DIAMOND TOWN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 1514, 9 November 1912, Page 2 (Supplement)

DIAMOND TOWN.

WHERE FAMOUS STONES HAVE BEEN CUT. No town in the world has such a record of diamond cutting as is possessed by Amsterdam. There are in that city about seventy diamond-cutting establishments, with 8000 wheels. Including the homo workers, about 10,000 persons aro employed at Amsterdam in diamond work. The remarkable thing about the industry is that, with a. few rare exceptions, the proprietors of diamond-cutting works aro not lapidaries. Thoy merely supply the motive power, letting out the wheel? to the workmen. This is partly duo to the fact that the majority of the diamond cutters do not work for a single employer, and, therefore, prefer to work on neutral ground. Tho real lapidaries are those who give out the work. The diamond trade is distinguished by the solidarity existing not only in tho ranks of the employers, but likewise among the employees, who belong to the most intelligent class in the labour world. Mc*t of the famous diamonds of the world, such as the Victoria, tho President Reitz, the Excelsior, and the Cullinan, were cut at Amsterdam. Tho Koh-i-noor, the historic stone presented to Queen Victoria, was certainly cut in Londonbut by >• Amsterdam.