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Carat, one of the 4 C's that determine a diamond's value, is the weight measurement unit used for gemstones.
The carat was introduced as a unit of diamond weight measurement in the middle of the 16th century, but initially, each country had its own carat. i.e the equivalence with grams was not the same in all countries. For example, in Cyprus, a 1-carat diamond weighed 0.187 grams, while in Bucharest its weight had to be 0.215 to be considered a 1-carat diamond.
In 1907, the General Conference of Weights and Measures adopted the equivalence of one carat to 0.20 grams. Until 1930, this equivalence had been adopted by almost all countries and is now the only one used worldwide.
The carat is divided into 100 points and each point is equivalent to 0.002 grams. One point may seem insignificant especially since it is not noticeable to the naked eye, but even one point may significantly affect the price of the diamond. That is why diamonds are weighted using specialized diamond weight scales at the top gemological laboratories in the world.
Because larger diamonds are rarer and more popular at the same time, their price is increasing geometrically with their weight increase. That is, a 2-carat diamond is more expensive than two 1-carat diamonds if their other characteristics are the same (color, purity, cut).
GOLD KARAT
The term carat, which measures the weight of gems, is often confused with the term karat that measures gold purity. Gold karat measures the purity of gold. Pure gold is 24 karats. 18-karat gold suggests that the jewelry is made of 18 parts gold and 6 parts of other metal(s), while 14-karat gold consists of 14 parts gold and 10 parts other metal(s).
CULLINAN
The largest diamond that has ever been unearthed is Cullinan, which uncut weighed 3,106.75 carats, that is, 621.35 grams. It was found in 1905 in the Cullinan diamond mine in South Africa, and despite the initial interest, the diamond remained unsold for two years until it was bought by the local government in 1907 and gifted to King Edward of England for his 66th birthday.
When the Cullinan was cut, nine smaller diamonds were created. The two largest diamonds Cullinan I and Cullinan II or Great Star of Africa and Second Star of Africa, weighing 530.4 and 208.29 carats, respectively, belong to the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Queen Elizabeth, privately, also owns seven smaller pieces of Cullinan as well as smaller pieces that have not yet been polished.
EXCELSIOR
The 995-carat Excelsior was found in 1893 in South Africa and until the discovery of Cullinan, it was considered the largest uncut diamond. Eleven diamonds weighing from 9.82 to 68 carats and 11 smaller ones were cut from the Excelsior diamond. The largest of the diamonds, known as Excelsior 1 and weighing 68 carats, was sold in 1996 for $ 2,642,000.
STAR OF SIERRA LEONE
The Star of Sierra Leone, weighing 968.9 carats, was found in 1972 and is the largest uncut diamond that has been found in secondary (alluvial) deposits. It was sold to Harry Winston for $ 2,500,000 in the same year, and six of the stones that resulted from its cut were set by Harry Winston to the "Star of Sierra Leone" brooch.
THE INCOMPARABLE
The 890-carat Incomparable diamond was discovered in 1984 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The cut process lasted more than five years and the result was a large diamond of 407.48 carats and 14 smaller diamonds. The largest diamond, that is pear-shaped and yellow in color, is tied into an 18ct gold pendant along with 90 smaller colorless diamonds.
GREAT MOGUL
The 787-carat Great Mogul diamond was found in the middle of the 17th century in India. For about 100 years, the Great Mogul diamond traveled to various Asian countries as a diplomatic gift and war loot, until 1747 when its then owner was assassinated and the diamond disappeared. Most of the information we have about the diamond comes from the then famous jeweler of the Tavernier, and to date, there are legends linking the Great Mogul with other great diamonds found after the middle of the 18th century.