Often, many in the gemstone sphere immediately give Carat, one of the 4 Cs, priority over the remaining three Cs: Cut, Color, and Clarity. This is because many people think bigger is better, and as Carat refers to the weight by which gemstones and diamonds are measured, it just has to be the most crucial factor.
Many people fail to understand or realize that the carat weight of a stone is not the same as its size. Similar to how the density of the stone plays a crucial role in its carat weight vs. its visual size, stones with identical carat weights appear differently due to how they carry the weight.
Stones with large crowns and short pavilions can appear more prominent and yet equal in carat weight to stones with small crowns and deep pavilions, which seem less impressive than the former stones, and the same works the other way around. Two stones that look identical in size can bear different carat weights if they are different types of gemstones and are formed differently.
This really could not be further from the truth for so many reasons. Let us explore the meaning of a stone’s carat weight, what the implications are, and how to choose the stone with the proper carat weight.
A gemstone’s size, expressed in a unit of weight, is called a carat or abbreviated “ct.” A carat is a metric unit equivalent to one-fifth of a gram. The carat weight of sapphires does not necessarily define the stone’s value, but in general, per-carat prices increase exponentially with the overall carat weight of the stone.
The effect of carat weight upon sapphire value varies from color to color and Clarity. For example, pastel color opaque sapphires are comparatively plentiful in sizes above five, but five-carat padparadscha sapphires are extremely hard to come by.
The value of Sapphire grows exponentially with a bigger Sapphire Carat Weight
Large sapphires are many times rarer than more petite sapphires, meaning carat prices increase disproportionately – a five-carat sapphire is worth many times more than five one Carat sapphires of comparable quality. Prices for sapphires increase more exponentially or sometimes step-wise when above certain significant carat weights. Expect steep increases in the price per Carat at the one, three, five, and ten-carat levels. Fine blue, pink, orange, or padparadscha sapphires that exceed fifteen carats are extraordinarily valuable and considered Collector items and can fetch very high prices at auction.
Sapphires and diamonds with the same carat weight vary in size because of the different densities of diamonds, sapphires, and other gemstones. For example, Sapphires are heavier than diamonds (higher in specific density), so a 1-carat sapphire is usually a little smaller in dimension than a diamond.
Some calibrated sapphires can are standard in their dimensions for ease of use according to color and shape. However, bespoke cuts of sapphires for a specific setting or a piece of jewelry are truly possible and do not fit these standardizations. These custom-cut sapphires can be more valuable than calibrated sapphires and for rare colors and larger carat sizes where individuality is always preferred over standardization.
In the case of a colored gemstone such as sapphire, color is an essential quality criterion. Diamonds are usually colorless and can therefore be cut in a standardized way. A skilled cutter cuts the sapphire in such a way as to bring out its perfect color. Depending on the size of the rough sapphire gemstone, the natural characteristics such as inclusions and the color center, the cutter decides on the best possible shape, cut, number, and width of facets and thus the final dimensions for a fine sapphire quality in the perfect cut, completely individual and non-standard.
For Various Cuts: Approximate Weights (ct) – Sizes in Millimeters (mm)
A standard-size table is a handy tool for a first assessment. However, sapphire sizes or Carat weights may vary depending on the depth of the sapphire. The rough stone tells the cutter the ideal depth for an even color distribution without a window and the best brilliance of the final faceted sapphire. Therefore please consider the following chart as just a rough point of reference.
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