[Jewelry making - Article 00373] - Re: [Orchid] Diamond cutting

[David Barnett]

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    Of the four diamond cutting operations: cleaving, sawing, bruting,
    faceting/polishing, you're referring to cleaving, which is the
    splitting of larger diamond crystals along cleavage planes (where
    they are weakly bound). Misreading the cleavage or improperly
    striking with the cleavage bar can crumble the crystal. Any mystique
    surrounding this operation most likely derives from the mental
    stresses surrounding cleaving huge and often famous raw diamonds.
    Faceting and polishing is also called 'cutting' which is where
    confusion sometimes arises, but these refer to grinding operations
    on rotary laps. 

    Although 'color' can also be cleaved (I've done this easily with
    topaz, which, like diamond, also has 'perfect' cleavage), it's less
    commonly done. This shouldn't be confused with 'cobbing' colored gem
    material, which is often done at mines to prepare for sale and
    faceting/cabbing.

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