2 Carat Diamond Ring Price Guide
How much is a 2 carat diamond ring? Are they even worth buying? Learn how to find a good quality 2 carat diamond for the best price.
Ultimate Guide to 2-Carat Diamonds
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A 2-carat diamond ring is a stunner. It screams "Look how beautiful and sparkly I am!" It's the centerpiece of her hand and a status symbol that she'll want to show off forever.
A diamond this size will require a larger budget. And we want to help you get the best possible diamond for the money.
In this guide, we'll go over what to look for when buying a 2 carat diamond.
Read on to learn more about the following:
- How Much Does a 2 Carat Diamond Cost?
- 2 Carat Diamond Price Charts
- How Big Is a 2 Carat Diamond?
- Natural vs Lab 2-Carat Diamonds
- How to Get the Best Value
- Shopping Tips for Small Budgets
How Much Does a 2 Carat Diamond Cost?
A 2-carat diamond can cost anywhere from $7,000 to over $60,000. The price depends on the quality of the stone. In general, a reasonable price for a good value 2-carat stone should cost $16,000 to $24,000.
If you're okay with a lab-created stone, you can get a 2 carat diamond for $3,500 - $5,000.
Diamond prices increase exponentially as carat weight increases. It's rare to find a piece of rough material good enough to be cut into a single, larger-sized diamond.
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| Diamond Price vs Carat © CreditDonkey |
Thus, a 2-carat diamond is not just the double the price of a 1-carat diamond. In fact, it's more like 4x the price.
Here's an example of how diamond prices increase based on carat (all other factors the same):
| Carat | Color | Clarity | Cut | Price* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.3 | H | VS2 | Ideal | $450 |
| 0.5 | H | VS2 | Ideal | $1,200 |
| 0.75 | H | VS2 | Ideal | $2,800 |
| 1.0 | H | VS2 | Ideal | $5,500 |
| 1.5 | H | VS2 | Ideal | $11,000 |
| 2.0 | H | VS2 | Ideal | $19,500 |
| 3.0 | H | VS2 | Ideal | $45,000 |
| *Pricing based on typical market price of online diamond retailers as of 2023. | ||||
In the diamond industry, the magic numbers for carat weight are half-carats and whole-carats. These are points at which there is a significant price jump. You can see that at each point, the price approximately doubles.
The other 3Cs (cut, color, and clarity) all affect the final sticker price. A diamond with visible flaws and yellow tone will be on the lower end of the spectrum. While a flawless and colorless diamond will be more precious and expensive.
2 Carat Diamond Price Charts
Here are detailed price charts of the current average retail price of 2-carat diamonds. Just click on the tabs for the shape you're looking for.
| IF | VVS1 | VVS2 | VS1 | VS2 | SI1 | SI2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | $53,590 | $45,503 | $33,574 | $34,420 | $28,582 | $21,401 | $18,248 |
| E | $35,653 | $34,788 | $33,063 | $29,833 | $28,205 | $20,996 | $16,533 |
| F | $35,042 | $31,283 | $31,587 | $28,517 | $25,556 | $19,172 | $15,323 |
| G | $28,733 | $25,369 | $24,346 | $22,963 | $21,141 | $18,144 | $15,219 |
| H | $23,665 | $22,414 | $21,049 | $20,900 | $19,653 | $17,005 | $14,686 |
| I | $20,037 | $17,271 | $17,571 | $17,190 | $16,565 | $15,033 | $13,790 |
| J | $14,679 | $16,014 | $14,799 | $14,084 | $14,098 | $13,112 | $12,795 |
| K | $13,686 | $13,550 | $12,692 | $11,712 | $10,958 | $10,396 | $9,545 |
