- What is a 1 Carat Diamond Anyway?
- How Big is a 1 Carat Diamond?
- One Carat Diamond Prices
- High Performance “Racecar” 1 Carat Diamonds
- How Much Bigger is a 1 Carat Diamond Compared to Half a Carat?
A high quality, one carat diamond is the most coveted diamond weight for engagement rings. Laden with emotion and status, the idea of owning ‘a full carat’ is more often than not a top priority for brides to be.
Carat weight is by far the most straightforward and easiest understood characteristic of a diamond. Of the Four C’s of diamond buying weight is often thought to be the most important (hint: it isn’t).
The relationship between carat weight and quality factors must be fully appreciated in order to get the most from your 1 carat diamond ring.
In this article I will go over the things which can easily be overlooked if 1 carat is the only thing on one’s mind. And also how to get the best value, if 1 carat is definitely the goal.
What is a 1 Carat Diamond Anyway?
Carat is the term used to express the weight of a diamond.
‘Carat’ is a term used to describe the weight of a diamond, and the word originates from the seed pod of the Ceratonia siliqua, also known as the Carob tree.
In ancient times, before scales and units of mass were invented, gem traders compared the weight of a diamond to the seeds of the Carob tree.
Each Carob seed was thought to have a uniform weight.
This became a way to measure the weight of gemstones including diamonds.
The metric carat as 200 mg was proposed in Paris in 1907.
The United States adopted the metric carat definition of 1 carat being equal to ⅕ of a gram, or 0.2 grams, or 200 milligrams on July 1, 1913. The United Kingdom followed suit on 1 April 1914. It is now the world-accepted standard.
How Big is a 1 Carat Diamond?
| Diamond Shape | Outside dimensions |
|---|---|
| Round Brilliant Cut | 6.4 x 6.4mm |
| Princess Cut | 5.51 x 5.51mm |
| Cushion Cut | 5.83 x 5.83mm |
| Oval Cut | 8.12 x 5.41mm |
| Asscher Cut | 5.61 x 5.61mm |
Dimensions will generally vary between 3% to 4%.
The popularity of a one carat diamond ring is undoubtedly due to it being a practical size and a milestone size, easily referred to.
A one carat diamond is a suitable, wearable size for almost any hand.
As there are a range of characteristics (different color grades, and clarity grades) there are 1 carat diamonds to suit a wide variety of budgets.
Almost every ring setting can be made to accommodate a one carat diamond, giving you a huge amount of options when it comes to making decisions about the ring style you want.
One Carat Diamond Prices
A one carat, round brilliant diamond can cost anywhere between “oh, that’s kind of doable” and “daaaaaaaang”.
This huge price range can be a bit bewildering. If two diamonds weigh the exact same amount how come one is so much costlier?
After some basic diamond research you will quickly come to understand that carat weight is just one of the several factors that affect the price.
The price difference is directly related to a combination of all quality factors. A diamond at each end of the price spectrum would look very, very different to each other.
After all you don’t buy a car based on its weight.
A Honda Accord weighs the same as a Ferrari.
But one is a super high performance racecar.
Diamonds are a lot like that. And yes, they do perform. Diamonds return light and, depending on a number of factors some perform better than others.
Take the D-IF round brilliant diamonds in the A CUT ABOVE® range of super ideal diamonds. These would be considered the Ferrari end of the scale. These diamonds hit the top grades in all areas. They are true hearts and arrows diamonds with optical precision that is so precise that it is almost hard to comprehend how it’s possible to achieve.
High Performance “Racecar” 1 Carat Diamonds
| Vendor | 1 Carat Diamonds |
|---|---|
 | View Prices |
How Much Bigger is a 1 Carat Diamond Compared to Half a Carat?
Diamond weight increases are spread out in three dimensions so the total circumference of a diamond will only increase so much with an increase in weight.
Here are some of the measurements taken from ideal cut diamonds to make the playing field as fair as possible.
As you can see the size difference, while noticeable, is not as dramatic as you’d expect when you double the carat weight. Certainly not as dramatic as the price increase.
Remember though that two 1 carat diamonds can have different circumferences depending on how deep or how shallow each diamond’s cut is.
The thickness of the girdle is also a factor. A very thick girdle will obviously detract from the diamond’s overall spread. This doesn’t mean it’s better to seek out a super thin girdle, as that presents its own problems. Ideally a round brilliant diamond’s girdle should be somewhere in the vicinity of 3% to 4.5% in thickness when compared to the diamond’s diameter.
