The Carat
Diamonds are measured in the unit weight carat. One carat weighs 200 milligrams, and is subdivided into 100 points with each point equal to 2 milligram. The word carat comes from the word carob. A carob is a bean that grows on a tree in the Mediterranean. In times past, if a diamond weighed the same as a carob bean, it was one carob, or one carat.
The Grain
A diamond is also referred to as four grains, this means that it is a one carat diamond. In the far east where carob trees do not grow, rice was used to measure the weight of a diamond. If a diamond weighed as much as four grains of rice, it was four grains – or one carat as we know it to be now.
Carat Total Weight
The majority of diamond purchases are for diamonds that are 1/3 of a carat. Beware when shopping for diamonds that are already set or mounted. If more than one diamond is used in the piece, the tag on the jewellery will give the CTW or Carat Total Weight – it does not tell you the carat weight of each stone in the piece.
Remember, two 1/2 carat diamonds is not equivalent to a 1 carat diamond, pricewise, due to the rare nature of larger diamonds. You need to ask the jeweller for the carat weight of the largest diamond in the piece to truly understand what you are buying.
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