Whether you’re purchasing a diamond for a pendant centerpiece, buying some new earrings, or in the market for an engagement ring, knowing what diamond carat-weight and colour means is essential. Here we’ll talk you through exactly what carat and colour refers to, so you can enter your diamond search equipped with the knowledge and confidence to choose the perfect diamond you’ve been searching for.
Carat
Carat is the measurement used to describe the weight of a diamond. This is not to be confused with Karat, which refers to the purity of gold jewellery. The word carat derives from the word ‘carob’ seed, which was the original measurement used for diamond sellers due to their uniformity in weight and size.
Since 1913, the international standard for a carat is 200 milligrams, or 1/5 of a gram. It’s common for jewellers to refer to a diamond’s carat in 1/4 carat weight. When there is a piece of jewellery that features several diamonds, the weight of these diamonds is often combined into a total carat weight (TW).
Important factors to understand about diamond carat:
- Two diamonds can have an identical carat weight but be completely different in price. This is because the cost of a diamond is dependant on a range of factors including cut, colour and clarity, as well as the carat weight.
- The higher the carat, the more expensive the diamond gets. This is because the larger the size of the individual diamond, the more rare it becomes. Less than one in a million mined rough diamonds are big enough to be finished into becoming a 1 carat diamond. Therefore as the carat goes up so will the price.
- Diamonds with a higher carat will not always appear significantly larger than something half their weight. For example, when comparing a 1 carat diamond and 3 carat diamond, the diameter of the diamond may only increase 50%, and the crown (visible area) seen once the diamond is set may only double in size. When searching for your diamond keep this in mind, as a wider diameter will ensure a larger crown area, increasing the apparent size of the diamond when set.
- The shape of a diamond may give the perception it has a higher carat weight than another diamond, when in fact they are the same carats. For example, a 1 carat marquise diamond will in general look larger than a 1 carat round diamond. As a general rule pear, oval and marquise diamonds appear larger than square and round-shaped diamonds because of their visible surface area when set.
- The cut of the diamond is important to consider when choosing a diamond. This is because if a diamond has a high cut grade, it can appear bigger than a poorly cut diamond with a bigger carat weight.
Colour
Diamonds come in an array of stunning colours. Pink, blue and yellow diamonds are coveted across the world, with some coloured diamonds being extremely rare. When it comes to classic white diamonds, the term ‘colour’ actually refers to the lack thereof. This lack of colour is graded on a scale ranging from D to Z. Coloured diamonds are measured on a separate colour scale.
The colour scale for white diamonds was developed by the GIA, and is the standard for diamond colour grading across the globe. White diamonds with more colour will appear to have a yellowish tinge. Diamonds graded from D to J are colourless, or almost colourless, which means that the colour is virtually undetectable to the naked eye. The higher the grade of colour on the scale (or lack thereof), the higher the cost of the diamond. In other words, a D coloured diamond is more expensive than a J coloured one. This is because the less colour within the diamond, the better its ability to reflect light.
Other important facts to know about diamond colour:
- Generally speaking, after considering a diamond’s cut, the colour of a diamond is the second factor to consider when making your selection. This is because how it sparkles is visually obvious, and you want your diamond to make a statement.
- Once a diamond is set in a ring it’s difficult to detect it’s actual colour. For example, a diamond with a H colour grading may appear to have the same colour grading as a D graded diamond when set into a ring and viewed under normal lighting conditions (as opposed to the lighting conditions used by gemologists when colour grading diamonds).
- In general, when a diamond is set into yellow gold any yellow hints in the diamond will appear less obvious than if the diamond was set in white gold.
When choosing a diamond it’s important to consider carat, colour, clarity and cut. It’s the combination of these factors which will help you decide on which diamond is the right one to meet your individual needs. Like any decisions we make in life, choosing the right diamond is very personal – having the knowledge and expertise to know what you’re looking for makes the selection process much easier, and all the more exciting.
by Australian Diamond Brokers : March 21st 2016 Come visit our store or browse our website to find out more.