CARAT WEIGHT

This is the weight of the diamond measured in carats. The original "carat" is believed to be the seed from the carob tree, Their nearly uniform weight led to their use for weighing pearls, gold and diamonds in ancient days, To be more practical, the modern carat equals 1/142nd of an avoirdupois ounce or, in metric terms, one fifth of a gram (200 milligrams). Each carat is divided into 100 points, Thus described as weighing 1.32 carats equals one carat and 32 points. Carat-weight is the easiest of the ''4C's" to determine. But two diamonds of equal weight can have very unequal value, depending on their other characteristics. Fine quality can be found in diamonds of all shapes and sizes. And a fine quality diamond is a little extra weight she'd be pleased to put on.

Gradations within each of the 4C's make for an infinite number of combinations to determine the value of any diamond. But there's a range of beautiful diamonds for any price you want to pay; it's just a matter of matching price with quality and size.