Wedding Rings - Diamond Carat

 The carat of a diamond, or diamond carat, refers to its weight, not the physical size of the stone. While it generally is true that the more a diamond weighs the larger it will look, other factors such as cut can also affect the perceived size of the diamond. A metric diamond carat is 1/5 of a gram or 200 milligrams. The carat weight of a diamond is an objective measurement taken by a jeweler using a specific scale to weigh each stone. Sometimes a diamond’s weight is referred to in points. There are 100 points to a carat. Thus, a half-carat would be 0.50 points and a three-quarter carat would be 0.75 points.

Diamond prices are usually quoted per carat A 0.50 ct diamond quoted at $3,000 per carat would cost $1500. The natural process and materials needed to create large diamonds are rare. Because of their rarity, larger diamonds of the same quality cost significantly more per carat than smaller ones. Thus a 1.00 carat diamond of the same quality above might cost $7,500 or more per carat.

A diamond’s value (and price) increases with specific increments of carat weight, i.e., 0.25,0.50, 0.75, and one carat.  Because of this, diamonds slightly less than one carat are significantly less in price than a 1.00 carat diamond of the same quality. For example, a 0.95 carat diamond of the same quality as a diamond selling for $8,000 per carat might cost you $7,000 per carat or $6,650, but look almost as large.

Buying tip – to save money on your diamond purchase, choose a diamond carat that is slightly under these specific increments of 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and one carat.