Only a minority of diamonds mined are deemed to be of gem quality. The vast majority are used in industrial applications. Of the gem quality diamonds most are of lower colour and clarity grades.

The ancient Indians were the first to discover that by polishing the surface of a diamond, following its natural octahedron shape, its lustre could be improved. Thus began the first simple cut. As technology advanced so to did the way in which diamonds were processed. In 1946 diamond dust was first used for polishing, a revolution in the diamond industry. With the changing of fashion and the increasing accessibility of diamonds to the open market, various methods were used to achieve different shapes, so that today we have the original round brilliant shape and various other fancy shapes; princess, oval, emerald cut, baguette, heart, to name the most common.