Diamond Guide | How Big is 1 Carat Diamond? - JewelersConnect

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Diamond Education

CARAT

Diamond Carat

BUYING GUIDE

  • The average person shops for a 1ct diamond for an engagement ring.
  • The larger the diamond the more the cost will be.
  • Ask for diamonds just under a full carat weight can save you money. Example: instead of a 2ct diamond ask for a 1.9ct diamond. The size will look the same to most people but can possibly save you hundreds of dollars.
  • Shoppers with a lower budget for diamonds typically purchase .75ct or less.
  • The person with an average budget normally selects a .75ct diamond to 1.25ct diamond.
  • People with a greater budget often proceed with a 1.25ct or greater diamond.

CARAT EDUCATION

Up until the middle of the twentieth century, there was no agreed-upon standard within the jewelry industry to judge diamonds. Around that time, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) created the first, and now globally accepted, standards for classifying diamonds. The standards created by GIA include classifications for Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat Weight.

Today, the 4C’s have become a universal method for assessing and assigning individual diamond characteristics for any diamond in the world. The use of the 4C’s for diamonds means diamond quality can be communicated in a universal language that both industry tradespeople and consumers alike can understand.

Diamonds and colored gemstones are sold by weight in a unit known as “metric carats.” One “carat” is equal to 0.2 grams and weighs about the same as a small paperclip.

Carat weight is the most precise “C” of 4C’s, because diamonds are weighed on a calibrated scale The modern metric unit used to determine the weight of a diamond was adopted and standardized by the United States in 1913 by other countries soon after to allow for uniform trading.

In jewelry speak. there are two words that sound alike, but are spelled different; carat with a “c” and karat with a “k.” The term “carat,” which refers to diamond weight, is easy to confuse with “karat,” which is used when discussing the purity of gold.

There are 100 points in every carat, so it is easy to understand diamond size by relating a 1 carat diamond to a one dollar bill. There are 100 pennies in a dollar, and 100 points in a carat. If you are looking at a diamond and your jeweler tells you that it weighs 1/4 carat, you will know that translates into .25 points, 1/2 carat would equal .50 points and so on.

The larger a diamond is, the more expensive it is going to be. This is because larger diamonds are more rare and harder to find. A miner must sift through 200 – 250 tons of diamond ore to find just a single piece of diamond rough that will yield a 1 carat diamond.

Ready to start looking for the diamond of your dreams? Our Jewelers Connect professionals are happy to answer all of your questions on Carat Weight, and help find the diamond that is perfect for you.

Learn about the other C’s of diamonds

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