Once the diamond has been cleaved, sawn and/or Bruited, it is ready to be polished. (Sometimes, polishing is started from the rough.)

Polishing a diamond consists of making a number of faces, called facets, on a rough stone. These facets have a very specific shape and position, and are at clearly determined angles to one another. This result is obtained using polishing tang and a polishing dop which can be turned in different positions and directions. By placing the tang correctly on the polishing wheel, the polisher can give the right shape and luster to the stone.

The most frequent diamond cuts are the brilliant, marquise, emerald, pear, oval, baguette, rose, square, eight-sided, Swiss cut or English square, heart and triangle, etc.