Triple Excellent Diamonds Diamond size or clarity? That’s a question we get asked a lot. Size and clarity are two of the four critical characteristics determining the quality of a diamond, with cut and colour being the other two. Together they are the 4C’s introduced by GIA, the Gemmological Institute of America, to grade the quality of a diamond. To make it easier for you to find out if size or clarity is best, we’ve put together this helpful guide.
Here’s what this guide will cover:
- How To Determine Diamond Size? Difference between Diamond Size and Carat Weight
- What Is a Good-Sized Diamond? Is Bigger the Better?
- How Does Clarity Affect a Diamond?
- What is a high-clarity diamond and how do inclusions affect it?
- Diamond Carat Size vs Clarity Grade
How To Determine Diamond Size? Difference between Diamond Size and Carat Weight
While they are used interchangeably most of the time, diamond size and carat size are two completely different metrics. Carat size measures the weight of a diamond. One carat is equal to 0.2 grams or 200 milligrams. The Diamond size refers to the diamond’s length and width which is measured in millimeters. A one-carat (1 ct) diamond would usually be between 6.1mm to 6.8mm. While some stones are cut deeper, others are cut shallower, which means that there could be two diamonds with the same carat weight but two different sizes. The thickness of the diamond’s girdle, which is the thin border between the bottom pavilion and the crown of the stone, can also add to this.Diamond Cut Anatomy Diagram
For example, here's a video of three gorgeous radiant cut diamonds in our collection. Even though they seem like they are the same in size, all three have different carat sizes! Also important to know is that diamond sizes differ with each cut. Generally, pear, oval, and marquis shapes appear bigger than the cushion, Asscher, and round brilliant cuts. You can find out more about different diamond cuts here.What Is a Good-Sized Diamond? Is Bigger the Better?
Thanks to Hollywood celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor and Kim Kardashian, many tend to believe that the bigger the diamond is, the better it is in quality. However, this isn’t necessarily always the case. To explain, let’s go back to the 4 C’s we mentioned earlier- carat, colour, clarity, and cut- all the criteria that an ideal diamond needs to possess. Say you are shown a 2 or 3-carat diamond that’s big, but has poor clarity, colour (white diamonds are the highest in quality), and is poorly cut. In this case, a smaller-sized diamond that passes all the 4C’s, is a much better option.
Diamond Inspection Melbourne
How To Avoid Giving Over-Importance to a Diamond’s Size
How Does Clarity Affect a Diamond?
First Let’s Find Out What Inclusions in Diamonds Are
What is a high-clarity diamond and how do inclusions affect it?
Diamond Carat Size vs Clarity Grade
- If you want a bigger diamond that's as affordable as possible, opt for ‘eye-clean’ diamonds which are large stones with no visible flaws seen from a reasonable distance. This would include diamonds within the lower grade of clarity, either a VS2 or S1I.
- If the size is not that important to you and you want a diamond with higher clarity, opt for smaller diamonds in the scale of FL or IF to VS1 and you’ll get a reasonably-sized stone within the range of ‘Internally Flawless’ to very ‘Slightly Included’.
