When it comes to buying natural diamonds, many people begin with pre-set rings. Yet the true beginning of any jewelry lies with the diamond itself. Choosing a loose diamond lets you meet it in its purest form, unmounted, and unmasked. You see its brilliance, its balance, and its rarity before anything else is added — a moment that makes your connection to the diamond personal from the very start.
With ORIGIN De Beers Group diamonds, you also see its recorded journey. Each diamond* carries a documented, digital history of where it was discovered and the path it has taken. That story is yours to explore before you decide how to wear it.
From there, the choice becomes deeply personal. A setting is not just a mount, but a frame for meaning, shaped around your style, and your moment. Buying loose diamonds is about more than selection – it’s about beginning a story that feels unique to you.
Why Choose a Loose Diamond Instead of a Pre-Set Ring
A loose natural diamond reveals its full character before it is ever placed in a ring. You can study its proportions, clarity, and brilliance with nothing to distract your eye. What you see is what you will carry forward.
This choice also gives you space for creativity and individuality. Instead of accepting a setting designed for someone else, you have the freedom to create one that is wholly personal – a design that highlights the diamond’s strengths and reflects your own style.
In a pre-set ring, the design and craftsmanship naturally take center stage. This can mean that some of the diamond’s finer details are less visible, such as its birthmarks (natural marks formed in the earth), the precision of its cut, or the way it reflects light. Viewing a loose diamond first allows you to see every feature clearly, building confidence in the diamond’s story and quality before it’s set in a design that’s uniquely yours.
Understand the Buying Journey
The process of buying unset diamonds becomes clear once you see it as a series of steps:
Step 1: Research and compare
Begin with certified loose diamonds. Certification means your diamond has been evaluated by a grading laboratory. The most widely recognized include the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the American Gem Society (AGS),1 and the Diamonds, a De Beers Group company.2
A grading report (sometimes called a certificate) records the diamond’s cut, color, clarity, and carat weight, along with additional details such as polish, symmetry, and fluorescence. It may also include a diagram of the diamond’s unique birthmarks and an inscription number that links the physical diamond to its report.
In addition to these recognized standards, the De Beers Institute of Diamonds also applies proprietary measures: the De Beers Group Natural Rarity Score™ and the De Beers Group Symmetry Score™.2 These further highlight each diamond’s geological uniqueness and craftsmanship precision.
Reviewing certificates side by side allows you to compare loose diamonds with accuracy rather than relying only on appearance. If grading is carried out by reputable and trained gemologists using standardized methods, you can be confident the information is reliable.
Step 2: Discover your diamond’s origin
Beyond certificates, ORIGIN De Beers Group diamonds give you something more. Every diamond* is recorded on Tracr™,3 a blockchain-based platform that secures its story in a permanent record. Each diamond is also microscopically inscribed with a unique identifier by the De Beers Institute of Diamonds.4
This means you can trace the diamond’s path from discovery in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, or Canada, through the hands of skilled artisans, to the moment it becomes yours. An immersive digital platform lets you view each stage of its recorded journey.
Step 3: Consult a reputable retail partner
Expertise brings confidence. At an ORIGIN retail partner, you receive bespoke guidance and personal attention. Advisors help you navigate everything from grading reports to your diamond’s recorded journey. All ORIGIN De Beers Group diamonds* meet the highest standards of ethical and responsible sourcing, giving you assurance in every choice.
Step 4: Select the setting
The diamond comes first. The design follows. Once you’ve chosen the cut, you can explore diamond settings that amplify your gem’s natural character:
- A solitaire places a single diamond at the center for timeless simplicity.
- A halo setting surrounds the diamond with smaller gems, enhancing sparkle.
- Vintage-inspired settings often feature intricate details that evoke timeless heritage, and craft.
- Modern, minimal settings use clean lines and open space to emphasize the diamond’s balance and light.
Each setting style highlights your diamond differently, allowing you to create a piece that feels entirely your own.
The Role of Diamond Traceability and Transparency
For years, the diamond industry has worked through the Kimberley Process to help ensure conflict-free diamonds,5 a vital step in protecting communities connected to discovery. But expectations have moved beyond this baseline. Today’s buyers want to see where their diamond came from and understand the standards that guided its journey.
