At what point do you start seeing differences in carat size?

[Anonymous6]

I'm in talks with a vendor from Whiteflash and he listed several diamonds varying from 1.5-1.7 in carat weight/size (is it weight or size?)

I asked to see one on the smaller end and one on the larger end of that range, to which he responded the difference would literally be maybe the thickness of a normal piece of copy paper and hardly noticeable to the naked eye.

I do know I noticed a difference in size when looking at a 1.5 vs a 1.87.... but that makes more sense then say a 1.5 to a 1.65.

Just want to get a gauge on when you all start noticing the difference. And, of course other specifications would come into play here I know...

looking at a 1.52ct with triple ex certification, great color and clarity may look just as big as say a 1.67ct with lower color and clarity and say triple VG certification, correct?

 

[Circe]

Re: At what point do you start seeing differences in carat s

It sort of depends on what kind of an eagle eye you're training on it. Received wisdom on the board is that a well-cut stone will always look better than a slightly less well-cut stone, because it will have better light return. But don't focus on carat size - check out the actual mm proportions as well.

 

[Frenchcut]

Re: At what point do you start seeing differences in carat s

It sort of depends on what kind of an eagle eye you're training on it. Received wisdom on the board is that a well-cut stone will always look better than a slightly less well-cut stone, because it will have better light return. But don't focus on carat size - check out the actual mm proportions as well.

I agree with Circe, cut is essential to the beauty of a diamond: you should focus on cut even if it means having a slightly smaller diamond. Also, I don't think you would see a difference between a 1.5 and a 1.7 diamond unless you have eagle eyes But maybe there are some very "size sensitive" people like there are some very "color sensitive" people...?

 

[antelope1]

Re: At what point do you start seeing differences in carat s

You definitely have to look at the dimensions. I find that i can definitely pick up a difference of 0.5mm in diameter, even when the diamonds are not next to each other.

This is assuming that everything is cut the same -- if you get a larger diamond that is cut so poorly that the edges do not reflect light, it could look smaller than a 1 ct with bright edges.

 

[demirci]

Re: At what point do you start seeing differences in carat s

I'd go for the better cut. You are already lookign at two big stones, the difference is probably not going to be noticed even if they are side by side.

Assuming both stones are cut same with comparable depth table etc. I would suggest that as a quick and dirty tool, add 5% to the diameter, or multiply it by 1.05 That should be the approximate increase in diameter if you want to notice the size difference. From my personal experience, I found this 5% rule to work great, see if it works for you.

As the stone gets bigger you need to add more carats to have the visual size difference, because increasing the diameter of a huge stone proportionately requires much more carats.For example, it is easy to pick out the bigger stone when you are comparing a 0.7 and a 0.8ct, but you'd have a very very difficult time picking the bigger one if they showed you a 1.5 vs 1.6ct.

 

[bigterpsfan]

Re: At what point do you start seeing differences in carat s

I'd go for the better cut. You are already lookign at two big stones, the difference is probably not going to be noticed even if they are side by side.

Assuming both stones are cut same with comparable depth table etc. I would suggest that as a quick and dirty tool, add 5% to the diameter, or multiply it by 1.05 That should be the approximate increase in diameter if you want to notice the size difference. From my personal experience, I found this 5% rule to work great, see if it works for you.

As the stone gets bigger you need to add more carats to have the visual size difference, because increasing the diameter of a huge stone proportionately requires much more carats.For example, it is easy to pick out the bigger stone when you are comparing a 0.7 and a 0.8ct, but you'd have a very very difficult time picking the bigger one if they showed you a 1.5 vs 1.6ct.

I agree with this statement. I was chosing between two very well proportioned round diamionds. One was 1.21C and the other was 1.37. while I could tell the difference, I had to put them next to each other and double check a couple of times. I ended up with the 1.37, not because of the size difference, but the proportions were almost "perfect." I paid for it though

 

[Amys Bling]

Re: At what point do you start seeing differences in carat s

I'd go for the better cut. You are already lookign at two big stones, the difference is probably not going to be noticed even if they are side by side.

Assuming both stones are cut same with comparable depth table etc. I would suggest that as a quick and dirty tool, add 5% to the diameter, or multiply it by 1.05 That should be the approximate increase in diameter if you want to notice the size difference. From my personal experience, I found this 5% rule to work great, see if it works for you.

As the stone gets bigger you need to add more carats to have the visual size difference, because increasing the diameter of a huge stone proportionately requires much more carats.For example, it is easy to pick out the bigger stone when you are comparing a 0.7 and a 0.8ct, but you'd have a very very difficult time picking the bigger one if they showed you a 1.5 vs 1.6ct.

I agree with this statement. I was chosing between two very well proportioned round diamionds. One was 1.21C and the other was 1.37. while I could tell the difference, I had to put them next to each other and double check a couple of times. I ended up with the 1.37, not because of the size difference, but the proportions were almost "perfect." I paid for it though

totally agree. Go with the better cut. When looking at a .2 ct difference, the better cut stone wins out- definitely. Brighter, whiter, and if that is the smaller stone the light reflection will make it look better.