St. John’s Telegram (Newfoundland, Canada)
November 1, 2004 Monday
Diamonds are Forever
by Hebbard, Gary
In less than a decade, Canada has gone from not producing any diamonds
to being the third largest producer in the world, behind Bots-wana and
Russia.
Diamonds are measured in carats, with the weight of a diamond expressed
as a fraction of a gram.
One carat equals 1/5 of a gram. A five-carat diamond, therefore, would
weigh one gram.
There are two diamond mines in the Northwest Territories, producing
between them about 11 million carats per year.
Two more mines are expected to come on stream in the next few years.
In October, Pat Thompson of Diamond Design in Churchill Square, St.
John’s, hosted Canadian diamond cutter Chad Snider of A.C.W. Ltd.,
Yellowknife, who demonstrated his art and answered questions for
customers and visitors to the store. A.C.W. is one of four
diamond-cutting factories in the Northwest Territories. Snider was
hired four years ago and spent three years training with Armenian
diamond-cutting craftsmen to reach his current level of proficiency.