Diamond Carat Sizes

That is 1 5th of an inch.

Diamond carat sizes.

Hopefully this clears up the misunderstanding of carat weight and actual sizes. Understanding the 4 c s of a diamond color cut carat clarity and the factors that impact its quality price and value. The surface area is 6 23x6 26mm. The diamond on the left is 1 00 carat and has a good cut.

Diamonds are sold by the carat shown as ct which is actually a unit of weight though most think of a carat in terms of size. While carat is the standard unit of measurement the millimeter size measurement of a diamond tells you its true physical size. Today a carat is equal to exactly 0 2 grams about the weight of a paper clip. The word carat comes from the carob seed the original unit of measure for diamond traders.

So even though the two diamonds have different carat sizes they have the same surface area because of the poorer cut of the first one about 10 of the carat weight is wasted. This is important when considering the faceting and shape because as you can see in the diamond weight chart above certain shapes will appear larger in size at equivalent carat weights. Here s a free diamond sizing chart that. The diamond on the right weighs in at 0 92 carats and has an excellent cut.

So while the one carat is double the weight the face of the half carat diamond is only 21 smaller. Likewise the physical size of a 2 carat diamond 8 2mm diameter isn t twice as big as that of a 1 carat diamond 6 5mm diameter. To compare that a one carat diamond is 6 4mm. Printable carat weight to mm chart.