How Diamonds Are Cut

In their most natural form, diamonds are –  well – quite ugly. They have no luster or shine,  and in fact, look like nothing more than  broken glass. A diamond must be cut, and  then polished before it actually becomes a thing of beauty.

Diamonds are cut with saws, into round  shapes. From the rounded shape, other  shapes may be cut, such as heart shapes  – but the shape is less important than the  quality of the cutting that is being done. If  the diamond is poorly cut, it will lose light,  and it will not sparkle and shine very well.  Each facet of the diamond must be  carefully cut into the geometrical shapes  that allow the diamond to sparkle and  shine, then the entire diamond is cut into  a specific shape, such as an emerald cut  or a princess cut diamond.

Once the cut is done, the diamond is put into  a dop, which resembles a cup with another  diamond – only a diamond is strong enough  to smooth the edges of another diamond.  Once the diamond has been cut and shaped,  and had the edges smoothed in the dop, it is  polished on a scaif or a diamond polishing  wheel.