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From Carobs to Carats – Weighing a Diamond
Posted by admin | Posted in Diamond Advice | Posted on 26-12-2008
Wow! How many carats is it? Upon seeing a spectacular diamond or other precious stone, this is, quite naturally, among one of the first questions that any curious gem lover will ask.
Carob Pods
Have you ever wondered where the term “carat” originated? It actually has a very interesting background…Many, many years ago, in the far away land of the Mediterranean, it was discovered that the weight of a single carob seed appeared to remain fairly consistent from seed to seed. And so…, the weight of a carob seed became kind of a pre-industry measuring method. (As a side note: carob beans are often used as a substitute for chocolate.) Read more about the history of diamonds.
Time passed, and soon tiny variations in the size of carob seeds were noted, commented on, and challenged. As the demand for more accurate and scientific measurements became internationally necessary, the industry dealing with precious stones adopted a more uniform and standardized way of measuring diamonds and other precious stones; until eventually, around the year 1913, the metric weight of a carat officially became 200 milligrams. Of course, each and every diamond can not be measured in full carats. In fact, the average diamond purchase tends to be within the 1/3 carat range. This is where the interim measurement weight of “points” comes in. It takes 100 points to equal a carat. For instance: a ¾ carat diamond would be 75 points, a ½ carat diamond, 50 points, a 1/4 carat diamond, 25 points… Well, you get the picture.
Now, isn’t it nice to know a little bit about the background of diamond weights and measures?
By the way: While carob seeds may be, to some, a suitable substitute for chocolate, there is absolutely no substitute for the twinkle that a only a beautiful diamond can provide.
