Diamond carat weight is the measurement of how much a diamond weighs. A metric “carat” is defined as 200 milligrams.
Each carat can be subdivided into 100 ‘points.’ This allows very precise measurements to the hundredth decimal place. A jeweler may describe the weight of a diamond below one carat by its ‘points’ alone. For instance, the jeweler may refer to a diamond that weighs 0.25 carats as a ‘twenty-five pointer.’ Diamond weights greater than one carat are expressed in carats and decimals. A 1.08 carat stone would be described as ‘one point oh eight carats.’
Some weights are considered “magic sizes” – half carat, three-quarter carat, and carat. Interesting to note that when it comes to a diamond’s value, visually, there’s little difference between a 0.99 carat diamond and one that weighs a full carat (Magic Size). But the price differences between the two can be quite significant.
