Quick and Easy Buying Guide
Carat weight: 1 carat = 200 milligrams = 6.5 mm diameter. Doubling weight doesn't double diameter.
Diamond clarity: FL/IF/VVS/VS = super expensive, near perfect. SI = best value if you can check a photo for obvious inclusions (defects).
Color: D-G = colorless, expensive, only if you have money to burn. H-J = best value. Can go lower in gold metal settings than white metal.
Cut: Better cut ratings let more light into a diamond, making it sparkle more. Very important property, don't skimp here.
Set a budget and minimum cut (Premium). Go J color for gold and I/H for white metals. Go searching for SI1/SI2 clarity diamonds at James Allen. Pick a diamond with small/no inclusions. Choose a ring setting and buy it risk-free (60-day returns).
2.62 Carat Diamonds
Each point in a diamond's weight is worth 2 mg, so a 262 points diamond weighs 524 mg. 2.62 carats doesn't always get you a diamond which is precisely 9.03 mm in width - because the diamond could have been cut in different ways, it may have a different width.
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The cost per carat value is a numerical number that provides you with a sense of how much the diamond is worth compared to other diamonds of similar properties. Odd carat weights are carat weights which don't form round numbers, for example 1.97. Often diamonds with odd carat weights are quite a bit cheaper than diamonds with round number carat weights.
Diamond carat size doesn't narrow down your list of diamonds very much, what you really need to do is consider what the other desirable properties of the diamond, decide how good these properties have to be for your situation, and then search for diamonds which meet all of these property requirements at the same time. Although it is of limited usefulness, a lot of people wonder what the average size of a diamond is (about one third of a carat) when they are searching for a diamond themselves.
Note when looking at total diamond weight, some of the online stores such as blue nile will give a total diamond weight for a pair of stud earrings, but the actual total diamond weight will only approximately be what is specified - check the fine print to avoid being caught out. Carat size is only one that property out of a number that you should be considering. You should also consider a diamond other properties such as cut, because this will have a drastic effect on how well the diamond sparkles.
Gold cannot be pure, and people cannot be perfect. Chinese Proverb .