first place there is a great saving of time, and in the second place the pieces are themselves sufficiently large to admit of being cut and polished. The method of splitting is made a great mystery of: thus much however may be mentioned, that when the direction in which the section is to be made has been determined on, it is marked by a line cut by a sharp[1]; the stone is afterwards fixed by strong cement in the proper position in a stick, and then, by the application of a splitting knife, the section is effected by a smart blow.
It sometimes happens that the foul and flaws occur in a part of the diamond which cannot be split off, the laminz lying in a contrary direction; recourse must then be had to sawing, which is performed as follows—The
- ↑ When a small diamond is broken into four parts, the edge of the quadrant is called a sharp.