| IF | VVS1 | VVS2 | VS1 | VS2 | SI1 | SI2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | $30,594 | $33,091 | $26,026 | $23,958 | $21,3086 | $18,784 | $14,079 |
| E | $30,140 | $35,815 | $22,958 | $20,894 | $21,733 | $17,386 | $13,131 |
| F | $27,930 | $25,208 | $21,165 | $21,075 | $21,387 | $17,057 | $14,595 |
| G | $24,425 | $19,382 | $19,673 | $19,137 | $19,528 | $16,617 | $13,600 |
| H | $17,997 | $22,274 | $17,460 | $18,537 | $17,743 | $14,439 | $12,364 |
| I | $15,854 | $14,260 | $12,472 | $12,7280 | $11,935 | $13,184 | $11,381 |
| J | $14,170 | $10,948 | $11,194 | $10,077 | $11,126 | $11,296 | $10,237 |
| K | $13,280 | $10,450 | $9,711 | $9,216 | $10,252 | $8,422 | $8,058 |
| IF | VVS1 | VVS2 | VS1 | VS2 | SI1 | SI2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | $30,502 | $22,488 | $20,337 | $18,124 | $19,140 | $16,277 | $13,246 |
| E | $27,362 | $22,553 | $19,899 | $18,546 | $17,458 | $16,208 | $11,947 |
| F | $18,836 | $18,038 | $20,562 | $18,333 | $17,588 | $15,335 | $12,111 |
| G | $20,970 | $19,622 | $17,456 | $18,389 | $17,060 | $13,900 | $11,945 |
| H | $16,890 | $15,536 | $14,121 | $15,394 | $14,205 | $12,566 | $11,391 |
| I | $14,335 | $13,427 | $12,156 | $12,121 | $12,372 | $10,897 | $10,579 |
| J | $13,280 | $11,616 | $10,588 | $10,310 | $9,709 | $9,911 | $9,296 |
| K | $12,520 | $11,292 | $10,268 | $8,860 | $8,694 | $8,564 | $7,874 |
| IF | VVS1 | VVS2 | VS1 | VS2 | SI1 | SI2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | $32,429 | $26,335 | $26,383 | $23,837 | $22,621 | $20,786 | $15,213 |
| E | $29,246 | $29,184 | $23,282 | $23,289 | $22,299 | $18,978 | $14,713 |
| F | $26,450 | $23,963 | $23,077 | $21,303 | $21,886 | $18,875 | $15,584 |
| G | $21,317 | $23,632 | $22,141 | $21,148 | $20,839 | $17,913 | $14,318 |
| H | $18,344 | $19,861 | $17,905 | $17,542 | $18,470 | $16,444 | $13,758 |
| I | $16,770 | $15,276 | $15,144 | $14,852 | $14,550 | $14,010 | $12,736 |
| J | $14,830 | $12,104 | $12,354 | $11,781 | $12,553 | $11,631 | $11,188 |
| K | $12,710 | $10,011 | $9,553 | $10,878 | $10,402 | $9,844 | $9,279 |
| IF | VVS1 | VVS2 | VS1 | VS2 | SI1 | SI2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | $29,678 | $23,168 | $24,064 | $22,016 | $21,564 | $15,937 | $12,557 |
| E | $29,220 | $23,904 | $22,204 | $20,717 | $22,541 | $16,256 | $15,471 |
| F | $24,269 | $22,692 | $24,428 | $20,619 | $18,796 | $16,546 | $10,595 |
| G | $22,212 | $22,228 | $20,437 | $19,824 | $20,315 | $14,582 | $11,072 |
| H | $19,968 | $18,479 | $17,271 | $17,589 | $16,083 | $13,394 | $12,846 |
| I | $12,888 | $14,937 | $14,691 | $13,809 | $13,570 | $11,994 | $10,664 |
| J | $12,467 | $11,808 | $11,927 | $11,692 | $11,722 | $9,351 | $9,542 |
| K | $10,889 | $11,153 | $11,312 | $10,063 | $9,467 | $9,054 | $9,179 |
| IF | VVS1 | VVS2 | VS1 | VS2 | SI1 | SI2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | $30,560 | $24,731 | $23,909 | $21,918 | $20,565 | $13,031 | $12,920 |
| E | $29,430 | $19,540 | $22,595 | $19,401 | $17,207 | $16,347 | $9,798 |
| F | $28,760 | $27,741 | $21,158 | $18,719 | $17,453 | $15,014 | $14,700 |
| G | $20,770 | $19,816 | $19,598 | $18,011 | $17,507 | $13,774 | $12,310 |
| H | $15,600 | $16,247 | $15,995 | $18,292 | $13,162 | $10,609 | $8,289 |
| I | $14,830 | $13,672 | $10,950 | $12,414 | $9,971 | $11,073 | $11,075 |
| J | $11,310 | $9,461 | $9,860 | $9,681 | $9,734 | $9,710 | $9,460 |
