Two Carat Diamond Engagement Rings: The NZ Buying Guide
12 min read•6 March 2023
💡 Summary TLDR:
Two carat mined diamonds can cost between $25,000 to $68,000.
Lab grown diamonds, which are identical to mined diamonds cost between $7,250 to $11,000. Read more about lab grown diamonds.
Carat size is a measure of weight and not of the surface area. While two carat diamonds look bigger than a one carat, they are not twice as big.
Cut and colour are the most important things to pay attention to when it comes to two carat diamonds to ensure an icy white and sparkly diamond.
Larger carat sizes require more attention to things that sit outside the 4Cs like bowtie effects in Ovals and, extinction and windowing in Emeralds. Work with a respected jeweller to ensure you get the best possible diamond.
Designing a two carat lab grown diamond ring from Four Words is the best way to get exactly what you want from a New Zealand boutique at a great price.
There is a difference between buying a two carat diamond engagement ring vs a one carat diamond engagement ring.
Good jewellers will talk about the 4Cs. The great jewellers will support you in ensuring that your larger diamond is well supported, designed well for everyday wear, your diamond is sparkly, and you get your money’s worth.
This guide will provide you with the insight needed with buying a two carat diamond engagement ring.
How much does a two carat diamond engagement ring cost?
The cost of a two carat diamond ring varies, depending on its cut, clarity and colour.
In New Zealand, you can be looking at anything between $7,250 to $11,000 for a lab grown diamond, and $25,000 to $68,000 for a mined diamond.
If you are looking for to save money, diamonds that are 1.80 to 1.99 carats are typically less expensive than 2.00 carat diamonds (in the industry this is called buying shy).
The main thing you want to pay attention to when choosing a diamond isn’t the price or size. It is making sure you get a quality stone with lots of sparkle and life to it. This is where the 4Cs come into play, and what the good jewellers talk about.
For example, you have the option of a 1.8 carat diamond which is well-cut, with lots of sparkle versus a dull & lifeless 2.1 carat diamond, we’ll always pick the 1.8 carat stone.
Why? The main purpose of a diamond is for it to sparkle and shine. Anything less means you’re paying extra for something subpar.
Characteristics to keep in mind for 2.0 carat Diamonds:
Colourless & icy-white (Colour graded F or higher)
Excellent cut or higher (We recommend Ideal cut for Round shaped diamonds)
Is flawless to the naked eye (clarity of VS or higher)
Note below in the article we have specific 4Cs and diamond cut advice.
How big is a 2 carat diamond?
The size of a two carat diamond will depend on its shape. Different diamond shapes have different sizes.
For example:
Round 2 carat diamond has a diameter of about 8.0mm.
An Oval is about 7 x 10 mm (width x length).
While size does matter, it is as important for you to get a design you and your partner love, and looks well balanced on the finger.
Total Carat Weight vs Carat Size
There is a huge difference between total carat weight and the carat weight of an individual stone.
Total carat weight is calculated by adding up all the diamonds in a ring together.
For example, if you had 10 x 0.1 carat diamonds on your wedding band and a 1 carat solitaire diamond centre stone, then the total carat weight would be 2 carats. This doesn’t mean that you have a two carat diamond.
A single stone with a larger carat size has more sparkle than lots of smaller stones. However, lots of smaller diamonds are typically more affordable than larger individual stones.
At Four Words, we will inform you of each diamond’s carat size and the total carat weight.
Two carat diamonds and the 4Cs
The larger the diamond, the more attention you need to pay to the other three Cs. The other three Cs are colour, clarity and cut. What is typically looks great at one carat may not be at two carats. The bigger the diamond, the more noticeable the defects - makes sense right?
Colour
The larger the carat, the higher the colour grade you should go.
At Four Words, all our diamonds are at least ‘G’ colour. This means that the diamond appears colourless to the naked eye.
When dealing with larger stones, we often do suggest upgrading to D-E-F. This ensures that your diamond is icy white.
The larger the stone, the more likely you are to see colour. This is because the face (also known as table) of the diamond is a lot larger.
Cut
Only Round cut diamonds are graded on cut. There are three components that goes into cut: Symmetry, Proportion and Polish.
If you are buying a Round cut diamond, we recommend working with ideal-excellent- excellent. This means that the diamond is close to perfectly symmetrical, has ideal proportions to reflect light and is well polished.
No matter what size of diamond you buy from Four Words, all our Round diamonds are the best that the eye can see.
When we help you pick out other shaped diamonds, our diamond experts and designers:
Check its proportions,
Visually inspect it
Check the diamond against its grading certificate.
