Whiteflash-Diamond Playground

Here is an account from a Wisconsin jeweler.  It is a nice description by a first-timer seeing an Antwerp facility. Our own cutting partner has a more in-depth operation, with commercial cutting as well as refined ops on the fine-make floor where ‘A Cut Above’ and many Expert Selection diamonds are produced, but the basics - including the hand-planning and human element - are the same.

From Daily Times - Paul Bradow, of Bradow Jewelers in Watertown, recently saw firsthand how a diamond is cut when he visited a factory in Antwerp, Belgium. “I was very surprised at how much of the diamond cutting is still done by people and using their hands with tools,” Bradow said. “I figured all cutting was automated or done with lasers.” Bradow visited the Diamond Cutting Factory of Krochmal and Lieber in Antwerp, Belgium, while on a buying trip with a group of other individual jewelry business owners. His group was able to get a rare tour around the facility and watch as workers cut diamonds. “There is no way you can get into these diamond cutting facilities unless you are invited or part of a buying group,” Bradow said. “Antwerp is the world’s largest diamond cutting city. Eight in 10 of all rough diamonds are handled in Antwerp.” About 10 people work at Krochmal and Lieber. The first step in cutting a diamond includes analyzing it. A rough diamond is divided into two pieces to find its best shape by using a copper wheel coated in diamond dust and oil.“The sawing of a diamond is about two millimeters per hour,” Bradow said. “Sawing is a method of splitting a diamond against the grain of the crystal.” Next a worker adds the 16 main facets to the diamond by using a polishing dish and looking at the diamond through a loupe. After that another worker gets the diamond and does the brillianteering where he adds the final 40 facets. Each diamond has a small piece of paper with it that includes hand-written notes about the diamond that goes each step of the way. It takes an average of two to three months for each diamond to be finished. “People talk about how expensive a diamond is but if you watch the process of cutting it and the amount of hands-on work spent with each stone you can see why they cost what they do,” Bradow said. This was Bradow’s first trip to Belgium and he also did some buying for his store and local customers. A whole city block in Antwerp included building after building of diamond suppliers. “There were hundreds of diamond suppliers there,” Bradow said. “When we walked into one office we had to leave our passport at the front desk and in the offices there were bags of rough diamonds everywhere.” Bradow hand-picked diamonds for local residents, including purchases of engagement stones, anniversary stones and a wedding diamond. “It was actually a cost savings to go over there and purchase the stone directly from the facility,” he said. “We’ll definitely go back again.”