Study Questions for Sections 15 & 16
Instructions: Finish answering all the questions before proceeding to the next section. Please do not look at the answers section until you have completed this section's study questions. Simply print the study question page(s) and circle the correct response letter in this multiple choice quiz.
Section 15
15.01
#1 A person with many years of experience in polished diamonds would need very little additional experience in the business of buying and selling rough diamonds.
A. True
B. False
15.02
#1 A rough diamond’s final value will largely be dependent on the…
A. layout and planning.
B. dealer who sells it.
C. origin.
15.03
#1 In choosing the diamond cutting factory for a rough purchase you should always consider…
A. the cost of the cutting.
B. the expertise of the cutters.
C. the quality of the rough.
D. the size of the rough pieces.
E. all of the above.
#2 Which of the following diamond cutting shop descriptions should you choose to polish a 10.00 G color SI2 clarity?
A. An overseas shop with very cheap labor, excellent weight retention and poor to fair polishes and symmetry.
B. A New York shop with high labor rates and excellent weight retention, given the excellent polishes and symmetries that are supplied.
C. An overseas shop that specializes in inexpensive goods.
#3 Is it practical to polish 0.50 ct. average size rough diamonds in a shop that has a $125 minimum charge?
A. If diamonds are commercial qualities (G-J colors, SI clarities), then yes.
B. If the shop has a reputation for excellent weight retention, then yes.
C. Usually not.
15.04
#1 Clarity grading in rough diamond is not as important since there is plenty of material available for removing the inclusions.
A. True
B. False
#2 The easiest type of rough diamond to grade is a…
A. glassie.
B. octahedral crystal.
C. piece of bort.
15.05
#1 If visible inclusions are detected through the thick skin of a rough diamond chances are…
A. it will finish in the SI1 range.
B. It will finish in the imperfect range.
C. it won’t cut at all due to the presence of knots.
#2 Rough diamond dealers will generally allow windows to be placed on their goods before a price is agreed upon.
A. True
B. False
15.06
#1 The skin on a rough diamond can affect the color in what way?
A. The finished product may be lower in color than the skin.
B. The finished product may be higher in color than the skin.
C. The finished product may be the same color as the skin.
D. All of the above.
#15.07
#1 Extremely irregular shaped rough will generally lose…
A. less weight in cutting process.
B. more weight in the cutting process.
C. about the same as well shaped octahedral crystals.
15.08
#1 The most sought after rough is…
A. well formed octahedral crystals.
B. irregular shapes for fancy cuts.
C. macles.
#2 A well formed octahedral crystal is…
A. cube-like in shape.
B. pyramid shaped.
C. two pyramids joined at the bases.
15.09
#1 A macle is…
A. two crystals that have joined together while forming.
B. an octahedral face that has been naturally cleaved away.
C. a triangular indentation on the skin of a rough diamond.
15.10
#1 Diamond cleavage is the same as…
A. a macle.
B. a trigon.
C. neither of the above.
#2 Diamond cleavage is a…
A. piece of a whole stone.
B. piece of a trigon.
C. piece of a feather that has fallen out.
15.11
#1 Trading in rough diamond is never a guaranteed profit.
A. True
B. False
Section 16
16.01
#1 In the early history of diamond cutting it was thought that rough diamond lost its ______ if it was altered.
A. value
B. magical powers
C. badge of political clout
16.02
#1 It was once believed that diamond was able to…
A. heal sickness.
B. protect the carrier from evil spirits.
C. assist in the purification of the soul.
D. all of the above.
E. none of the above.
16.03
#1 The earliest recorded cut was the…
A. point cut.
B. table cut.
C. old mine cut.
16.04
#1 Terms used to describe diamond cutting could include…
A. cleaving, sawing and polishing.
B. bruting.
C. girdling.
D. all of the above.
16.05
#1 When a diamond is cleaved it is split ______ to the octahedral planes.
A. perpendicular
B. parallel
C. 45 degrees
#2 A kerf is a groove used to cleave a diamond that is notched out in the same direction as the cleavage plane.
