Carat

The world of buying diamonds can sometimes be an overwhelming place, with so many different factors to consider to make sure, once they come together in perfect balance, you have the best diamond for your budget.  But what are these factors, and how do you make sure you’re not sacrificing on something important just because you’re not really sure what it means?

Firstly, if you were to speak to the most unassuming of diamond buyers, they will likely tell you about the 4 Cs, and when asked what they think the most important factor is, they will probably say CARAT.

 This is because most people assume that this is the size of the diamond, when in fact it’s actually the weight.  Diamonds and gemstones are weighed in carats and points. One carat, or 100 points, is equal to 0.2 grams, which is approximately the average weight of a raindrop.

An expert diamond cutter will often aim to remove the smallest amount of rough diamond possible, whilst still maintaining a quality finish, in order to maximise the weight of the diamond.  A diamond cutter can also use different techniques to shape a diamond so that it can appear larger but this can have certain knock on effects, because it may cause the light to hit the diamond in a way that it doesn’t sparkle as much.  For more information, move onto the next article where we speak about CUT.

Click here to find out about how the CUT of the diamond makes an impact.