To truly appreciate the beauty and fire of the diamond it needs to be expertly cut. A beautifully cut diamond can be noticed from across the room. The following points and diagram will give a brief insight to this complex process. 1. A rough diamond needs to be carefully examined to determine the best way to cut it. 2. This has to be done by someone who has many years of experience and is highly skilled. 3. Normally a small window is polished onto the skin of the diamond so that the interior of the diamond can be examined. 4. The diamond is then marked with Indian ink - to show how it should be sawed into two parts - normally a bigger diamond and a smaller one. 5. Sometimes it is not practical to saw a diamond - because the shape is condusive to making only 1 larger diamond. 6. It takes anywhere from 6 - 24 hours to saw through a diamond and has to be done very carefully - to avoid shattering the stone. 7. Once this is done - the girdle has to be on the stone. 8. Then the faceting starts involving extremely fine detail work. 9. Then the final polishing of the diamond takes place to bring out its full magnificence. South African diamonds have a reputation and tradition for being magnificent and are highly prized and sought after by the trade.