Page:A treatise on diamonds and precious stones including their history Natural and commercial.djvu/117

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DIAMOND.
81

too great in proportion to their depth to admit of being brilliant cut. It is formed by covering the rounded surface of the stone with equilateral triangles, placed base to base, making the figure of a rhomb.

The table diamond[1] is the least beautiful except the lasques, and is made of those stones, which, witha considerable breadth, have only a very trifling depth. It is produced by a series of diminishing four-sided planes below the girdle; and the bizel is formed by one, two, or three of the same.

Lasques[2] are formed from flat or veiny diamonds. They are quite unknown to European workmen, and are only made in India.

The polishing of the girdle should be par-



  1. See plate I, fig. 10.
  2. See plate I, fig. 11, 12.