{"id":2684,"date":"2024-01-09T06:00:45","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T11:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/?p=2684"},"modified":"2024-01-10T08:38:35","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T13:38:35","slug":"does-carat-weight-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/does-carat-weight-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"DOES CARAT WEIGHT MATTER?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Does<\/div>\n

Most people don’t give carat weight<\/strong> much thought.<\/p>\n

\nThey tend to buy the biggest<\/strong> carat weight they can afford and that’s that.<\/p>\n

\nAfter all, it’s a pretty known fact that size does matter.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right?<\/h2>\n

\nMen are always concerned about buying a big stone<\/strong>. They don’t want to let their girlfriend down, look cheap<\/strong>, or feel insignificant around her friends who have big rocks.<\/strong> It kind of sucks, but what can you do? Go big or go home.<\/strong> Isn’t that what they say?<\/p>\n

\nThe funny thing is, there are many other important factors<\/strong> that come into play (pros and cons) when we look at the carat weight of a diamond… Not just mucho grande<\/strong>. Things you might never <\/strong>even think of…<\/p>\n

But should.<\/h2>\n

\nSo let’s dig in and take a closer look at why carat weight matters<\/strong>, and why <\/strong>it should matter to you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

More money…<\/h2>\n

\nFirst and foremost, a bigger carat weight (talking about earth-made diamonds) is going to cost <\/strong>you more money a lot more.<\/strong> It’s usually 3-4 times the price the bigger you go<\/strong>… If not more.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nThat’s because diamonds get more rare as size increases (no matter what the quality of the stone is<\/strong>). That’s why even 1 carats of low grade are still thousands of dollars<\/strong>. But here’s the real kicker<\/strong>… Those 1 carats are what are called “the dream carat weight<\/strong>” (an average carat weight is just 38 points<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

\nAnything bigger <\/strong>than a 1 carat (1.00 CT), like 1.50 CT, or 2 carat, or even 3+ (the envy of your friends) gets insane in price.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nIt may knock her socks off<\/strong>, but they will automatically take a huge chunk out of your wallet as well. :)<\/p>\n

\nWith bigger carat weights, you actually run into more <\/strong>issues that you never imagined…<\/p>\n

“Hello, My Name Is Eileen”<\/h2>\n

\nBig carat weights get top heavy.<\/strong> So that big beautiful diamond may always be leaning sideways (like Uncle Herb<\/strong>) because of the weight of the stone. <\/p>\n

\nBigger stones demand bigger everything… Bigger prongs, bigger heads, baskets… even a bigger mounting.<\/strong> Something substantial enough to hold that sucker.<\/p>\n

\nAnd with the mounting getting bigger, so does the price of that mounting. You are paying for more metal.<\/p>\n

Bigger policies<\/h2>\n

\nBigger diamonds also command bigger insurance policies.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nNot to mention trade-in policies<\/strong>… (an $8,000<\/strong> diamond ring will need to be traded-in towards a diamond that’s at least $16,000<\/strong>) Nice eh?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nAnd even the extended service plans, or E.S.P.’s (cover the mounting for repairs<\/strong>) cost you more<\/strong>. They are usually based upon the initial price of the ring. <\/p>\n

\nAnd… certification costs more too.<\/strong> Same with appraisals<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

\nWhen you go big, you pay big.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I See Flaws…”<\/h2>\n

\nWhen diamonds get bigger <\/strong>in carat weight, so do the inclusions<\/strong> inside the stone. So with big diamonds, you’ll be able to see the flaws much easier<\/strong> than you can in a small stone. Black spots will stand out like a sore thumb<\/strong>. When you’re buying a bigger diamond, you’ll probably have to step up the clarity<\/strong> (go from I clarity into an SI clarity stone – Which costs way more<\/strong>) in order to keep those flaws eye clean<\/strong> (where you can’t see them, unless you use a 10x jewelers loupe<\/a> or microscope<\/strong>). <\/p>\n

Now you could go much higher in clarity, but SI1 is the most popular clarity there is, and it’s a great clarity to own because it’s easy to identify.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nUnder a microscope you’ll see easy to spot flaws and imperfections. That’s good<\/strong> because you can memorize them<\/strong> and be able to identify your stone later. In ten years, you’ll be able to look under the scope and say “Yes, that’s my diamond.<\/strong>” With cleaner diamonds (especially VVS stones<\/strong>) it gets much harder to find identifying spots that you can memorize. So sometimes, flaws are a good thing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

“You’re Looking a Little Yellow.”<\/h2>\n

\nWhen diamonds get larger in size, the color of the stone is more apparent<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

\nSo a J color stone may look really yellow<\/strong> as a 1.00 carat, versus a 1\/2 carat, where color is less noticeable<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

\nLuckily, bigger stones do have more brilliance and shine and fire, so light that dances in the stone often will help hide color<\/strong>, and, if that J color (or lower color) diamond is set into a yellow gold mounting, then it really helps hide the fact that’s it’s a yellow stone.<\/p>\n

\nI usually suggest that people purchase a diamond color of at least G-H<\/strong>, that way color doesn’t become an issue.<\/p>\n

“But I’m Worth It.”<\/h2>\n

\nBigger stones hold their value well. They’re easier to re-sell, especially if that stone is certified<\/strong> (which most bigger stones are).<\/p>\n

