Natural diamonds provided this unique challenge because they are the hardest natural substance on earth. It took hundreds of years to develop the first cutting techniques after the discovery of diamonds. The first diamond jewelry utilized diamonds only in their rough form. Only in the 20th century could we cut the round, brilliant diamond we know today.
Natural diamonds’ unique properties make cutting them a process that is still done almost entirely by hand by skilled artisans with knowledge usually passed down for generations in areas of the world that came to specialize in the process. Outside of these areas, the lack of experts makes a diamond-cutting facility rarely feasible, let alone a facility in a remote part of the world where diamonds are discovered. This unique problem was one that Benjamin King of Diamonds de Canada was determined to solve.
Benjamin King was seemingly always enamored by natural diamonds. He would gladly share their story as one of the oldest things you could ever touch, born deep within the earth under extreme circumstances, their existence alone a miracle of Mother Nature. However, King was equally interested in the story of where each diamond was found, the uniqueness of diamonds from different areas, and the positive impact the diamond discovery had on the area and where it was found. This story was rarely known for each diamond once it had been cut. King may not have known it then, but he was destined to help change that.
In 2019, King was working with a highly reputable diamond cutter and wholesaler when a company called Synova debuted a groundbreaking machine called the Da Vinci. This machine was the first of its kind to promise a nearly automated diamond-cutting process. Instead of years of apprenticeship or generational knowledge, the Da Vinci promised to simplify things. King’s first thought when he saw the machine was that it could now be more feasible to open a diamond-cutting facility in the remote areas where diamonds are discovered.