Friday 10 June 2011

'The 4 C’s of Diamonds' - Diamond Carat

Carat” is just a diamond industry special word for weight of a diamond stone. One carat is equal to 200 milligrams, or in other words, a 5-carat stone weighs 1 gram.

The word “carat” originates from the Greek word kerátion, which means carob beans, which were known in the ancient world for uniformity of their size and weight and were used as a measure of weight for different objects, including gemstones.

In the Far East instead of carob beans jewelers used rice grains to determine the weight of gemstones. Because of this fact, you may occasionally hear some jewelers referring to a 1-carat diamond a “four grainer,” which means in the past 1 carat was equal to four grains of rice.

The abbreviation ct is a shortened way to write carat, and refers to the weight of a single diamond. The abbreviation ct TW means carat total weight, and is used to express the total weight of multiple diamonds used in a piece of jewellery.

One diamond carat is divided into 100 points; a diamond that is ¾ of a carat is also 75 points. One carat is the equivalent of 0.2 grams. A large diamond with poor cut, colour and clarity will appear less eye catching than a smaller diamond with excellent cut, colour and clarity so a delicate balance is required.



Dimensions play an important role in the appearance of a diamond. In addition to the carat weight, the distance across the top of the diamond must also be taken into consideration. A common misconception is that half a carat is half the size of one carat. In fact, a half carat is half the weight of one carat, but the millimetre difference on a round stone is only 1.35mm. The average measurement for a 0.50ct stone is 5.00mm, while the average 1.00ct stone measures at 6.35mm.

While carat weight may indicate a diamond’s size, the shape and cut of a stone also play a large part in determining how large or small the stone appears. An elongated shape such as the Marquise cut may appear larger than a rounded shape such as the round brilliant even if the two stones share the same weight.

When comparing two stones of the same shape however, it is important to look at the cut grades and table and depth percentages, as shallower stones will tend to appear larger than deeper ones. Other aspects such as girdle width can also affect how large a stone appears, while not necessarily affecting the quality of the stone.

How Carat Weight Affects Value

Larger diamonds are more rare and in more demand than smaller diamonds of the same quality, so they can be sold for a higher price. A one carat diamond solitaire ring is nearly always more expensive than a diamond ring made up of multiple diamonds that are similar, but smaller, even though they total one carat or more.
Diamonds that weigh just under the next full carat are typically less expensive than diamonds passing the full-carat hurdle.

Depending on what is most important to the wearer and purchasers of the diamond, size or brilliance, the diamond Carat Weight should be either the first or last thing you choose.

You can either contact us on +60162211051 today or email us on kul.stones@gmail.com to arrange a consultation about your exquisite loose diamond.

No comments:

Post a Comment