What is Diamond Carat? Diamond Carat Guide

Diamond carat size

To determine a diamond or gemstone’s weight, each stone is weighed individually.

Carat weight can appear differently across different diamond shapes and while carat weight can influence the price of a diamond, no two diamonds of the same weight will be worth the same and may not even look the same size. A diamond may have a higher carat weight without appearing larger and two diamonds of the same carat weight can vary in size if one is cut

Is higher diamond carat better?

While carats help to determine a diamond’s price, a higher carat doesn’t always equal a better quality stone.

Larger stones are rarer than smaller diamonds so the heavier the gem, the more expensive they tend to be. However, clarity is a big contributor to price and the quality of the gemstone, to many, is considered more important than the size. The cut of a diamond is also a big contributor to the quality - a poorly cut diamond may look smaller than one of a better cut but weight the same. There’s a lot to consider than just the carat and shape of your diamond ring!

Frequently asked questions

What is a diamond carat?

A carat is equal to 200 milligrams or 0.2 grams. The word ‘carat’ comes from the old Greek word for carob because early gem traders used carob beans as counterweights for gemstones. Because carob beans are almost completely uniform in shape and size, they made the perfect counterweights for tiny objects.

What does ‘tw’ mean?

Sometimes you will see the abbreviation ‘tw’ when looking into diamonds. This simply stands for ‘total weight’. For example, you may see a diamond being described as TW, CTW (carat total weight), and DTW (diamond total weight) and it refers to the collective weight of all the stones in a package or on a piece of jewelry. “Carat weight” refers to the weight of a single stone while “total carat weight” is used to describe the weight of all the diamonds in a multi-stone ring.

How big is a one-carat diamond?

A one-carat diamond can appear to be many different sizes depending on the cut and shape but it will weigh 200mg regardless of these factors.

How are diamonds weighed?

Diamonds are weighed using an ultra-accurate electronic micro-balance scale that can weigh stones to the fifth decimal place (1.12345), or a hundred thousandths of a carat, to ensure maximum precision. In the industry, however, a diamond’s weight is usually displayed to two decimal places (1.12), or one hundredth of a carat instead.

What carat diamond should I choose?

The weight, cut, clarity, and size of a diamond is down to your personal preference and budget. The sweet spot for the perfect diamond is usually a compromise between size and price. Diamonds at around the 0.70 carat mark make excellent engagement rings as they’re not too big and bulky, but not extremely small either.