Gems, jewelry ... Who was not breathtaking at the sight of them? And which of the young ladies or ladies in their casket would not like to have several, if not unique, then expensive jewelry? And diamonds are “girls' favorite friends”. Who, and how, produces these amazing crystals, whose faces reflect and refract light, striking people with their splendor?
Jewelry Factory "Crystal"
Talking about the plant in a single copy is wrong, there are several such plants. Let us dwell on Smolensk as one of the oldest and largest enterprises producing unique collections and high-quality stones.
Smolensk factory was opened in 1961. This was the birth of the diamond processing industry in the USSR. Later, six more productions were created, which were controlled by the Crystal jewelry factory. New equipment was mastered, new forms of faceting were developed. Therefore, Smolensk is called the “Capital of Diamonds of Russia”: modern technology and first-class products have made the company a leader in the country.
Modern approaches and traditions
This is a strategically important company that actively contacts and competes with foreign companies and occupies a worthy place in the global diamond community.
The assortment is very rich: rings, earrings, pendants, cufflinks, bracelets and other products. The company produces premium class jewelry crystals - various colors, cuts, weights. Smolensk craftsmen can make a stone according to the sketch of the customer.
Diamonds of “Russian faceting” are unique Yakut stones. All of them must pass control on a quality scale that meets international standards. Cutting crystals, both standard and fantasy. And the size of jewelry crystals varies: from 0.01 to 100 carats and above. Masters from different countries work here, new technologies are created, which enables the enterprise to be always on top.
Making a copy of the Great Imperial Crown
The main symbol of the power of the Russian monarchs - the Great Imperial Crown, in 2012 turned 250 years old. Its insurance price is $ 100 million.
In honor of this date, Smolensk masters decided to recreate the symbol of the Russian throne and statehood. About 60 jewelers undertook to make a replica (copy). The replica is similar to the original, but it will cost more. In its manufacture, gold was used instead of silver, more than 11,000 diamonds (half as much in the original), 74 pearls. A rare stone chopping crowns the crown. It weighs more than 2 kg. Now it is part of the exposition of the treasury of the Diamond Fund of the Russian Federation. So Smolensk jewelry crystals helped recreate the historical treasure of Russia.
How a diamond turns into a diamond
Crystal, jewelry from it arise is not so simple. The diamond itself in its original form is just a beautiful solid mineral, similar to ordinary glass. To make it shine with all its faces, you need jewelry processing. The price of the mineral is directly related to the quality of processing. Jewelry crystals can be obtained, sometimes losing half the stone.
A few centuries ago, they tried to mathematically calculate the proportions of cuts that give light overflows of the stone and the refraction of color. In 1919, the 20-year-old mathematician Marcel Tolkovsky completed his calculations and published a book. Masters producing diamonds of the Russian Cut are guided by his book. The classic diamond cut consists of 57 facets, it is she who gives the “play of stone”. The cost of the product depends on several indicators:
- The shape of the cut. Round is considered to be classical, in addition to which fantasy forms are used, which allows you to create unique decorations.
- Color. There are colorless forms and forms having shades of varying intensity. Shades of diamonds are rare in nature and are highly valued.
- Purity. A crystal “grows” for a long time, and during the growth process various inclusions can appear in it. There is a classification by frequency groups: the fewer defects, the more valuable the stone.
- Weight. Measured in carats. It weighs one carat of 0.2 g. The cost of one carat is taken from the calculation , and jewelry crystals show the total weight.
It is believed that diamond brings good luck. He was always considered the stone of the winners. This is the mascot of Julius Caesar and Napoleon. Diamond began to be processed late due to its extraordinary hardness. Only in the 15th century did the first attempts to cut it appear. Today we have the dream crystal: a jewelry masterpiece created by a human genius. And when you look at it, it seems that there, somewhere in the depths of the flickering crystal, there is a secret, which we have not been able to solve.