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How Can You Tell The Size of A Diamond?

Diamonds are one of the most expensive, rare, but beautiful stones that no one can resist.

To understand how prices move, which is the best and highest quality, color and much more, we have written this article for you, which contains all the necessary information.

The most common question when diamonds are mentioned is: How can you tell the size of a diamond?

The most straightforward and basic answer we can give you is: Millimeters are used to measure the size of diamonds (mm). These measures resemble carats in size roughly.

Although we believe this answer can help you, we suggest that you read what else we have prepared for you today so that you can calculate the price of the diamond you are interested in and its size and find the best quality at the most favorable prices.

Let’s take a look!

How Can You Tell The Size of A Diamond? All Informations You Need To Know

Let’s start from the very beginning!

The diamond’s weight is described by the four C’s of a carat. Carats, a minuscule unit of weight equal to 200 milligrams, are used to quantify the weight of diamonds.

One hundred points are assigned to each carat. A half-carat stone is sometimes called a “50-pointer” or “50-points”. Due to advanced measurement tools, determining the carat weight is the simplest of the four C’s for gemologists.

However, a diamond’s weight may not necessarily correspond to its size. And it is a crucial distinction. The value of two diamonds with the same carat weight may differ significantly based on various criteria, including the size of the stones.

This is crucial because, even if they both weigh the same amount, one diamond may seem more significant when set than the other. And that might have a massive effect on the diamond’s value.

Before all countries adopted the carat in 1907, there were several other measures for diamonds. At one time, carob seeds were utilized since it was mistakenly thought that there wasn’t much variation in the bulk of each seed.

Carat weight is standardized throughout time. As a result, no matter whose organization certifies the diamond, it is now a common reference point on the certificate.

What Does A Diamond’s Carat Mean?

Carats are an internationally recognized unit of measurement for the weight of the stones used in diamond jewelry. For example, a 5-carat diamond will weigh one gram since one carat is equivalent to 200 milligrams.

Contrary to popular belief, a diamond’s carat relates to its weight rather than size. Therefore, the carats are frequently added together to get the total carat weight of jewelry that contains many stones.

The total carat weight of all the stones in a diamond necklace would be needed to calculate the total diamond weight.

Related Read: Diamond Price Per Gram: How Much Is A 1-gram Diamond Worth?

Diameter Of A Diamond

Although most people think of a carat in size, diamonds are sold by the carat (represented as ct.), a measure of weight. Why do they name it carat, you may wonder?

The “carob” seed, which served as the first unit of measurement for diamond sellers, gave rise to the name “carat.”

A carat is now equivalent to 0.2 grams precisely (about the weight of a paper clip). The word karat, which sounds similar and refers to the purity of gold, has nothing to do with carat weight.

Depending on other conditions, two diamonds of the same carat weight might cost substantially differently (such as cut, color, and clarity).

Carat weight will likely be the most crucial consideration in your search until the target size is obtained if the recipient has their heart set on a specific diamond. Other factors will then become more significant.

The truth is, most men can tell you the price, and most women can tell you the carat weight and form of their perfect diamond.

The price of a diamond rises at an increasing pace as the carat size of the diamond rises. Why people will wonder? Here is a quick explanation!

Because diamonds become increasingly scarce as they get bigger. Fewer than one million mined rough stones are large enough to produce a finished 1-carat diamond. As a result, as the carat weight rises, you will typically pay more both overall and per carat.

Let’s separate diamonds by their carats!

Diamonds of 0.10 to 0.40 Carats

The smaller the diamond carat size, the more cheap and lightweight the stone will be. Smaller than 5mm stones in this category may have excellent clarity and brightness, making them brilliant.

Making your choice of a promise ring with delicate, lighter diamond carats can nevertheless result in a stunning keepsake.

This size and weight of stone-set bands make for excellent promise rings. Thanks to their more superficial appearance, they enable themselves to be neatly piled together for a stunning aesthetic.

A smaller diamond carat can be the best option if you’re looking for stunning diamond earrings. Smaller diamond carats might be awesome for the minimalist style.

For example, the usual diameter of a 1-carat round diamond is 6.5 mm, whereas that of a 1.25-carat diamond is 6.8 mm. One carat of a square-cut diamond, such as a princess, cushion, or Asscher, is usually 5.5 mm in size, whereas a 1.25 carat is 6 mm.

Diamonds of 0.50 to 0.90 Carats

This diamond carat weight is a common choice for engagement rings since the stones are often large enough to be noticeable without being excessively pricey.

As a result of their popularity, stones weighing one diamond carat frequently increase in price.

With these diamond carats, a halo setting – a stone encircled by a circle of smaller stones – is a common choice to give the appearance of an enormous rock and boost its brilliance.

Diamond carats are crucial if you’re looking for eye-catching diamond rings for an engagement or a special occasion.

Diamonds 1.0 to 1.5 Carats

At these diamond carats, the value starts to increase. As a result, a bigger, more noticeable stone is a standard option for jewelry intended to stand out.

Cheaper diamond clarity or color grades are available at a lower price while still producing stunning-looking stones.

Because round diamonds are more sought-after and hence more expensive than other diamond shapes, you may save more money by selecting a different-shaped stone.

