Know Your Diamonds, Part 5: The Carat Weight Considerations

Posted on April 28, 2017 by Chris W

If you were to ask anyone on the street about diamond engagement rings, carat weight is one of the first things they will mention. This happens for a number of reasons. In celebrity engagement news, the size of the ring is almost always the lead information. Additionally, celebrities enjoy rather larger rings, often in the 5 carats and up size. However, while carat weight is a crucial aspect of the four C’s, it is possibly the most misunderstood. While large carat diamonds are certainly more rare and therefore more prized, the largest carat weight is not always the best possible diamond. To better understand carat weight and its relation to a diamond’s fire and brilliance, we conclude our Know Your Diamonds series with important information on carats.

Carat Weight and Diamond Cut

When most people first start shopping for an engagement ring, they often consider diamond size first. However, as we’ve discussed previously, the most important of the four C’s is actually diamond cut. The quality of a diamond’s cut directly affects fire and brilliance, better known as a diamond’s sparkle. If a diamond has a poor cut that results in less desirable proportions, light will leak from the diamond. Shallow cuts create glassy diamonds, and cuts that are too deep result in dark diamonds. However, many diamond shoppers are unaware that diamonds are often cut poorly on purpose. The reason for this is to maximize carat weight, and this process is known as spreading.

The Effects of Spreading

Spreading essentially means that a diamond retains the highest possible carat weight while being cut to a specific shape. When a diamond is cut with a laser, the shape of the diamond cut should have ideal proportions. However, in an effort to keep as much of the rough diamond intact, sometimes the cut sacrifices these ideal proportions. The reason for this is many customers prefer larger diamonds, and therefore they would rather purchase a less shiny 1 carat diamond than a perfectly cut ¾ carat diamond. While this is the current market trend, and has been for years, it certainly does not result in the best quality diamond for an engagement ring. Nevertheless, this does not mean that all 1 carat diamonds are poor quality. In fact, there are an incredible amount of gorgeous diamonds available that are 1 carat or larger.

Consider Your Options

When buying a diamond engagement ring, it is incredibly important to do your research. At Adiamor, we do our absolute best to inform our customers to they make the right choices. Whether you are creating a custom ring or shopping for a preset diamond ring, be sure you are paying close attention to the quality of the diamond’s cut in addition to the size of the diamond. For the best possible cuts, limit your diamond searches to Very Good and higher. After selecting the cut, then you can adjust the rest of your search settings based on personal preference. If your future wife wants a large gemstone, carat weight is the next place to explore. It is important to remember, though, that carats refer to a diamond’s weight and not total size.