The Carat Weight of Diamonds
The carat weight, abbreviated ‘cts.’, refers to the weight of the diamond. One carat is one-fifth (.200) of a gram. Any weight under 1.00 carat is referred to as points. Carat weight is written similar to dollars and cents so a diamond that weighs 1.25cts is said to be “1carat and 25 points”.
The pricing of diamonds is done on a ‘per carat’ basis. The larger the diamond, the more scarce it may be, resulting in a higher ‘per carat’ price. There are also pricing differences for diamonds below an even carat benchmark (1.97cts.) and above the benchmark (2.01cts.).
