Diamond Carat Education
In ancient times, small and uniform carob seeds were used as scale to measure diamonds. It derived into the word "Carat", and refers to the weight of a diamond. One carat is equal to 200 milligrams, or 0.2 grams. Don't confuse "Carat" with "Karat", the later refers to the purity of gold.
Facts about diamond carat weight:
Most diamonds you see are 1 billion to 3 billion years old.Diamonds are formed deep inside the Earth, and come to the surface via Volcanoes. 80% of the world's diamonds are not suitable for jewelry. Two thousand tons of ore must be mined to yield a 2 carat rough diamond. Only 40-50% of the weight of the rough diamond can be retained for the polished stone after the cutting. In that way, it is very rare and difficult to uncover diamonds, especially the bigger ones. When the size of a diamond goes up arithmetically, its price actually goes up exponentially. That means with a given quality, a two carat diamond cost much more than two one carat diamonds.
| Round Diamond Carat Weight vs Diameter Chart | ||||
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| Carat | 0.03carat | 0.05carat | 0.07carat | 0.10carat |
| Diameter | 2.0mm | 2.5mm | 2.7mm | 3.0mm |
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| Carat | 0.15carat | 0.20carat | 0.25carat | 0.33carat |
| Diameter | 3.4mm | 3.8mm | 4.1mm | 4.4mm |
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| Carat | 0.40carat | 0.50carat | 0.65carat | 0.75carat |
| Diameter | 4.8mm | 5.2mm | 5.6mm | 5.9mm |
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| Carat | 0.85carat | 1.00carat | 1.25carat | 1.50carat |
| Diameter | 6.2mm | 6.5mm | 7.0mm | 7.4mm |
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| Carat | 1.75carat | 2.00carat | 2.25carat | 2.50carat |
| Diameter | 7.8mm | 8.2mm | 8.6mm | 9.0mm |
Which Carat Weight Should I Choose?
The first thing to do is to set a budget. Many people set the budget to his "two months salary." This is a good start, but not necessarily a rule to stick with. Any carat weight won't make the diamond big enough to express your true love.
One carat diamond ring is like all girls' dream. Since carat diamonds have high demand, their price per carat is also inflated in some way. If she is the value type of girl, you can probably get some bargain on a diamond that is a little bit smaller than one carat, like 0.97 ct or 0.98 ct.
Strike a balance of carat size and the diamond's quality. If carat weight matters a lot, you might consider a good cut, I-J color, and SI1-SI2 clarity diamond. Keep her finger size in mind when you choose the carat weight. Slender fingers will make small diamonds look bigger. If you started with finding a lovely setting, just make sure the diamond you choose fits that setting on size. You should always ask the jeweler about it before your purchasing.