| K | $10,620 | $8,990 | $8,210 | $7,863 | $7,640 | $7,542 | $7,170 |
| IF | VVS1 | VVS2 | VS1 | VS2 | SI1 | SI2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | $29,147 | $29,524 | $24,210 | $24,292 | $20,182 | $18,440 | $13,977 |
| E | $28,705 | $25,601 | $24,706 | $21,151 | $20,052 | $17,598 | $12,357 |
| F | $24,337 | $20,931 | $21,698 | $22,228 | $20,161 | $15,857 | $12,084 |
| G | $24,204 | $19,046 | $19,872 | $19,383 | $18,088 | $15,885 | $12,870 |
| H | $20,383 | $18,708 | $16,149 | $16,682 | $15,615 | $14,054 | $12,470 |
| I | $14,807 | $15,850 | $13,458 | $13,574 | $12,470 | $12,859 | $11,190 |
| J | $11,820 | $11,630 | $11,421 | $10,588 | $10,616 | $10,293 | $10,073 |
| K | $10,535 | $8,320 | $9,870 | $10,280 | $9,525 | $9,429 | $9,007 |
| IF | VVS1 | VVS2 | VS1 | VS2 | SI1 | SI2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | $29,062 | $30,330 | $26,632 | $24,170 | $22,598 | $20,334 | $16,820 |
| E | $27,480 | $24,999 | $25,528 | $23,820 | $32,260 | $19,698 | $14,882 |
| F | $26,350 | $27,446 | $23,930 | $22,740 | $22,830 | $20,179 | $15,670 |
| G | $25,820 | $27,924 | $23,420 | $21,338 | $16,452 | $16,667 | $15,204 |
| H | $24,380 | $22,720 | $21,940 | $17,290 | $15,591 | $16,098 | $14,275 |
| I | $18,370 | $16,840 | $15,430 | $13,260 | $14,321 | $15,588 | $13,760 |
| J | $14,620 | $12,530 | $12,410 | $12,180 | $12,140 | $11,800 | $11,990 |
| K | $11,127 | $10,820 | $10,740 | $7,300 | $9,890 | $9,450 | $9,309 |
| IF | VVS1 | VVS2 | VS1 | VS2 | SI1 | SI2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | $41,675 | $29,729 | $26,830 | $21,873 | $21,155 | $17,416 | $15,336 |
| E | $38,550 | $32,785 | $22,838 | $21,800 | $21,127 | $17,851 | $15,343 |
| F | $21,355 | $21,280 | $20,497 | $21,155 | $19,681 | $17,800 | $13,879 |
| G | $22,310 | $21,729 | $22,071 | $18,867 | $18,749 | $14,945 | $13,889 |
| H | $16,984 | $19,132 | $16,585 | $16,814 | $15,204 | $14,423 | $13,251 |
| I | $16,750 | $16,444 | $14,070 | $12,642 | $13,827 | $12,765 | $13,501 |
| J | $14,780 | $12,550 | $12,100 | $11,837 | $11,208 | $11,429 | $9,796 |
| K | $11,400 | $9,970 | $8,866 | $8,630 | $9,231 | $8,850 | $8,568 |
| IF | VVS1 | VVS2 | VS1 | VS2 | SI1 | SI2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | $22,636 | $26,533 | $25,730 | $23,253 | $21,113 | $17,084 | $15,262 |
| E | $27,960 | $24,960 | $26,391 | $23,548 | $19,759 | $20,861 | $12,303 |
| F | $30,990 | $24,170 | $21,160 | $20,991 | $22,064 | $16,674 | $10,243 |
| G | $25,270 | $23,012 | $21,043 | $26,170 | $19,739 | $13,402 | $12,503 |
| H | $21,320 | $20,840 | $19,231 | $15,243 | $16,122 | $14,668 | $10,362 |
| I | $15,330 | $16,360 | $15,390 | $15,775 | $11,760 | $12,603 | $10,147 |
| J | $12,048 | $12,490 | $11,830 | $11,470 | $14,468 | $11,710 | $9,913 |
| K | $11,190 | $10,740 | $10,610 | $9,595 | $10,910 | $8,516 | 8,180 |
As you can see, fancy shaped diamonds cost as much as 40% less than a round diamond. Emerald and cushion cuts tend to be the least inexpensive. This may help you afford a 2-carat diamond on a smaller budget.
Later on, we'll go over how to balance all 4Cs and get the best 2-carat diamond for your money.
How Big Is a 2-Carat Diamond?
A 2-carat diamond is guaranteed to stand out while not being so large that it looks garishly huge.
Here's how a 2-carat diamond compares against other diamond sizes on a finger. A 2-carat diamond looks like a dramatic upgrade from a 1-carat diamond.
