Carat

Most people think that a carat refers to the size of a diamond, but it actually is a measure of weight. A diamond grading report or certificate will specify a diamond’s weight in “carats”. The word carat refers to the weight of a diamond. One carat is 0.2 grams, or 200 milligrams. Historically, the term comes from the use of carob seeds in Egypt, which weighed about that amount. The carat became a standard unit of weight in the early 20th century. Certifications are always given to the nearest hundredth of a carat (0.01 carats). Diamonds are sometimes weighed in “points” instead of carats. A point is 0.01 carats, so a half-carat diamond would be 50 points. Not all diamonds of the same weight will look to be the same size, because the cut of the diamond can affect its physical dimensions. Some diamonds may have extra weight at the pavilion (bottom part) of the stone, making the diameter appear smaller than a diamond that has less pavilion weight. Larger diamonds are much more rare than small ones. It often takes hundreds of tons of rock and ore to find a single one-carat diamond! Size is not the most important factor in shopping for a diamond. There are many large diamonds on the market that are of inferior quality. These tend to look like costume jewelry when compared to a high-quality diamond. The cut of the diamond is more critical to the visual brilliance and fire of a stone than the size. If the diamond size is the most important consideration for you, make sure you consider the other three Cs (clarity, cut, color) as part of the compromise.