GIA Carat Weight

Carat is the weighing scale or unit of weight of a diamond. The word carat has its roots in Greek. Back then, carob seeds were considered to have consistency in their mass. Hence it became a comparative measure easing out the trade of diamonds. Carat has remained a comparative or a relative measure for diamonds for a long time. A carat’s net weight was different from place to place until 1907, when it was defined and standardized.

Carat is the weighing scale or unit of weight of a diamond. The word carat has its roots in Greek. Back then, carob seeds were considered to have consistency in their mass. Hence it became a comparative measure easing out the trade of diamonds. Carat has remained a comparative or a relative measure for diamonds for a long time. A carat’s net weight was different from place to place until 1907, when it was defined and standardized.

One carat today is equal to 0.2 grams, i.e., the size of a paperclip. A carat is divided into one hundred points. When you are shopping for a diamond, carat would be the most common term you’ll hear from jewelers, and that’s how diamonds are presented besides many other features or shapes of diamonds.

Many diamond sets or rings will have more than one diamond in them. Therefore, the cumulative weight of all diamonds would be displayed on the description of that item. In that case, you will see the total carat weight (TCW/TW), which is the total weight of all diamonds in that jewelry. Since every carat is divided into one hundred points, you will find diamonds in different ranges, e.g., 1.25 carats or 0.25 carats. Imagine a dollar in your mind – 1.25 carats would be like one dollar plus a quarter of a dollar, or 0.25 carats would be like a quarter of a dollar.

The larger the carats weight of a diamond, the higher its price per carat! Two engagement rings, each having a diamond weighing one carat, may cost $2,000, whereas one ring with a 2-carat diamond may cost $10,000. A bigger diamond can be considerably more expensive than a smaller one. For example, a Round SI1 F V.Good Cut 1ct will cost $4,800 while a similar 2ct $15,000 (the per carat weight of the latter becomes $7500). At the same time, many other factors determine the price of a diamond, including, among others, the Color, Clarity, and Cut of a diamond.

The carat weight of a diamond can be determined by taking the following measurements (in millimeters) of the diamond: Measurement (table up) across the widest points, Measurement (table up) across the narrowest points, and depth or height of the diamond. Once these measurements are taken, they can be put into any online diamond carat weight calculator that will ask you about the shape of the diamond in addition to the above measurements to give you the exact weight in carats for your diamond.

Credit: Sharif Khan on 12th Apr 2021