[Jewelry making - Article 00502] - Re: [Orchid] Diamond cutting

[Rick Copeland]

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>     There's a story of one of the really big diamonds and the diamond
>     cutter studying it for months, finally deciding and then he
>     cleaves it, successfully, then faints.  Don't know if it's true,
>     but it's a good story.

    Source:  
    http://www.original-diamonds.com/famous_great_africa.php 

          530.20 Carats - the Cullinan I or Star Africa diamond is the
          largest cut diamond in the world. Pear shaped, with 74 facets,
          it is set in the Royal Scepter (kept with the other Crown
          Jewels in the Tower of London). 

          It was cut from the 3,106-carat Cullian, the largest diamond
          crystal ever found. The Cullian was discovered in Transvaal,
          South Africa in l095 on an inspection tour of the Premier Mine. 

          The Cullian was cut by Joseph Asscher and Company of
          Amsterdam, who examined the enormous crystal for around six
          months before determining how to divide it. It eventually
          yeilded nine major, and 96 smaller brilliant cut stones. When
          the Cullian was first discovered, certain signs suggested that
          it may have been part of a much larger crystal. But no
          discovery of the "missing half" has ever been authenticated. .. 

    I remember reading in "Diamonds a Journey to Obsession" that Joseph
    Asscher had a doctor and nurse standing by when he cleaved the rough
    stone and fainted after he struck it. 

Rick Copeland
Silversmith and Lapidary Artisan
Colorado Springs, Colorado
http://home.covad.net/~rcopeland/

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