Diamond Carat Weight

Carat is the term used to describe the actual weight of diamonds and other gemstones. The size of a diamond is proportional to the carat weight of a diamond. In fact, carat weight is one of the most significant factors in determining a diamonds value.

As the carat size of a diamond increases, the price of the diamond goes up exponentially. This is because the larger the size of the diamond, the more rare and valuable the diamond is. Although size is an important factor in determining the value of a diamond, cut, color, and clarity are equally important.

Carats can be described in terms of total carat weight (TW) in jewelry pieces that contain more than one diamond. The total carat weight is the combined weight of all the diamonds in the piece.

Round brilliant cut diamonds are created using specific standards and can be used to provide fairly accurate estimates of a diamond's carat weight based on the diameter. Below is a chart that shows the relative sizes of diamonds in relation to carat weight. The chart is for educational purposes only and should be used as a general guideline to determining carat weight.

Additional information regarding Diamonds can be found on Wikipedia.