Diamond Carat Weight
Posted by: | CommentsBottom Line Recommendation: Choose the lowest color and clarity that still look great to the naked eye, and then choose the largest diamond carat weight that still fits within your budget. But always keep in mind the cut quality, since a poorly cut heavier diamond can look smaller than an excellently cut lighter diamond.
What is a Diamond Carat?
According to Wikipedia, the term diamond carat comes from the Greek word meaning “fruit of the carob tree.” In ancient times, the seeds of the carob pod were used as standards for weight measurements, since the size of their seeds were almost always identical. This provided a natural standard of measurement.
In in 1907 at the Fourth General Conference on Weights and Measures, it was agreed that a modern diamond carat should equal precisely 200 milligrams. This is technically known as a metric carat, and is the standard diamond carat weight that is used universally today.
Why does diamond Carat Weight matter?
The truth is, it doesn’t matter. Think about it. When you look at a diamond set in a ring, what does your eye see? Does your eye see weight, or does your eye see physical size? Obviously, your eye can only see physical dimensions — light doesn’t carry weight information back to your eye. And if you think about it even more, your eye also doesn’t see the total physical size of the diamond, because most of it will be covered in jewelry. All you can really see when you look at a diamond is the size of its surface area on the top of the diamond. For a round diamond, that’s the diameter, and for other shapes, it’s a function of length and width. For simplicity’s sake, for the rest of this article, I will refer to diameter, but what I am writing applied equally to non-round shapes.
Now, obviously, there is a direct correlation between the diamond carat weight and the diameter of a diamond. It’s mathematically impossible for a 0.05ct diamond to have more surface area than a 1.00 carat diamond. But because cut qualities can vary greatly, there is a vast amount of variance in the range of possible diameters for any given carat weight. In my experience at Leo Schachter, a 1.00ct diamond can have a diameter that ranges from 5.60mm (a horrifically ugly deep diamond) all the way to about 6.60mm (a shallow “flat” diamond).
So as you can see, while weight should matter to you because it will help determine how much you are going to pay, what you should really be focusing on is the diamond’s cut grade and diameter. After all, wouldn’t you rather have a 0.90ct diamond that is 6.2mm and looks fantastic yet is cheaper than a 1.00ct diamond that is only 6.1mm and looks terrible?
If you have any questions, please post them in the comments below. I will usually respond within 24 hours.
thanks for the site. has been fun to read. a few questions.
how does setting type(sol, side, 3 stone) affect center stone size?
also the center stone should obv be the focal point on a 3 stone and I plan on going with a H-J SI stone so I obviously do not want the other stones to take away from the center stone. I am assuming that you should go a couple colors down on the other stones and that is the only requirement?
also what should be the ratio of weight of center stone to weight of other stone.
in conclusion I have been looking at prices for 1 carat, J, SI2, strong flour, ideal cut and I’m getting somewhere in the 4.5-5.2 range. obv I would have to look at the stones in person but is that the right ballpark? would like to get down to around 3-3.5 but idk if that is possible.
thanks for the site.
Hi Keith. Thanks for writing. I’m not sure I understand your first question. Do you mean to ask how does the setting type affect how large the center stone LOOKS? Or do you mean to ask, how does the setting type how big of a stone you need to purchase to look nice and balanced?
I wouldn’t worry about the side stones taking away from the center stone. If possible, it’s best to get the sides stones 1 or two color grades down from the center stone, but it’ll still look great if the center stone is one color grade down from the sides. It wont’ be noticeable at all.
If I were you, I’d avoid fluorescence. When flr gets into the mix, it makes stones much harder to match properly. As for the ratio of weights, it really depends on what you’re looking for. Typical side-stone engagement rings usually have very small side stones in proportion to the center stone. 3-stone rings are much more balanced, but those are typically given as anniversary presents. ie, you can’t celebrate your “past present and future” if you have no past.
Hi,
First at all, i think your site is very helpful for people like me who doesn’t know to much about diamonds, i want to buy an engagement ring with the following characteristics:
Carat: 0.22
Colour: F
Clarity: VS2
it will be mounted in a white gold ring, if you see this information what would be your opinion about the diamond? for me at first sight it looks fine but i don’t know if it would like to my girlfriend, since i had read on the internet that many girls could be ashamed of her ring when they compare it with someone else ring.
Thanks for your time.
Hi Armando. Thanks for writing. I’m not a psychologist, only a trained diamond dealer. So while I can’t tell you whether or not your fiance to be will like the diamond you’re looking to buy, I can tell you that if you are concerned about the size of the diamond, there are things you can do to find a bigger one for the same amount of money. Why don’t you contact me privately with the “Got Questions?” link above and tell me your budget, and I’ll better be able to help you.