Tennis Bracelets - carat weight margin of error?

[CoffeeAndDiamonds]

I've recently been looking for a tennis bracelet. A couple months ago I stumbled upon a preloved 14k tennis bracelet that was advertised as 2.85 ctw with 57 diamonds. Everything checked out as described, except that I ended up giving it to my mom because she loved it too!

Since then, I've been looking for another bracelet with a budget of about $2,500. With more research and options, I've noticed that some bracelets have more stones than others. So here's my question! If buying a tennis bracelet new from say a place like Costco, are they weighting the stones before they are set? Or is there some sort of margin of error, like a 2.85ct or 3.15ct bracelet would round to 3ct? For folks that have tennis bracelets, do the stones typically look their weight - so a 5 pointer would measure 2.4mm?

I've also inquired on a few preloved pieces (which I would assume estimate the carat weight based on measurements, since the stones can't be weighed? Comparing the millimeter measurements, the number of stones, and the carat weight doesn't always tie together - so thought maybe the carat weight might be rounded? Regardless, I think I'm leaning towards buying new. It seems like a slight misestimation on a per stone impacts the total est carat weight by more than I'd like. And I want to be sure I know what I'm getting

Thanks!

 

[RunningwithScissors]

I'm not exactly sure what you are asking, but here are some things about tennis bracelets that may help answer your question.

Tennis bracelets can be different lengths, and different lengths require different numbers of diamonds. A 3 ctw bracelet that is 7.5" long will have much smaller diamonds than a 3 cow bracelet that is 6.5" long.

Different settings hold the stones different distances apart so will change the number of diamonds required for any particular length bracelet.

For example, I'm building my own tennis bracelet using .33 ct diamonds. For a 6 1/4" length bracelet, I'll need 28 diamonds if I use a 3 prong, martini style bracelet, but I'll need 36 diamonds for a traditional 4 prong setting which holds the stones much closer together.

When my bracelet is finished, because it is shorter than most sizes in jewelry store, it will be a lower carat total weight and have larger diamonds than a longer bracelet that has smaller diamonds.

Perhaps you already know all that. But I thought I'd put it out there in case it is helpful.

 

[RunningwithScissors]

When I was looking at tennis bracelets to determine what size I wanted, (in the research phase of my project) I found it more helpful to ask the jeweler what the individual diamond size was than to ask the carat total weight because so many factors influenced the ctw.

Once I figured out what individual diamond size I liked on my wrist, then it was easier for me to make sure I was comparing apples to apples when looking at bracelets.

 

[CoffeeAndDiamonds]

I'm not exactly sure what you are asking, but here are some things about tennis bracelets that may help answer your question.

Tennis bracelets can be different lengths, and different lengths require different numbers of diamonds. A 3 ctw bracelet that is 7.5" long will have much smaller diamonds than a 3 cow bracelet that is 6.5" long.

Different settings hold the stones different distances apart so will change the number of diamonds required for any particular length bracelet.

For example, I'm building my own tennis bracelet using .33 ct diamonds. For a 6 1/4" length bracelet, I'll need 28 diamonds for a 3 prong, martini style bracelet, and I'll need 36 for a traditional 4 prong setting which holds the diamonds much closer together.

When my bracelet is finished, because it is shorter than most sizes in jewelry store, it will be a lower carat total weight than ones with much smaller diamonds that are longer.

Perhaps you already know all that. But I thought I'd put it out there in case it is helpful.

This is helpful. Sorry for being unclear! So for example the Costco bracelet is 3ctw and has 69 diamonds, which would mean each diamond is 0.0435. Is each diamond in the bracelet 0.0435? Or are some 0.042 and others 0.045, and they weight the stones together before setting to see that it comes out to 3ctw?

 

[CoffeeAndDiamonds]

When I was looking at tennis bracelets to determine what size I wanted, (in the research phase of my project) I found it more helpful to ask the jeweler what the individual diamond size was than to ask the carat total weight because so many factors influenced the ctw.

Once I figured out what individual diamond size I liked on my wrist, then it was easier for me to make sure I was comparing apples to apples when looking at bracelets.

That's a great point, maybe I'm getting too tripped up on the total carat weight.

 

[RunningwithScissors]

This is helpful. Sorry for being unclear! So for example the Costco bracelet is 3ctw and has 69 diamonds, which would mean each diamond is 0.0435. Is each diamond in the bracelet 0.0435? Or are some 0.042 and others 0.045, and they weight the stones together before setting to see that it comes out to 3ctw?

Yes, the diamond size will fluctuate slightly in a bracelet (both the carat weight of each diamond and also the mm spread of each diamond.)

 

[RunningwithScissors]

And remember it is the millimeter spread that gives the diamond its visual size, not the carat weight.

 

[Karl_K]

ctw industry wide is badly abused. The ftc guidelines are not a help either. I cant find my link to them but will look tomorrow if someone does not post them.