How Much 1 Carat Diamonds Are Actually Worth

When it comes to diamonds, size does matter.

And when it comes to how much a 1 carat diamond is worth, the price tag can vary greatly.

Because 1 carat diamonds are so popular for engagement rings and other fine jewelry, their price can range from $3,000 to $17,000, depending on its quality factors, such as its clarity and color.

When shopping for a diamond, it’s important to keep in mind the “Four Cs.” The Four Cs of diamonds stand for Carat, Cut, Clarity and Color.

These are the factors that determine a diamond’s quality and, ultimately, its price

So how do diamond prices vary?

And what determines how much a particular diamond is worth? In this blog post, we will explore the world of diamonds and answer these questions!

What Is A Carat?

A carat is a measure of weight, not size.

One carat is equal to 200 milligrams, or 0.007055 ounces. One carat can be divided into 100 “points.” So a diamond that is 50 points, or 0.50 carats, would be described as a “half-carat” diamond.

You can have a shallow cut diamond that weighs 1 carat but that is twice the size of a deep cut 1 carat.

They both weigh the same but one looks to be twice as big.

When it’s time to buy that special engagement ring, or to buy up from a smaller diamond to a larger one, merely saying that you want a 2 carat stone usually means that you want it to look bigger than the 1 carat stone typically does and are prepared to pay a hefty price to do so.

But should you have to?

Understanding Diamond Size vs Weight

Diamonds are cut to maximize their weight because that is how they are sold for the most money.

They will be cut in such a way to retain maximum weight even at the expense of retaining some flaws and inclusions that are undesirable.

Yet, there is more of an emotional punch in looking at a larger diamond as opposed to looking at a smaller diamond, just as long as they both sparkle nicely.

If you were to go into a jewelry store and ask to see loose diamonds, your eyes would naturally gravitate towards the ones that were larger in size rather than the ones that you were told weighed more.

So what gives?

Customers want it both ways.

We say this because, while customers want their diamond to look big and sparkle big, they also want to be able to claim that their stone “weighs big” too.

Just the sound of saying that you have a 1 carat diamond as the center stone of your ring sounds better emotionally than saying that your diamond weighs .95 of a carat.

Imagine that.

Why should that measly .05 of a carat weight make you shy away from buying and bragging about your stone that is well cut and that has better color, and caused you to pay thousands of dollars more than for a “1 carat” stone that’s got issues?

But there it is.

Factors That Determine How Much A Diamond Costs

You would think that there would be a hard standard to determine the prices of diamonds the same way that is used to determine the price it costs per square foot to build a house.

But both are going to be subjective to many other factors than just a set standard. Standards are starting points, but they can never determine final value or cost when we speak of marketing.

Here are a few factors that will affect the cost of a diamond. Let’s follow one diamond.

Quality

The 4Cs of diamonds stand for Carat weight, Cut, Clarity and Color. They indicate the quality of a particular diamond. While weight can have a significant impact on price, the other three factors are also important.

• Cut. A well-cut diamond will appear brighter and have more sparkle than a poorly cut one. Cut is judged on how well the diamond has been proportioned and how symmetrical it is. The better the cut, the higher the price.
• Clarity. Diamonds are graded on how many blemishes or inclusions they have. The fewer the blemishes, the higher the grade and the price.
• Color. Diamonds are judged on how colorless they are. The less color, the higher the grade and the price.
• Carat weight. And finally how big the diamond is, which does have the biggest impact on price when combined with the other three factors. A very heavy diamond with no color and is very clear will be priced very high.

Marketing

After a diamond is mined, cut and polished, it is sent to market.

Which company bought it?

Did they buy it as part of a bulk package?

Where is it going to be sold at?

What are the market conditions in the area in which the diamond will be sold?

Marketing is what determines how much a diamond will be sold for and how much profit the company that is selling it will make.

Hype

You could also call this marketing, but this factor is different because now the sterile facts about a diamond become blurred in favor of the emotional.

Hype is what the store owners and diamond dealers are using to sell any particular diamond with. It is the emotional component that is used to push a sale of a particular diamond to the public consumer.

