The Difference Between Karats, Carats and Carrots

It’s About the End Result

Whether you want to buy or sell jewelry, sell scrap gold for money or make a killer salad you need to understand the fundamental difference between karats, carats and carrots.

They Only Sound the Same

It’s simple enough, the words sound the same but they aren’t spelled the same and each one is substantially different in meaning.

Here is our guide to understanding (and applying) the difference between karats, carats and carrots.

Karats Defined

First things first, we have to start with the one most important to us.

A karat is a measurement of the purity of gold, which measures gold pieces based on a scale of 1-24, 24 being pure gold.

Often abbreviated as 24K or 24k

This scale was developed because gold is such a soft metal that it is often alloyed with its harder cousins like silver, copper and sometimes platinum to help it retain its shape.

Carats Defined

This is where things get confusing, so pay attention.

A carat is also a unit of measurement used to define the worth of jewelry, except this one measures the mass of gemstones.

A tradition rooted in the constant weight of carob beans back when bartering was a way of life, the carat later became the legal standard for weighing precious gemstones in 1907 (the U.S. finally agreed in 1913).

One carat = 200 milligrams, and that is a global standard

Although there was a study done in 2006 to determine if the weight of the carob bean still sat consistently at 200 milligrams.

The findings show that the carob seed is as inconsistent in weight as any other seed due to natural variations.

What does this mean?

A. Jewelers were drunks
B. They don’t make carob seeds like they used to
C. A traveling gold salesman (with a heavy carob bean) was the one who set up the rules

Carrots Defined

A carrot is a member of the parsley family and grows long, orange edible roots; and thankfully they have absolutely nothing to do with jewelry or gold.

They do however compliment a great summer salad, a hearty stew or even a Sunday roast.

Plus carrots offer a great, natural source of Beta Carotene.

To Further Confuse You

Our added bonus, learn a little more about determining the value of jewelry.

Gold talk usually involves a mention of troy weight at some point.

So when you show off your newly acquired knowledge about how gold and gemstones are evaluated, be sure to mention this measurement too.

Troy weight is the unit of measurement for gold which dates back to the 15th century and it is based on a pound of 12 ounces

This standard of weight measurement is used almost exclusively by miners, jewelers and gold buyers.

We Are Only Interested in the First Two

Carrots aren’t worth much to us, although we do enjoy them sauteed with a little butter and salt.

Karats and Carats on the other hand are a big part of our business so we are fond of both of them.

Anything you’ve got to sell that involves either of these two, give us a call 1-877-465-3720 or fill out our form above to sell them for cash today.

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