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One of the things you will need to know when buying fine jewelry, is what is a Carat and a Karat. Carat and karat are pronounced the same, but each has a different meaning when buying fine jewelry.
How do you know which word is correct?
Let's look first at where the words came from, and then their current meanings when buying fine jewelry. Many of us are familiar with carob, which is often used as a substitute for chocolate. Few of us, however, know that carat and karat both trace their ancestry to carob. Carob trees have grown in the Mediterranean region since antiquity. The trees produce small, edible seed pods containing carob beans. Carob beans are unusually consistent in size. This means that carob beans usually all weigh the same, no matter when or where harvested. This characteristic of consistent weight led to carob beans becoming a unit of weight in early times. The Greeks were the first documented users of carob beans for weight. By 1500, Latin alchemists, still using carob beans as a basic unit of weight, measured things by the carratus. Carat and karat are the modern derivatives of carratus. Although they have a common origin and are pronounced the same, carat and karat now have different meanings when buying fine jewelry.
A carat is a unit of weight in a gemstone.
How do you know which word is correct?
Let's look first at where the words came from, and then their current meanings when buying fine jewelry. Many of us are familiar with carob, which is often used as a substitute for chocolate. Few of us, however, know that carat and karat both trace their ancestry to carob. Carob trees have grown in the Mediterranean region since antiquity. The trees produce small, edible seed pods containing carob beans. Carob beans are unusually consistent in size. This means that carob beans usually all weigh the same, no matter when or where harvested. This characteristic of consistent weight led to carob beans becoming a unit of weight in early times. The Greeks were the first documented users of carob beans for weight. By 1500, Latin alchemists, still using carob beans as a basic unit of weight, measured things by the carratus. Carat and karat are the modern derivatives of carratus. Although they have a common origin and are pronounced the same, carat and karat now have different meanings when buying fine jewelry.
A carat is a unit of weight in a gemstone.
Carat is abbreviated as c. or ct., while karat is k. or kt. How much does a carat weigh? Prior to 1913, a carat in the United States weighed 205.3 milligrams. In 1913 the United States accepted 200 milligrams as the international standard weight of a carat in jewelry. (European countries and Japan had accepted this standard earlier). For those of us who still think in pounds and ounces, it takes about 142 carats to make an ounce. The important thing to remember when buying fine jewelry is that a carat is a unit of weight, not a unit of size. One carat of a dense (heavy) stone will be smaller than one carat of a lighter stone. For example, a one-carat sapphire will be smaller than a one-carat diamond, because sapphires are heavier than diamonds.
A karat refers to the quantity of pure gold contained in a particular piece of fine jewelry.
A karat refers to the quantity of pure gold contained in a particular piece of fine jewelry.
The measurement uses a base of 24 units. Pure gold is twenty-four twenty-fourths (24/24ths) gold, and is called 24-karat gold. As gold is a soft metal, other metals are often added to make it harder. Gold with other metals added to it is referred to as a gold alloy. The most common metals used in gold alloys are silver, copper, nickel, and zinc. Gold that is 14-karat gold is fourteen twenty-fourths (14/24ths) gold and ten twenty-fourths (10/24ths) other metals. The most common gold alloys are 14-karat gold and 18-karat gold. Other alloys, such as 16-karat gold, are sometimes available. When buying fine jewelry made of gold, or other objects made from gold, remember that the higher the number of karats, the higher the proportion of gold. Only 24-karat gold is 100% gold.
MOSS BEACH ARTWORKS
Gayton Arrigotti Jeweler/Gemologist
Handmade Contemporary Designer Jewelry Sterling Silver-14K Gold-Mixed Metals-Gemstones
MOSS BEACH ARTWORKS
Gayton Arrigotti Jeweler/Gemologist
Handmade Contemporary Designer Jewelry Sterling Silver-14K Gold-Mixed Metals-Gemstones