The diamond is the hardest mineral on Earth, scoring a hefty ten on the Mohs hardness scale. It is one of the rarest metals as well, and only a few locales in the world consistently produce diamonds of the highest quality. Not all diamonds make the cut (literally), and a percentage of diamonds end up in the industrial diamond market for use in abrasive and cutting products.
The value of a 1-carat diamond isn’t stable – it depends on a variety of factors, including the 4Cs, which we will be discussing later on. Using a diamond price calculator might give you a good average, but the prices of diamonds in the market will vary per store or jewelry dealer. Diamond worth is determined by the source of the jewelry, brand, maker, and other determinants that create the final value of a diamond setting.
On average, you may find diamond rings and other jewelry with a price of one thousand dollars to twelve thousand dollars per carat of diamond. The average range is quite extensive, so it’s not truly helpful if you think about it. It’s essential to understand the rarity of crystals and how the market seeks them to become genuinely adept in valuing diamonds per carat.
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Notes on Fancy Color Diamonds
Colored diamonds are specimens of diamonds that have noticeable or visible body colors when you look at them from above. The two most common colors in the diamond world are brown diamonds and yellow diamonds. When we say “common,” it just means that these are slightly more available in the market than the other colored diamonds. Diamonds by and large are hard to mine.
How rare are colored diamonds?
It has been calculated that out of 100,000 viable diamonds, you will only get one colored diamond – and there is no guarantee that you will get any of the fancier colors in the process. Finding them is mostly hit and miss.
The intensity of the colors of diamonds can be evaluated as being very light to being genuinely vivid. For a diamond to qualify as a fancy colored diamond, the diamond must clearly state its color when positioned in a “face-up” manner.
Are there synthetic colored diamonds?
Yes, there are synthetic colored diamonds. These are diamonds that are grown and synthesized in a lab, and they are being sold in the market for many years now. If you think that they cost just as much as diamonds found in the rough, then they don’t.
Synthetic diamonds are far cheaper, and these are an excellent alternative to naturally occurring crystals because these are more affordable. The cost of manufacturing diamonds in a lab is far lower than mining them, so this explains the disparity with the prices.
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The 4Cs of Buying Diamonds
There are four major determinants of buying diamonds collectively known as the 4Cs: color, clarity, cut, and carat weight.
Cut
Cut refers to the various proportions of the diamond of itself after cutting. The individual surfaces of a diamonds (also called facets) are considered essential in grading and assigning a value to a diamond specimen.
There are three kinds of cut: shallow, ideal, and deep. Diamonds that are cut ideally are best because diamonds with the best clarity can look a little on the dull side if they are cut too shallow or intensely. The four grades of cut used by jewelers are:
- Ideal – About three percent of the world’s diamond supply falls into this category. Ideal diamonds reflect most of the light that hits the surface of the gemstone.
- Very Good – Diamonds that fall under Very Good do not reflect as much light as the Ideal ones, but they still look spectacular to the naked eye in terms of facets and reflections. About fifteen percent of diamonds in the market are graded VG.
- Good/G is the average rating for most diamonds, representing 25% of the diamonds used in jewelry. Much of the light that enters a G-graded ring is still reflected, but the level of reflection is different from a VG, and I diamond.
Color
As we have discussed earlier, fancy colored diamonds are top of the diamond world’s line and are sought after because of their extreme rarity. The color of a diamond specimen is graded professionally and contributes partly to the value of any specific piece of diamond or diamond jewelry.
The highest possible grade for diamonds is D, which is a colorless diamond. Many people seek D-grade diamonds when they want to invest their money in this gemstone truly. Is diamond the most expensive gemstone? Click to know more.
Many jewelry stores only sell D-F, G-H, and I-J graded diamonds. This rating system applies to white diamonds only. The faint colors found in white diamonds reduce their value, while the depth and quality of colored diamonds produce the opposite effect.
Clarity
The examination of diamond clarity focuses on imperfections on the surface of the diamond (also called blemishes) and imperfections on the inside (called inclusions). Professional gemologists often talk about these things in terms of internal characteristics.
Naturally formed gemstones will have imperfections (they’re reasonable), so the gems have to be graded according to their flawlessness. An “eye clean” diamond means that you won’t spot any blemishes on the stone when you inspect it with the naked eye.
The various grades for clarity include Flawless (FL) (these are diamonds that have zero internal characteristics or external characteristics), Internally Flawless (IF), Very, Very Slightly Included (VVS1 and VVS2), up to Included, which has three subgrades – I1, I2, and I3.
Carat
Carat refers to the weight of the specimen of the diamond being examined. The value of a carat is directly linked to the rarity of the larger diamond stone from whence the smaller crystal is derived.
The weight of the diamond in question is the most significant factor in pricing, so when buying diamond jewelry, you can go beyond your target carat weight to save money. So if you want a two-carat diamond solitaire ring, you can settle for 1.7 carats, and this will shave a lot off the price tag.
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