When people are interested in buying diamonds, they probably want to get the best diamond for the price. The appearance of the diamond obviously plays an important role, but if you want to make a sound decision you have to take the 4 Cs into account – clarity, color, cut and carat.
In this article, we will talk about diamond carat, one of the characteristics that have a significant impact on the price of any diamond.
Diamond carat, as well as carat in general, is a unit used to describe the weight of precious stones and gold.
Obviously, we will focus on diamond carat in this guide.
Future diamond owners should remember that carat is not directly related to the appearance and/or size of the diamond.
It turns out that a diamond with a specific cut can appear smaller than it actually is. In other words, you may believe that the gemstone has fewer carats.
On the other hand, a diamond that is not cut well can look larger and heavier than it is.
If we take all these things into consideration, we should understand why experts in this field are valuing diamonds with more carats higher than the rest of the diamonds.
A diamond carat is a fifth of one gram. This means that one gram is worth 5 carats. And vice versa – one carat weighs 200 milligrams or 0.2 grams of diamond.
It is quite logical that the diamonds that have more carats come at a much higher price.
However, this doesn’t mean that a diamond that weighs one carat is 50% cheaper compared to a diamond that weighs two carats. It makes sense on the first look, but determining the value of diamonds is much more complex activity.
In general, a one carat diamond is significantly more expensive compared to a 0.5 carat diamond (not just 50% more).
There is one good reason for this seemingly illogical pricing – it is more difficult to find large diamonds than to find small diamonds. For some reason, when diamonds are mined, they usually come in smaller pieces. Large diamonds are very rare and they get even rarer as you start looking for larger ones.
One thing that is good to keep in mind is that as you go higher on the list of carats, the costlier the diamonds will be. Many people are unaware that even a slight change of carats can mean a lot. For instance, a one carat diamond is much more expensive than a 0.9 carat diamond.
Weighing diamonds
The last information we’ve shared may seem a little bit confusing about ordinary diamond buyers.
As previously mentioned, the carat is actually the unit of weight for diamonds and precious stones. But, this unit comes in smaller grades too. Namely, each carat consists of exactly one hundred so-called points.
As expected, the higher number of points, the closer you are to the next carat. To put it simply, points are nothing less than percentage points.
Whenever a buyers want to purchase diamonds, regardless of the setting where these diamonds are placed – a diamond engagement ring or a pair of earrings – they should not forget that the price of diamonds goes up as it gets closer to the next full carat.
So, a 1.90 carat diamond is insignificantly smaller compared to a 2 carat diamond, but the price difference between these two diamonds will be significant and not the one that you have guessed and you have the carat threshold to explain this.
In some cases, this can be quite useful. An ordinary person that doesn’t have any experience with diamonds will not be able to notice the difference between 1.90 carat stones and 2 carat stone.
What we are trying to say is that there is a chance to save some money without sacrificing anything. In addition, this can be quite helpful for people planning on buying more than one diamond. You will save a lot of money if you buy five 1.90 carat diamonds instead of five 2 carat diamonds.
The size of diamonds is very important
It is crucial for future buyers of diamonds to understand the difference between weight and size.
Diamonds are sold with a carat description with them, but this doesn’t mean that the more carats a diamond has the bigger it is.
We have already mentioned at the beginning of this article that the diamond cut (another member of the 4c rule) can also affect the price and appearance.
The cut can trick our eyes and make any diamond look slightly smaller or bigger.
Let’s take round brilliant for example. This special kind of diamond cut can come in the same size as a princess cut.
However, the round brilliant will look smaller because of the specific cut and shape it has.
On the other hand, a 1 carat diamond with a princess cut usually has between 5 and 6 millimeters in diameter if you measure it from the top. One carat heart-shaped diamond cut is almost 7 millimeters in diameter from the top.
Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that some of these diamonds will look larger compared to others and that’s why we have to understand how the cut grade works.
Whenever someone is interested in purchasing diamonds, it is essential to take weight and size into account. Keep in mind that a larger diamond won’t come at a higher price (not always) because it can have inferior clarity.
Yet, a small, 0.5 carat diamond can be two times costlier compared to a 1 carat diamond because it has fewer flaws on the inside and outside. This is what the 4Cs are all about.
Without any doubt, diamond carat is a very important unit that has an impact on the price. However, it is impossible to evaluate any diamond if you don’t have the measurements for the rest of the Cs. W
hen assessing a diamond, it is better to consult an expert in this field and to buy diamonds from reputable sellers.