Diamond quality factors-Part-3

Carat weight

Many commodities are sold by weight, such as kilograms, ounces, pounds, or tons. Even people who have never actually bought a diamond will know that its weight is closely related to its value. They understand that large diamonds may be more expensive than small diamonds. But when people really understand the knowledge about diamonds and carat weight, two things will surprise them.

The first is diamond weighing accuracy. Diamond weight is measured in carats and is abbreviated as "ct". A carat is two tenths of a gram (0.2), which is just over seven thousandths of an ounce (0.007). One ounce is approximately equal to 142 carats. A small paper clip weighs about one carat.

One carat is divided into 100 points. One point is one hundredth of a carat.

Diamonds can be weighed to the nearest one-thousandth (0.001) of a carat, and then to the nearest percentile, or "point". Depending on the quality of the diamond, the price of a diamond with a difference of 1 carat may vary by hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

For diamonds over one carat, the weight is usually expressed in carats and decimals. A 1.03 carat diamond can only use "1.03 carats" or "103" to describe its weight. Diamonds under 1 carat are usually expressed in cents. Diamonds weighing 0.83 carats are called "83 points" or "83 points diamonds."

The relationship between rarity, weight, and value can sometimes be unexpected. As we all know, the price of a pound of sugar is twice that of half a pound of sugar. But diamonds are not commodities like sugar. Its price depends on a series of variables, and weight is only one of them. Therefore, sometimes it is difficult for us to understand and explain why a 1-carat diamond is priced at US$6,000, while a 2-carat diamond of similar quality costs as much as US$15,000.

This is actually a very simple concept: large diamonds are more rare than small diamonds. Things are precious. Therefore, larger diamonds are not only more expensive. The unit price per carat is also higher. A one-carat diamond is the same weight as four 0.25-carat diamonds. But even if all other quality factors are the same, the value of the larger diamond will be higher than the sum of the other four smaller diamonds.

Carat weight can also be symbolic. The visual difference between a 0.98 carat diamond and a 1.01 carat diamond is negligible, but many people will not hesitate to buy a larger diamond at a higher price. Some carat weights are considered "magic sizes", such as 0.5 carat, 0.75 carat and 1.0 carat. Their weights are not much different, but if both are D color round brilliant diamonds and have the same clarity and cut, then the weight will play a decisive role. They look the same, but if the consumer's expectations are set at one carat, it will bring about a huge change. In fact, the second diamond is a little heavier than "Magic" 1 carat, only 6 points, but the price may be 20% higher.