When there’s talk about precious jewellery, two things come to mind – Chunky jewellery and Expensive! There’re also the doubts about weight, Karats, Carats, cut etc. And also – What’s The Difference between Karat and Carat!? We know it’s mind boggling.

In India, fine jewellery has traditionally been a symbol of investment with conventional designs that are occasion specific. However, with the evolving tastes, lifestyle and needs of the modern woman, it no longer holds as much importance. While style became a part of a woman’s everyday life and lifestyle moved forward to being an individual stance, the need of the hour changed.

Hence, to make it an easier bet for you in today’s time, we at Melorra create precious jewellery with exactly That in mind. With light-weight, easy-to-care and hassle-free gold and diamond jewellery designs, there’s no need to keep your trinkets under lock and key anymore! Although the question remains, how to pick out the right piece of jewellery that suits us?

Karat or Carat – What’s the difference?

While these two words distinguish by just one letter, the connotation couldn’t be more different. So for those of you who frequently wonder about how they differ, we’re here to help you out!

The Karat with a K:

This unit measures the purity of gold. The higher the karatage the purer the gold will be. Each karat indicates 1/24^th of the whole. So if a gold jewellery product has 18 parts gold and 6 parts copper, that means it’s an 18 karat gold. There are numerous karats available in gold today ranging from 10k to 24k, with 24k being the purest form of gold. The gold parts in the jewellery define the weight and cost of the ornament you purchase. So before you do, here’s a list of gold percentages that you can compare with!

1. 24 Karat – Pure Gold
2. 22 Karat – 91% Gold
3. 18 Karat – 75% Gold
4. 14 Karat – 58.3% Gold
5. 12 Karat – 50% Gold
6. 10 Karat – 41.7% Gold

Besides defining the purity of gold and the alloys mixed with your precious piece, this number also indicated the colour of the gold, it’s usage and even its malleability. The 24k gold has a distinctive yellow colour and is quite soft and pliable. Due to this it is not used in regular jewellery, but available in gold coins and bars. These are also used in various electronics and medical devices.

So if you’re looking for a not-to-heavy but higher on gold percentage kind of gold, we suggest that you pick out 18k which is apt for a daily wear jewellery need.

Carat with a C:

This unit measures the weight for diamonds and gemstones. In this scenario, one carat equals 200 milligrams. The Carat weight is expressed in both decimal and fraction. A part of the 4Cs of diamond – Cut, Clarity, Colour and Carat, a price of the diamond heavily weighs on its carat. However, contrary to popular belief, a high carat diamond may or may not be the biggest. Considering cut and carat together on this aspect, a high carat diamond with a poor cut can appear smaller than a smaller diamond with a higher cut grade.

The 4Cs of judging a diamond, are all equally important in determining the value of your piece. So before you pick out the diamond jewellery, here are a few things to check off of your list:

1. Cut – The cut of the diamond influences the sparkle of the diamond. If the light is not reflected back in a proper manner, the shine of the diamond will be much lesser. From a scale of Poor/Fair to Ideal, pick the one your budget allows and works best with you or your S-O’s needs.
2. Colour – The highest quality diamonds are colourless, while those of lower quality have a pale yellow colour to it. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) grades diamond colour on a scale of D (colourless) to Z (light yellow or brown). Creating 6 categories, the lower you go on the scale, the poorer the quality of the diamond.
3. Clarity – Assessing the surface flaws and internal defects of the diamond, the clarity defines the grade the diamonds receive. Although most of the diamonds have an imperfection, the highest grade ones are those which have the least of them.

Besides checking out the 4Cs, also remember to check for IGI, EGL or SGL certification to authenticate your diamond trinkets. The type of setting that you pick out will also help in defining the sparkle of your diamond. So choose, wisely!

As now you can differentiate between the two K(C)arats, pick out the perfect gold, diamond or gemstone jewellery that suits all your requirements. Whether it is a casual outing with your friends or a movie date with your loved one, there’s a piece to suit all your daily activities!

Check out our gold and diamond jewellery collections here!