Diamonds and Cutlery

1895

Uncut diamonds are comparatively cheap when purchased in London, the great precious stone market of the world, but by the time the American duty has been paid on them and they have been cut to brilliants by three or four days of work — and it never takes less — on the part of the lapidary they have more than doubled in value. Occasionally rough diamonds are split in the wrong direction in cleaving, and valuable stones are thus entirely lost. It is a measure of skill on the part of the lapidary to be able to tell by a close inspection of the rough stone just how it will cleave. Pieces of diamonds which are broken off are ground into a powder with a hammer, and the dust is poured into an iron receptacle partially filled with oil.

An expert diamond cutter receives from $20 to $25 a week, but his work is so confining and he is required to bend his body so much that he is usually carried off at a comparatively early age with consumption. — Chicago Record.


Don't Hinder Others

Next in practical importance to the being possessed by a purpose of doing something in the world is the being possessed by the purpose of not hindering others in their doing whatever they have to do in the world. — Faith and Works.