Diamond Carat weight
What does diamond carat weight mean?
Carat weight is a unit of measuring the weight of a diamond. People get confused about the carat weight with the size of the diamond, which is two different things.
The carat weight also works on the point system, like:
1 Carat = 100 Cents/ Points, 1 Grain = 25 Points and 1 Carat = 0.200 grams.
What does the Diamond sieve mean?
Diamond Sieves are the measuring instruments specially for diamonds that come under the size categories of -2, Star, Melle, and +11 to 20, and are manufactured to meet the proper requirements of the diamond Industry. They offer a rapid and extremely accurate method of sizing. In the local Indian market language, they are also known as CHALNI or CHARNI.
The table below is for a better understanding of how the diamonds are mainly sold by sieve sizes. The groups under sieve ranges have specific names, and weight ranges are as given below:
|
GROUP NAME
|
SIEVE SIZE
|
APPROX WT IN CARAT
|
|
-2
|
-2
|
<0.005
|
|
STARS
|
+2 TO -6.5
|
0.006 – 0.02
|
|
MELE
|
+6.5 TO -11
|
0.021 – 0.07
|
|
+11(BIG MELE)
|
+11 TO -14
|
0.08 – 0.13
|
|
+14
|
+14 TO -15.5
|
0.14 – 0.17
|
|
1/5TH
|
|
0.18 – 0.22
|
|
1/4TH (QUARTERS)
|
|
0.23 – 0.29
|
|
30 POINTERS
|
|
ABOVE 30 CENTS
|
|
40 POINTERS
|
|
ABOVE 40 CENTS
|
|
50 POINTERS
|
|
ABOVE 50 CENTS
|
|
SOLITAIRE
|
|
1.00 CARAT AND ABOVE
|
Generally, a customer would understand a solitaire as any single diamond, but the market understands it as above 1 carat. It is not advisable to do sieving for bigger sizes for fear of the girdle and culet getting damaged. For bigger sizes, the weight of the individual stone is checked differently.
Table showing the Carat weight with the Sieve Number.
|
SIEVE NUMBER
|
DIAM(MM)
|
CARAT
|
|
+0.0 to -1.5
|
1.10
|
0.0066
|
|
+1.5 to -2.5
|
1.20
|
0.0086
|
|
+2.5 to -3.5
|
1.25
|
0.0098
|
|
+3.5 to -4.0
|
1.30
|
0.0125
|
|
+4.0 to -4.5
|
1.40
|
0.0136
|
|
+4.5 to -5.0
|
1.50
|
0.0145
|
|
+5.0 to -5.5
|
1.55
|
0.0157
|
|
+5.5 to -6.0
|
1.60
|
0.0188
|
|
+6.0 to -6.5
|
1.70
|
0.0211
|
|
+6.5 to -7.0
|
1.80
|
0.0267
|
|
+7.0 to -7.5
|
1.90
|
0.0305
|
|
+7.5 to -8.0
|
2.00
|
0.0347
|
|
+8.0 to -8.5
|
2.10
|
0.0418
|
|
+8.5 to -9.0
|
2.20
|
0.0418
|
|
+9.0 to -9.5
|
2.30
|
0.0511
|
|
+9.5 to -10.0
|
2.40
|
0.0581
|
|
+10.0 to -10.5
|
2.50
|
0.0651
|
|
+10.5 to -11.0
|
2.60
|
0.0726
|
|
+11.0 to -11.5
|
2.70
|
0.0774
|
|
+11.5 to -12.0
|
2.80
|
0.0837
|
|
+12.0 to -12.5
|
2.90
|
0.0983
|
|
+12.5 to -13.0
|
3.00
|
0.1100
|
|
+13.0 to -13.5
|
3.10
|
0.1177
|
|
+13.5 to -14.0
|
3.20
|
0.1290
|
|
+14.0 to -14.5
|
3.30
|
0.1457
|
|
+14.5 to -15.0
|
3.40
|
0.1533
|
|
+15.0 to -15.5
|
3.50
|
0.1646
|
|
+15.5 to -16.0
|
3.60
|
0.1820
|
|
+16.0 to -16.5
|
3.70
|
0.1989
|
|
+16.5 to -17.0
|
3.80
|
0.2060
|
|
+17.0 to -17.5
|
3.90
|
0.2300
|
|
+17.5 to -18.0
|
4.00
|
0.2480
|
|
+18.0 to -18.5
|
4.10
|
0.2560
|
|
+18.5 to -19.0
|
4.20
|
0.2650
|
|
+19.0 to -19.5
|
4.30
|
0.3000
|
A Few Tips on carat:
-
There are certain types of settings that can make your diamond appear bigger than its actual size, such as a halo setting.
- Any design with the side diamond will also make the centre diamonds look bigger than their actual size, for example, in a Pave setting.
- Buy the Diamond whose carat weight is below a whole or half-carat. For example, if you want a diamond of 1 Carat, then you should go for the 0.90-0.99 carat weighted diamonds.
