Polishing our rocks is a long and complicated process that actually takes up to 12 weeks. Because we're a small family company, we polish our stones in tiny batches. We don't have huge rock tumblers like the professional companies. Each batch of stones is no more than 20 pounds at a time, and runs for one or two weeks at a time, depending on what stage in the cycle the stones are.
There are 5 to 6 stages of polishing, depending on the type of stone. Every stone goes through three steps of coarse polishing to get the really rough and sharp edges off. Then there are at least 2 steps of very fine polishing to really bring out the shine in each rock. Some rocks, like granites and sapphires, are so hard they need a 3rd, 4th, 5th,... even up to an 8th or 10th polishing step to really get that hard surface to shine like the gemstone it is!
Some of our most interesting agates are encased in a white limestone cast that, when buffed correctly, shows both it's shine AND it's porous texture. This is really unique if and when it can be achieved. We have these rocks, because they are best achieved in small batch processes. Large batch rock polishing removes all that limestone coating and leaves only the silicate matrix of the agate (often called chalcedony) that you usually see in stores. Many of these are polished as an agate, or as a clear quartz. Those rocks are beautiful, but not as unique and complex (in my opinion) as the stones we can achieve. *A note of honesty here! Many geologists will tell you the stone is not as valuable with the coat still on the stone, polished or not. However, geodes are in great demand, and our stones are essentially a polished, unopened geode.
When our rocks finally are polished to our exacting standards, and each and every rock has been inspected for any flaws that would require repeat buffing or polishing (flaws that are jagged and sharp, create areas of possible fracture, or do not add to the character of the stone), then they can move on to the cutting area.