Carat
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 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| .25 | .33 | .50 | .75 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.0 |
Carat is often confused with size even though it is actually a measure of weight. One carat is equivalent to 200 milligrams. One carat can also be divided into 100 “points.” A .75 carat diamond is the same as a 75-points or 3/4 carat diamond.
A 1 carat diamond is a standard metric weight of 0.2 grams or 1/142 of a standard ounce. Each carat is divided into 100 points. So, for example, a quarter of a carat is 25 points, written as 0.25; a half a carat is 50 points written as 0.50; and so on. It is easy to weigh an unmounted diamond, but once it is in a setting, it is only possible to estimate its weight by using special gauges and formulas. Remember, carat-weight has no bearing on a diamond's cut, color or clarity.
A 1-carat diamond costs exactly twice the price of a half-carat diamond, right? Wrong. Since larger diamonds are found less frequently in nature, which places them at the rarest level of the Diamond Quality Pyramid, a 1-carat diamond will cost more than twice a 1/2-carat diamond (assuming color, clarity and cut remain constant).