Diamond Cutting Industry Trades

Job overview
In the diamond cutting industry workers cut and polish rough diamonds in such a way as to make them reflect light to best advantage.

What do people do in this job?
Various methods and processes are employed for transforming a rough diamond into a finished product displaying 58 facets of beauty and lustre.

This complex procedure includes:-
Sorting and Marking?
Rough diamonds are sorted into various shapes, sizes, colours and qualities.

Different skills and expertise then come into play.

Certain diamonds need to be sawn, others may be cleaved and on others laser techniques may be used.

Diamond marking/designing?
Markers aim to get the best commercial value from the rough diamond.

They decide what the final product will look like when it is completed.

After examining the diamond with consideration given to various aspects such as sawing, cleaving, etc. ?they will make a decision on how to get the biggest best quality diamond from the piece of rough diamond.

A line will be marked on the stone for the sawyer to follow when sawing the stone.

Diamond Sawing?
The diamond is sawn into two pieces.

The work is done on diamond sawing machines.

One person can operate up to 40 sawing machines depending on experience.

Stones are set in holders on the machines and the line drawn by the marker is then followed with the sawing blade.

Diamond Cutting
Cutters aim to create perfectly round diamonds with the optimum diameter.

One diamond is used to cut another.

One diamond is placed into a cutting/bruting machine.

Another diamond is placed on a cutting stick and while the diamond in the machine is turning the diamond on the cutting stick is pressed against the stone in the machine. ?In this way the stone is being cut round.

Cross-working? (Polishing Process?)
Cross-workers lay the foundation of the diamond and follow the instructions to obtain the optimum value for the finished product.

Cross-workers can decide to process a diamond, fully aware that the finished product will contain inclusions.

On the other hand a decision may be made to improve the quality with a resulting smaller diamond as a finished product.

The work is done on a polishing disc driven by an electric motor.

The disc is covered with diamond powder.

The diamond to be polished is held in a clamp and the facets are polished one by one.

Cross-workers polish 18 facets to very stringent measurements and angles onto the stone.

Brillianting? (Polishing Process?)
Brillianteers polish 40 facets onto the already polished facets done by the cross-workers, in order to create a round brilliant cut diamond with 58 facets that will unlock the full brilliance of light reflected by the polished diamond.

What kinds of people are suitable for this career?
Diamond workers must have good eyesight, as work is done with a magnifying glass, a flair for proportion, hand and finger dexterity and good eye-hand co-ordination.

They must also be able to concentrate for long periods, work fast and methodically and do neat and precise work.

What qualifications are needed?
There are no specific paper qualifications.

Diamond workers learn on the job.