The Difference Between Carat and Karat
If you are in the business of
using, buying or even wearing gemstones and precious metals, you should be
aware that these two words mean very different things. Gold has been traded all
over the world thousands of years. For centuries it was the only standardized
exchange in commerce. Shopping for jewelry online or buy offline, findings and materials should make
much more sense after you read this article about Carats vs Karats.
Carat
A Carat is a weight measurement in
reference to precious gemstones such as Diamonds, Sapphires, Rubies, etc. CT is
the common abbreviation used by the jewelry industry. The actual word “carat”
came from the carob bean. In ancient times, the carob bean was used to measure
weight. Carat is the common unit of measurement for all gemstones and refers to
it’s weight. Today, when we want to measure the actual weight of a diamond or
other gemstones, we refer to their weight in carats. Each carat equals 1/5 of a
gram or 5 carats = 1 gram.
Many people think a carat is
referring to the size of the gemstones, however, it is a measurement of weight.
While the weight does effect the size of the gemstones, a carat is not a
measurement of length, mass or volume. The Carat, along with the purity of the
gemstone is what determines the price of the precious stones.
Karat
Karat is the unit of measurement
for GOLD . The word “karat” is used to indicate the percentage of pure gold in
an article of jewelry. KT is the common abbreviation used by the jewelry
industry.
Gold in its’ pure state is
considered too soft for ordinary jewelry applications—it is generally alloyed
with other base metals chiefly copper (but also nickel, silver and zinc). Pure
gold is 24 karat; other alloys are simply a percentage of 24 karat.
18 karat gold jewelry is actually
18/24 pure gold or 3/4 pure gold and is often stamped .750. 14 karat gold
jewelry is 14/24 pure gold and often stamped .585. 10 karat gold jewelry is
10/24 pure gold and often stamped .417. What do the markings on the back of
jewelry actually mean?
The following defines the
percentages in the most common denominations of gold:
24KT contains 99.9% pure gold
18KT contains 75.0% pure gold
14KT contains 58.5% pure gold
10KT contains 41.7% pure gold
You will see fine jewelry items marked either way signifying the gold content. Usually when marking jewelry, manufacturers omit the decimal point and stamp the item 585 or 750, depending on the gold content.
Gold itself is very soft, and like
silver, it needs to be alloyed with other metals to make it stronger and less
expensive. 24 karat gold is considered pure gold, or 100% gold. While many
people think 24 karat gold is the best quality you can buy, the soft metal is
less durable and it can scratch or damage easily. To prevent this, gold is
alloyed with metals such as silver, copper and zinc. When producing white gold
alloys, nickel, copper and zinc are used. So, the karat is measured by the
ratio of gold to the alloyed metal. 18 karat gold is 3/4 gold or 0.750 gold, 14
karat gold is 14/24 gold or 0.583 gold, etc.
Although the karat does determine the value of the gold, it does not tell us the price we are paying for gold. After you have determined the karat of gold you would like, the final step in determining the price of your gold is it's weight, how much gold are you purchasing? Precious metals are measured in Troy Ounces, one Troy Ounce is equal to about 31.1 grams. There are 12 ounces per Troy pound. Oh yea, and did I mention that the price of precious metals is variable?
Although the karat does determine the value of the gold, it does not tell us the price we are paying for gold. After you have determined the karat of gold you would like, the final step in determining the price of your gold is it's weight, how much gold are you purchasing? Precious metals are measured in Troy Ounces, one Troy Ounce is equal to about 31.1 grams. There are 12 ounces per Troy pound. Oh yea, and did I mention that the price of precious metals is variable?
The stamping of gold in the United
States with a mark declaring its quality is governed to be the U.S. Stamping
Law. The U.S. Department of Commerce along with the National Bureau of
Standards has set the regulations, violations and punishment for the stamping
of precious metals. The United States requires jewelry gold articles to be
accurately marked in reference to karat content which is known as “plumb gold”.
In general, carat refers to mass
and karat to refer to gold purity. But, beware that in some places carat is the
term compared to both mass and purity..
Also, don’t forget that there is a
word caret that refers to spacing symbol or mark used in written or printed
material to show the place where something is to be inserted.
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