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A person’s first question concerning diamonds usually is: What is a carat? A carat is a measure of weight. The word carat actually is derived from the word carob. In olden times when someone wanted to determine how much a diamond weighed, he would balance the scale using carob beans. Carob, by the way, is used today as a chocolate substitute. You might have seen it in stores as carob-covered raisins or carob-covered malted milk balls. Anyway, the actual weight of a one carat diamond is now standardized at two hundred milligrams (a fifth of a gram). In the Far East they didn’t have carob beans so they used rice. If you ever see a diamond that is called a four-grainer, that equals one carat as well. Another way to discuss the weight of diamonds is in terms of points (decimals); one hundred points equal one carat. Some people think that if they are looking at a 75 point diamond it means a diamond with 75 points on it. What it means is that the diamond is 75 percent or 3/4 of a carat; just as a 33 point diamond would mean it is 33% or 1/3 of a carat. There is a correlation between the diameter of a diamond and its weight, but it is only approximate.
The Magical One Carat
If I were to mention a corporation named DeBeers many people might say they’ve never heard of them. But if I were to say, “A diamond is forever,” or “Say you’d marry her all over again with a diamond anniversary ring,” or “A one carat diamond is one in a million,” or finally, “Is two months’ salary too much to spend for something that lasts forever?” you have probably heard one of these lines. They all come from DeBeers, the big diamond conglomerate that supplies most of the world with diamonds. Through great marketing they have created the one carat diamond as the minimum size to have. That is part of the reason why there is a substantial price increase once a good diamond reaches one carat. However, good one carat diamonds are literally one in a million. Don’t forget, though, just because a diamond is large does not mean it will be expensive. By the way, the average diamond purchased in the United States is 38 points or a little larger than 1/3 of a carat.
