From rough to polished

When a rough diamond is transformed into a polished diamond, it loses almost half of its weight in the process. First, the stone is marked to indicate the most efficient way for it to be divided into pieces. This used to be done by hand, but these days it is done with lasers. Then, the diamond is sawn. In this phase, impurities (if there are any) are eliminated and the stone is divided into several smaller stones. In a third phase, the diamond is cut, giving it the form it will have in the finished stage. This stage too involves modern machinery. In the final phase, the stone is polished and its facets are created. A brilliant, for instance, has 57 facets.