Carat

Most people want the biggest bang for their buck, so carat weight seems to be the most important. A carat in the gem world is a magic number because it is a whole unit. Carat is derived from the carob seed. Before modern times, diamonds were measured for weight by comparing them to the carob seed which is very uniform in size and weight. So carob became carat to weigh gemstones. There are one hundred points to a carat. Think of it like pennies to a dollar. A gem that weighs 0.25 carat is 25/ 100ths of a carat or a quarter carat, a gem that weighs 0.50 carat is 50/ 100ths of a carat or a half carat, a gem that weighs 0.75 carat is 75/ 100ths of a carat or a three quarter carat, and so on and so forth. A larger diamond is always rarer and than a smaller diamond. The largest rough diamond ever discovered is the Cullinan Diamond. It was discovered in 1905 at the Premier Mine in South Africa. It was cut into nine large diamonds and about one hundred smaller diamonds. The largest of the nine diamonds is the First Star of Africa also known as the Cullinan I. It is a pear shape and weighs 530.2 carats. It is set in the Scepter in the British Crown Jewels. September 24, 2009, a 507 carat rough diamond was discovered at the Cullinan Mine in South Africa.

Two smaller diamonds don’t equal one larger diamond. If you have two 0.50 carat diamonds they will not equal the value of one 1.00 carat diamond if all the other characteristics of the diamonds are the same. For example, as of the publishing date of this article, a 0.50 carat, round brilliant cut diamond, G color and VS2 will cost approximately $3,200.00 (retail) and the same quality 1.00 carat, round brilliant cut diamond, will cost approximately $12,000.00 (retail).

First Star of Africa