Diamond Carat Weight vs Clarity Grade

Bigger carat weight vs higher clarity grade – this is one of the most common dilemmas when buying a diamond. It’s still a big question if you should choose a bigger stone and save on clarity, or you should get a smaller diamond of a higher clarity grade. Let’s see which is more important.

Bigger Diamonds Are Not Always Better

The sad reality of our world shows that many people dream of bigger diamonds and prefer to save on cut, clarity and colour. The only thing that matters to them is the size. However, this is not a good idea in terms of diamonds.

Diamonds are all about quality. Diamonds are about sparkle, good emotions and value behind those emotions. Of course, you can always buy a bigger diamond to show off and ignore quality characteristics, but you would still know the truth: you have a big stone and no quality.

Choosing Bigger Diamonds with Lower Clarity Grade

In case you are still determined to buy a bigger diamond with lower clarity grade, you should understand that you are most likely to end up with a stone that has visible flaws. The size makes these flaws even more noticeable.

This is especially true with diamonds graded SI2 or I1/I2/I3. All these stones have inclusions that are visible with the naked eye.

The bigger the stone, the more attention it attracts, and easier to notice its imperfections.

So When to Choose Smaller Diamonds?

In general, in case you are going to buy a diamond that has clarity grade lower than VS2/SI1, it’s best to opt for a smaller stone. If diamonds are graded lower than the mentioned range, they are most likely to have visible inclusions. And our task is not to make them even more noticeable.

Besides, there is another reason to choose smaller diamonds with lower clarity: you are more likely to find a smaller stone with invisible inclusions than a bigger one. As a rule, smaller diamonds have fewer flaws than bigger diamonds of the same clarity grade.

Should You Always Choose Higher Clarity and Lower Carat?

If you are the lucky one who can afford both higher carat weight and higher clarity grade, then go for it. But if you have a limited budget and the quality is your priority, then choosing higher clarity at the expense of carat is always a good idea.

Of course, there are cases when lower clarity doesn’t always translate into a visible difference, but if it does, it’s important to adhere to the above-mentioned principle.

When Higher Clarity doesn’t Matter?

It’s important to understand that a bigger diamond of lower clarity doesn’t always look worse than a smaller one of higher clarity.

Top-clarity diamonds do not differ significantly from mid-clarity stones if viewed with the naked eye. They do differ only under magnification. That’s why it’s wise to choose a VVS range diamond instead of IF to save some money.

Cover image credit: Harry Winston