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One carat (not to be confused with Karat—the measure of purity of gold) is the
equivalent of 200 milligrams. One carat can also be divided into 100 "points."
A .75 carat diamond is the same as a 75-points or a 3/4 carat diamond.
The term carat is a derivative of the word carob. Carob seeds, which are
surprisingly uniform in weight, were used as a reference for diamond weight in
ancient civilizations. One carob seed equaled one carat.
It is often assumed that a 1-carat diamond costs exactly twice the price of a
1/2-carat diamond. This is not the case. Since larger diamonds are found less
frequently in nature, a 1-carat diamond will cost much more than twice as much
as a 1/2-carat diamond, assuming color, clarity and cut remain constant.
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