The one thing that everyone watches when picking out an engagement ring is the center stone. One carat stones are so common these days that it’s easy to make the mistake of thinking they are also the most popular. When it comes to most buyers, you usually see that they choose just under a carat for the centerpiece stone—close to around 0.75 carat. A look at the most common wedding rings should tell you that diamond prices go up right at the one-carat mark, which is why most people pick to stay under one carat.
Why People Go with 0.75 ct
The size difference between the two is generally hard to notice, unless you have two completely dissimilar shapes in front of you. One-carat does not necessarily mean that you get something of a much larger diameter than 0.75ct— sometimes you only see differences of fractions of an mm. That being the case, it is safe to assume that no one would notice the disparity when looking at popular diamond engagement rings. Since people can get away with this and actually pay a lot less, they try and do just that, often in order to stay within budget.
Difference in Sizes
Considering how the three-quarter carat size is so much more popular, you might wonder at all the excitement surrounding the one-carat. Specifically, the latter is all about status and preference, mainly due to the fact that the larger a diamond is, the harder it likely was to find and cut into the sparkly shape it now possesses. The stone’s cost has a lot to do with that one factor, as well as with its degree of flawlessness. This explains why you see so many celebrities rocking humongous diamonds that give off a catchy shine from miles away. Prices rise significantly at the one-carat mark, and go even higher when you reach or go beyond two carats.
Size alone does not dictate the value of a stone, however. There are different grades assigned to each stone based on other things, and sometime a high-grade 0.75ct diamond might just be better as an investment than a poor-grade 1ct one. These other things comprise quality of cut, clarity, and color hues.
Difference in Shapes and Cuts
The shape of a diamond that you see at a jeweler has a lot to do with what it is worth on the market. The reason for this is that some shapes and cuts make the stone look bigger and sometimes more beautiful. For example, the marquise cut imbues a stone with a larger table, which effectively means that a greater percentage of the diamond stays visible when it is set on a ring. This works for a lot of buyers who wish for a larger diamond with a lower carat weight, as do other vertically cut shapes like the pear and the oval.
Another way to gain some extra visual appeal is through getting more diamond weight into the picture. If a buyer is able to spend enough to get a diamond of two carats or above, they are bound to find out that at those sizes, it is easier to spot individual things that actually make a diamond beautiful.
One good example is the heart shape, which looks better on a larger ring because the arches are more fully highlighted, and able to showcase the heart shape to best effect. With too small a stone, this effect would be hard to make out from even a short distance. Even Asscher and emerald cuts deliver the same kind of effect when in larger carat, because the larger stones are able to lay out the intricacies which step facet cuts invariably come with.
Is It Possible For A Diamond To Be Too Big?
While 0.75ct diamonds are in fact the most commonly purchased stones out there, that does not mean that they are the right size for just anyone. There are buyers for whom it may be too big, because their hands are too small, or their fingers too thin. Some may find that having a larger diamond can make the ring uncomfortable to wear. This goes especially for women who use their hands a lot. Daintier rings can be a good choice in many of these situations.
If you ever find yourself trying to pick between a full-carat diamond and one weighing just under it, you need to first realize that the difference is that of simply parts of a millimeter. If you are on a budget that does not stretch far, then getting the former may not be the wise decision. Moreover, scaling back here lets you focus more on the other aspects, such as the color, cut, and clarity, which make up the remaining 4 C’s of every diamond after its carat weight.