Average Diamond Carat Weight

What’s A Diamond Carat, To Begin With?

Diamond ring on her fingerOne of the most misunderstood things about diamonds is the term “carat.” A carat is the weight of a diamond, not its size. Contrary to what many people think, large carat weight isn’t always better than small carat weight. While it is for the fact that a bigger rock is a status symbol, carat weight has nothing to for with the sparkle of the rock. In fact, raw diamonds obtained straight from the mine seldom sparkle. The sparkle is a result of cutting and polishing y experts. Hence, a high carat diamond with a noticeable poor cut can look smaller than another diamond with a small carat and very nice cut.

Price per carat

Diamonds with a higher carat weight are normally cut from large and rough crystals that are hard to source compared to small crystals. Hence, the relationship between price and carat weight depends on the availability or rarity of the rough crystal. As such, carat price can be a function of searching rough crystals that possess the desirable color, external, and internal characteristics that will have a positive influence on the clarity when the diamond is cut. There is a list of intricate factors you should keep in mind when selecting the best diamond by carat weight, here are the tips from experts themselves.

A brief history of the diamond carat

Back in ancient times, when the seeds of a full-grown Caron tree would be used to determine the weight of precious stones and metals, the term “carat” was adopted to denote the even weight. The 1907 Fourth General Conference, on Measures and Weight, it was agreed that 200 mg would be equal to 1 diamond carat. You can also measure carats in points, e.g., 100 points are equivalent to a full carat.

Things you need to know about the carat

Spend lavishly on the cut – This’s the mother of all factors you need to consider because it ensures that you walk away with pieces with the maximum sparkle. Even a higher carat stone with excellent clarity and color can appear dull and lifeless if its cut is poor.

“Buy shy’ and save money – Consider selecting a carat weight lying slightly below the half and whole-carat marks. For instance, it makes sense to buy a 1.90 carat stone instead of the exact 2.00 carat because the difference is unnoticeable, and you would have saved a lot of money with that tiny variance.

Fancy shapes are less costly per carat – You might be surprised by this, but fancy shaped diamonds tend to be less costly than equivalent round diamonds. It is also important to note that fancy shaped diamonds appear bigger than their real carat weight, more so when put in a halo surface.

Keep in mind the ring size – Did you know that the size of your finger influences how the ring appears? Yes, the smaller your finger is, the larger your diamond will appear. If you bought a 1.50 stone solitaire and tried it on sizes 8 and 6, it will look smaller on size 8 than size 6.

So, what is the average diamond ring size?

True to the words of marketers at Rio Tinto, a diamond ring is forever. While diamond rings do last forever, you can only pray you to get your specifications right, as some of the factors we often thing are definitive aren’t definitive at all. The most important factor to consider, however, is the weight of the diamond (more specifically, the carat weight of the diamond). Below we have glanced at the data obtained from various sources to determine how heavy (or how large) the average diamond is, assisting you in buying the best and highest quality ring that falls within your budget.

Size of Diamond Rings

The size of the average diamond ring

Big Diamond RingThere is no single entity or source that keeps track of the average size of the diamond ring worn by engaged people (and that’s understandable because it doesn’t look like a question you would put on the census form). This means what will discuss here will be part of a longer range instead of an exact figure.

Depending on the source of your data, the average diamond ring’s weight (excluding the metallic part) in the U.S. is between 1.2 and 1.08 carats.

A USA Today survey conducted in 2014 found that the average weight is just over 1 carat for the central stone and about 2 carats for the whole ring. These weights take into consideration other stones such as gemstones and additional diamonds and those used in halo scenarios.

Surveys continue to show that lovers outside the United States prefer low carat weight rings. Such is the case with the U.K., whose average ring weight is in the region of 0.6. Fast east countries like Japan and China, where diamond culture isn’t as profound as it is in the U.S., have even lower carat weight.

The average carat weight varies quite widely in the U.S.A. and depends on where you ask in the country. Large metropolitan areas like Los Angeles and New York report significantly larger average sizes compared to smaller cities.

Age also has a bigger say on the size. Although the national average lies between 1.2 and 1.08 carats, millennials don’t spend lavishly on diamonds like their older counterparts. As such, the average carat size among the young folks is lower.

So, basically, there is no absolute figure when it comes to the average diamond carat weight – instead, the stones used in rings vary quite considerably based on such factors as location and age.

If you are looking for a diamond ring that is close to enough to the average carat weight, you will find some useful insights here. It includes everything you will need to find a quality ring that falls within your budget, also the mistakes that many buyers make when selecting the perfect engagement diamond ring.

So, how much should a person spend on a diamond ring?

In the same way, there is no absolute weight average carat weight, and there is also no specific amount of money you can spend on a diamond ring.

A survey published in the U.S.A. Today in 2014 showed that couples spent an average of US$5,598 on their engagement ring – and that was for 2014 only! Two years earlier, in 2011, the average spending on diamond rings was US$5,095. This variance shows that couples are more inclined to spend more on diamond rings during a strong economy than during a recession.

While the average spending on diamond rings is a useful statistic, it is important to consider the context. The same thing we said about the average carat weight of the diamond, the average spending on the ring is also dependent on age, location, and the average income of the buyer.

Rather than aiming for a ring that is larger than average, it is better to emphasize on buying the best diamond ring that falls in the margins of your budget. Hence, it only makes sense to consider your financial situation as well as your fiancĂ©’s needs, then determining how much money you can afford to pay for the best diamond ring available.

One of the worst mistakes many buyers make is trying to adhere to the budgeting “rules” that they read in advertisements or magazines, such as creating a plan with a given number of months that are worth their salary for an engagement ring. If you consider the obvious fact that these so-called “rules” are made by jewelers and marketers, you quickly realize that they are not in your best interest.

A few additional tips about carats

Carat Total Weight (or CTTW) – More often than not, few pieces of diamonds are put on the same ring. If you measure all the diamonds on a ring or any piece of jewelry, you end up with the CTTW. So, when shopping for an engagement ring or any other jewelry with diamonds, be sure to ask about the weight of each piece of a diamond contained therein.

Band size influences the look of the diamond’s carat – If you select a thin band, you will create a perspective that will make the diamond appear bigger. The best and popular band that can let you achieve it is the pave. The pave features several small diamonds.

Last words

What is the average diamond carat weight? There is no single entity or source that keeps track of the average size of the diamond rings. And because there are so many variables to deal with, it is difficult to arrive at a single value. Instead, the average diamond carat weight occurs in a range that is dependent on an array of factors. One of these factors is the location. America has a larger average diamond carat weight than the rest of the world. Countries in the far east don’t value diamond much, so the average diamond carat weight is significantly low. Even in the U.S.A., such factors as the age and location within the country have an influence on the average.