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A carat
is the way to measure the weight of gemstones. A carat is approximately 1/142 of an ounce.
The carat is further subdivided into points, which equal 1/100th of a carat. Today’s
gemstones are weighed to a thousandth of a carat but are rounded to the nearest hundredth
of a carat. A diamond that is 25 points is a quarter of a carat, 50 points a half a carat,
etc.
The word carat is probably derived from the carob tree whose
seeds are remarkably consistent in weight. Early gem traders used them on their ancient
balances to determine weight. In the first 3 decades of the 20th century the
carat was further standardized to exactly .2 of a gram.
Carat is the only one of the four C's not judged by quality.
It should be noted that a carat is a measure of weight. A lighter diamond can look bigger
if there are certain deviations from proper cutting of either stone. If diamonds are cut
equally well the heavier stone will appear larger. More about that when we discuss cut.
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