A. True
B. False
#3 The disadvantage of cleaving is its…
A. inflexibility of direction.
B. large additional weight loss in the finished product.
C. lack of practicality on well formed octahedral crystals.
#4 A serious risk in cleaving is the possibility of breaking the diamond unintentionally.
A. True
B. False
16.06
#1 When diamond sawing was first employed it could take several ______ to divide one diamond.
A. hours
B. weeks
C. months
#2 In the process of sawing, the thin bronze blades are attacking the influencing grain in a ______ direction.
A. parallel
B. perpendicular
C. 45 degree
#3 Sawing is the most common method of dividing diamonds.
A. True
B. False
#4 What purpose would it serve to saw an octahedral crystal off center?
A. Better weight retention.
B. Two different sizes for the purpose of higher value return.
C. None of the above.
#5 Diamond sawing is even more risky than cleaving.
A. True
B. False
16.07
#1 Colored stone lapidary and diamond cutting are very similar in process.
A. True
B. False
#2 The most significant reason in different approaches to diamond cutting and colored stone cutting is…
A. their difference in color.
B. their difference in crystal systems.
C. their difference in hardness.
#3 The reason a diamond cutting bench is so heavy, is the importance…
A. of lack of vibration.
B. in its ability in taking pressure.
C. of its ability in cutting faster.
16.08
#1 The first diamond cutting bench was powered by…
A. mules.
B. horses.
C. men.
16.09
#1 The modern diamond cutting wheel (scaife) is re-surfaced (scoured) to accommodate…
A. olive oil.
B. a diamond powder and oil mixture.
C. silicon carbide mixed with oil.
#2 Three different rings on the scaife are employed, commonly described as…
A. starting, cutting and smoothing.
B. starting, cutting and faceting.
C. starting, cutting and bruting.
16.10
#1 Once the facet is close to the proper depth, straightness and angle, it is finished in the…
A. faceting ring.
B. smoothing ring.
C. cutting ring.
16.11
#1 A diamond cutting dop works in unison with…
A. the cutter’s hand.
B. a special wrench.
C. a tang.
#2 A manual, old-style, copper stalk tang and the more modern, semi-automatic tangs are both…
A. able to do fine diamond cutting insofar as the cutter’s ability.
B. capable of adjustments for straightness and angle.
C. either of the above.
16.12
#1 The primary advantage of laser cutting in the dividing of a diamond is…
A. the faceting ease.
B. the flexibility of cutting direction.
C. either of the above.
#2 The disadvantage of laser cutting in the dividing of a diamond is…
A. the slight additional weight loss in polishing the burned surface.
B. the danger of shattering the diamond.
C. the poor polish it leaves on the surface.
#3 The cleft in a heart shape can be cut with a laser.
A. True
B. False
16.13
#1 Another term for girdling is…
A. bruting.
B. faceting.
C. fashioning.
#2 Girdling is the process of shaping the diamond into ______ shape.
A. a straight-edge
B. an elliptical
C. an octagonal
#3 Girdling would be employed on a straight-edge cut only if the corners were cut away.
A. True
B. False
16.14
#1 When girdling, the grain of the diamond is…
A. always considered.
B. a factor in the final shape.
C. usually not considered.
#2 Why is the term bruting referred to as such?
A. The bruter is attacking the grain in a perpendicular direction.
B. The bruter is forcing the material away regardless of granular orientation.
C. The bruter is polishing the girdle with individual facets.
16.15
#1 The earlier bruting methods included a device similar to today’s…
A. cutting bench.
B. cleaving wedge.
C. scratch stick.
#2 In order to shape the diamond in the earlier and modern methods of girdling it was necessary to…
A. cleave away excess material.
B. polish the pavilion facets first.
C. always have an industrial quality diamond to contact the gem quality diamond.
16.16
#1 In larger diamond cutting shops (factories) the stages of cutting are usually…
A. broken down into specialty cutters.
B. broken down into cutting time limits.
C. neither of the above.
16.17
#1 In the first stage of the initial layout of a whole stone, the cutter may first…
A. open up a table.
B. polish windows.
C. cleave it.
#2 Of the following scenarios which would a good cutter want to avoid the most?
