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Oct 11, 2006
Carat-do they mean the vegetable?
When shopping for jewelry, the term carat is used over and over again. A 1 carat diamond solitaire, this necklace is 1.5 carat TW, what does that term really mean? A metric carat is 0.2 grams (.007 ounces). The carat is divided into 100 points. When you see the word carat by itself, it means that one stone equals the specified carat weight. If you see the term total weight, it means the total carat weight for all the stones in a piece. The term carat is derived from a tree which grows in regions of the Mediterranean called the Carob Tree.
Before modern measuring tools, the Carob seed was the standard for weighing precious stones. The metric carat was adopted in the United States in 1913 and worldwide in 1930. This calculated measurement system finally gave the world a universal standard for weighing precious stones. Interestingly, there can be differences between stones depending on their molecular density. A dense stone may weigh a carat, but be smaller than a comparable stone in size. For example, zircon is a dense gemstone that when compared to a diamond of the same carat weight will be smaller because of its density.
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