The Process of Creating a Diamond: from the Stone to Masterpiece
Processing a diamond is an art that requires time, attention, and professionalism. Diamond is the most desired precious stone in the world. It is valued for its beauty, uniqueness, brilliance, and timelessness. In this article, we would like to tell you about the long journey that diamonds passed from being a rough mineral to admirable sparkling stone.
First of all, it is a long-term process, and only in the hands of a master, it highlights its true potential. When the crystal is found in the mine, a visual inspection is made to identify the features and defects of a stone. Before being cut and polished with great accuracy diamonds are selected by hand, arranged according to the form, and some of them are sent for further processing - into the hands of a professional.
Marking
It is the very first and very important stage of processing a diamond. All further work depends on the correct marking. Here, the special lines are put on a stone on which the splitting and crushing will be carried out.
Crushing
This stage represents the reduction of larger ore pieces into smaller ones so that the loss of raw materials is minimal. This process is also important for making diamonds easier to handle. The crushing can be repeated to break the mineral down into even smaller parts.
Scrubbing
To remove unwanted fine materials that are attached to the diamond, the scrubbing stage is used. Scrubbed diamonds that are less than 1mm in size have no value that is why they are discarded. It is too hard and expensive to extract diamonds from such small pieces.
Abstersion
The diamond-bearing ore is mixed with a solution containing ferrosilicon powder and water. Then this mixture is placed into a cyclone where the heavy minerals are separated from the waste. The materials with the highest density sink to the bottom of the cyclone and, as a result, the layer of diamonds appears on the top of a concentrate.
Recovery and Gathering
The upper rich-diamond layer that was created in the 4th stage needs to go through another process of recovery and collection. During this stage, diamonds go through magnetic susceptibility, x-ray luminescence, and crystallographic laser fluorescence according to the unique properties of diamonds. Diamonds are stuck to the specially formulated grease that is melted and the rough diamonds recovered. After that crystals flashed with sparkles under the light, this phenomenon is detected by sensors and then with the help of air blast, the diamond is spat into a collection box.
After the diamonds were recovered and cleaned its journey is not over yet. They are transported to the diamond exchanges or jewelry companies where they are cut and polished and become a masterpiece. That path also includes several stages:
Analyzing
The professional cutter with his eagle eye determines the shape, cut, analyzes the stone’s color and clarity, notifies any imperfections, and identifies the best way to highlight its best qualities. Such work requires good-developed imagination, analytical skills, and experience.
Marking and Sawing
And again - marking. This time a stone is marked by a 3D laser for further diamond sawing. Once marked, a diamond is placed on a jeweler’s sawing spindle where it becomes a quality workpiece that can be used for further processing.
Facing
This stage establishes a stone’s basic symmetry by creating the first 17 or 18 facets. The process can be carried out in several stages, if initially the mineral has the wrong shape.
Cutting
Cut is the most important characteristic of a diamond which highlights the appearance and value of the gemstone. During this process, the professional apply facets to the mineral, which allow reflecting light beautifully. The more sparkle and brilliance a diamond has, the more beautiful it is.
Washing
During this process all dirt and dust are removed from the stone surface. A special solution based on water, alcohol and potassium nitrate is used for that.
Rating
Based on the size, color, cut, defect group, the diamond is evaluated by independent institutions like GIA.
We hope that we helped you to immerse in the stages of processing a diamond from an uncut stone to sparkling crystal and understand the valuable work of professionals who create such a unique masterwork.
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