The Evolution of Diamond Cutting (Chapter 9, Key Terms, Key Concepts, & Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 1

Placing the first 17 or
18 facets on a diamond.

Answer 1

Blocking

Question 2

Placement and
polishing of the star and upper
and lower half facets

Answer 2

Brillianteering

Question 3

Forming the basic face-up
outline of a round or rounded-shape
diamond to prepare it for faceting.

Answer 3

Bruting

Question 4

Dividing a diamond
into two or more pieces along a
cleavage plane

Answer 4

Cleaving

Question 5

A holder that secures a
diamond during sawing, bruting,
or polishing.

Answer 5

Dop

Question 6

A notch scratched into
diamond rough to prepare it for
cleaving.

Answer 6

Kerf

Question 7

An early
brilliant cut with a circular girdle.

Answer 7

Old European cut

Question 8

An early cushion shaped brilliant with a high crown,
deep pavilion, and 58 facets
including a large culet.

Answer 8

Old-mine cut

Question 9

The person who decides
where to mark diamond rough for
fashioning into the most profitable
polished gem.

Answer 9

Planner

Question 10

Placing and finishing
facets on a rough diamond. Also
called faceting

Answer 10

Polishing

Question 11

Dividing diamond rough
into sections, either mechanically
or by laser.

Answer 11

Sawing

Question 12

A rapidly spinning horizontal disc coated with diamond
powder, used to polish diamond
rough.

Answer 12

Scaife

Question 13

A simple diamond cut,
with a table, eight crown facets,
eight pavilion facets, and sometimes a culet.

Answer 13

Single cut

Question 14

A device that holds the dop
and allows polishers to adjust and
maintain a diamond’s angle during
polishing

Answer 14

Tang

Question 15

A rough diamond’s shape and crystal
structure influence the number, size,
and value of the finished gems it
yields.

Answer 15

Key Concept

Question 16

The first polished diamonds appeared
in Europe around 1380.

Answer 16

Key Concept

Question 17

The point cut and other early diamond
cuts followed the shape of octahedral
rough.

Answer 17

Key Concept

Question 18

Early cutters used boards treated with
diamond dust and olive oil to shape
diamond rough.

Answer 18

Key Concept

Question 19

The single cut was the basis for the
full-cut modern brilliant

Answer 19

Key Concept

Question 20

The round brilliant is the dominant
diamond cut in today’s market.

Answer 20

Key Concept

Question 21

Cutters apply the brilliant cut to fancy
shapes to get maximum profit from
oddly shaped or low-color rough.

Answer 21

Key Concept

Question 22

The cutter’s challenge is to produce
the most attractive and most profitable
finished gem at the lowest production
cost.

Answer 22

Key Concept

Question 23

Growth marks on the rough’s surface
help determine its internal crystal
directions.

Answer 23

Key Concept

Question 24

Computer technology reduces some of
the diamond planner’s risk.

Answer 24

Key Concept

Question 25

The rotary saw gave cutters the ability to manufacture more than one fashioned stone from a piece of octahedral rough.

Answer 25

Key Concept

Question 26

Laser sawing allows more cutting options than mechanical sawing.

Answer 26

Key Concept

Question 27

Blocking is a crucial stage because it establishes the gem’s basic symmetry.

Answer 27

Key Concept

Question 28

High-tech diamond manufacturing can increase efficiency and result in consistently symmetrical finished diamonds.

Answer 28

Key Concept

Question 29

Frosted rough diamond. “Bark” in Dutch.

Answer 29

Bast (Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 30

A person who cleaves, or splits, a diamond along a cleavage plane. The cleaver might also be responsible for planning the fashioning of a polished gem.

Answer 30

Cleaver (Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 31

A person who performs the cross-working operations during diamond polishing; sometimes called a cross cutter

Answer 31

Cross worker (Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 32

Placing the bezel and pavilion facets on round and fancy shapes. Sometimes combined with blocking, especially on smaller stones. Also called cross cutting

Answer 32

Cross working (Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 33

Irregular furrow or groove in the surface of a diamond, characteristic of diamond crystals in the gray color range.

Answer 33

Foss (Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 34

A diamond with the table parallel to a possible cubic face.

Answer 34

Four-point diamond (Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 35

Dutch term for a feather in a diamond.

Answer 35

Gletz (Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 36

Dutch term for a diamond that has been cleaved, split, or sawn, but not fashioned.

Answer 36

Kaps (Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 37

The natural, unpolished surface of a rough diamond.

Answer 37

Naif (Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 38

A seventeenth-century term for a diamond octahedron or other crystal shape on which the natural faces are apparent.

Answer 38

Point naif (Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 39

A small diamond with a sharp edge, cemented into a dop and used to kerf another diamond in preparation for cleaving. Or, a small diamond used to brute diamonds or round up a girdle in the final stages of polishing.

Answer 39

Sharp (Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 40

A person who splits a rough diamond along a cleavage plane after it has been kerfed by a laser. Not to be confused with a cleaver, who is a master craftsman

Answer 40

Splitter (Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 41

A diamond with its table nearly parallel to a possible octahedral face.

Answer 41

Three-point diamond (Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 42

A diamond with grain layers that are not on parallel planes, or one with partial twinning

Answer 42

Twisted stone (Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 43

A blocking technique in which the diamond is turned to position the softest polishing direction against the polishing wheel

Answer 43

Twisting (Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 44

A diamond on which the table has been polished parallel to a dodecahedral plane

Answer 44

Two-point diamond (Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 45

A historic term once used in Europe to describe either the color or the transparency of a diamond.

Answer 45

Water (Diamond Manufacturing Terms)

Question 46

An early brilliant that has a circular girdle outline is called

Answer 46

old-European cut.

Question 47

The number of facets on a single-cut diamond is

Answer 47

17 or 18 facets.

Question 48

The cast-iron disc on which a diamond is polished is called a

Answer 48

scaife.

Question 49

The person who decides where to mark diamond rough for fashioning is called the

Answer 49

planner.

Question 50

The devices that grip and hold a diamond for polishing are known as the

Answer 50

dop and tang.

Question 51

A diamond cutter’s main objectives are to produce an attractive finished diamond and

Answer 51

maximize profits.

Question 52

In the cutting sequence, the crown and pavilion mains are polished by the

Answer 52

blocker.

Question 53

The rotary saw contributed to the diamond cutting industry by

Answer 53

allowing for greater weight retention from rough.

Question 54

The cutting style with a flat bottom and a variable number of facets that come to a peak at the top is the

Answer 54

rose cut.

Question 55

The size of a finished gem depends greatly upon the rough diamond’s

Answer 55

shape.

Question 56

The directional properties and structural features of a diamond crystal do not really matter in

Answer 56

laser sawing.

Question 57

The process of polishing the star and upper and lower half facets is called

Answer 57

brillianteering.

Question 58

When the rough has a frosty or non-transparent surface, the cutter can look for inclusions by

Answer 58

polishing a window to view the interior.

Question 59

To help determine crystal directions, diamond cutters look for

Answer 59

growth marks.

Question 60

A notch scratched into diamond rough to prepare it for cleaving is called a

Answer 60

kerf.