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You are here: Home / Language / Where Did the Word Carat Come From and Why are Precious Stones Like Diamonds Weighed In Carats?

Where Did the Word Carat Come From and Why are Precious Stones Like Diamonds Weighed In Carats?

March 30, 2020 by Karen Hill

The word carat comes from the carob bean, which grows on the cerantonia siliqua tree.

Each bean is so remarkably near the same size and weight that the ancients used it as a universal measurement for precious stones.

There are approximately 142 carob beans, or carats, to the ounce.

Each carat is divided into one hundred points, individually weighing about the same as three bread crumbs.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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