A loose diamond is a diamond that has been processed: cut, polished and shaped, but that has not yet been mounted into a piece of jewelry such as a ring, bracelet or earring. Loose stones are often sold in this form in bulk, being ready to use and attractive in their own right.
Rough diamonds or uncut diamonds are vastly different, being rather unattractive lumps with very little promise of the sparkle within, waiting to be set free by a cutter’s careful blade.
Who Buys Loose Diamonds?
Any number of people can buy loose diamonds, and they do so for a hugely wide variety of reasons!
Jewelers: Perhaps the most obvious buyer of loose diamonds, jewelers will often sell on the stones as they are, albeit with a mark-up to ensure that he or she makes a profit on the deal, but more often the loose diamonds are their ‘raw materials’, so to speak, for pieces that they are going to make to sell: either the more commonplace: rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings, or the extraordinary: ‘fancies’ or whimsical, clever and beautiful eye-catching pieces that tend to take pride of place in the window (often, where the sunshine can showcase the diamond’s internal rainbow fire) to draw customer’s attention, first to the display and then hopefully, inside, reaching for their wallets and purses.
Businessmen/ Investors: Arbitrageurs are people who make money by buying when prices are low and selling when they are high. Because of the relatively volatile nature of the stock market and the various commodities listed thereon, often liquid capital is kept in the form of diamonds, which tend to retain their value, no matter which currency they are being exchanged into, and are light enough that it is easy to carry many millions in quite a small container.
Man in the Street: Anyone can buy a diamond if they can afford it, and where is the downside in owning a small, readily portable fortune that also looks stunningly beautiful? If you live in a country where the exchange rate fluctuates a little too readily for your comfort, investing in a diamond or two is an excellent way to ensure that your investments retain their value.
Benefits to Owning Loose Diamonds
As well as the investment value, loose diamonds are easier to check for flaws which could otherwise be hidden by cunning placement in the setting. And finally, but perhaps most importantly, choosing the diamonds yourself and then having them set to your satisfaction perhaps to a design that you have drawn up by yourself, means that you can enjoy your jewelry knowing that you have a truly unique piece. And if the diamonds are for engagement rings, so much the better: the tokens of your love, is as unique as your love itself.
