Polish of a diamond

Not to be confused with cut, a diamond's polish determines its surface and overall smoothness.

Intro

While cut focuses on the diamond's overall shape and the precision with which it is fashioned to interact with light optimally, polish evaluates the smoothness and surface quality of the finished diamond. The polish is graded but not a part of the 4C’s. You can think of the polish as final procedure made after the cut.

The difference between diamond cut and polish

As mentioned, these two are often confused, but there is a difference. The cutting process focuses on the shape and arrangement of the diamond's facets. The polishing comes after and is a crucial step to smoothen each facet (part) of the diamond.

The grading

The scale determines how smooth the outer facets of the diamonds are polished. Stones with a higher polish grade tend to be more expensive, although it is hard to discern the difference in reality. The polish is graded on a scale from Poor to Excellent. We recommend avoiding grades from Poor to Good because of the risk of detecting the blemishes with the naked eye. For the other polish grades, you must use a magnifying glass to detect and discern the differences.