The ancient art of diamond cutting was once wrapped in secrecy and folklore.
One superstition warned that, if held in the mouth, a diamond would cause the teeth to drop out. A diamond also repelled the attacks of phantoms and made the sleep of the wearer free from nightmares. If a house were touched at each corner with a diamond, it would be protected from lightning storms. Altering a diamond was supposed to destroy its magic properties.Such superstitions hold no importance at all for Glenn Stanford.
Stanford, originally from London, a master diamond cutter for Lazare Diamonds in New York City, visited Salt Lake City's O.C. Tanner Co. to demonstrate the fine art of diamond cutting. And to him, cutting diamonds is an art, a skill, a trade and a fulfillment of his dreams.
The history of diamond cutting, which originated in either Europe or India, is poorly documented, and the art remained a trade secret for many centuries. The first known description of it was made in 1568 by the Italian goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini, who wrote:
"One diamond is rubbed against another until by mutual abrasion both take a form which the skilled polisher wishes to achieve. With the powder which falls from the diamond the last operation for the completion of the cut is made. For this purpose the stones are fixed into small lead or tin cups, and with a special clamping device, held against a steel wheel which is provided with oil and diamond dust. This wheel must have the thickness of a finger and the size of the palm of the hand; it must consist of the finest well-hardened steel and be fixed to a mill-stone so that through the rotation of the latter it also comes into rapid movement."
Glenn Stanford followed in that tradition. He entered his field at age 14, selected by the prestigious De Beers apprenticeship program to be trained in diamond cutting. The 30-year-old Stanford has been at it for 16 years. Six of those years have been spent in the United States, where he was further trained by master Lazare Diamond cutter George Kaplan.
Stanford is enthusiastic about his unusual career. "I have always appreciated artistic craftsmanship; growing up, I knew I wanted to be involved in the manufacturing of fine jewelry. I'm one of the lucky people who works in the field I enjoy most."
But Diamond cleaving is a delicate art. Thousands of dollars are at stake every time a cleaver uses his irreversible mallet. This does not seem to bother Stanford, who, with a steady hand, cleaves the diamond, cutting it to ideal proportions.
An ideal cut diamond has 58 facets, with precise, symmetrical angles, insuring exceptional brilliance for each stone. Stanford says it takes about one week to cut a 1-carat stone, but only 1 percent of cutters cut to ideal proportion. If a diamond is not ideally cut, by a mathematical formula, light will leak out through the side or bottom of the stone, causing a loss of brilliance.
To help consumers select a genuine Lazare Diamond, the company developed a unique laser inscription. Each diamond Lazare sells features an inscribed logo and identification number on the girdle of the stone that is only visible under 10-power magnification.
Lazare diamonds are available in every traditional shape, including classical round, oval, marquise, pear and heart, and in sizes from one-fifth of a carat and up.
Stanford enjoys the high-stakes procedure of diamond cutting. He places the stone in a wax mixture and heats it. Then he makes a groove in the stone on the line of imperfections and, using a wooden mallet and a steel blade, cuts it into two parts.
Speeding up his steel wheel to 2,000 revolutions per minute, he grinds the stone. The wheel has grooves similar to a phonograph turntable, in which are diamond powder (crushed diamond chips) and olive oil.
Stanford uses a tang (a tool holder) and dop, a device used to hold the diamond in place with a clamp during the refining process. Originally, the dop that held the diamond was a cup on a thick copper stalk, and the diamond was soldered into the cup. Stanford uses only loupes, jewelers' eyepieces used for magnification, to check his progress.
Many prospective customers at O.C. Tanner's watched with fascination the day Stanford demonstrated his art, always displaying a steady hand. His British demeanor seemed perfect for a skilled craftsman working on a valuable stone.
In the middle of the demonstration, he asked an observer if he would like to take a turn. "Don't worry," he said, with his cultured British accent, "I won't charge you if you ruin the diamond."
That did it. The man bravely sat down, took the tang and dop in hand and placed the stone to the grinder. Stanford watched him coolly, then said, "I think you've had experience cutting diamonds BEFORE!" The man looked embarrassed, as if caught in a lie. Stanford picked up his loupe to look more closely at the diamond, then said, "Ah - I obviously have COMPETITION!"
When O.C. Tanner himself perused the stone, Stanford did not ask the jeweler if he wanted a turn. Afterward, Stanford was off to his Fifth Avenue office in New York City, where he cuts diamonds eight hours a day. He clearly relished sharing his ancient art and will undoubtedly do it again.
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Brilliant gem's 2,800-year history bedecked with legends
Diamonds. Since these brilliant gems were first discovered in India more than 2,800 years ago, mankind has regarded them with awe - believing they possessed magical powers. And in more recent times they have become symbols of power, wealth, allegiance, love and trust.
The Koh-i-nur, or Mountain of Light, has the longest history of all famous diamonds. It was believed to have been found in India, was in the possession of the rajahs of Malwa as early as 1304 and was cut, or faceted, in 1530. Eventually, it fell into the hands of the East India Tea Company and was presented to Queen Victoria.
There was also a legend that diamonds were found in the Valley of Diamonds in India by Alexander the Great. He retrieved them from a pit surrounded by snakes whose gaze would kill a man. The snakes were killed by Alexander's soldiers using mirrors so that the snakes' gaze fell on themselves.
That legend survives in the fable of Sindbad the Sailor, who was thrown into the diamond valley to die. He saved himself when he saw merchants throwing flesh into the valley. He wrapped some diamond-studded flesh around his body and allowed a vulture to carry him to safety.
When a diamond comes out of the ground, it looks like a transluscent pebble. Most of us would probably pass it by, blissfully unaware of its true value. Only when the diamond is skillfully cut will it release its brilliant light.
Diamond is the hardest substance ever discovered and the purest that occurs in nature. Yet it is composed of one of the most common substances on earth, ordinary carbon. A diamond can be broken with the blow of a hammer, yet will penetrate steel by pressure. It is extremely durable, able to endure the strongest acids and alkalis, yet will burn on the surface if dropped in a fire.
Today, four countries, Australia, Zaire, Botswana and the Soviet Union, produce 80 percent of the rough diamond supply. Australia is the top producer, providing 33 percent of the world market. It is in London, where 85 percent of the diamond market is processed, where diamond cutters, such as Glenn Stanford, most often gather.