“Don’t Knock it.”<\/h2>\n

\nBut… bigger stones are also much more vulnerable to hitting, bumping, breaking, and chipping<\/strong>. I mean, they’re big<\/strong>, you’re gonna knock it on something. That’s just the sacrifice<\/strong> you have with such a large stone (and by large<\/strong>, I’m generally talking about 1 carat or higher<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

Looks are Deceiving.<\/h2>\n

\nThe great thing is, you don’t always have to spend tons to get “a big look.<\/strong>” <\/p>\n

\nHere are a couple of tips and tricks<\/strong> to help you out:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Buy Spread Stones<\/strong> – Spread stones are stones that are cut wider and narrow to give the illusion<\/strong> that they’re bigger than they really are. So a .75 carat diamond will look more like a 1.00 carat. Just be careful though, often spread stones leak light (less brilliance<\/strong>), and they can also become more <\/strong>vulnerable, because the edges of the stone are thinner.<\/strong><\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  2. Buy Light Carat Weights<\/strong> – (I really recommend this.<\/strong>) Light carat weights are diamonds that are right under the mark.<\/strong> Which means, instead of buying a 1.00 carat diamond, buy a .95 carat. Instead of buying a .50 carat, Buy a .42 carat… You’re going light<\/strong>. Light carat weights will visibly look <\/strong>the same size as the bigger stone (you can’t tell the difference between a couple of points), but the price will generally drop hundreds of dollars.<\/strong><\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  3. Buy a Fancy Cut Diamond<\/strong> – Fancy cuts, like princess, cushion and radiant, look big, but usually will run you thousands of dollars less than a round diamond of the same quality. Fancy cuts are every <\/strong>cut of diamond there is except <\/strong>for the round cut (brilliant cut) diamond. Now if that doesn’t grab your fancy<\/strong>, I don’t know what will.<\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  4. Buy a Whiter Diamond<\/strong> – I really, really love pure white diamonds.<\/strong> Love them. Colorless stones (pure white) are the highest color range there is in diamond color. They are D, E and F colors<\/strong>, and they really do brighten <\/strong>up a diamond like there’s a spot light<\/strong> on them. It not only whitens the stone, but makes it look bigger<\/strong> as well. It’s such an incredible <\/strong>sight to see. Compare a colorless diamond to a near colorless (G-H-I-J<\/strong>) diamond and see for yourself. It’s a night and day difference. <\/strong>:)<\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  5. Buy a halo mounting<\/strong> – A halo mounting<\/a> features one center stone, that’s surrounded by lots of smaller stones that circle around the main diamond. What it does is make the stone (and entire mounting) look bigger<\/strong>, and it adds a lot of sparkle and pizzazz to the ring. I like how they look, they catch a lot of light and will dance in her eyes.<\/strong><\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  6. Buy One Carat Total Weights<\/strong> – Like I said, 1.00 carats are “the dream carat weight<\/strong>“, but that doesn’t mean you need to buy her a full 1.00 carat solitaire stone<\/strong>… You could cheat <\/strong>a little and buy her a ring that’s 1.00 carat total <\/strong>weight, which is a ring that has multiple diamonds (like the halo<\/a> mentioned above) that when added up, total 1.00 carat<\/strong> all together. You’re still getting her that 1.00 carat ring, it’s just divided up. Your price will cut in half.<\/strong> And that, you can’t beat.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \nPlus<\/strong>, when shopping for diamonds, try to skip any diamonds that have fluorescence<\/strong>. Fluorescence can (not always<\/strong>) make a diamond look foggy, hazy, or cloudy. Especially if you buy her a diamond that’s white<\/strong>, and clean<\/strong> (and expensive<\/strong>)… Fluorescence can really kill the beauty<\/strong> and life of a stone.<\/p>\n

    See, Carat Weight Really Does Matter.<\/h2>\n

    \nNow, take a peek at a few diamonds that will also make her smile big.<\/strong> :)<\/p>\n

    \nThese are big stones, without the big price.<\/strong> :)<\/p>\n

    \n.90 Carat, Cushion Cut, VS1 Clarity, E Color.<\/a><\/p>\n

    \n.90 Carat, Heart Cut, SI1 Clarity, E Color.<\/a><\/p>\n

    \n.91 Carat, Heart Cut, SI1 Clarity, H Color.<\/a><\/p>\n

    \n.92 Carat, Emerald Cut, SI1 Clarity, G Color.<\/a><\/p>\n

    \n.89 Carat, Pear Cut, SI1 Clarity, E Color.<\/a><\/p>\n

    \n.90 Carat, Princess Cut, SI1 Clarity, F Color.<\/a><\/p>\n

    \n.91 Carat, Radiant Cut, SI1 Clarity, F Color.<\/a><\/p>\n

    \nOr… You could always check out the low low prices of lab-grown diamonds<\/a>, allowing you to buy big, and save money at the same time.<\/p>\n

    \nCHEERS! :)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Most people don’t give carat weight much thought. They tend to buy the biggest carat weight they can afford and that’s that. After all, it’s a pretty known fact that size does matter. Right? Men [Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,29,3],"tags":[908,1826,287],"class_list":["post-2684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-carat-weight","category-diamond-guide","category-diamonds","tag-big-diamonds","tag-bigger-carat-weights","tag-carat-weight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2684"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}