Karat Vs. Carat: What’s The Difference?

Pronounced exactly the same but spelled differently, the words carat and karat are among the most commonly confused terms in jewellery. Even people working within the industry occasionally mix them up, yet these two homonyms refer to entirely different things: one measures the weight of gemstones, while the other indicates the purity of gold.

Their origins can be traced back thousands of years to an ancient Mediterranean tree whose seeds became the early standard for weighing gemstones.