Ask J. Shea
Why Does The Jewelry Karat System Start at 24?
Originally, there were 24 silver pennies to a British pound and the weight of the penny was used as a measure in materials such as gold and silver. 24 karat referred to the fact that a pound of gold jewelry had 24 pennyweight of gold in the jewelry. 18 karat referred to the fact that a pound of the gold alloy jewelry had 18 pennyweight of gold and 6 pennyweight of other alloys.
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