Inner Beauty

A diamond in the rough belies little of its natural beauty - an attribute only the skilled cutter can uncover...

Seen in its natural state, a diamond is little more than a rough, muddy coloured stone. But when the cutter weaves his magic, this humble looking rock is transformed into one of the world's most stunningly desirable beauties.

With up to 12 years apprenticeship, diamond cutters study their craft for longer than a neuro-surgeon, studying and exploring every nuance of the diamond's geological make-up to enable them to turn a rough stone into the most valuable and beautiful gem.

Diamond cutting is an art that requires the specialised knowledge handed down through the generations. At first glace an unpolished rough diamond looks like a dull piece of glass. Only when it is polished and facetted by experts does it display the sparkle (known as brilliance) and spectrum of rainbow colours (known as fire) which make it famous.

Getting the most from the rough stone requires patience, persistence and skill. Before the cutting and polishing process begins, the diamond is thoroughly examined to determine how the largest possible polished stone or stones can be extracted, each with the fewest number of impurities and best possible colour. Each of the small parcels of rough that arrive into the cutting office can take as long as 45 days to sort and separate into their gradings before they go to the polishers.

Baker Brothers' ensure that their diamonds are the best, with their own buying office in Antwerp and an eye for excellence - rejecting many diamonds that might make another jeweller's top grade.

The cut is the most important factor in a diamond's beauty, giving this magnificent gemstone its brilliance. "One of the things we say to people is that you can have a good colour and great clarity but if you don't have the cut then you won't get that fire and sparkle," said Baker Brothers' Gillian who has been buying diamonds for many years and never fails to be excited about the fiery sparkle that emanates from the best gems.

Her passion for nature's most natural beauty is matched by Lizzie, who added, "Two and ahalf decades ago, Antwerp boasted some 20,000 of the most skilled diamond cutters in the world - today there are only a few hundred, underlining how important it is for us to buy diamonds cut by the world's elite cutters."

Sourcing the best diamonds relies on experts with years of experience - like Baker Brothers'. The company continually send the team on grading courses to ensure they stay at the top of their game in an ever changing market. As every other industry, the diamond business has suffered in the recession. Mines are closing or suspending production, resulting in much lower product of rough and culminating in a major shortage of good quality diamonds (particularly the larger stones: 1.00ct and over), confirming more than ever the need to shop with a reputable retailer.

At Baker Brothers' it is imperative they hand select and scrutinize every single diamond they buy - for the cut and then colour and clarity. No stone is too small to remain unturned - with expert eyes even examining each 0.03 diamond (approx 2mm diameter) to ensure it meets the same exacting standards as the larger ones. Cutting is an art form and Baker Brothers' only buy from master cutters ensuring that they always get the very best.

From the time it leaves the mine until it is ready to be seen in its fully glory in a piece of jewellery, the diamond will have lost half its weight. If the cut is substandard it will reduce the price of the diamond by half - underlining why nothing less than perfect finds its way to the Baker Brothers' showrooms. According to the Antwerp World Diamond Centre a lack of understanding of the art of cutting ensured for years that brilliance and fire was considered less important than weight. Belgian Lodewijck van Bercken, was credited with changing this way of thinking around the 1400s when he discovered a method of cutting a diamond with another diamond, which in a more technical way still takes place today.

The cut makes up 50 per cent of the price of the diamond. "With modern advertising, today's consumers are caught up in the need for a certain carat weight, colour and clarity and forget about the cut - which some of the more unscrupulous retailers are using to their benefit," said Gillian.

When the cutter is happy he marks the diamond to determine how it can be cut to the greatest advantage. Traditionally, this was done using an Indian ink pen but more recent methods involve computer-aided design systems that analyse the stone, and then mark their surface using a very precise laser beam.

With today's demands for diamond dealers to maximise profit, machines can take some of the strain, calculating the best yield from each rough stone, working out the proportions and guiding the cutter on how to best obtain maximum sparkle - a piece of equipment as technologically advanced as something you would find at NASA.

A master cutter doesn't need such advanced technology - as experience and talent can never be surpassed. Despite technological innovations the actual cutting is still done by eye and hand which is why the variations in diamonds can be enormous and Baker Brothers' insist on only buying stones from master cutters.

With years of experience Gillian and Lizzie can tell if a diamond has the right cut - if the table (the small square facet at the top of the diamond) is too concave or convex then it won't make the grade, similarly if the girdle is too thick or thin or a piece has been chopped from the side to remove an inclusion it won't make its way into the Baker Brothers' selection of perfect sparklers.

"Not all diamonds are cut the same - they might be round and brilliant but the whole idea is for the cutter to get the most money for the stone - they might look nice but sometimes part of the diamond will be removed to lose an inclusion, or extra facets cut to falsely improve the clarity - and most customers would never know," said Gillian. Needless to say customers will never find one these less than perfect examples at Baker Brothers'.

Once the stone has been cut the final stage in the beautification process of rough to ravishing is polishing. This is where the diamond's hidden beauty is revealed as the facets are put on the diamond - allowing it to shine in its true glory. The most popular polished diamond is a round brilliant which has 57 facets.

Once the diamond has been polished then the buying process begins. All Baker Brothers' diamonds are handpicked from the company's office in Antwerp and are bought unmounted. Trips several times a year see Gillian, Lizzie and Kevin poring over hundred of diamonds - some of which never make the Baker Brother's high quality grade - even thought they are selecting from parcels of the highest standard.

When sorting, Baker Brothers' experts are provided with parcels within their demand for exceptionally high qualities: D-H colour and IF -Si1 clarity. Even thought they have already been sorted into their grades Baker Brothers' only want the best of each: those with high colour, the best cut and crystal clear clarity. "On average, each parcel we see has a rejection rate of 95% - sometimes we reject a whole parcel," said Gillian.

On the last visit to Antwerp the hunt for 0.30ct - 0.40ct was not as successful as usual because the qualities were not good enough. "We will never just buy to fill the gaps in our inventory unless we are 110% happy with each diamond," added Lizzie.

Once the diamonds have been sorted, sifted and the best chosen, back at the showroom Lizzie and Gillian book each stone in, weigh and map them, and verify their grades once more. Each diamond has a very personal story and customers can be assured that the diamond they choose will be the best possible quality for the best possible price.

This is a team that is as passionate about diamonds today as the day Baker Brothers' began - which is why Baker Brothers' diamonds are head and shoulders above those of everyone else.

Images courtesy of International Gemological Institute of Antwerp; Hearts on Fire, and Diamondideals.com.

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