Surely, throughout your life, with jewelry purchases you have heard about carats, but... do you really know what a carat is and what it indicates in the world of jewelry?
We tell you what is a carat in the jewelry industry to learn how to value jewelry and carats.
18 carat ring, 5 carat diamond, necklace with 3.5 carat diamonds, carat with k ... surely all this that we are telling you sounds familiar from the thousands of advertisements that tell you about the carats to measure the value of jewelry, however, many of us do not know exactly what it refers to. We have always been taught that the more carats, the better the quality and the higher the price, but... is this true?
Let's start discovering the #LavaniGirls what a carat is and how much a carat equals.
1. What is a carat
The word carat comes from "karat" an ancient unit of measurement used throughout history to measure the value and weight of gems and jewelry.
Today, the word "karat" has evolved to carat, becoming a unit of mass.
In conclusion, we can say that a carat is a unit of mass used in jewelry to measure the purity of jewels and gems, as well as their mass.
- Carat as a unit of mass: the carat is used to measure the mass of jewelry. The abbreviation of the carat to measure the mass is ct. The ct will tell us the weight of the gemstone, being a fundamental element to measure its value later on. Generally, the ct weight measurement is used as a unit of weight for gemstones, this weight usually varies from 0.05 ct to 5 ct.
- Carat as a unit of purity: the carat is also used to measure the purity of gold, i.e. to measure the total gold composition of a jewel, the larger the value the more gold concentration the jewel itself will have. The maximum concentration of gold in a piece of jewelry, i.e. a piece of jewelry made entirely of gold will have a composition of 24k.
2. Gold colors
There are different types of gold:
Yellow gold: this is the color of gold in its natural state, the golden color that comes to mind when we think of pure gold.
Rose gold: rose gold is obtained from the combination of gold with copper, a combination that gives rise to rose gold, one of the most successful trends in jewelry in recent years.
White gold: white gold is a combination of pure gold with palladium, it is one of the most sought after and scarce types of gold at the moment.
3. Guide to know the purity of gold
The purity of gold can vary depending on the amount of gold in the jewel itself. While it is true that a 24k jewelry will have a higher price and duration, it must be said that there are minor compositions very commercialized, as they are much more affordable jewelry and with an average duration.
For example, 18k gold is widely sold due to its high resistance, higher than that of 18k when mixed with other metals that reinforce its hardness and color durability.
We want to show you a table that we have elaborated so that you can understand what a carat is, its value and its percentage of gold composition:
|
QUILATES
|
% GOLD
|
|
24 carats
|
100%
|
|
22 carats
|
91,7%
|
|
18 carats
|
75%
|
|
14 carats
|
58,3%
|
|
12 carats
|
50%
|
|
8 carats
|
33,33%
|
|
6 carats
|
|
|
1 carat
|
4,167%
|
In Lavani we always work with gold plating between 18 and 22k, they bring a long duration to the color of the jewelry with care. Discover our gold jewelry, such as the gold plated rings.
We hope that you have been able to understand what a carat is and what a carat really measures, in an easy way. You now have a beginner level to defend yourself in the world of jewelry.