How To Buy Gemstones page 5 of 10
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Carat Gemstones are sold by weight rather than by size. The basic weight unit (as in diamonds) is a carat, which is one fifth of a gram (not to be confused with karat, which is a purity unit for gold). Almost always the price of stone will be presented per carat. Because rarity is an important factor in pricing gemstones, and since bigger stones are rarer than small ones, the price per carat will grow exponentially[ARE you sure about exponentially? it has a very specific meaning] as the weight goes up. So you will pay more, even per carat, when you buy a larger stone.
In the rarest and most desirable stones, such as natural red rubies, even the small difference between a 0.90 carat stone and a 1.00 carat stone in the same color can result in a huge price difference. In other gems, like Quartz or Topaz, where bigger stones are more readily available, the price difference per carat will only be noticeable if one compares very small and very large stones.

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Find more info in our gemstones articles section.