[Jewelry making - Article 00426] - Re: [Orchid] Diamond cutting

[The Doctor]

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    Peter's explanation is about as perfect as is possible in such a
    short format, but I disagree mildly with one point. While the
    octahedral is the cleavage plane, and the cubic is the sawing plane,
    I believe the dodecahedral, or polishing plane, is the softest
    direction, not the cubic. Still, the point is clear that diamonds
    are cleaved (or cloven) for several purposes. 

    Also, laser cutting has been mentioned. That method does cause far
    more waste than cleaving or sawing, is quite expensive, and is
    usually reserved for fancy shapes, such as stars, hearts, etc. These
    fancy shapes are typically cut from diamond rough that is triangular
    in shape (referred to as "macles"). Macles are rough diamonds that
    were formed in the earth for a time, then a geologic event caused a
    change in the direction of the crystal's growth. So, looking
    sideways at the triangle, the top half grew in one direction, and
    the bottom grew in another. Now that you now about how hard diamond
    is in it's different crystal planes, you'll see that a macle can be
    quite a challenge to cut. 

    Instead of cleaving or sawing, a laser simply burns away material,
    but it can't just burn straight through. It must start at the top
    with a wide swath, with narrower successive cuts as it burns through
    (picture a "V" cut). Once the outline of the macle has been formed,
    it is then a matter of following polishing directions to block in,
    then brillianteer the facets. 

    Diamond crystal structure is a fascinating subject. Once understood,
    it explains why you can use it to shape a piece of jade into a
    hammer, then use the jade hammer to smash a diamond to pieces. 

James in SoFl

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