2023-02-01
The name carat is derived from the French word carat, which in turn comes from the Greek kerátion, through the Arabic qīrāṭ and the Italian carato, which means carob fruit. Carob is a tree called carob pod, which has grains weighing about 0.2 g, used in the Middle East as a standard for weighing gemstones.
What is a carat?
A carat is a unit of measurement used to determine the weight of stones and pearls and to describe the purity of gold, i.e. the gold content of the alloy. The carat designation is ct or kt. In gemstone measurements, 1 carat is equal to 0.2 g. The carat also functioned as a measure of gold content in alloys. One carat equals 1/24 of the weight content of gold in the alloy. Pure gold, according to this system, contained 24 carats (24K).