Weight Diamonds are weighed and sold by carats or points prior to being set into jewelry. Carats and points are both units of measure, just like pounds, grams, or ounces. Each Perrywinkle diamond is weighed on a precision carat scale as part of its certification and then it’s weighed again, in front of you, prior to being set into its ring.
Carat Why do we use carat instead of for instance, grams? Because carat comes from the word carob, and hundreds of years ago diamonds were weighed using a simple balance. The Carob seeds were a handy unit of measure due to their consistent size and weight relative to diamonds. The old “carob” tradition stuck -- just as the United States has yet to convert to the modern metric system. In case you were wondering, if we converted to the “carob system” and you are about average, you’d weigh 86 million carats! Think of carat weight as the diamonds’ overall size but not necessarily, the size you see when set in a ring.
Points One carat is equal to approximately one fifth of a gram and one carat has 100 points -- just like one dollar has 100 cents. So, a ¼ carat diamond is approximately 22 points to 28 points; a 5/8 carat diamond is approximately 58 points to 69 points; and a two carat diamond is exactly or near 200 points, and so on. Points is an especially confusing term because people often think of points as “points-of-light” from within the diamond (called scintillation or sparkle) or the “points” where a diamond’s different surfaces meet. Nope, it’s none of the above. Points just mean weight. The term Carat is also confusing because the homonym karat is used when referring to the percentage of gold content in jewelry as in fourteen-karat-gold.
Price How does size affect price? Diamonds are priced like lobsters except the price jumps are even more dramatic. Sometimes the price can increase a lot for just a little bit of additional weight. One 2lb. lobster $39.99 Two 1lb lobsters $12.99 each A beautiful half-carat diamond that sells for $1600 would cost $6000 if it were a one carat with identical characteristics. 1 carat = $6000 1/2 carat = $1600 each Accuracy Perrywinkle’s uses a Swiss-made Mettler® CB203 diamond scale which is accurate to the nearest hundredth of a point. For example, a diamond that weighs 97.6 points Perrywinkle’s rounds down to 97 points and if it weighs 97.7 points it rounds up to 98 points. The weight is then documented on a numbered certificate. The certificate number is then microscopically laser inscribed on the outer edge of the diamond (currently on stones 40 points and larger). It is not unheard of, especially with chain stores, to see the weight of a diamond merely estimated.
