THE PROCESSING OF THE DIAMOND (1956)

The authors were "Laureaten van de Arbeid" and taught at technical schools including the vocational and training school of Christian Belgian Diamond Workers' Union, or C.B.D. (Christelijke Belgische Diamantbewerkerscentrale).

A thorough study of cleaving, cutting, sawing, sharpening and polishing diamond. With 20 photographic illustrated plates and 152 illustrations in-text. Including the section about the most famous world diamonds. Printed in a small limited edition, this is an extremely rare copy of this title.

CHAPTERS:

- DIAMOND CLEAVING;

- DIAMOND CUTTING;

- DIAMOND SAWING;

- DIAMOND SPLITTING;

- DIAMOND POLISHING (with general sections: Fancy stones; Inferiorly cut models; Sharpener's supplies and tools; Adjustments; Practical sharpening tips).

"It is a great honor for me to write the foreword to this professional book and to place my name alongside the names of two eminent members of our organization (Christelijke Belgische Diamantbewerkerscentrale, or C.B.D.): Mr. Dries Wolfs, former professor at our vocational and training schools, and Mr. Jos Van Mechelen, a former student and currently a director of this school. Both are also "Laureates of Labor" and highly skilled craftsmen who have earned their stripes in vocational education and continue to dedicate their best efforts to elevating the diamond trade to the highest possible level.

Mr. Dries Wolfs is no stranger to the professional literature. The late E. Jansen, who compiled a textbook on "Concepts about Diamond Science and Diamond Processing" in 1923, already counted him among his collaborators. In the years before the Second World War, between 1938 and 1940, Mr. Wolfs provided a technical column for the trade journal of the C.B.D. These articles were later compiled into a book and, in 1952, as a precursor to the current trade journal, published by the C.B.D.

In early 1946, when the Belgian diamond industry had emerged from the ravages of war and resumed its normal activities, we asked our friend Wolfs to reprint his technical articles in the C.B.D. journal. As always, we willingly received the opening article of the current book for our April issue, while the final "continuation" appeared in mid-1950.

Many readers of our magazine had shown great interest in this series of articles, and they subsequently requested that we compile and publish them. We also received similar requests from patrons, even from abroad. In this book, the author has limited himself to the "processing" of the diamond into its components: cleaving, sawing, cutting, and polishing.

Determining the raw material, the properties of the diamond, its brilliance and light reflection, color dispersion, hardness, value, etc., were all already described in a series of articles. In 1950, under the care of the C.B.D., along with a series of articles on "inspecting," sorting rough, and grading polished diamonds, these articles were compiled and published in a beautiful book, illustrated with numerous interesting photographs, under the title: "The Diamond Industry in its Components."

(from the "Preface" by Jan Van Dijck, the Chairman of the Christelijke Belgische Diamantbewerkerscentrale, C.B.D.)

"De bewerking van het diamant."; Original publisher's red hardcovers, gilt lettering; Text in Dutch; Collation complete - Frontispiece, Title page, 272 pages, with 152 in-text illustrations and 20 photographic illustrated plates; A well preserved copy. Binding with a slight shelf wears, but firm, tight and secure, minor bumping mostly to the spine and board's extremities. Content is bright and clean, a few pages with a light fingerprints, otherwise no foxing or markings, only negligible yellowing to the white margins.

IMPORTANT information regarding shipping: Shipping to South Africa possible via national post ($40) or DHL Express service ($80-100). Shipping to EU & UK via registered Airmail trackable parcel ($30-40). Shipping to US via USPS ($40). For other countries please ask.