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Question: Why do we split large rough diamonds into smaller diamonds before cutting/polishing them?

(Posted by: litlvic2 on 2008-09-22 15:15:43)

The Cullinan diamond was split into 3 diamonds before they were each cut/ polished. Why is it that we split large diamonds into smaller ones. Wouldn't they want to have one really big diamond?

Posted by: www.tatazadiamonds.com.au on 2008-09-25, 04:51:06

Every rough diamond contains its polished diamonds within, locked up like a secret. It takes a professional called a 'MARKER' many years to learn how to analyse a rough diamond, evaluate it and determine where about in the rough stone the polished gem lies. Once the marker has made a determination, he or she will draw lines on the diamond with a marker to indicate for the sawyer, where the diamond is to be sawed or cleaved. Thus marking a diamond forms the foundation for the polished gem which will be yielded by the rough diamond. With very large diamonds often the shape of the crystal is quite irregular. Therefore a lot of 'Good' diamond would be polished into thin air if one big diamond were to be sought after. It makes more sense to make one 'as-big-as-possible' diamond and many little ones from such a crystal, versus polishing away good diamond for no reason. This explains why larger rough diamonds are split into smaller diamonds before cutting and polishing.

Posted by: Ned on 2008-09-23, 11:25:21

Be sure that master cutters know what they are doing as cutting is always done after very long and comprehensive analysis where they carefully study whole diamond in order to determine how many cuts to made to get most of the diamond, of course in term of profit. And there is of course more difficult to make cut of only one big diamond because this procedure could ruin much of the diamond so cutters always tend to cut diamonds on smaller parts in order to use more of the rough diamond.