Setting

There it sits, a loose diamond vs a mounted diamond. Which has a more likely chance to sell?

If a diamond is set into a mounting that is a name brand, designer made or “custom made” then a customer will pay 100% more or even higher for that same diamond than if it was just sold loose by itself, regardless of the size or weight of the stone.

Why Are Some Diamonds More Expensive Than Others

All marketing hype aside, some diamonds are flat just better than others.

Really.

Some are better cut and therefore they are far more brilliant, some are all that, plus they are larger in size and maybe even in weight too, and some are dressed up so nicely in their designer mountings that the consumer does not really get put off by a lower diamond grade as long as everything is nice and shiny looking.

All things considered, the customer will be the one who decides what they are willing to pay and for their own reasons.

How Much Does A 1 Carat Diamond Cost

You may notice that a 1 carat diamond seems to be the greatest size and weight that people gravitate to when asking questions about diamonds.

Why not a half carat or a 5 carat diamond?

Well, the “standard” of diamond size seems to be 1 carat, simply because this size is what diamond cutters are shooting for when they cut stone because these are the most marketed size for the amount of money they want to get for their work.

This is because 1 carat diamonds are very popular among engagement rings. It’s a nice round number and the diamond itself is not too big or too small.

A one carat diamond price tag can range wildly however!

The lower the price, the worse characteristics the stone will have.

The higher the price tag, it is assumed that the better the characteristics it will have. So to answer this question, we will simply answer by averaging out both extremes:

The average 1 carat diamond will cost around $4-6K.This is what you can typically be prepared to pay for that size stone if it is just sitting loose by itself on a table.

What is the Rapaport Price List?

The Rapaport Price List is a wholesale price list of diamonds that is used by diamond dealers as a transaction guide to buy and sell diamonds.

It’s like the Kelly Blue Book for diamonds, and it’s how most diamond dealers price diamonds when they are buying and selling to other diamond dealers.

The Rapaport Price List is published every month, and it lists the prices of diamonds based on size, quality, and shape.

The prices shown on the Rapaport Price List are wholesale, meaning that they are the prices at which diamond dealers buy and sell diamonds to each other, not the retail prices that you see in jewelry stores.

Why You Should (or Shouldn’t) Ignore The Rapaport Price List

The Rapaport Price List is a good starting point to understanding how much diamonds cost, but it’s important to remember that the prices on the Rapaport Price List are wholesale prices, not retail prices.

Truth is, sentimental value is vague and how much a person is willing to pay for a diamond has more to do with how they feel about their significant other than anything else, but in the end the market will decide how much a particular diamond is worth.

Well, you can ignore the Rapaport Price List if you are the consumer who is in the market to buy a diamond.

Simply tell the jeweler that you are not interested or impressed with the Rapaport standard because you have your own standards.

The Rapaport Price List is mostly a marketing tool to be used between diamond dealers and diamond sellers so that each of them can calculate what to expect to get in a ballpark amount for their diamonds.

It helps “fix” prices and keep them stable, otherwise diamond prices will become just as arbitrary as the creative services.

Diamond Price Chart

Color	SI2	SI1	VS2	VS1	VVS1	Internally Flawless	Flawless
D.E.F	$5,000	$6,000	$7,700	$8,300	$10,400	$12,100	$17,000
G.H.I	$4,400	$5,400	$6,500	$6,800	$7,300	$8,400	$13,000
J.K.L	$3,300	$3,500	$3,700	$4,000	$4,400	$4,600	$6,000
M-R	$2,700	$3,000	$3,200	$3,500	$3,700	$3,900	$5,000
S-Z	$2,000	$2,300	$2,500	$2,600	$2,800	$3,000	$4,000

As you can see from the chart, diamond prices can vary widely, even for diamonds of the same carat weight. The main factors that affect a diamond’s price are its color, clarity, and cut.

Be advised that most 1 carat+ diamonds found in jewelry stores are usually already set in mountings. This will have a rather dramatic affect on what you will be paying.

What Are The Different Types of Diamonds And How Do They Affect Price

Diamonds come in different shapes and sizes. However, not all diamonds will be priced the same for the same weight.

