Diamonds:
The Four Cs - Carat Weight |
The
weight of a diamond, as with all gemstones, is expressed in carats.
The word "Carat" is derived from the Greek word “keration”
which is also the Greek name for the Carob tree (Ceratonia Siliqua).
In the Middle East, this tree is fairly common and produces pods
with seeds. Ancient merchants discovered the seeds were always
uniform in weight and used them for weighing pearls, diamonds
and other precious stones. The weight of one carob seed was later
standardized to 1/5th of a gram; hence, a five-carat diamond weighs
1 gram. |
 |
A
carat is divided into 100 points, so a 1/2 carat stone equates
to 50 points, a 1/4 carat diamond 25 points. Very small stones,
such as those used in pavé or channel settings, are sometimes
called melee. Melees range from .01 to .16 carat in weight. The
significance of a diamond's weight, like the other quality grades,
is a question of rarity. Out of 250 tons of diamond-bearing ore
only a single one-carat diamond of gem quality may be found. |
 |
Since
diamonds become rarer as they increase in weight, the larger the
diamond, the more valuable (and costly) it is. But the price of
a diamond does not increase at the same rate as its weight. The
larger the stone (all else being equal), the more disproportionate
the increase in cost per carat. For example, a 2-carat diamond
is always more expensive than two 1-carat diamonds of the same
quality. The price of a diamond tends to increase exponentially
as the size increases |
| goto Diamonds: Diamond Shapes |
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