the.com/carat
the unit where a fifth of a gram decides your engagement budget.
means A unit of mass equal to 200 milligrams (one-fifth of a gram), used to weigh gemstones and pearls — not to be confused with karat, the measure of gold purity.
from From the Greek 'keration,' meaning 'little horn,' the name for the seed pod of the carob tree. These seeds were reputed to be uniformly tiny and consistent, making them handy counterweights for gem merchants — so the popular story goes. The word traveled through Arabic 'qirat' and Italian 'carato' before settling into English. Modern science has rather spoiled the romance: carob seeds turn out to vary in weight as much as anything else, so in the early 20th century the carat was simply fixed at a clean 200 milligrams and the seeds retired.
- weight not size
- Measures mass, exactly 200 milligrams.
- carob origin
- Named for carob seeds, once used as scales.
- not karat
- Carat weighs gems, karat purifies gold.
- hundred points
- One carat splits into 100 tiny points.
- price jumps
- Value leaps disproportionately at round-number weights.
hope diamond — 45.52 carats, blue diamond in smithsonian institution
koh-i-noor — 105.6 carats, part of british crown jewels
cullinan i diamond — 530.2 carats, largest clear cut diamond in world