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Ch. 7: Weights

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VII
WEIGHTS
The standard of weight for diamonds is the " karat," or " carat." It is said to have been derived from a bean, the fruit of an African tree called by the natives " kuara" (sun), because both the fruit and the blossom are of a golden color. This bean being always, when dried, of about the same weight, it was used in Shangallas, the chief market of Africa, as a standard of weight for gold. By commerce with the merchants of India it came into use there, and, being found convenient, was adopted for the weighing of diamonds. The name comes from a word (keration) taken from the Greek by the Romans, which they described as the name of a very small weight or measure. An old book treat­ing of it says, " Monardus writeth that he saw diamonds in Bisnager (Visnapour) that weighed one hundred and forty ceratia, and every ceratium weighed four grains."
The weight of the carat varies in different countries. The international carat is 205.5 milligrammes, which equals within a small fraction 3.17 grains troy, and the probability is that this will be universally adopted. Mr. Edwin W. Streeter gives the weight of the carat in various countries as follows:
Ch. 6: Cutting Page of 237 Ch. 7: Weights
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