The carat weight of the center stone has a significant impact on the price of diamond engagement rings. It is one of the 4Cs used for determining the quality of diamonds, i.e. color, clarity, cut, and carat. The 4Cs were developed by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in 1953. Of these, the carat weight is a quantity that many people can assess compared to other properties of the stone. However, it alone does not guide the price of more expensive stones. Read ahead understand about the influence of carat weight on diamond pricing.
The History Of GIA Diamond Grading System Or 4C’s
Before the development of 4C’s by the GIA, the grading of diamonds was subjective. For instance, finest diamonds were referred to as “gems of the first water”, while the lesser ones were designated as “second” and “third water”. To arrive at this, diamond traders used a combination of clarity, colorlessness, and brilliance. Also, this assessment depended mainly on the experience and visual acuity of the individual examining a stone. Furthermore, the quality of the finest diamonds mimicked limpid water that had brilliance as if a river moved through it.
Indian diamond traders were already using color, clarity, and carat weight for assessing the quality of diamonds for thousands of years. For developing the 4C’s of diamond quality, the founder of GIA, Robert M. Shipley studied the 3C’s used by Indian traders and added the cut as the fourth criterion.
Carat Or ct
Carat is the unit for measuring the weight of a diamond, the higher the carat weight the pricier the stone and vice versa. For instance, the most expensive ring in the world has a 59.60-carat pink diamond as the center stone. 1-carat is equal to 0.2 or 1/5th of a gram, so 5-carats are equal to 1 gram.
The Price Per Carat
The price of diamonds increases exponentially, meaning that a 2-carat diamond will always cost more than twice the price of a 1-carat diamond. Carat values called “magic numbers” are points where the price of diamonds jump; they are: 0.90-cts, 1.00-cts, 1.50-cts, 2.00-cts, 3.00-cts, 4.00-cts, and 5.00-cts. For diamonds with carat weights between 0.1- to 0.9-cts, the price per carat remains the same. The price jumps when it enters the new range, i.e. between 1.00- to 1.50-cts.
The Rarity Of Diamonds Based On Carat Weight
You must know that as the carat weight increases, their rarity also increases.
- 1-carat diamonds – 1 in 1 million
- 2-carat diamonds – 1 in 5 million
- 3-carat diamonds – 1 in 15 million
According to the rarity of the diamond, its price also increases exponentially.
Keep these points in mind while shopping for diamond engagement rings.