Diamond Dictionary

La Belle Helene diamond. An ex­ceptionally fine 160-carat alluvial diamond. Found on the Orange River, Republic of South africa in 1951. Bought by Romi Goldmuntz of Antwerp for £80,000 and named for his wife. Cut in the U.S. into three stones: matching pear shapes of 30.28 and 29.71 carats and a 10.50-carat marquise. All were sold pri­vately.

Lace (or Crown) Mine. A diamond mine of minor importance located about 100 miles south of Johannes­burg in the Kroonstad district, Orange Free State, Republic of South Africa.

La Favorite Diamond. A top-quality 50.28-carat stone. Exhibited at Chi­cago World's Fair in 1934, when it was owned by a Persian and val­ued at $1,000,000. Present location unknown.

Lake George diamond. Same as Her­kimer diamond.

lambreu. A Brazilian term for irregu­lar diamond fragments.

Landak River. A source of early diamond deposits on the Island of

Kalimantan, formerly called Borneo.

See KALIMANTAN.

lap. A flat, horizontal, diamond-dust-impregnated cast-iron wheel, 12 to 18 inches in diameter, that re­volves about a vertical shaft. It is used for grindingpolishing facets on Diamonds. Another name is scaife (also spelled skeif or skaif). Diamond-charged laps, often made of other materials, are also used for industrial purposes and for fashion­ing colored stones. (See photo.) and

lapidary (or lapidist). A cutter, grind­er and polisher of colored stones. In the trade a lapidary is not necessarily an engraver of gems, this being con­sidered a specialized art. A cutter and polisher of diamonds is classed as a diamond cutter, as distinguished from a gem cutter, or lapidary.

lapper. See blocker.

lapping. See blocking.

La Reine des Beiges Diamond. A

50-carat diamond. Thought to have been owned by the Queen of Bel-

gium in the latter part of nineteenth century. Existence not verified; how­ever, it is believed to be an alternate name for the Queen of Belgium Dia­mond.