How Much Does a 9 Carat Diamond Ring Cost?

Although the average carat weight of an engagement ring is 1ct in the U.S. and 1/2ct in most of Europe, some people want more diamonds. It’s rare, but not unheard of, for people to buy 9-carat diamond rings. What is the cost of a 9 carat diamond ring? Since the average cost of a 3 carat diamond ring is around $30,000 for mid-point quality diamond engagement rings, how much would a 9 carat diamond ring cost on average?

The answer might surprise you. It depends on what you mean by “9 carats”—there is a surprising difference between a solitaire 9 carat engagement ring price and a multiple diamond 9 carat diamond ring price. You can even get a 9-carat diamond ring for cheaper than you’d expect. Here are the factors that go into determining how much a 9 carat diamond ring is worth.

Determining 9-Carat Diamond Ring Cost

What is the average price of a 9-carat diamond ring? Well, the wholesale price for a certified 9-carat loose, wholesale diamond ranges from $123,201 to $1,804,815. So, a solitaire 9-carat diamond engagement ring will also include the cost of the gold or platinum setting, which can depend on the purity of the metal and the design.

That said, you can also buy a real 9-carat diamond ring for $6,000–$20,000. However, in this case, the 9 carats refers to the total carat weight of all of the diamonds on the ring.

1. Carat weight refers to the weight of a single diamond.
2. Total carat weight refers to the sum of the individual carat weights of all the diamonds on a piece of jewelry. As carat weight increases, so does the price

A one-carat diamond weighs about 200mg. So, you could have a cluster design with nine 1-carat diamonds (or 18 .5-carat diamonds, etc) and it would be cheaper than a single 9-carat diamond ring.

9-carat engagement rings are pretty rare. In most cases, a 3-carat diamond engagement ring is considered big. For a really big diamond engagement ring, a 5-carat diamond fits the bill, and it may be surrounded by two 1-carat diamonds, bringing up the total carat weight to 7ct. For example, this 6.12-carat engagement ring features a 5ct center diamond, with two .56ct diamonds on the side, providing a total carat weight of 6.12ct. This ring is a little over $100,000.

How Big Are 9-Carat Diamond Rings?

Any 9-carat diamond is going to be extremely big. But the exact size depends on the shape and cut of the diamond. The most common diamond shape, the round brilliant cut, will be about 13.20mm for a 9-carat diamond. Different diamond shapes—such as an oval or pear—are shallower and have larger diameters, so though they weigh the same, they appear larger.

If you look at Jennifer Aniston’s engagement ring from ex-husband Justin Theroux, it can give you an idea for the size of a 9-carat round diamond engagement ring. (Hers is reportedly between 8–9 carats).

Large diamond engagement rings are typically more common with celebrities; you can compare pictures of their large diamond engagement rings to get an understanding of how different sizes and cuts of diamonds can appear. Obviously, most of them are very expensive and large. Even the 3-carat diamond rings appear quite large, as you can see in Ariana Grande’s 3-carat pear-shaped diamond engagement ring from ex-fiancé Pete Davidson.

Where Should You Buy 9-Carat Diamond Rings?

As with most high-carat diamonds, the best way to buy a 9-carat diamond ring is by shopping for wholesale 9-carat diamonds. This will save you a lot of money—creating your own 9-carat ring is actually cheaper than buying an already made 9-carat diamond ring.

You can shop wholesale loose diamonds in various cuts, or you can opt to contact a wholesale diamond ring manufacturer to discuss creating a custom diamond ring. This way, you can choose to have everything made in one place.

Another way to buy 9-carat diamond rings is to shop second-hand rings or antique rings. This will take a lot of research to make sure you’re getting a real diamond ring, and to make sure the seller or auction company is reputable. Check out our guide on how to tell if a diamond ring is real or fake for more information on verifying a diamond ring’s authenticity.

Factors That Influence 9-Carat Ring Cost

Some 9-carat diamond rings cost $150,000, while others can cost $1,500,000 or more. Why do some 9-carat diamond engagement rings cost ten times more than other nine-carat diamond rings? It comes down to a variety of factors. How much a 9-carat diamond ring is worth is based on a range of qualities—from the diamond’s certified grade to the craftsmanship and materials of the ring.

The price of a 9-carat diamond begins around $19,000 per carat, taking into account the minimum quality grades of K/SI2 in color and clarity. You can expect to spend between $20,000 and $40,000 per ct for a decent quality 9-carat diamond for your ring.