The shape of a diamond will have a dramatic impact on a diamond price because there are shapes that are more preferred, such as round.

Let’s look at a few shapes to get an idea of this.

Round Cut Diamonds

Most popular shape of all.

Round brilliant diamonds reached their maximum brilliance in the early 1900’s when the increased number of facets reached 58.

This optimized light reflection and refraction.

These diamonds consist of 75% of the market place and command the highest price. The fact that 50% or more of the gem is lost during cutting to achieve this shape for brilliance contributes to their high market price.

Princess Cut

This shape is a modern version of the round brilliant and is the second most popular among diamonds. Their outstanding light dispersion and affordable cost makes them very desirable.

Because this cut conceals small inclusions and shadows that would easily show up in other shapes, it is possible to purchase a lower grade diamond of the same weight without sacrificing brilliance.

This shape can claim the title of being the most brilliant among square and rectangular diamonds.

Marquise Cut

We bring up this shape for contrast to the two shapes above.

This shape may be the least popular shape due to difficulty in designing a mounting for it. Though you will have the perception of owning a larger stone due to shape, the ends of the diamonds are prone to being chipped and setting them to protect them will be a challenge.

You will be able to find some pretty spectacular marquise diamonds at far more competitive prices if you have an imagination for how to protect them in a mounting.

FAQ’s About 1 Carat Diamonds

Is a 1 carat diamond big?

For most people, a 1 carat diamond is large, but not too large. It can appear much bigger if you mount it into a “halo” setting, which simply consists of small diamonds or other gemstones completely surrounding the main stone.

This will provide a big look and will discourage you from wanting to trade up for larger in the future. A one carat stone has a table that is big enough to show when it is dirty.

If cut properly, it can measure 6.5 millimeters across.

But it can be a shallow cut and measure more across the surface, or it can be a deep cut and be smaller.

Is a 1 carat engagement ring too small?

A 1 carat diamond engagement ring just about right for most sizes of hands, both men and women’s, which is one of the main reasons why this size sells the most.

It can be made to look bigger or smaller depending on if it is set as a solitaire or if you have it set up with other stones to enhance the size of the ring.

Which carat diamond is best?

If you’re looking to save money and enjoy the benefits of a large diamond, then the best carat weight is probably around 0.90 – 0.95ct.

This size will have all of the brilliance and fire of a larger stone, but at a much more affordable price point.

Typically, you may have to buy smaller carat diamonds at a time in life when your economic situation calls for it, but will be able to upgrade later in life if desired.

Many people have sentimental attachments and feel absolutely no desire to size up their original diamond.

Others realize that they already have the optimal size for their hand size.

What is a good size diamond for an engagement ring?

We feel that a good size center diamond will range anywhere for .50 to 1 carat weight depending on how it is set up with or without other smaller diamonds with it. It also depends on the size and length of a woman’s hand.

The most popular size is 1 carat, not .99 carat.

Oh no, we mustn’t do that, heaven forbid.

But that may be because, psychologically, it is the minimum size of what is expected to avoid social “questions” about the sincerity or financial position of gifter to the giftee.

I know, right?

Is a 2 carat diamond big?

Two carat diamonds are pretty big and they tend to stick up pretty high off the finger too.

Somehow though, a woman quickly seems to get over that though.

If you get well over the 2 carat size, then it needs to have a better clarity at the very least and a color of J or better (unless you are going for a champagne or colored diamond) because internal flaws will show more than in a smaller stone.

Final Thoughts

The value of a 1 carat diamond is certainly going to depend on the particular grading it has.

You may be better off wearing a 1 carat moissanite stone until later in life when you can afford a diamond that is “worthy” to leave behind to your heir.

Few will “know” to be frank.

We have quite a few patients, er, we mean customers who come in and spend money on lesser quality items and later regret it.

When they add up all the money that burned a hole in their pocket that was spent on various pieces of “just buy it, it is a great price” jewelry, they could have waited and bought a fantastic diamond that you could see “cutting up” brilliantly from across the street in the right light.