Wednesday, May 4, 2005

Final visit with our diamond cutters

These photos click to larger versions.

Steve and Billy discuss diamonds.

Judy inspects a diamond as it is being rounded.

Steve and Judy make the final selection for a customer's diamond.

What a full and exciting day! Our pilot touched down, landing in Lanseria, just outside of Johannesburg. We drove through this same countryside during our week and a half of volunteer work building a new home with Habitat for Humanity. When we arrived for our final visit with our diamond cutters, we met with Billy, one of the head cutters. His job is brillianteering - the process of meticulously placing and polishing the final facets on a diamond. Billy had given Steve a chance to try his hand at the diamond wheel when we visited a few years ago. We reminisced a bit as he put final touches on a 3.80 carat round diamond that glistened in his hand. He beamed as he spoke of a 27 carat beauty that was “liberated” from its original 75 carat crystal last year.

Then we met with Lester, one of the owners. Every five or six weeks, when a box of uncut diamond crystals arrives, Lester studies each one and hand marks the precise plane that determines how that diamond will be cut. Once the crystal is marked, it is sawn in two using diamond impregnated blades or a laser beam. From there, the gem is rounded, the facets are placed, and polishing is completed. On average, the process can take from a few days to a few weeks.

We’ve wrapped up our diamond selections for now. We are grateful to have been invited to participate in this rare opportunity for ourselves, and for our customers. It’s time to say farewell to Johannesburg and this amazing team of diamond cutters. Next stop: Kimberley. Bright and early tomorrow, it’s D-O-W-N into the diamond mine!

Steve & Judy

[Back to Blog Home]