Planning the cut of the rough diamond

• This step usually involves figuring out "the best possible shapes of the diamond in order to minimize waste and maximize the yield of the rough stone."
• Usually, the process involves the use of specialized programs like a Sarine machine. 

Cleaving/sawing a rough diamond

• This step involves splitting the rough diamond into separate pieces in order to more efficiently polish it.
• Usually this is done with mechanical sawing machines and lasers (if the cuts produce rougher or odd shapes).

Mechanical Bruting

• The next step involves making the separate rough diamonds round. The process is called girdling. 
• In order to that, two rough diamond pieces are put across of each other and turned in opposite directions.

Polishing

• The polishing process mainly involves creating the diamond's facets, which includes the use of a tang and a scaife.
• The process is further divided into blocking and brillianteering. 
• In the blocking steps, "8 pavilion mains, 8 crowns, 1 culet, and 1 table facet are added to make a single cut stone" which serve as a template for the brillianteering step.
• The brillianteering step adds "the remaining facets, bringing it to a total of 57 facets." This is probably the most important step in the whole process as it determines the diamond' fire and brilliance.

Inspecting the Polished Diamond

• The last step involves inspecting the diamond in order to verify whether it adheres to the manufacturer's requirements.
• If the quality control fails, the stone is sent back to be retouched.

Pricing

• Mercury Diamond is a "diamond pricing consultancy founded by Ehud Laniado" that features more than 18,000 prices for polishing and cutting a diamond.
• The cost of polishing a diamond varies based on its color (from D to M), clarity (from SI2 to IF), and the shape (round, semi-round, or square).
• For instance, diamonds between 10 and 15 carats that are SI2 cost between $8,300 and $30,400 per carat to polish while those that IF, or internally flawless, cost between $13,900 and $113,800 per carat to polish.
• The polishing prices for 15 to 20 carat diamonds are similar to the 10-15 carat ones, with SI2 diamonds costing between $10,300 and $37,900 per carat while the IF diamonds cost between $16,700 and $122,500 per carat.