WHAT ARE DIAMOND CARATS?
Assistant Curator: I understand today we will be addressing the word “carat” as it applies to diamonds? Jeweler: Yes, today’s report in regarding the topic of diamond carats. It’s a measure of weight, or more precisely “a carat is a unit of mass – like grams.” In fact, one carat is exactly 200 milligrams. Diamonds are weighed in carats and not grams. It’s the measurement used in the gem industry to describe the weight of a diamond and other gems. Assistant Curator: You mean, rather than saying: “This diamond weighs 200 milligrams.” We would say: “This diamonds weighs 1 carat?” Jeweler: Exactly. Assistant Curator: So why don’t we measure the weight of diamonds in grams or ounces? Jeweler: The answer to that seems to be part of the history of diamonds. It seems that ancient Mediterranean cultures traded in diamonds. Carob trees were quite common in this region. They used these carob seeds as counter weights for their diamond scales. The word “carat” is based on an Hebrew or perhaps the A
