A diamond cutter for use in a drill bit having a geometric size and shape normally characterized by unleached diamond product, such as STRATAPAX diamond cutters, can be fabricated by assembling a plurality of prefabricated leached polycrystalline diamond (PCD) elements in an array in a cutting slug. A cutting slug is formed of matrix material which in one embodiment is impregnated with diamond grit. The cutting face of the cutting slug is characterized by exposing at least one surface of each of the PCD elements disposed therein. The diamonds may be set within the cutting slug either in a compact touching array or in a spaced-apart relationship. More than one type of array may also be employed within a single cutting slug. The PCD elements can assume a variety of polyhedral shapes such as triangular prismatic elements, rectangular elements, hexagonal elements and the like. The plurality of diamond elements and the cutting slug are fabricated using hot pressing or infiltration techniques.