Among the four C’s that make up a diamond’s description (Color, Clarity, Cut, and Carat), the one that tends to get the most attention is Carat, the weight of the stone.
We’ll give you a few seconds to make a Bugs Bunny-style pun about carrots before we continue.
While certainly important, the weight of the diamond is probably the least useful measure of a diamond’s worth. Larger diamonds are generally more expensive due to the rarity of the stone size, but a smaller stone may easily fetch much higher prices if the color, cut, and/or clarity are superior.
- A carat equals 200 milligrams (or .007 ounces), and may be used to describe the individual stone or the total weight of the diamonds on a given piece of jewelry. In the latter case, the term most commonly used is “total carat weight” (t.c.w), which has been known to confuse unfamiliar buyers into believing that they’re purchasing a much larger stone.
Additionally, the term has only superficial resemblance to the carat or karat measure of gold (24-carat, 18-karat, 12k, et cetera, which refers to the purity of the gold alloy). Again, unfamiliar jewelry shoppers may find it somewhat confusing when both terms are used simultaneously to describe a piece of jewelry — but just remember, all other things being equal, larger numbers are better in both cases!
- Some will refer to “points” rather than carats, but both refer to the same scale; points are merely a percentage of a carat, so 100 points equals one carat and 10 points equals one-tenth of a carat.
The size of a diamond is another tricky measure. Depending on the cut, the weight of the diamond may be distributed differently; for example, a traditional cut has a large bottom cone called the “pavilion” which is usually more hidden by the setting, and a flattened top cone called the “crown” which is more visible and obvious. A lower-carat diamond may be cut very shallow to make it seem like a larger stone, while a more valuable carat weight stone may be cut to better proportions yet seem smaller.
