What is Diamond Carat Weight?

Most people think carat is the dimensional size of a diamond or gemstone, but carat is actually a unit of weight and not a measurement of dimensions.  Although, the larger the carat weight, the larger the diamond will be dimensionally. The term carat is derived from the Greek work kerátion which means “fruit of the carob.” In the 1500’s, the middle east starting using carob seeds as a standard of weight for both gemstones and gold. Today, one carat is fixed at as standard weight of 0.20 gram. 

These are some common abbreviations for carat: 

·       CT - You have probably already figured out that ‘ct’ or ‘cts’ is the shortened version of the word carat, as in 0.50ct.  It is only used to describe the weight of a single diamond or gemstone.

·       TWT - ‘Twt’ is the shortened version of the term carats total weight.  For example, if I am referring to a single diamond, I would write 1.25ct, but if I am referring to multiple diamonds, I would write 1.25twt.  This means that when I add up the weight of all the diamonds in the jewelry piece, their cumulative weight is 1.25 carats total weight! 

Every gemstone, including diamond, is made up of different chemicals and crystal structure giving them each an individual specific gravity amount.  What that means is that a 6mm round sapphire will weigh differently than a 6mm round diamond, so you can’t compare carat amounts when talking about one gemstone from another just because the measurements are the same. Specific gravity refers to how much heavier it is to an equal volume of water, and every gemstone is different.

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• One-on-one appointments (personal attention and no crowds!)

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