Yellowknife (Oct 06/03) - Shane Fox is the first aboriginal person certified as a diamond cutter and polisher in the Northwest Territories' lucrative diamond industry.

As a diamond marker, Shane Fox decides where the all important cut is made on the rough stone.

News/North: Tell me about your past and how you developed an interest in the diamond industry.

Shane Fox: I've grown up all my life in the Northwest Territories. Half my life (I lived) in Fort Simpson and the other half in Yellowknife. Out of school I worked various jobs and then this course came along and got my interest. There's lots of diamonds up here so I was thinking there should be a lot of work for a long time.

N/N: When did you start the course?

SF: The first course I took was a collaboration between Aurora College and (the company) HRD from Belgium. That was a basic diamond grading course -- it had nothing to do with polishing. It was about five months long. I finished in May 1999.

N/N: What aspects of your schooling did you enjoy?

SF: I was taught to hold the loop and tweezers to look at the finished stones. But here (at Sirius Diamonds) I actually get to sit down and cut the facets on the stone rather than just looking at the finished product.

N/N: What further studies did you have?

SF: My on the job training, which has been invaluable.

N/N: How does it make you feel to know you are the first aboriginal to complete the course?

SF: I feel kind of awkward in the spotlight. It's nice, but there were people ahead of me who graduated. But I'm proud to be the first aboriginal to do it.

N/N: How do your friends and family feel about you and your accomplishments?

SF: I was back home for a sad occasion, my uncle's funeral, but I was talking to my relatives and everyone was really proud of what I'm doing.

N/N: When did you start working at Sirius Diamonds?

SF: About a month after graduation -- June 7, 1999.

N/N: What about some of your other classmates, if you graduated with 25 others. Are they all now working in the diamond industry?

SF: That's funny because there's only two of us left from the course. It's not for everyone. That's classroom work we did. Once we sat down and actually started doing the work, some people said 'I can't do this.' It's not that they couldn't do it, some could, but they didn't like the sitting down and being inside all the time.

N/N: What have you been doing here at the company?

SF: I started off at the bench, I was a crossworker. Crossworking is the first stage of cutting the diamond. You put the foundation facets on them and the mains on the crown and the eight mains on the pavilion. I did that for about three years.

N/N: What was next?

SF: I was put into the sawing room. It's where we saw the diamond in half -- usually a 60/40 split to get rid of the impurity so you have a more pure stone.

N/N: And you worked there for how long?

SF: About one and one-half years.

N/N: And what did you do next?

SF: Next came marking and that's where I am now.

N/N: What's involved in that?

SF: Mr. Finnemore, the factory manager, is my teacher. I will look at the diamond at the little window facets put on the stone and I'll look through my loop for black spots or cracks or impurities in the stone. I'll decide the best way to saw that stone and what best shape to get from that stone piece, whether it be a round stone, or square cut, or a fancy shape.

N/N: What aspects of your job do you most enjoy?

SF: It's very challenging. Every stone is different just like snowflakes. You never see any two alike. There's always something different. Just when I think I'm learning it and getting the hang of it, another curve ball comes up.

N/N: That must make for interesting work.

SF: Yes. You really have to be on the ball and be well rested -- and get to bed early every night.

N/N: Anything else?

SF: We have tours sometime and I'll bring people into the laser room. That's where we put the polar bear and serial number on the diamond. They're not aware that anything on the key board (of the computer) we can put on the girdle of the diamond. I always like telling people about the guy who wanted 'I love you' on a fairly big stone and about a month later, he came back and wanted it removed.

N/N: What skills do you use most in your work?

SF: The physical part is just sitting for a long time, but just patience and working well with other people. It's just one big team. Along with marking, I work with the stone to see where it should be rounded or cut in the best way.

N/N: How does it make you feel knowing you are part of a process that sends these cherished diamonds across the world and that every minute move counts?

SF: It really blows me away when I'm down South and I go into one of the jewellery shops and they sell Polar Bear diamonds and I'll just look at them and go, 'Wow, I worked on that stone probably, somewhere along the line.'

It's proud work. It's nice to know you are making a product that someone will cherish.

N/N: Do you see the finished product here?

SF: I see the rough stone as it comes out of the ground and I'll see it all the way until it's polished.

N/N: What's the largest stone you've ever seen?

SF: The largest stone was about two-and-one-half carats.

N/N: Is that rare?

SF: No, but the market we work in, we don't work on too many big stones. It's about a 70/30 split of smaller stones to bigger stones, but hopefully in the future we'll work on much bigger stones.

N/N: How long does this process take, from beginning to end?

SF: From the time we mark it to sign (complete process), it takes about three to four days. But it's funny, you really get to know the stones. You look at a stone before it's been sawn and then after it's sawn and you will look at so many stones, but can say, 'Oh, I remember this one.'

N/N: Are you happy you have chosen this career?

SF: Yes, it's very fulfilling. At the end of the day, I can't believe I'm doing what I'm doing. If someone told me five years ago I would be marking rough diamonds to be polished I'd say 'you're crazy.'

N/N: Do you have any plans for the future?

SF: I'm definitely going to stay with Sirius. They've been nothing but great to me. I started at the bottom and worked my way almost to the top.

It's a great company to work for. Everyone is a team player in here. We all depend on one another. Everything I have today, I owe to the people here.