Carat Weight

Carat weight means just that – the weight of the diamond. One carat is equal to 0.2 grams, about the same as a paperclip. A carat can be divided into 100 points, so three-quarters of a carat is the same as 0.75 or 75 points.

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• Carat weight is the weight of the diamond (not how big it appears)
• It can only give you a rough idea of the size, which also depends on other factors
• Generally, the higher the carat weight, the rarer the diamond
  
  

Did You Know?

Carat is not the same as Karat, which is a term used to quantify the purity of gold.

Size Matters

By itself, carat weight is not a reliable indicator of size. That’s because size also depends on other factors such as the quality of the cut and the size of the table (which is what we call the flat top surface of the diamond).

For example, it’s possible for a well cut 1 carat diamond to look larger than a poorly cut 1.5 carat diamond where most of the carat weight has been “hidden” in the base.

A well cut diamond also reflects more light, creating more sparkle which helps make the diamond appear larger. For this reason, it’s important to consider cut as well as carat weight when choosing a diamond.

We display dimensions on our website for each and every diamond we carry so you know exactly how big your diamond will look regardless of its carat weight.

Remember that carat weight is distributed across the whole of the diamond, not just the bit seen at the top when it’s set into a ring. Doubling the carat weight will not double the size of the diamond.

Remember also that smaller fingers can make diamonds appear larger. If a ring looks top heavy on your finger, try halving the carat size.

We Say

Full and half-carat weights command higher prices so opting for 0.98 carat instead of 1 carat will save you money and no one will know the difference.