Carat (mass) Despite its being a non-metric unit, a number of metric countries have used this unit for its limited range of application. The Board of Trade carat was divisible into four "diamond grains", but measurements were typically made in multiples of carat. There were also two varieties of "refiners' carats" once used in the United Kingdom — the pound carat and the ounce carat. The pound troy was divisible into 24 "pound carats" of 240 grains troy each; the pound carat was divisible into four "pound grains" of 60 grains troy each; and the pound grain was divisible into four "pound
Fineness the volume of gold in an alloy, divide the volume of gold in cubic centimetres or in millilitres by the total volume of the alloy in cubic centimetres or in millilitres. For 10-carat gold, the gold volume in the alloy represents about 26% of the total volume for standard yellow gold. Talking about purity according to mass could lead to some misunderstandings; for many people, purity means volume. "Karat" is a variant of "carat". First attested in English in the mid-15th century, the word "carat" came from Middle French , in turn derived either from Italian or Medieval Latin .