Shape

Diamonds come in 10 main shapes for diamond rings.

1. Different diamond shapes can appear in different sizes for the same carat, which is good to know if you want a larger-looking diamond ring without paying for a higher carat diamond.
2. Some shapes sparkle more than others, which is good to know if you value a diamond’s brilliance over its size.
3. Some diamond shapes cost more than others. This is because certain diamond shapes take a higher level of skill to cut, and may lose more of the raw diamond than other shapes.
   • The round cut is more expensive than a cushion-cut, for example, because when cutting a diamond into a cushion shape, less of the diamond is shaved off.

Here is how shape affects the cost of a 9-carat diamond (Color: G, Clarity: VS2, Cut; EX, lab: GIA).

• Round: $417,592
• Princess: $367,851
• Heart: $253,225
• Pear: $232,198
• Asscher: $221,613
• Oval: $153,139
• Cushion: $153,912
• Radiant: $141,001
• Marquise: $116,516

These are the average prices of a 9-carat diamond with the same color and clarity at its most popular cuts. That said, the price can still vary incredibly on other qualities of the diamond, the expertise of the cut, and more.

The price for each shape is not the same scale for a 9-carat diamond as other carats of diamonds. The calculations for diamond price per carat are somewhat complicated, so while a marquise shape is one of the cheaper shapes for a 9-carat diamond, it’s one of the more expensive shapes for smaller diamonds.

Cut

In addition to shape, there are different cut grades for diamonds. The GIA cut grading scale applies to the most popular diamond cut—the standard round brilliant.

There are five cut grades: Excellent (EX), Very Good (VG), Good (G), Fair (F), and Poor (P).

Excellent Cut: The diamond is very bright. It’s cut in an even pattern with good contrast between light and dark spaces, making its reflections appear crisp and balanced. This means that the person who cut it used the best part of the rough diamond.

Good Cut: The diamond isn’t as bright. Its reflections aren’t as crisp and there are more dark/dull areas in the diamond.

Poor Cut: The diamond shows prominent dark areas or dullness throughout. Most people would prefer EX cuts or G cuts to this cut.

Typically, 9-carat diamonds with excellent cuts have more value. Sometimes, it’s hard to achieve an excellent cut with certain shapes, so a Very Good or Good cut is sufficient.

Here are the other terms used to describe diamond cuts:

• Shallow cut: the light is lost out the sides and the diamond loses its captivating brilliance.
• Deep cut: When a diamond is cut deep, the light escapes out the bottom and the diamond appears dark.
• Ideal cut: The ideal cut allows the light to travel freely through the diamond and exit in a rainbow of sparkles.

Not every diamond lab certificate uses the same scale as GIA’s, so it’s useful to know both.

Color

Along with the clarity and cut, color is an important grade for a diamond, especially the rare 9-carat diamonds. Diamonds are graded on a color scale from D to Z, which indicates how much of a tint is noticeable in the diamond.

D is the highest color grade, indicating a completely clear diamond without any yellow or brown tint. A diamond with a color grade of Z has a noticeable yellow or brown tint to it. Here are the color grades of a diamond in more detail:

• D, E, and F – colorless diamonds (all appear colorless to the untrained eye)
• G, H, I, and J – near-colorless (most common diamond choices; they still appear colorless to the eye)
• K, L, M – faint (these diamonds have a slightly visible tint)
• N, O P, Q, R – very light (a more noticeable tint)
• S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z – light (brown or yellow tint is very noticeable)

Even more valuable than D color diamonds are rare fancy colored 9-carat diamonds: with reds, blues, and green being typically worth the most. Fancy colored diamonds are graded on a different color scale than white diamonds.

Popularity and rarity play a role in the price of fancy colored diamonds. For example, a black diamond is a very rare color, but its demand is lower than white, so black diamond engagement rings are cheaper per carat.

Clarity

Clarity is another grade that factors in to the price of a 9-carat diamond. Absolutely clear 9-carat diamonds are extremely rare and therefore are most expensive. However, there are many clarity grades that provide a cheaper 9-carat diamond with inclusions that aren’t visible to the naked eye.

