Manufacturing
Eight stages, and the argument in the middle.
Every parcel we ship has been through the same eight steps in the same building. This is what happens between a rough crystal arriving in Katargam and a sealed packet leaving it.
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Sourcing the rough
We buy natural rough only, through Kimberley Process channels and established sightholder relationships. Every lot is weighed, sealed and logged on arrival, so a finished parcel can be walked back to the crystal it came from.
- Natural rough only
- Kimberley Process
- Parcel-level log
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Scanning and planning
Each crystal is scanned in 3D and modelled for inclusions, internal tension and yield. The software proposes cuts; our planners argue with it. In small goods that argument is the business — a degree of rotation decides whether a crystal gives thirty stones or thirty-six.
- 3D rough scanning
- Inclusion mapping
- Yield modelling
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Laser marking and sawing
The agreed plan is marked on the stone with a laser and the crystal is sawn or cleaved along it. At melee sizes the kerf itself is a meaningful part of the weight, so the marking has to be right the first time.
- Laser marking
- Precision sawing
- Kerf control
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Bruting the girdle
The stone is turned against another diamond until it is round and the girdle sits true. Everything downstream — table centring, symmetry, how the stone seats in a setting — depends on this being honest.
- Girdle truing
- Roundness
- Diameter set
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Cutting the fifty-seven
Table, bezels, stars and upper halves on the crown; pavilion mains, lower halves and the culet below. Fifty-seven facets in a fixed order, held to hundredths of a degree. Each step belongs to a cutter who does that step and nothing else.
- 57 facets
- Fixed sequence
- Single-step specialists
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Polishing and inspection
Every facet is brought to final polish and the stone goes under 10× magnification. At −2 there is nowhere to hide a bad angle: a facet that misses by a fraction reads as a dead stone the moment it sits next to a good one.
- 10× inspection
- Angle tolerance
- Reject and recut
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Sieving and sorting
Finished goods drop through calibrated sieves, then get sorted by colour range and clarity on the bench. This is where a parcel becomes a sortment — and where most of the trade's disappointments are actually created.
- Calibrated sieves
- Colour range
- Clarity range
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Sealing and dispatch
Parcels are weighed, counted, sealed and written on: sortment, weight, piece count, on the packet itself. Larger stones travel with their lab report. Dispatch is insured door to door and the airway bill goes out the day it moves.
- Sealed parcels
- Insured dispatch
- Same-day AWB
Lead times
What “when” usually means.
Honest ranges, not best cases. If your date is tighter than these, tell us early — sometimes we can work against stock instead of cutting.
| Order type | Typical lead time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| From live stock | 1 – 3 working days | Sieved, sealed and dispatched once payment terms are agreed |
| Cut to order, melee | 2 – 4 weeks | Depends on the sieve range and the colour band requested |
| Calibrated layout | 3 – 5 weeks | From receipt of the CAD file and an approved sample layout |
| Recut & repair | 5 – 10 working days | After assessment; we quote the expected weight loss before starting |
| Certified single stones | 2 – 5 weeks | Lab turnaround at IGI, GIA or HRD sits inside this window |
Why one roof matters
The person who cut it is still here.
When a parcel is questioned, most suppliers can only pass the question along. Because planning, cutting, polishing and sorting all happen in the same building, we can pull the job record, find the bench, and tell you what actually happened — usually the same day.
It also shortens the loop when something needs fixing. A recut that would take a broker three weeks of shipping and waiting takes us the walk across the floor.
Have a date to hit? Tell us early.
We would rather say no to a deadline than miss one. Send the specification and the date and we will tell you honestly which of the two has to move.