# How big is a 5 carat diamond? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 18, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-a-5-carat-diamond/510542 "2009-09-18T03:20:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-a-5-carat-diamond/510542/1 "2009-09-18T03:20:32Z")
I’m thinking about buying a monster synthetic diamond. Would a 5 carat diamond, cut in the shape of a flat oval, be the size of a raisin, a grape or…? ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-a-5-carat-diamond/510542/2 "2009-09-18T03:31:12Z")
It’s one full gram of almost pure carbon, so approximately raisin-sized sounds about right. Here’s a picture of one on a finger for an impression of scale, you can probably extrapolate how oval you need it to be from there. Edit: Sorry, my mistake, that’s apparently a topaz. All the other search hits on the page were diamonds and they look sort of similar, so I didn’t check too closely before posting. Oh well, here’s a link with dimensions for a diamond the same weight. [http://se.bluenile.co.uk/radiant-diamond-5-carat-good-cut-i-color-si2-clarity\_LD00307810?rf=pd](http://se.bluenile.co.uk/radiant-diamond-5-carat-good-cut-i-color-si2-clarity_LD00307810?rf=pd) ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-a-5-carat-diamond/510542/3 "2009-09-18T03:36:31Z")
Go [here](http://ayyyy.com/2008/05/14/), and scroll part of the way down the page. There’s a composite photo of a bunch of celebrity engagement (and other) rings, with the carat sizes of the stones. Looks to me like 5 carats is bigger than a raisin, much smaller than a grape. Want synthetic? Get [moissanite](http://www.moissanite.com/). Spectacular fire and sparkle, with the warmth of a diamond, unlike CZ. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-a-5-carat-diamond/510542/4 "2009-09-18T03:41:49Z")
I wonder why everybody confuses synthetic diamonds with CZ. > **[Chemical vapor deposition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_vapor_deposition_of_diamond)** > > Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a vacuum deposition method used to produce high-quality, and high-performance, solid materials. The process is often used in the semiconductor industry to produce thin films. > In typical CVD, the wafer (substrate) is exposed to one or more volatile precursors, which react and/or decompose on the substrate surface to produce the desired deposit. Frequently, volatile by-products are also produced, which are removed by gas flow through the reaction chamber. > Microf... ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-a-5-carat-diamond/510542/5 "2009-09-18T04:41:45Z")
A lot will depend on the setting, too. The right setting can make a stone look much bigger than it is. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-a-5-carat-diamond/510542/6 "2009-09-18T05:35:40Z")
Here’s a decent size chart [http://www.ajediam.com/Sizes-of-Diamonds.html](http://www.ajediam.com/Sizes-of-Diamonds.html) 5 carat is fricken huge! ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-a-5-carat-diamond/510542/7 "2009-09-18T05:47:37Z")
Heh, there’s even a Straight Dope article about it: > **[Is a diamond’s price a true measure of its value?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343651/is-a-diamond-s-price-a-true-measure-of-its-value)**