Diamonds of 2.0 to 5.0 Carats

This many carats of diamonds will undoubtedly attract attention. However, these weights are more impressive since they are more uncommon.

Is a 2-carat diamond regarded as a big one, you may ask? Since diamond engagement rings typically weigh 0.9 carats on average, a 2-carat diamond is unquestionably enormous. In addition, the diamond in 2-carat engagement rings is conspicuous and captivating.

Such a big diamond carat will be very valuable and draw attention wherever it is worn.

However, they are rare and pricey since obtaining a stone of this size with a high degree of clarity and pure color will be challenging.

Related Read: What Size Diamond Is Considered Big?

The Diamond’s 4 C’s

The 4 C’s of diamonds refer to four essential properties of the ageless gemstone.

  • Diamond Color: refers to the hue and color of the stone.
  • Diamond Clarity: describes how devoid of imperfections or flaws the stone is.
  • Diamond Cut: The method used to polish a diamond is called the gem’s cut. The cut can impact the gemstone’s brightness, which differs from the diamond’s form.
  • Diamond Carats: are used to indicate a stone’s weight, as we already mentioned a few times in this article.

Therefore, the importance of the stone increases with the diamond carat. Since 18kt gold refers to the proportion of pure gold in a piece, this type of carat differs from metal.

Knowing the diamond’s four grading characteristics and carat size will enable you to select your next stone confidently. In actuality, the price of a diamond rises dramatically with carat size.

Due to the rarity and increased demand for bigger diamonds, prices often rise as carat size increases.

However, a stone’s carat weight may be higher without making it look bigger, and the size of two diamonds with the same carat weight may differ if one has a deeper diamond cut than the other.

The four C’s of diamonds contribute to a stone’s worth and are not solely responsible for determining a diamond’s carat weight.

A diamond’s dimensions, whether completely round, square, oval, or rectangular, are described by its length to width ratio – the proportion created by dividing the length by the breadth of a diamond.

Depending on the form of the diamond, you should use a certain length-to-width ratio.

There are several optimal length-to-width ratios for each type of diamond form. Diamonds in these price ranges will be the most elegant and proportionate:

  • Round: 1.0 to 1.05 in length to width ratio
  • Princess: 1.0 to 1.04 in terms of length to width ratio
  • Cushion: 1.0–1.08 length to width ratio
  • Emerald: 1.3 to 1.4 length to width ratio
  • Oval: 1.25 to 1.5 length to width ratio
  • Pear: 1.45 to 1.75 in length to width
  • Marquise: 1.85 to 2.0 length to width ratio

Large diamonds are expensive because they are uncommon and need precise cutting to maintain weight. The exact carat weight of a diamond also affects its price. Since one-carat diamond rings are so desirable, precise one-carat diamonds are more expensive.

Our advice: Go for a diamond just above or below the 1-carat threshold to save money.

The same holds for diamonds weighing 1.25 or 1.50 carats, which are quarter- and half-carat sizes. A 1.25-carat diamond will undoubtedly cost far more than a 1.21-carat diamond of comparable quality, although the size difference is insignificant.

Story About The Biggest Diamond Ever Found

Let’s learn more about the biggest diamond found!

The biggest rough diamond in the world is called the Cullinan. The stone was found on January 26, 1905, in the Premier mine in Cullinan, South Africa, a mining and tourism town close to Pretoria.

The Cullinan diamond’s initial measurements were 10.1 centimeters in length, 6.35 centimeters broad, and 5.9 centimeters deep. It weighed 3,106.75 carats (621.35 kg) at that time. Big, don’t you think?

How much effort do they put into digging it out? The stone was found 18 feet below the ground surface by Fredrick Wells, the mine’s surface manager. Wells then gave the stone to Sir Thomas Cullinan, the mine’s founder and chairman.

After buying the diamond from Cullinan, the Transvaal Provisional Government gave it to King Edward VII of Britain on his 66 birthday.

But here comes the coolest part of this story!

Edward coordinated the shipment of a fake diamond through a ship crewed by detectives to divert would-be robbers while the stone traveled from Africa to London. The genuine Cullinan diamond, meanwhile, was despatched over the mail in a simple box.

The Cullinan was cut by Joseph Asscher of the Asscher Diamond Company in Amsterdam. Before the Cullinan was discovered, Asscher had cut the Excelsior Diamond, the largest diamond in the world. It took six months to arrange the stone’s cutting.

Asscher’s steel blade shattered when attempting to split the Cullinan in half. However, the diamond split as intended on the second try. Later, Asscher divided the Cullinan into nine huge stones and perhaps 100 smaller fragments.

Related Read: Can You Make A Diamond Into Smaller Diamonds?

Final Thoughts

As we stated at the very beginning of this post, diamonds are among the priciest, rarest, and most beautiful gemstones.

Therefore, we have written this post for you, which provides all the information you need to understand how prices change, which color is the best and everything about the quality, and much more. How can you tell the size of a diamond? is the most often asked question when diamonds are addressed.

The simplest and most fundamental response we can offer is that the size of diamonds is measured in millimeters (mm). These measurements are about the size of carats.

Learn More: Diamond’s Measurements: Complete Diamond Size Charts Guide