With the current state of affairs across the globe, people are highly interested in saving money wherever and whenever possible. Purchasing diamonds isn’t exempt from this, as we have seen a swift rise in the overall buying and selling of diamonds, especially rough ones.
As multiple demands arrived at our address, we gathered today to fully elaborate on the topic of “How much is a rough 1-carat (1ct) diamond worth?”. It’s quite difficult to provide a concrete answer to that, as multiple different aspects must be considered when evaluating the worth of rough 1-carat diamonds.
Is it possible to purchase rough 1-carat diamonds anywhere? What are the Kimberley Process Certificates, and how do they affect the potential transactions between rough 1-carat diamonds? Do the rules of 4C’s of diamonds apply when deciding how much are rough 1-carat diamonds worth?
Fear not! As long as you stay with us, we guarantee that all of your questions will be answered. Stay tuned to find out everything about the price tags of rough 1-carat (1ct) diamonds!
What Are Rough Diamonds And How To Tell Them Apart?
Before we begin dissecting the facts behind this story, we need to explain what rough diamonds are precisely. Oddly enough, all natural diamonds from the moment that they have been dug from the ground are immediately classified as uncut or rough.
The logic behind that is quite apparent – all polished diamonds are crafted by cutting them during their rough form. Coincidentally, there aren’t any diamond forms manifested before their rough state; thus, we can only classify diamonds as either rough or cut.
Furthermore, it’s not hard to tell them apart, as you can just use your eyes to observe their current state. Cut and polished diamonds will have sharp edges formed when professional diamond cutters cut diamonds, turning them into brilliant and shining stones.
Alongside their sharp edges, cut diamonds can capture and release light, giving them the unique ability to sparkle. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for rough diamonds, as they cannot perform such a feat.
Only cut diamonds can offer sparkling effects. We can further elaborate on their differences by placing them under the microscope and observing their numerous variances. But, for the time being – differentiating rough and cut diamonds is an effortless task just by looking at them.
The tricky part comes when we need to place a price tag on them. Regardless of their shape, all cut diamonds can be sold fairly easily, as long as they are natural and are accompanied by their official certificate.
A cut 1-carat diamond can cost anywhere between $1.300 and $16.500. If you are interested in learning more about how expensive diamonds can get, we highly suggest you click on the link here!
On the other hand, rough 1-carat diamonds can get quite intricate when talking about their place in the free market. To further elaborate, let’s start with:
Can You Buy A Rough 1 Carat Diamond?
Most people believe that rough diamonds aren’t for sale, as they have a hard time finding them in their average jewelry shops. We can partially agree with the previous statement, as lesser-known jewelry shops usually won’t possess the authority nor means to sell rough diamonds.
What do we mean when we say authority?
Regardless of their size and origin, all rough diamonds must be accompanied by an official Kimberley Process Certificate. Since its establishment in 2003., The Kimberley Process governs and oversees all transactions regarding uncut diamonds.
With the simple goal of preventing the flow of conflict or “blood” diamonds, the Kimberley Process Certificate serves as a just mechanism to prevent selling and buying rough diamonds to all individuals or parties involved in wars.
We won’t go any deeper into that topic, as we will lose precious time explaining the value of rough 1-carat diamonds. But, if you wish to learn more about conflict diamonds, we highly recommend clicking on the link here!
Back to the topic – rough 1-carat diamonds can be found in high-end jewelry shops, always accompanied by the KP certificate. You can even buy them embedded in various types of jewelry, most notably golden (engagement) rings.
Here’s a quick comparison: a rough 1-carat diamond ring can cost approximately a couple of hundred dollars, whereas a cut 1-carat diamond ring can stretch into the thousands of dollars.
As you can see, cut diamonds are undeniably more expensive when compared to their rough counterparts. But, the story doesn’t end there – we need to elaborate on several key elements that must be considered before placing a price tag on all diamonds, including rough ones.
The 4C’s of diamonds is a well-known instrument for determining how expensive diamonds can get. But, in this case, when discussing rough diamonds, one of the C’s will be missing. Can you guess which one?
Of course, it’s the part where the cut is evaluated! Rough diamonds are exempt from this segment and can only be evaluated by the following:
Carat
One of the simplest ways to determine how expensive a diamond should be is to measure the exact number of carats. Regardless of being rough or cut, all natural diamonds follow the same procedure – their weight is measured and recorded immediately after.
When it comes to carats, the accepted metric is as follows: a single carat is proportional to 0.2 grams. Quite a low number for something expensive, wouldn’t you agree? A general rule of thumb is that more carats will lead to a more expensive precious stone. But, as you’ll shortly realize when dealing with rough diamonds – this rule can be overturned entirely.
Most rough diamonds contain features that are classified as flaws or defects. Because of that, nearly all natural diamonds need to undergo a cutting process, as their price and value will drastically increase with a few cuts here and there!