On the diamond on the left, there is a clearly defined arrow pattern, symmetrical patterning and large culet (the centre). On the left, there is no clear arrow pattern, some asymmetry and an extremely large culet.
Clarity
The bigger the diamond, the more attention you need to pay to clarity. Clarity means the absence or presence of inclusions or blemishes on the diamond. At 2 carats, we typically use VS (very slightly included under 10x magnification - but flawless to the naked eye).
Whatever you choose, the level of clarity should be so that you can’t see any inclusions simply by looking at it. And at Four Words, we believe that you should only pay for a diamond that is eye clean and nothing more — you don’t get anything more from buying a higher quality. It is better to save money or go for a higher carat weight.
Things to watch out for with larger diamond sizes
2 Carat Emerald Cut Diamond
So you want to buy a 2 carat diamond Emerald? At 2 carats, the Emerald Cut can have issues. The two main risks are around windowing and extinction.
This is where poor-cut emeralds either leak too much light appearing clear, like a window; or don’t refract enough light and create very dark areas. You want to avoid diamonds like this.
While it is good to know what to look out for when picking an emerald diamond – it is important to work with a respected jeweller.
One frustrating part of selecting a diamond yourself is the amount of time you need to put into finding a well cut diamond. At Four Words we only work with the top 2% of diamonds in the world.
The other thing about 2 carat emerald cut diamonds is that it is more prone to chipping and getting caught on clothing. Therefore, we recommend bezels around the corners to protect your diamond. It will also make your daily experience of wearing a 2 carat Emerald cut diamond a lot easier.
Below is a side-by-side comparison between a 1 carat and 2 carat Emerald cut.
2 Carat Oval Cut Diamond
Similar to extinction, Oval Cut diamonds can suffer from the ‘bowtie’ effect. A bowtie is the dark area which is near the centre of the diamond. They look like two black triangles. All longer-shaped diamonds are affected by this effect to some degree (including Pears, Radiants and Marquise).
Unfortunately, all oval diamonds (and any elongated shapes) will have a little bit of a bow-tie effect. It’s just the nature of the cut.
Well-cut diamonds minimise this effect, either blending into the diamond or creating a nice contrast effect.
You want to avoid diamonds with obvious bowties. It darkens your diamond and makes it appear less sparkly, making the diamond appear lifeless.
However, you need to be careful not to pick one that has a strong presence of it. This can be a bit tricky because bow-tie isn’t reported on the grading reports, so best to work with a trusted jeweller who can help you pick a diamond that avoids this.
Below is a side-by-side comparison between a 1 carat and 2 carat Oval cut.
2 Carat Round Cut Diamond
Round diamonds look outstanding at 2 carats because of their symmetry and sparkle. And it is for this reason you want to pay attention to clarity and cut.
At larger carat sizes, inclusions become more of a factor because it refracts more light. Larger inclusions, especially near the centre of the stone also become more noticeable. We recommend at least VS2 and making sure that you are happy with the diamond by sending you an up-close video.
Symmetry is also important. Because your diamond is much larger, you will be able to see into it more. Here, asymmetry is worse than no symmetry.
At Four Words we use ideal-excellent-excellent cut for all our Round diamonds. This ensures that your diamond will be sparkly and symmetrical at any carat size.
Below is a side-by-side comparison between a 1 carat and 2 carat Round cut.
How To Design a Two Carat Diamond Engagement Ring
Make sure you get exactly what you want
Buying a two carat diamond engagement ring is going to cost a bit of money, so don’t settle with something off the shelf. You can work with a bespoke jeweller like Four Words who can custom make exactly what you want for no additional cost.
With us, you have unlimited design revisions and expert jewellers that can support you on making sure your diamond is secure, sparkly and uniquely yours.
Below is an example of one of clients going through the design process with a few of our sketches.
Experiment with solitaires
When choosing a 2.0ct diamond, you can’t go wrong with a solitaire design where your diamond is the star of the show. This classic and timeless style is the most popular for a reason. But you can push the boundaries. You can had your own unique flair by adding features like a pave band, hidden halos, accent stones and so on — the options are limitless.
The main thing then is choosing your diamond shape, band, and if you would like to add diamonds to that too.
It’s also good to think about your wedding and promise ring bands at the same time. You can create an amazing set by planning your rings out.
For example, one of our clients chose a 2 carat diamond ring on a simple gold band. Her wedding band was a pear tiara band, and her promise ring a diamond marquise band. Now she can either wear the full stack or the rings individually
Each ring on its own looks great, but even better together.
Yellow gold, white gold or rose gold bands?