That’s where De Beers Group frameworks come in. ORIGIN De Beers Group diamonds* are recorded on Tracr™, and supported by the De Beers Group’s Best Practice Principles,6 which set clear ethical, social, and environmental standards across the supply chain. In addition, De Beers Group is certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council, an independent body that promotes responsible business practices across the global jewelry industry.7 Together, these systems strengthen transparency, confirming each diamond’s origin and safeguarding trust at every stage.
Traceability is no longer an aspiration. With ORIGIN De Beers Group diamonds*, it’s a standard. Every diamond* carries a record you can see, giving you confidence that beauty is always matched by accountability.
What to Look for in a Loose Diamond
Traditionally, the four Cs – cut, clarity, color, and carat – guide your diamond selection.8 The precision of its cut, the purity of its clarity, the tone of its color, and the weight measured in carats provide a framework for evaluating quality. But they are only the beginning of what makes a diamond truly yours.
For ORIGIN De Beers Group diamonds, the story goes further. Each diamond* is assessed not only through the 4Cs but also through De Beers Group’s advanced grading metrics that go beyond traditional evaluation. These include the De Beers Group Natural Rarity Score™ and the De Beers Group Symmetry Score™.
These measures, along with each diamond’s recorded journey, provide a deeper understanding of what makes it exceptional, both scientifically and visually. Viewing a loose diamond lets you see these qualities clearly, giving you the clarity and confidence to choose with certainty.
Personalizing Your Natural Diamond
Buying unset diamonds opens the door to creative freedom. The diamond setting you choose does more than hold the gem – it frames its story and connects it to yours.
Personalization can be subtle or symbolic: a design that marks a milestone, a detail that reflects your values, or a style that mirrors your everyday elegance. Working with an ORIGIN retail partner, you can explore how proportion, balance, and craftsmanship bring out the diamond’s symmetry and sparkle, while keeping its singularity intact.
Because every ORIGIN De Beers Group diamond* already carries a journey that is one-of-one, your chosen design becomes the next chapter, transforming natural brilliance into a personal legacy.
The Expertise of ORIGIN Retail Partners
Choosing a loose diamond can feel overwhelming without the right guidance. That is why ORIGIN De Beers Group works only with select retail partners (opens in new window), carefully chosen for their knowledge and integrity.
At an ORIGIN retail partner, the experience goes beyond looking at diamonds in a case. You are invited to scan the diamond’s QR code, unlocking its secure record. Through this technology, diamond tracking is made easy. You can learn more about its discovery, see how it looked in rough form, and understand some of the impact programs it helps support along its journey.
An ORIGIN retail partner will explain both the technical and the emotional, helping you connect with your diamond not just through grading reports, but through its story. Their expertise ensures the process feels personal, transparent, and designed around you.
Why Buyers Want ORIGIN De Beers Group Diamonds
Every ORIGIN De Beers Group diamond* carries a story that is documented, showing its passage from deep within the earth to the moment it becomes part of your story.
ORIGIN makes this journey of discovery, transformation, and craftsmanship visible. It’s this transparency, combined with the beauty of a diamond shaped by nature and perfected by skill, so that each diamond is experienced as deeply meaningful. To buy a loose ORIGIN De Beers Group diamond means selecting the diamond that feels right for you and shaping it into a piece that reflects your own story.
Start your ORIGIN De Beers Group diamond journey and find your perfect loose diamond by visiting one of our select retail partners (opens in new window).
* Above 0.3 cts
Sources
1. Diamonds.pro. “Diamond Certification.” Diamonds.pro. (opens in new window)
2. De Beers Institute of Diamonds. “Grading Details.” De Beers Group. (opens in new window)
3. Tracr. “Tracr.” De Beers Group. (opens in new window)
4. De Beers Institute of Diamonds. “Provenance.” De Beers Institute of Diamonds. (opens in new window)
5. Kimberley Process. “What Is the Kimberley Process?” Kimberley Process. (opens in new window)
6. De Beers Group. “Best Practice Principles.” De Beers Group. (opens in new window)
7. Responsible Jewellery Council. Code of Practices (COP) 2019. PDF (opens in new window).
8. De Beers. “The 4Cs of Diamonds.” De Beers Group. (opens in new window)