A. Leaving a small natural creeping into the crown.
B. Leaving a small open inclusion in the girdle.
C. Leaving an included crystal close to the culet.
#3 Typically, well formed octahedral crystals are…
A. cleaved.
B. sawed.
C. laser cut.
#4 When a cutter is starting a sawed diamond he will always locate the table…
A. on the sawed plane.
B. opposite the sawed plane.
C. perpendicular to the sawed plane.
16.18
#1 Generally, a piece of rough will be easier to valuate than a chipped, polished diamond.
A. True
B. False
16.19
#1 In the case of a large chip caused by an inclusion that has broken away, you can always assume the inclusion has completely disappeared.
A. True
B. False
16.20
#1 A large chip could potentially have an effect on the color of a diamond.
A. True
B. False
16.21
#1 It is possible to calculate finished weight on a chipped diamond by…
A. using the Table Reflection Method in determining the depth.
B. using a weight estimation formula.
C. measuring from the depth of the chip for diameter or depth measurement.
D. A, B & C
E. B & C
16.22
#1 Diamonds chip because…
A. their toughness is not rated excellent.
B. of stress in the granular structure.
C. of an inclusion on or near the surface.
D. of an extremely thin girdle.
E. B, C & D
F. of all of the above.
16.23
#1 In re-cutting a chipped diamond, which of the following would usually cause additional weight loss?
A. Proportion improvement.
B. Inclusion improvement beyond the path of maximum weight retention.
C. Higher crown angles.
D. B only.
E. All of the above.
#2 When estimating weight loss of a re-cut on a chipped diamond which of the following should be considered first?
A. The depth of the chip.
B. The area of the chip
C. The location of the chip.
16.24
#1 When measuring a diameter from the deepest point in a chip to its opposite you should always…
A. add 2/10ths of a millimeter for the final finished diameter.
B. subtract 2/10ths of a millimeter for the final finished diameter.
C. use that exact measurement.
16.25
#1 When estimating a re-cut on a modern, round brilliant that has sustained a deep culet chip your main concern should be…
A. an acceptable finished depth percentage.
B. an acceptable finished table size.
C. an acceptable finished diameter.
#2 In estimating weight loss in a diamond with a large culet chip, you will need…
A. an existing diameter measurement minus 2/10ths of a millimeter.
B. an existing depth measurement minus 2/10ths of a millimeter.
C. the shallowest depth percentage that you would accept in the finished diamond.
D. B & C
E. all of the above.
16.26
#1 When re-cutting old style cuts (Euros & mines) into moderns, small to medium sized chips will always cause additional weight loss.
A. True
B. False
16.27
#1 An old European cut with a very flat pavilion and a very heavy crown is unusual, due to the crystal formation it came from.
A. True
B. False
16.28
#1 After deciding on an acceptable finished depth for a flat Euro re-cut, one likely hazard is…
A. the misjudged culet size.
B. the high crown angles creating an even smaller table and thus shrinking the depth even further.
C. the flat pavilion angles.
D. all of the above.
#2 Given the following specs from an old European cut diamond that you’ve chosen to re-cut, use the weight estimation formula to calculate the finished weight. You’ve decided to accept a 59.0% finished depth.
0.85 ct. Euro with 35 degree crown angles, 32 degree pavilion angles, 48% table, 6.72 mm diameter, 3.22 mm depth and several small to medium size chips around the very thin girdle.
Choose the most likely finished weight:
A. 0.57 ct.
B. 0.60 ct.
C. 0.62 ct.
16.30
#1 Growing diamonds (unethically) is a term used for…
A. synthetic diamond production.
B. the unnoticeable switching of diamonds gradually increasing the quality to the cutter’s benefit.
C. a radiation process used to increase actual weight.
16.31
#1 The most important of the following prerequisites of choosing a diamond cutter is…
A. excellent weight retention with good to very good finishes.
B. fair to good weight retention with excellent finishes.
C. one day turn-around.
16.32
#1 You can grade a cutter’s skill of ______, based on a reputable lab report.
A. weight retention
B. polish and symmetry
C. proportions
D. all of the above