Most people in the western world are familiar with the phrase, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend." But what would the appropriate phrase be to describe the delight of having a handful of lustrous loose diamonds to enjoy? When most people think about these stunning stones, they visualize them in fine jewelry mountings and not as a loose stones.

It goes hand in hand, no matter what its form may be. The diamond is the most desirable, and the least obtainable, gemstone. The allure to buy comes from the sparkling brilliance of the pure white diamond, but the high price prevents those on a budget from buying, no matter how attractive the stone. Fortunately, purchasing unmounted diamonds can be a good way for people to save some money and possibly afford to buy the rock of their heart's desire.

In fact, some people consider that the wisest way to buy precious gemstones, including diamonds, is to purchase them before they are placed into a setting. Buying loose diamonds actually provides a few different advantages over buying such items as diamond rings or diamond earrings, which already have the stones placed into a setting.

One appealing advantage of an unmounted diamond is the lower price that comes with it. It is often less expensive to buy loose or unmounted diamonds than it is to buy those already set. This is simply because the expense for the precious metals used in the setting must also be factored in, even when the reason for the diamond purchase is for the stone and not the setting.

Another reason to consider an unmounted diamond is that it is much easier to assess the quality of the stone when it is not in a setting. Some setting styles can easily conceal flaws on the diamond. Flaws decrease the value of the stone, so it is important to examine the diamond in the best possible manner. You could easily buy a stone of lower quality, if the setting of the diamond is masking or hiding a flaw.

There are four different facets of a diamond used to classify the stone, both for quality and price. By using a jeweler's loupe or a microscope, the characteristics of color, clarity, cut, and carat can be determined with accuracy. Magnification is useful to examining color clarity and the quality of the cut.

Often people choose to buy unmounted diamonds so that they can have them set into the design setting of their choice. This allows for a design that is most desirable to their personal taste, sometimes even custom made, but with a diamond of the highest quality.

Just as with stones that are already in a setting, loose diamonds can be found is a variety of different shapes. In fact, often there is more selection in loose stones than in those already set. The most common cuts of diamonds are emerald, round, princess, radiant, oval, and marquise.