We cannot stress how essential it is to understand the meaning of CTTW and how it differs from ‘carat,’ especially if you don’t want to have a disappointing ‘what you ordered vs. what you got’ experience while buying diamond jewelry.
What Is CTTW?
The acronym CTTW stands for Carat Total Weight, a term you may have encountered when shopping for diamond engagement rings. It refers to the carat weight of all the diamonds in a piece of jewelry.
How Is CTTW Different From Carat?
Carat is the unit of measurement for the weight of gemstones – in this case, diamonds, while CTW in diamonds represents the combined carat weight of all diamonds in a jewelry piece. For instance, this peg head oval diamond classic engagement ring features a center stone of 1.15 carats and additional accent diamonds of 0.16 carats (0.01 per diamond), coming up to a Carat Total Weight of 1.31. On the other hand, this oval diamond solitaire classic engagement ring, featuring just one diamond, has a carat size of 1.15, which is equal to its Carat Total Weight.
So, the definition of CTTW in diamonds would be – the sum of the individual carat weights of each diamond, whether it’s a single diamond or many smaller ones.
Is CTTW Only for Diamonds?
The simple answer: Yes, the meaning of CTTW mostly applies to diamonds, and here’s why.
Say you’ve got your eyes on a piece of colored gemstone jewelry featuring diamonds like this emerald-cut ruby hidden halo classic engagement ring. The CTTW here only applies to the diamonds. This is because diamonds are graded differently than colored gemstones, which impacts their value.
Diamonds also have a different density compared to other colored gemstones. For example, the density of a diamond in 1-carat diamond rings is around 3.5–3.53 g/cm³, while a 1-carat ruby has a higher density of 3.97–4.05 g/cm³. This difference applies to other colored gemstones, making it difficult to directly compare the carat weight of diamonds and other gemstones or give a combined account in CTTW.
There are two major points to remember:
- Jewelers still give an account of the total carat weight for a piece of colored gemstone and diamond jewelry but make a point of including the CTTW of diamonds in the description. For instance, this pear emerald and diamond chevron engagement ring shows a total of 1.14 carats. However, the description gives a breakdown of the individual carat sizes of the different types of gemstones.
- The CTTW diamond definition applies to both natural and lab-grown or lab-made diamonds.
Does CTTW Apply to All Diamond Jewelry?
CTTW, or CTW meaning, applies to all diamond jewelry, including rings, earrings, bracelets, etc. For earrings, the CTTW would mean the addition of two earrings in a single pair. To get an accurate CTW for a single earring, you’d have to divide the CTTW by two. For example, this floating diamond inside-out hoop earrings has a CTTW of 0.87 carats, but a single earring in this pair would have a CTTW of 0.43 carats. The same goes for other diamond jewelry.
How Does CTTW Affect the Price of Diamond Jewelry?
The CTTW of a piece of diamond jewelry does not directly affect its price. Two diamond rings can have the same CTTW, but their prices can be totally different.
How? This difference lies in the CTTW of the center stone and the side or accent stones. For example, a ring with a larger center stone and fewer accents would cost more than one with the same CTTW but with a smaller center stone and more accents. This is because large diamonds are rarer and worth significantly more than smaller diamonds of the same quality.
The price difference can also be a result of the diamond quality. If the CTTW of the center stone and the accent stones for both rings are the same, then the difference may be due to one ring featuring a lower-grade diamond than the other or one ring made with natural diamonds while the other is crafted with lab-grown diamonds (which are 100% identical to natural diamonds, but up to 80% lower-priced.)
The next time you shop for diamond jewelry, make sure you check the CTTW to have a clear idea of what you’re purchasing so you’re not caught off guard when your jewelry arrives.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does a higher CTTW mean the jewelry is more valuable?
Not necessarily. A higher CTTW does play a role in the value of a piece of jewelry, but there are other factors to consider like the type of stone and stone quality (cut, color and clarity) which affect the overall value.
2. What does 1.00 CT/TW mean?
1.00 CT/TW means the jewelry piece has a total (combined) diamond weight of 1.00 carat. A ring with one 1-carat diamond or a pair of earrings with many smaller diamonds totaling 1 carat would both be described as 1.00 CT/TW.
3. Does CTTW affect the size of the diamonds?
CTTW (Carat Total Weight) reflects the total weight of diamonds, not their size. Two rings with the same CTTW could have very different-sized diamonds depending on how many diamonds are used.
4. Are lab-grown diamonds measured in CTTW?
The weight of all diamonds, including lab-grown diamonds, is measured in carat size. So, yes, lab-grown diamonds in a piece of jewelry with multiple stones are also measured and described using CTTW.
5. Does CTTW indicate the overall quality of the diamonds?
No, CTTW only refers to the total carat weight of all the diamonds in a piece of jewelry, not their quality. The quality of diamonds is judged by the 4Cs: Cut, Clarity, Color, and Carat.
