB offering them by the lot.
They are pretty badly included and not as kewl as the one Yoram posted.

 

[Karl_K]

Interesting story on cleaving:
On 10 February 1908, the rough stone was split in half by Joseph Asscher at his diamond-cutting factory in Amsterdam.[16] At the time, technology had not yet evolved to guarantee the quality of modern standards, and cutting the diamond was difficult and risky. After weeks of planning, an incision 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) deep was made to enable Asscher to cleave the diamond in one blow. Making the incision alone took four days, and a steel knife broke on the first attempt,[3] but a second knife was fitted into the groove and split it clean in two along one of four possible cleavage planes.[17] In all, splitting and cutting the diamond took eight months, with three people working 14 hours per day to complete the task.[3]

"The tale is told of Joseph Asscher, the greatest cleaver of the day," wrote Matthew Hart in his book Diamond: A Journey to the Heart of an Obsession (2002), "that when he prepared to cleave the largest diamond ever known … he had a doctor and nurse standing by and when he finally struck the diamond … he fainted dead away".[18] Lord Ian Balfour, in his book Famous Diamonds (2009), dispels the fainting story, suggesting it was more likely Joseph would have celebrated, opening a bottle of champagne.[14] When Joseph's nephew Louis heard the story, he exclaimed "No Asscher would ever faint over any operation on any diamond".[19]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cullinan_Diamond

 

[Tanalasta_01]

Fascinating article.

I wonder if modern technology, radiology and computer aided design would mean examples where the stones have inadvertently fractured would be less likely.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Fascinating article.

I wonder if modern technology, radiology and computer aided design would mean examples where the stones have inadvertently fractured would be less likely.

All those technologies and more are employed today, as well as old fashioned things.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Fascinating article.

I wonder if modern technology, radiology and computer aided design would mean examples where the stones have inadvertently fractured would be less likely.

Modern technology has definitely provided more accurate guidance and predictability to the cutting of rough. I think there is no doubt that mistakes resulting in lower yields have been reduced significantly.

There is also advanced technology on the mining side that is preventing large crystals from being damaged during the extraction process. This has been pioneered at some of the smaller mines that are known for jumbo roughs and shown to be effective.

 

[lambskin]

Fascinating. I always love these types of discussions. I remember an old car commercial in the early 1970s wherein a diamond is cleaved in half by a diamond cutter sitting in the back seat. The commercial touted how smooth the car rode.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

I suggested Yoram send his original article to the Australian Gemmologist Journal for publication. they accepted it and provided some great editing.
So, with their permission, we have republished the article here.
https://www.pricescope.com/articles/breaking-diamonds