You’re ready to pop the question at your love’s favorite Italian restaurant this month. And you can’t wait to sail off into the sunset with your favorite person. But there’s just one thing missing from that soon-coming magic moment: a new diamond ring for your future spouse.
Diamond rings remain the most meaningful gemstones for marriage proposals due to being rare and symbolizing eternal love. But not all diamonds are the same.
As you shop around for the perfect diamond cut, you may see the term “CTTW diamond.” Here’s a rundown on everything you need to know about a CTTW diamond.
Let’s jump in!
CTTW Diamond: What Is It?
“CTTW” stands for “carat total weight.”
The “CT” part refers to the carat weight, or the weight of a single diamond. Meanwhile, the “TW” part stands for the total weight of your jewelry piece’s diamonds if it has multiple diamonds.
So, when you’re comparing “carat” and “CTTW,” remember that “carat” is used to describe the weight of only a ring’s center stone or a loose diamond. On the flip side, “CTTW” is used to describe the total weight of all of your ring’s diamonds, for example.
Also, note that a diamond’s carat weight, or “CT,” refers specifically to the diamond’s weight—not the size of a diamond.
A single-carat diamond weighs 200 milligrams or 0.007 ounces. In addition, the diamond’s diameter is between 5.60 millimeters and 6.60 millimeters in diameter depending on the diamond’s cut grade.
As a general rule of thumb, your engagement ring should be more than 0.5 carats. If the ring is at least one carat, you can expect it to be eye-catching.
CTTW Applies to Diamonds Only
Note that the term “CTTW” refers only to diamonds, not to other gemstones, like sapphires.
So, let’s say you’re picking out an engagement ring for your love, and the ring features a diamond as well as some sapphires. You will fall in love with this ring due to its gorgeous diamond shine and lustrous blue color.
When you see the CTTW listed for it, just remember that this number will refer only to the diamond portion of the ring.
Also, note that businesses that offer laboratory-created diamonds also use “CTTW.” As a result, this particular metric doesn’t describe just genuine diamonds.
CTTW and Cost of a Diamond
Through the CTTW number listed for a diamond piece, you’ll be able to tell exactly how much the diamond piece is worth. A diamond’s price increases significantly with the diamond’s carat weight.
Let’s say a 0.5-carat diamond ends up selling for more than $1,200. A single-carat diamond featuring the exact same specifications might cost you more than $5,400. This is true even if the second diamond is just two times the weight of the first one.
Why? Because the prices of diamonds aren’t linear. Instead, they are exponential.
Put another way, big diamonds are much rarer than small diamonds. As a result, large diamonds can demand higher prices in the marketplace.
So, as you shop around for the perfect diamond, remember that bigger ones will always be worth much more than smaller ones of similar quality will be.
Additional Factors Worth Looking for in Diamonds
As you search for your future spouse’s new favorite piece of jewelry, you’ll see factors other than the CTTW listed alongside your prospective pieces as well.
For instance, you may see descriptions of various pieces’ clarity levels, colors, and cuts. You should also take these factors into consideration when trying to select the right engagement ring. That’s because these factors also play an important role in your ring’s value and appearance.
As a matter of fact, all four factors — CTTW, clarity, color, and cut — are together known as the four C’s. All of these interact with one another to impact how a diamond piece looks and how much you will pay for the piece.
Note that the cut refers to the polish, symmetry, and proportion that the cutter of the diamond has accomplished. The more effectively the diamond is cut, the more beautiful it will be overall.
You can tell when a diamond has a better cut than other diamonds do if you see it refract and reflect light more efficiently. A beautiful cut equates to a greater level of inner brilliance in a diamond.
The clarity of a diamond refers to how much it lacks blemishes. In addition, the best diamond color is clear; this type of diamond contains no shades of other colors, like yellow, in it.
Consider Accent Stones, Too
Perhaps you find two engagement rings that have the same CTTW values. Don’t immediately assume that they will cost the same amount of money.
The prices of these rings will ultimately depend on what types of stones are contributing to the CTTW of each ring. Specifically, how many of these stones are center stones versus accent stones?
A ring may contain a center stone, that is one carat, as well as a few little stones. This ring may be a lot cheaper to buy than one featuring a main single-carat diamond along with two bigger accent stones.
How We Can Help
“CTTW diamond” refers to a diamond’s carat total weight. The “CT” part is used to describe a single diamond’s weight, whereas the “TW” describes several diamonds’ weights altogether.
At Finer Custom Jewelry, we take pride in offering top-tier custom jewelry for any occasion, including engagements. Our artisan jeweler would be glad to meet with you and show you what the jewelry customization process involves from start to finish.
Get in touch with us to learn more about our jewelry design services, and schedule an appointment today!
