Carat.
Carat The carat is the unit of weight for diamonds. A carat weighs 0.20 of a gram and is divided into 100 points, therefore a three-quarter carat diamond is 75 points, a half carat diamond is 50 points and a quarter carat diamond is 25 points and so on...
The derivation of the word carat is most interesting - Revolutionary Indian diamond traders in the 17th century used the locally-available carob seed as a comparison when assessing the weight of the rough diamond. The carob seed on one side of the weighing scales and rough diamonds on the other. By a miraculous feat of nature the weight of a single carob seed was always 0.20 gram. Following this the unit of weight for diamonds was established and the name 'carob' became 'carat'.
A one carat diamond is almost 6 and a half mm in diameter, a half carat diamond is just over 5 mm in diameter and a quarter carat diamond is just over 4 mm in diameter. This is purely a guide as the diameter of the diamond in relation to the carat weight will depend on the final proportions and overall volume.
The derivation of the word carat is most interesting - Revolutionary Indian diamond traders in the 17th century used the locally-available carob seed as a comparison when assessing the weight of the rough diamond. The carob seed on one side of the weighing scales and rough diamonds on the other. By a miraculous feat of nature the weight of a single carob seed was always 0.20 gram. Following this the unit of weight for diamonds was established and the name 'carob' became 'carat'.
A one carat diamond is almost 6 and a half mm in diameter, a half carat diamond is just over 5 mm in diameter and a quarter carat diamond is just over 4 mm in diameter. This is purely a guide as the diameter of the diamond in relation to the carat weight will depend on the final proportions and overall volume.
