Diamond watch face A Diamond Watch Face

...We see precision

What level of precision is required to set two diamonds side by side that so not even water can penetrate?

The first question you need to ask, is what are the shape of the stones? As we all can appreciate, they would need to possess straight sides. Let me share with you a glimpse of a very cool factory I visited in Israel which produces diamond set bezels and dials for watches (Scroll down the article to see more images).

The unique aspect of this particular factory is that is does so only with precision faceted baguettes and variations of them which often look like trillions with rounded backs, or more precisely, mini slices of diamond pizza.

This is the factory of Avi Paz Diamonds who is world renowned as the number one baguette diamond supplier in the world. My visit to this amazing installation showed that the traditional tools and methods of diamond cutters and polishers were still at work. The only difference here was that the polishers were working off exact computer generated puzzle like diagrams which demanded a tolerance and precision that is 200th of one millimetre. Oh, did I mention that every table of every stone must be exactly the same, not to mention that all goods can be no less than VS1 in clarity and d/e/f in colour? But then, that’s the easy part.

I sat watching the final stages of how a sword-like baguette diamond of 2 points in weight was being polished to fit into a corner position of a watch bracelet. The polisher would touch it onto the polishing wheel for a micro second and than exam it again with his loupe, and after doing this twenty or so times he would take it off its holder and place it in a projector like microscope, which resembled a radar screen from World War II. This projector has a template of all the stones and how they need to sit together so the polishers can use this to constantly refer back to how perfect their stone will fit to the ones either side.

Watching the setters work through the microscope is not uncommon in our trade as we often see this with micro pave work. What we don’t see is that all through the setting process stones are removed and given back to the polisher in the room next door, who again and again make micro touches to the diamond they are polishing to create that insanely perfect fit.

Seeing a diamond watch bracelet with diamonds is beautiful and a watch bezel is so elegant, but a diamond watch dial is amazing. Especially when the stones are all squarish in shape. I hope my wife doesn't read this article, it might be the most costly one I ever write.

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