Differences Between Karat and Carat

Karat vs Carat

“Karat” and “carat” are both measurements used in the world of jewelry. They might have the same pronunciation but are spelled differently and measure entirely different things. “Carat” is the measurement of the weight of diamonds and other precious stones; whereas a “karat” is the measurement of the purity of a precious metal, especially gold.

Karat
Karat is the measurement of purity of a metal. “Karat” is especially used in measuring the purity of gold. The purity of gold can be scaled from 1-24. Twenty-four karat is the purest form of gold. Gold is one of the softer metals and needs to be added with alloys to harden it to make jewelry. The alloys added in gold to make it harder and usable are nickel, zinc, or copper. The presence of these alloys can be identified by the color of the gold jewelry by an experienced eye. Twenty-four karat refers to the purest form of gold with the least amount of alloys added to it. Twelve karat gold refers to gold which is 50 per cent gold and 50 per cent alloy. Most commonly, 18 karat jewelry is available. But in countries like India, 22 karat jewelry is more favored and popular. Any gold with less than 10 karats is not considered gold. The karat level is stamped on each piece of jewelry. In the U.S., “karat” is written as “K.” In other countries, “karat” is also written as a “C.”

Carat
“Carat” is the weight of precious stones and pearls. It is especially used for weighing diamonds. Carat is one-fifth of a gram or 200 mg. also written as .2grams. It is a measurement based on the commonly used metric system. So if the diamond is a 5 carat diamond, it weighs 1 gm. A carat is divided into 100 points. If a diamond is half a carat, then it is called a 50 pointer. The word “carat” originated from a bean called “carob bean” which was used to measure precious gemstones. Carob beans were especially used because they had a very consistent weight. In 1907, the carat started being used as the legal standard for measuring gemstones. It is denoted as “Ct.” For example, a ring having a 1 Ct. diamond in an 18K gold ring are popular. Diamonds are mostly set in 18K gold as the gold needs to be hardened more to achieve the diamond’s secure setting more than a piece of gold jewelry.

Summary:

1.Karat is the measure of purity of a metal , especially gold; carat is the measurement of the weight of precious stones, especially diamonds.
2.Karat is measured on a scale of 1-24; a carat is one-fifth of a gram or 200 mg. and is divided into 100 points.
3.Karat is most commonly denoted as “K”; carat is most commonly denoted as “Ct.”

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