Here’s the scale for measuring the clarity of 9-carat diamonds:

• FL – Flawless No internal or external flaws; incredibly rare and valuable in natural diamonds.
• IF – Internally Flawless No internal flaws, but some surface flaws; still very rare and valuable.
• VVS1, VVS2 – Extremely slight inclusions Slight internal flaws; difficult to see even with 10x magnification.
• VS1, VS2 – Very slight inclusions Slight internal flaws that are just barely visible with 10x magnification. Flaws are not typically visible to the naked eye.
• SI1, SI2 – Slight inclusions Slight internal flaws that are visible with 10x magnification; they may be visible to the naked eye.
• I1, I2, I3 – Inclusions You can see these inclusions with the naked eye. These Inclusions may affect the diamond’s brilliance and clarity. They’re worth less.

For a 9-carat diamond ring, we recommend looking for a diamond with grades between G and I for color, VS1 for clarity, and Excellent or Ideal cut.

The higher up you the grade in color and clarity, the bigger the difference in price for the 9-carat diamond. It’s good to figure out which grades are the most important to you to get the perfect 9-carat diamond ring for your budget.

Metal

The type of metal used in a 9-carat diamond ring setting also accounts for price differences. The most desirable metals for engagement rings are gold (yellow, white, and rose gold) and platinum.

Other popular choices for diamond ring metals are sterling silver and palladium, although, for a 9-carat diamond ring, you’ll want to get the best metal possible, which means gold or platinum. Platinum is frequently the most expensive metal for jewelry, followed by gold, then other metals, including sterling silver. However, gold is sometimes more expensive than platinum.

It’s important to note that the prices of gold and platinum fluctuate, and the price of gold per ounce/gram depends on its karat purity. You can’t always trust charts you find online comparing platinum vs gold prices to be up-to-date. You’ll want to check gold vs platinum prices on sites that provide a comparison chart which they update regularly.

When investing in a 9-carat diamond ring, we recommend buying 18K gold or higher to assure longevity for your diamond ring. It wouldn’t make sense to put something as rare and valuable as a 9-carat diamond in a cheaper metal.

9-Carat Ring Buying Tips

To get the best 9-carat diamond ring for your budget, there are certain things to keep in mind to shop for the best deals and quality. Here are some buying tips for you to consider when buying a 9-carat diamond ring, or other large diamond rings, such as 10-carat.

1. For the best value 9-carat diamond rings:
   1. Color: J if platinum/white gold solitaire setting
   2. Color: K if yellow gold solitaire setting
   3. Cut: Excellent or Ideal
   4. Clarity: SI2 clarity
   5. Symmetry: At least Good
   6. GIA or AGS report/lab certificate
2. What to look for in Cut parameters:
   1. Depth: 58% - 62.5%
   2. Table: 53% - 58%
   3. Length-to-width ratio: 1.00 - 1.02
3. Tip for choosing a metal: The setting can affect how colorless a diamond appears.
   1. For lower color grade 9-carat diamonds, opt for tinted/darker metals, such as rose gold or yellow gold.
   2. For high color grade 9-carat diamonds, you can use white gold or platinum for the setting to make the high-quality color really pop.
4. When choosing clarity: Avoid inclusions that you can see with the naked eye. To save money, a 9-carat diamond with slight inclusions (VS1 or VS2) is a great choice; it will cost less and no one will be able to see the flaws unless they look at it under 10X magnification.
5. When choosing shape: Decide what you value more: the diamond’s brilliance or the appearance of its size. Most people opt for the round brilliant cut, pear cut, oval cut, or emerald cut for a 9-carat diamond, but other shapes can be good if a skilled expert cuts the diamond.
6. Make sure the setting secures the diamond well. It’s not a good idea to try to cut costs by going to a less-experienced craftsman to set your diamond into the ring. It’s better to cut costs in the diamond grade, not the setting, craftsmanship, or metal.
7. Shop online for better prices. Brick-and-mortar stores rarely offer the same discounts on diamonds, especially loose diamonds. That said, ask for a high-definition picture of the 9-carat diamond before buying online if you’re worried about not seeing it in person.

Here at ItsHot, we have over 20 years of professional service manufacturing jewelry. We offer custom diamond rings, wholesale diamonds, and a vast array of diamond jewelry on sale. We’re located in New York City’s Diamond District, but we aim to provide an online shopping experience that’s just as good as in-store.

Denis Stepansky
Founder of ItsHot.com

Denis Stepansky is a founder of ItsHot, a diamond jewelry and watches store based in NYC. He has been in the jewelry business for about 20 years and owns such high-end jewelry brands as Luccello and Luxurman. As a jewelry expert, he has citations on well-known magazines and newspapers like Insider and Daily Mail.
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