Once you have chosen your diamond(s), the next step is choosing a band. There are two main considerations here — colour and material.
With colour, its best to stick with the colour of jewellery you or your partner already wears. However, if you don’t know or don’t wear much jewellery, you want to opt for something that suits your skin undertone.
Generally white/silver metals like platinum or white gold suit people with ‘cooler’ undertones and rose and yellow gold suits people with ‘warmer’ undertones. People with neutral undertones suit all metal colours. However this isn’t a hard and fast rule — best to pick a colour that you like the look of best.
In terms of material, if you want yellow or rose gold we recommend using 14k — it’s a much stronger metal than 18k and costs less too. If you are wanting a silver look, we recommend choosing platinum over white gold. It is a bit more costly upfront, but requires less maintenance and cost overtime than white gold.
You don’t even need to stick with one metal type. If you love the icy white look of a diamond and the warmer hues of yellow and rose gold, you can opt for a white gold/platinum basket and a yellow/rose gold band.
Think about your wedding band as you are designing an engagement ring
Eventually you will also be getting a wedding band. Make sure to think about the design of the wedding band up front so you can get a flush fit, and something that looks the part.
We encourage you to ensure that the engagement ring and wedding band are the same colour. Having even a slight deviation can look mismatched.
Want to design your own 2 carat diamond ring?
Whether it is an engagement ring, pendant or wedding ring, at Four Words we would be delighted to bring your ideas come to life. We can also do necklaces, bracelets and earrings. All our diamonds are independently verified by IGI and comes with a complementary valuation. We also offer one free ring resizing.
Send us your wish list and work with our designers to create something that is uniquely yours.
The answer depends mainly on your personal preference and the general advice is to get the biggest stone given your budget - the bigger the diamond the bigger the sparkle!
Our advice is to think about the whole ring, not just the diamond and how it will look on the finger. The key consideration is ‘finger coverage’ — how much of the finger is covered by the engagement ring and how that fits into the lifestyle of the wearer.
People with active hands might opt for a ring will less finger coverage. In some cases a 2 carat might create too much finger coverage. For example if you have small hands, a 2 carat diamond might look little too big proportionally on your fingers; same with if your ring design has a lot of features or has multiple stones.
It’s best to think about the design as a whole rather than just the diamond size and work with a designer to get their advice. Here at Four Words, part of custom design process includes creating 3D models and 3D prints so you can have clear idea of what your design will look like on the finger.
Not all jewellers in New Zealand are able to order in a 2 carat diamond in for you. Also, keep in mind, the higher in carat size you go, the higher the quality and level of knowledge you would want your salesperson, designer and concierge to be at. This can be lacking at chain stores.
At Four Words, all our staff go through rigorous training before talking to you. For example, our designers (who you will be talking to if you need any help) have had more than five years of experience working at the top boutiques before working at Four Words.
Carat is a measure of weight — not a size. 1 carat of diamond weighs 200 milligrams. 2 carats weigh 400 milligrams. In this sense, carat is proportionate to weight.
But a 2 carat diamond is not twice the *size* of a 1 carat. A 1 carat Round diamond has a diameter of 6.4mm. A 2 carat Round diamond has a diameter of around 8.1mm.
Below is a graph showing that carat size is not a linear relationship — 2 carats is not twice as big as a 1 carat in terms of appearance. And 1 carat is not double the size of a 0.5 carat.
From a mined perspective, larger carat sizes are more rare than smaller carat sizes. They can be more difficult to find, and once they are, they are often cut into smaller carats.
With lab grown diamonds, carats are dependent on the amount of carbon, pressure and heat. 2 carat diamonds require more energy than smaller carats and are harder to grow.
While there is less supply of 2 carat lab grown diamonds than 1 carat lab grown diamonds, the difference is not material. The increase in price comes from the cost of energy. Also, labs can create more 2 carat diamonds if there is an increase in demand.
Not all jewellers jewellers stock two carat diamonds for you to have a look at. You will also find a limited range. At Four Words, we stock the most popular cuts in a variety of sizes for you to try on. And because we do bespoke jewellery, we can find or make you any shape that you would like.
If you are looking for a large diamond but have been put off the cost, there are other gemstones that look and have very similar characteristics. For example, a moissanite is a great alternative to a diamond.
While it is a little more sparkly than a diamond, it is only second to a diamond in terms of hardness and is incredibly difficult to tell even when put side by side.
The difference in price is also substantial. A 2 carat diamond can cost between $7,250-$11,000. A moissanite of the equivalent size will be between $3,000 - $4,000.
