Diamond Education- Carat
"I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number of carats in a diamond" - Mae West
The term 'Carat' refers to a diamond's weight, and should not be confused with 'Karat', used to describe the purity of gold. In ancient times, seeds of the Carob tree were utilised by traders for weighing gold, diamonds, gemstones and pearls. The term 'carat' therefore originates from the Greek 'Keration' and Arabic 'Quirrat'- names for the carob tree. Years later in 1913, the United States of America made the 'carat' an official gemstone measurement, closely followed by the United Kingdom and Europe. Today one carat weighs 200 milligrams, which is approximately the same as a single five pound note!
The carat weight of a diamond does not directly affect it's size; a diamond with a higher carat will not necessarily be larger than those of fewer carats. Factors such as cut and shape can dramatically change a diamond's overall appearance and perceived size. For example, longer shapes such as the Pear or Marquise will generally appear larger than a rounded shape, even if they are of the exact same weight! In the same way, diamonds with shallow cuts will often seem larger than those with deeper cuts. Blog entries on both diamond shapes and cut were posted earlier this week, so make sure you check them out and brush up on your knowledge!
Pear Shape diamonds often appear larger than Round Brilliant shapes, regardless of the carat weight.
While the carat weight may not have much influence over the size of a diamond, one thing it does directly affect is the price! The more a diamond weighs, the larger the carat... and the larger the price. This is because bigger stones are more in demand (who doesn't agree that bigger is better when it comes to diamonds?!), and therefore more scarce. So, while we all may dream of an impressive 20-carat engagement ring to rival those of Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton, at least we now know how to make a diamond appear larger! Test out some different styles for yourself at the engagement ring section of our website, where you can alter the diamond's cut and carat on all of our designs.
