All about Carat v/s Price

When we talk about correlation between carat weight and price we are not merely referring to price of gemstone in relation to its mass or quantity but it has got a lot to do with value or rarity of large sized stone. For instance an emerald weighing 2.0 carat would be much higher in price then 4 emeralds weighing 2.0 carat in total. This is because of the sheer fact that large sized emeralds are rare. Therefore instead of saying that prices of gemstones differs with weight it would be more appropriate to say that per carat price of a gemstone varies with its weight.

Based on above there is no standard "price per carat" for a particular gemstone, instead price per carat is listed on the basis on weight. For stones that are less than ½ carat in weight, per-carat-price is set on their size in millimeters. Another important factor is the rate at which price per carat increases or decreases. Unlike in case of diamonds where rate of increase in price per carat increases in proportion to size, it's not same with colored gemstones. While some colored gemstone naturally occurs in large sizes for others it's a rare attribute. Therefore gems like emerald that usually come in small sizes show a sharp variation in per carat price in response to weight while those naturally occurring in large sizes like amethyst remain almost unaffected by price.

Price per carat also differs from one dealer to another especially in case of commercial varieties of gemstone. A dealer might charge higher for 2 emeralds of 1-ct each than one emerald of 2-ct each depending upon higher demand of 1-ct emerald. This is something from dealers perspective but as customers we should really just focus on per carat price rather than total price and secondly while making comparison we should not forget that prices also depends upon factors like shape, color and quality so comparison should be made between stones that are same in terms of shape, color and quality.

Although terms size and weight are used interchangeably in jewelry trade one should never try to determine carat weight based on size of the stone. This is because shape and cut of stone may alter our perception of its size. Thus a 0.90 ct sapphire may look same size as 1.05 ct sapphire due to its cut. Additionally when we move from one stone to other, weight in relation to size various due to difference in density. So 1-ct ruby might be smaller in size then one ct emerald as its denser or heavier than emerald.

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