Sunday, 5 February 2012

DIAMOND PROCESSING

DIAMOND PROCESSING

Polishing
 
Polishing is the process of putting the facets on a diamond. The most popular polished is round brilliant, which has a total of 57 facets – the upper place, or table facet; the crown or section above the girdle, which includes 32 facets; and pavilion, or section below the girdle, which includes, 24 facets.
 
In the traditional polishing method, the diamond is clamped along its girdle in an adjustable clamp, which is set at a fixed angle. It is then pressed to the polishing disk, or scaife, using tongs.
 
The polishing disk is a horizontally turning cast iron plate treated with a mixture of oil and diamond powder.
 
The stages of polishing are as follows: (1) crossworking, in which four facets are polished on the crown and on the pavilion. Each remaining face is polished adjacent to the preceding one by adjusting the cap each time; (2) brillianteering, in which the addition facts (stars and halves) are polished.
 
 Many diamonds are polished mechanical using automatic methods, in which the stone is turned automatically when the polishing machine detects that a facet has been polished. 
 
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