Size doesn’t matter. Everyone knows that this sentence is not true, especially when it comes to purchasing a diamond. Pictures of stars with huge diamond rings go around the world and leave you wondering. When you are faced with the decision to purchase an engagement ring, you are inevitably confronted with the question of how big and how heavy the diamond should be. The following article will explain the cultural differences in the average size of diamonds and how to get the right size of the diamond.

Stars and their engagement rings

Pop magazines are full of impressive photos of engagement rings, which go far beyond the average carat number of an engagement ring. Well-known examples are the engagement ring that Paris Hilton received from Chris Zylka for no less than 2.5 million USD with an incredible 22 carats. Just as unbelievably beautiful and impressive is the 16-carat diamond ring that Russell Wilson gave to his girlfriend and now fiancée Ciara. There is a special story about Mariah Carey’s engagement ring that James Acker gave her. It is over a 35-carat diamond engagement ring and Mariah Carey still wears it regularly even after the separation. No wonder with such a ring! Victoria Beckham was spoiled in her 20 years of marriage. She received 17 various engagement rings, none of which is under 15 carats. Also, Kim Kardashian cannot be missing in the list of celebrity stars with impressive diamond rings. Although her marriage with Kris Humphries was only for about 70 days, she still received an engagement ring from him, which had a diamond with an impressive 16 carat mounted on it. This cost over 2.5 million and is probably still in Kim Kardashian’s possession. Of course, such rings are very special. There is no need to worry about such extreme gifts because the average size of a diamond is far from these numbers. But what exactly is the carat and what does it say?

How is the size and the weight of a diamond measured?

The big 4 C’s of the Diamond Business should not be a foreign word to anyone who deals with diamonds. The 4 C’s stand for cut, clarity, color, and carat, and among other things, give the value of the diamond. Even if the 4 C’s are related to each other and you should never consider only one of the 4 C’s when making a purchase decision, the size of the diamond plays a very important role. Hardly anyone remains untouched by a large shining diamond on a ring. The size of the diamond is given in carat and defines the weight. One carat corresponds to 0.2 grams and is divided into 100 points. Although carat does not directly indicate the size of the diamond, as this is also the result of other factors such as the cut, the carat number is a reliable indicator of the size of the ring.

International differences in average diamond size

Not surprisingly, there are cultural and regional differences in the average diamond size for an engagement ring. Regional differences are mainly due to income and the appreciation of status symbols. For example, rural areas have a different average then and urban areas, often with a difference in average diamond size of more than 0.2 or 0.3 carats. In western modern cities like New York, London or Paris, the average size of diamonds is again larger than in small towns, as described on yourdiamondteacher. Although residents of Western countries purchase larger diamonds than residents of Eastern countries for cultural and financial reasons, there has been a significant increase in the average size of diamonds in countries like China or India in recent years. Which diamond size is the average for an engagement ring is therefore ultimately dependent on many factors and is subject to constant change. Cultural differences are related to how capitalistic a country is. Nations such as the USA, which are traditionally strongly capitalist, have an average diamond size of 1.0 carat, a much higher average than less capitalist countries such as Malaysia, which have an average of 0.4 carats.

What is the average size of the diamond?

As mentioned above, the average size of diamonds depends on regional and cultural conditions. However, it can be seen that for most states the average is between 0.6 and 1.5. And there is also a logical explanation for this. The diamond business is known to be a very expensive business because diamonds are a natural resource and therefore very rare. But of course, not all diamonds are the same. It is true that the bigger the diamond, the higher its price, but that is only half the truth. Because the price of a diamond does not increase linearly with its size, but exponentially. The exponential increase also explains the average size of diamonds for engagement rings, as diamonds between 0.5 and 1.5 carat are the best value for money for most buyers. Although the increase is already exponential, care should be taken to avoid round carat numbers. Since there is a certain status associated with 1 carat or 2 carats and buyers are willing to pay a lot of money for this status, a 1-carat diamond costs disproportionately more than a 0.9-carat diamond. The average size of diamonds reflects that in the USA, where most buyers opt for 1 carat when purchasing an engagement ring, which you can also read on this website. So if you want to save money, you should be careful to avoid 1-carat diamonds, as they are a trap.