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Here are the dimensions of 2-carat diamonds of different diamond shapes:
| Shape | Dimensions |
|---|---|
| Round | 8.2 x 8.2 mm |
| Princess | 7 x 7 mm |
| Cushion | 7.2 x 7.2 mm |
| Oval | 9.7 x 7.2 mm |
| Emerald | 8.6 x 6.3 mm |
| Asscher | 7 x 7 mm |
| Pear | 10.2 x 7 mm |
| Marquise | 12.5 x 6.3 mm |
| Radiant | 8.2 x 6.1 mm |
| Heart | 8 x 8 mm |
As you can see, some shapes have larger dimensions. Elongated diamonds like oval, pear, and marquise will appear the biggest. Asscher diamonds usually look the smallest.
Natural vs Lab Created 2 Carat Diamonds
Lab diamonds are more and more popular. If a 2-carat diamond is out of your budget, a lab created diamond is a much more affordable option.
Lab diamonds are real diamonds with identical chemical and physical properties as those created from the earth. But because they're made in labs, lab diamonds are now up to 80% cheaper than natural mined diamonds. And nobody will know the difference!
Here are some examples of natural vs lab 2-carat diamond prices.*
| Natural Diamond | Lab Diamond | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 carat round, H, VS2, Ideal | $21,000 | $3,400 |
| 2 carat, round, G, VVS2, Ideal | $26,000 | $4,700 |
| 2 carat, princess, G, VS1, Ideal | $22,000 | $4,400 |
| 2 carat, cushion, F, VS2, Ideal | $18,000 | $4,300 |
| *Pricing based on typical market price of online diamond retailers as of 2023. | ||
For the same gemstones with the same properties, lab diamonds are the way to go if you want a big stone on a small budget.
Buying Larger Diamonds for the Best Value
Deciding between a 2 carat and 3 carat diamond? Before you go shopping, check out our guide for 3 carat diamond rings.
We recommend that you stick with these guidelines when shopping for larger diamonds.
Cut:
Diamond cut is the most important of the 4Cs. This is what makes a diamond brilliant and beautiful. It can make a diamond so sparkly that it looks bigger and hides flaws.
In other words, do not sacrifice cut for carat. You don't want a large diamond that doesn't sparkle.
Color:
Choose H color if your ring is white gold or platinum. This color grade will appear white to the average person, but it's a lot cheaper than a true colorless diamond.
If you don't mind a warmer look or plan to get a yellow gold ring, then an J diamond could look beautiful.
Clarity:
VS2 clarity is a safe bet. This clarity grade means flaws can be seen under magnification, but usually not to the naked eye.
If you're buying from an online store, it's best if they have actual photos of the diamonds so you can see if there are big flaws. Be sure to check out our guide for diamond clarity before you go shopping.
Tip: When purchasing larger diamonds online, we really like Whiteflash. They label a diamond as eye-clean only if their experts have verified it to be the case. So you don't have to wonder if any flaws will be noticeable.
Certification:
It is important that your diamond is certified by a reputable lab. We recommend certifications from GIA or AGS. These labs have the highest standards so you know you're paying for the right quality.
Shopping Tips for Small Budgets
If you would really like to get your girl a large rock but just don't have the budget, there are still some tricks you can use.
Get a lab diamond.
This will be the biggest money saver. Lab diamonds are as much as 80% cheaper. You can get a good quality 2 carat lab diamond for $3,500 to $5,000.
Not loving the idea of lab created? Don't worry, here are some other ways to save money.
Set a smaller diamond in a halo.
The halo setting has a ring of small diamonds around a larger center diamond. This popular setting gives off serious bling and makes the diamond look huge. It can add about 2mm of width, which means a 1-carat diamond can look as big as 2 carats.
A good value 1 carat diamond costs around $5,500, compared to ~$20,000 for a 2 carat stone.
Go for just below 2 carats.
A diamond just under 2 carats can be as much as 25% less just because it no longer hits the magic whole number mark. But nobody is going to be able to tell the difference between 1.8 carats and 2 carats.
Consider a fancy-shaped diamond.
Fancy-cut diamonds can cost as much as 40% less than round diamonds. And another pro - some shapes look larger than they are, so you could go for a slightly smaller stone. Plus, they're more unique and will appeal to the girl who likes to stand out.
Conclusion
Hopefully you now have a better idea of how much a 2-carat diamond costs. Our goal is to give you guidelines so that you get the best value for your money. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to your budget and what you're looking for.
As always, we suggest that you and your beloved talk about it and agree on your expectations. If she really wants a 2-carat diamond but you've considered all the options and genuinely cannot afford it, you've got to discuss it. Remember, you have the rest of your financial future to think about!
Good luck!
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