A carat is the unit of measurement which the jewellery industry uses to weigh diamonds. One carat is equal to .20 grams. Often diamond weight is declared in points. One carat is equal to 100 points. Thus, a .75 carat diamond is equivalent to 75 points.

The price of a diamond will always rise proportionately to the size of the stone. Large diamonds are rare and have a greater value per carat. So, in terms of points, remember that a one-carat diamond will cost much more than a 95 pointer.

The use of the word carat dates back to ancient times when the carob seeds were used to balance the scales. The seeds were extremely accurate. They were tiny horned shaped and uniform in weight. The term carat is entirely different to the carat used to describe gold, which actually measures purity and not weight.

Do not buy into the belief that the larger the carat weight, the more valuable the diamond. While this can be true, it is not necessarily so.

Keep in mind that diamond dealers take into account a stone's colour, clarity, and cut, as well as carat weight when pricing a diamond and often their pricing is subjective. For that reason, it is important for every potential diamond buyer to priorities each of the aforementioned characteristics when considering a stone.

After you have decided on cut, colour and clarity consider the size of her finger. A 1 carat diamond looks bigger on a small sized finger.

• If you are sticking to a budget then there are a wide variety of sizes and qualities in any price range.
  
• If the recipient is very active or not used to wearing jewellery then consider a smaller sized diamond so that it doesn't stand out too much and get knocked against anything.
  
• If you are looking for the biggest stone you can then consider a good cut with SI1 - SI2 clarity and in the near colourless range.

One Carat= 200 milligrams

Carats are further divided into points.

There are 100 points in 1 carat.

0.25 points = 1/4 carat

0.50 points =1/2 carat

0.75 points =3/4 carat