Carrots, Carats and Karats

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between Carrot, Carat, and Karat? Everyone knows a carrot is an orange vegetable kids won't eat. Beyond that is where most misunderstandings begin.

What's a Carat or a Karat? Carat is the unit of weight (.200 grams, or 200 milligrams) used for measuring loose diamonds and gemstones. The origin of the term Carat was probably the seed of the carob tree and widely used as a standard by Eastern traders because of its remarkably consistent weight. The carat formerly varied somewhat in different countries, but the metric carat was adopted in the United States in 1913 and is now standardized in all major countries of the world. The term Karat refers to the fineness of gold. Pure, unalloyed gold is 24 Karat. 18 Karat gold is 18 parts gold and 6 parts alloy. 14 Karat gold is 14 parts gold and 10 parts alloy. 10 Karat gold is 10 parts gold and 14 parts alloy. Pure 24 Karat gold is too soft for most jewelry purposes which is why base metal alloys such as zinc, nickel and copper are added to the gold for durability.