Antique jewelry glossary

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Grain

A unit of weight for pearls (sometimes formerly used for diamonds) equal to ¼ of a carat. It is sometimes called a 'carat grain' or a 'pearl grain'.

Cultured pearls were formerly sold in Japan by the unit of weight called the momme, which equalled 75 grains. The line along which a diamond is divided by cleavage.

From: An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry, autor: Harold Newman, publishers: Thames and Hudson