How Much Does a 2 Carat Diamond Cost?

Has she expressed to you that she wants a 2 carat diamond ring? You might be asking yourself “How much do two-carat diamonds cost?” and possibly freaking out about the abundance of options.

We wish there was an easy answer to this question. The truth is, two-carat diamonds range so much in quality and grade that we can’t just slap one price tag on all of them. To truly understand how diamond pricing works, you’ll need to understand how the qualities of a diamond impact its price — here’s a hint: it’s not just carat weight/size. That’s only one of the factors that influence price, and that’s not including market conditions!

As diamond carat weight increases, so do the stone’s rarity, and therefore its price increases too. It’s much harder to find a good piece of raw, rough diamond to cut into a beautiful two-carat stone than to make smaller diamonds. It’s important to note here that carat weight doesn’t exactly equal size; diamond carat weight is how much a diamond weighs (a “carat” equals 200 milligrams), but a diamond’s weight distribution affects how big it looks.

The same factors (aka grade) that help you understand the quality of a diamond are the same factors that define its price. These are known as the 4Cs of diamonds – cut grade, color grade, clarity grade, and carat weight.

The following chart shows the price range of two-carat diamonds from a sample set of Ritani diamond inventory.* The median price of these two-carat diamonds is $12,825. The high price of two-carat diamonds in this chart is $26,266, while the low price is $4,993. Data includes diamonds of all shapes, cuts, colors and clarity grades offered by Ritani.**

*This chart does not represent the absolute price range for two-carat diamonds — you may find both higher and lower prices in our inventory.
**Ritani does not carry diamonds below a certain quality of cut, color and clarity grade.

You’ll see that the price of two-carat diamonds has a very wide range. As you change the other 4 C’s — cut, color, and clarity — the pricing starts to change dramatically.

For example, if you chose a two-carat diamond that is flawless, colorless and perfectly cut, then you’ll end up paying closer to $20,000. As a diamond increases in carat weight, it becomes rarer and can fetch a higher price. However, if you choose a two-carat diamond that has slight inclusions and slight color, then the price might be closer to $10,000 or less.

How Diamond Shape Impacts Price

The price of a diamond is impacted by its shape as well as its 4 C qualities. The rarer a diamond is, the higher its price. The below chart illustrates three popular diamond shapes (pear, round, emerald). You’ll see that carat weight doesn’t dictate the price.

 It’s important to know that shape, cut, color and clarity often have a larger impact on price than carat weight. As you can see from the graph, each diamond has different grades and shapes, despite their carat weight being the same. In this example, the pear-shaped diamond in the chart above doesn’t have as good of a “cut” grade as the round diamond example, but has higher grades in color (E) and has a better clarity grade (VS1). Two-carat colorless pear diamonds are very rare, and therefore have a higher price.

Price Saving Tips For Two Carat Diamonds

If finding a two-carat diamond without spending $25k sounds appealing to you, the top four money-saving tips we can give you are: look for diamonds with inclusions on the side (these diamonds will appear eye clean from the top), go down a few color grades, choose a lab-grown diamond instead, and go for a fancy-shaped diamond. The combination of these factors will significantly drop the price.

Cut Grades

For the most sparkle, go with two carat diamonds with high quality cut grades. This will ensure that your diamond sparkles enough. If your heart is set on a two carat diamond and you need to make sacrifices, lower the color and clarity grades, but don’t go below a cut grade of Very Good.

Color Grades

Two-carat diamonds are available in a range of colors, from D (Colorless) to Z (Light Yellow). At Ritani, we only carry diamonds with grades from D to L, since anything below the L color grade can look less than appealing. A color grade of K or L will provide the most savings without sacrificing the beauty of the diamond.

Clarity Grades

A diamond’s clarity grade is based on the presence of any internal inclusions. Diamonds with the highest clarity grades – FL (Flawless) or IF (Internally Flawless) – will create a stunning diamond with no visible flaws to the unaided eye — or even when viewed under 10x magnification. SI1 and SI2 (Slightly Included) grades indicate that there are some inclusions within the diamond that may be visible without magnification. If you are trying to balance your budget for a two carat diamond, opt for an SI1 or SI2 with inclusions on the side or bottom of the diamond — they’ll be less noticeable than inclusions on the top of the diamond.

The Halo

Another alternative is to opt for a smaller center stone and add a halo (a circle of diamonds around the center stone) to create a total carat weight of 2.00. This makes the center diamond appear larger and creates a faceted sparkle that many women love.

Finally, if you’ve found a diamond elsewhere and the online competitor’s diamond is priced for less, we can find a similar diamond at a lower price with Ritani’s price match program.

Two-carat diamonds are a popular choice both as loose diamond purchases and for engagement rings. If you understand the 4 Cs — and can decide which qualities matter most to you personally — you’ll have an easier time selecting the right diamond for you and your partner. Figure out which elements of a diamond are most important to you, and narrow down the options until you find that perfect diamond. If you’re still unsure about the 4 Cs, our diamond education guide and our virtual gemologists can help you shop with more confidence.

Browse our inventory of 2-carat diamonds today.