The saying “a diamond is forever” has been used as a symbol for romantic and unshakable love, and a diamond is really a gift of love. Moreover, a diamond’s durability and hardness make it a popular application in industry.
The diamond has long been used in the industrial sector thanks to its hardness. It has the highest value among more than 3,000 kinds of minerals. Being the hardest natural substance, diamond is used to polish, cut surfaces and even cut other diamond. The industrial sector usually uses diamond to make drill twists, saw blades, abrasives, semiconductor substance or electrical insulators. Since ancient times, human beings knew to use diamond to make drill twists and tools to engrave letters.
Antwerp, the largest diamond centre in the world, has been a commercial and cultural hub in Belgium since the 15th century. Antwerp is also a tourist city where there is a street of diamond processing shops. Mr Gurte Bruva, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Media and Tourist Affairs of Franmang District where Antwerp is located, said that 80 per cent of raw diamond and 50 per cent of processed diamond in the world are traded in Antwerp. At present, 1,800 companies and 4,000 diamond traders are operating in Antwerp, where the population is only 450,000 people.
Before international economic integration, diamond companies in Antwerp expanded their businesses to other promising locations. They considered the cost of labour and processing volume in entering new markets. The cost of labour, skill and diligence of Asian people (especially women) like Chinese, Indians, Thais and Vietnamese attracted the most attention.
Thus, Vina Star Diamonds owned by an Antwerp-based diamond processor and producer was set up in 1992 in Bien Hoa Industrial Park 2, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam. The factory has 1100 carefully trained and recruited workers.
“On average, it takes us a year to train a good worker. We worked a long time to train 500 workers. In 2006, we decided to increase the workforce to 1,100 workers. We were very surprised at the skill and precision of Vietnamese women. The diamond cut under “Grunberger Precision Cut” criteria is one of the most difficult in the world, as it shows perfection, maximum brilliance and Hearts and Arrows,” Robert Van Mol, General Director of the company, told the Vietnam Business Forum.
A diamond is rated under a 4C quality system: carat, clarity, colour and cut, he said.
A raw diamond is not beautiful. It needs cutting to reveal the beauty. There is a variety of cut shapes like round cut, oval cut, princess cut, pear cut and heart cut. According to Mr Robert Van Mol, the cut is very important, exposing its brilliance. A perfect cut requires a knowledgeable, skilful and creative artisan. The “Grunberger Precision Cut” is an example.
Most diamond end consumers pay much attention on colour, clarity and weight which determine the value of the diamond, but less attention is given to the cut, although it is the cut which gives the brilliance and the visual satisfaction. Diamond Cuts are graded ideal, excellent, very good, good, fair and poor. Basically, the better the cut, the better the brilliance.
In fact, processing a diamond under the “Grunberger Precision Cut” criteria requires sophisticated techniques, strict observance to cutting angle, the proportion and the absolute symmetry of 57 faces of a diamond. A diamond cut in normal way needs several hours to finish but a “Grunberger Precision Cut” diamond needs longer time. Thus, this requires an absolute concentration, precision and skill from the craftsmen. This skill takes a long period of time to reach because it causes more loss of the diamond during process than other types of Cut.
With knowledge gained in seven years in the diamond school and 4 years work experience in Thailand, Mr Robert Van Mol started up Vina Star Diamonds about 14 years ago. He said several countries such as the US, Japan, Korea and the EU appreciate the diamond cut, but developing nations treasure colour, weight and shape. Thus, he is very pleased to bring ideas to Vietnam and his workers make the most perfect diamond cuts in Vietnam.
Ngoc Thanh
Vietnamese