As previously stated, the difference between rough 1-carat diamonds and cut 1-carat diamonds can be measured by the thousands. To further explain this, we need to touch on the following:
Clarity
Rough diamonds’ many flaws and defects are generally better described as inclusions.
Depending on the size of said inclusions – smaller ones will lead to minor changes to the overall price tag of rough diamonds. But, bigger inclusions can enormously affect the value of rough diamonds, especially if they are a 1-carat piece.
So, to have an excellent clarity grade on your rough 1-carat diamond, you’ll need to have a precious stone with few or no flaws. The best example of this is the fact that a rough, but flawless diamond can be more valuable than a polished diamond with low clarity grade.
Unfortunately, the clarity grade isn’t the only factor that can lower the price tag of rough diamonds:
Color
Most people believe that only white diamonds exist. For starters, the term “white diamonds” is incorrect on its own, as white diamonds don’t exist. When you start discussing diamonds, it’s important to refer to them as colorless, not white diamonds.
When discussing diamonds, we can only classify them in the following two categories – colorless or colored. Don’t be confused – although colorless diamonds lack natural color – colored diamonds aren’t diamonds that someone colored.
Colored diamonds are a natural phenomenon manifested nearly identically to colorless diamonds, but with a twist: the presence of boron can alter the diamonds’ colorless state.
Still, regardless of their size and shape, all rough diamonds can be classified as colorless or colored. Mainly, most diamonds offer a yellow or brown tin present within their structure. The same can be said for rough 1-carat diamonds.
If you find completely colorless rough 1-carat diamonds, we highly recommend that you purchase them on the spot, as it’s an extremely rare opportunity to do so. Remember that they will be more expensive than your average rough 1-carat diamond that features ordinary yellow or brown tinting.
Last but not least, we have:
The Shape
Coincidentally, there isn’t a whole lot to discuss the shape of rough 1-carat diamonds.
Regardless of the shape, nearly all rough 1-carat diamonds will cost the same, as long as they have similar quality and color grades. When it comes to the shape – the only way to potentially increase the price and value of rough diamonds is when considering them to be cut.
There are no two-of-a-kind rough diamonds present worldwide. All natural diamonds have a unique color, clarity grade, and shape, making them one-of-a-kind precious stones.
But, if you wish to cut them someday, you should know that the shape can influence the price of the diamonds. Some shapes are easier to cut, others not so much.
Regrettably, when dealing with rough 1-carat diamonds, there isn’t much potential, as they are so small that the shape before the cut is usually similar to all others.
With all of that out of the way, we can now take a closer look at the main differences between rough and cut 1-carat diamonds.
Rough VS Cut 1-Carat Diamonds
The first and most notable difference between rough and cut 1-carat diamonds is their price.
A rough 1-carat diamond can’t reach the potential price tag of a cut and polished 1-carat diamond due to them reaching well above $10.000. It’s easy to understand why:
Sometimes, more than 50% of the diamond is taken away during the cut processing. So, to obtain a cut 1-carat diamond, you’ll need to cut and polish a rough diamond that has, at the very least, two or more carats.
Some people might even go as far as to cut their rough 1-carat diamonds just to make them more valuable when selling them. Unfortunately, this isn’t as easy as it might seem to be – let’s find out why:
Before you even try to cut a rough 1-carat diamond, you’ll need to search and find a trustworthy and respectable diamond cutter. They aren’t stationed everywhere!
Most of them are employed by large companies within the diamond-making industry. Because of that, tracking them down is extremely hard, and even if you somehow find one – the chances of them helping you out are slim.
And we didn’t even mention the most complex part – even if you somehow manage to find and convince a diamond cutter to cut your rough 1-carat diamond, the chances of the cutting process being ultimately cost-efficient and worthwhile are highly unlikely.
Most professional diamond cutters expect anywhere between $125 to $400 per carat! As such, you can only expect to get a final product of 0.5 carats or even lower. Most diamonds of that size and weight are only used as diamond accents.
The only upside of rough 1-carat diamonds is their unique appearance. As we previously mentioned, there are no two identical rough diamonds. So, you can expect that your embedded rough 1-carat diamonds will stand out. Unfortunately, they won’t stand out because of their sparkling, as they won’t offer any.
Furthermore, rough 1-carat diamonds are darkly colored. As such, setting them appropriately in your favorite jewelry can be difficult.
Related Read: How Much Does It Cost To Cut A Rough Diamond?
To Sum Things Up
All rough 1-carat diamonds, regardless of their shape and origin, can be offered for sale as long as the Kimberley Process Certificate accompanies them. So, how much is a rough 1-carat diamond worth?
As soon as we apply the general rules of the 4C’s of diamonds, we can pretty quickly and precisely find out exactly how valuable a rough 1-carat diamond is.
Despite being quite apparent, we will point out one more time that the cut part of the 4C’s of diamonds is exempt from evaluating one’s worth. Instead, it’s replaced by the shape of the diamond – only when the diamond needs to be cut.
Learn More: Raw Uncut Diamond Price List: Rough Diamond Prices Guide
