The "rose" cutting is only used for small, thin 

 stones that cannot be made into brilliants. The back 

 of the rose-cut gem is perfectly flat, while the front is 

 cut into triangular facets of equal size. 



The "briolette" is the cutting commonly used for 

 pendants. Diamonds so cut are pear-shaped, covered 

 with triangular facets, and frequently drilled through 

 the pointed end. 



It often happens that projecting parts have to be 

 removed from rough diamonds before they can be cut 

 into the desired form. This is done by a process of 

 "cleaving," which, as the name implies, is splitting 

 off a portion in the direction of the natural cleavage. 

 The natural tendency of the diamond is to divide along 

 certain planes parallel to the face of the octahedron. 

 To take advantage of this, the craftsman cements 

 the diamond to the end of a stick so that the plane of 

 cleavage to be used lies in the same direction as the 

 length of the stick. The end of the stick is then rested 

 against the top of the work- bench and a steel blade held 

 against the diamond at the proper point. A sharp 

 blow upon the blade will then split the stone easily 

 and accurately. To do this successfully requires 

 not only great skill, but an accurate knowledge of 

 crystallography. 



When it is undesirable or is impracticable to cleave 

 a diamond, the gem is sometimes divided by sawing 

 with a small, thin metal disk, the edge of which is 

 prepared with diamond powder. This sawing is a 

 tedious operation, sometimes requiring several weeks, 

 and most experts maintain that some of the luster and 



