You sit in a secluded corner booth, with a few intimate friends, in your favorite dimly lit Italian restaurant. A handsome man, cloaked in darkness, saunters up to your party with confident strides, but muted steps, as huge and silent as his velvet vestments. He tosses a satiny pouch on your table and disappears, leaving your circle of friends in the wake of his awesome beauty. What treasure has he bestowed upon you?! Ungathering the cinched opening, gemstones of every hue and variation tumble onto the mahogany tabletop, flashing as they roll… How will you determine the value of your collection?

Clarity. The grade of clarity will determine how clean a diamond is. Miniature cracks and deposits will not affect a diamond’s brilliance and are very common. The higher grade of clarity a diamond possesses, the higher its price.

Color. Look through a stone’s pavilion for the best observation of color.

Proportion. The crown should measure 1/3 the depth of the pavilion in a brilliant cut diamond. Greater brilliance is created when proper proportions create reflections of light through the stone’s table. Poor proportions can create dark shapes to appear in the stone, which devalues the diamond by diminishing its inherent beauty.

Cut. The make of a diamond has the biggest influence on its brilliance. A good cut is also more durable. In addition to affecting reflected light, an error in cutting will cause difficulty in setting the diamond.

Fluorescence. A stone possesses fluorescence if it exhibits a color reaction when exposed to ultraviolet light. Blue fluorescence gives a diamond a whiter appearance in daylight. This particular characteristic is useful in masking a poor color grade.

Weight. Diamonds are weighed to one-hundredth of a carat and are a major determining factor in a stone’s price. Size affects weight, and weight affects price. For example, a brilliant-cut 1-carat diamond will have a diameter of 6.5 mm. A shallow diamond of this weight would be wider; a deep diamond will have a smaller diameter.

Autumn Red Turns to Winter Green in 2008. Autumn is upon us, and with it, the promise of the holiday season is on the horizon. The dawn of Year’s End and a celebration of loved recent memories draw to a close, as well as nostalgic tradition and times past are remembered. A new school year for the young is a reminder to everyone that all things are made new as one year passes. Similarly, a working woman lives on a parallel calendar. A Tiffany style charm bracelet could add a delicate hint of feminine detail to professional autumn attire. Crystals and rhinestones make a quiet beginning brighter, or enhance neutrals and deep Swedish color palettes. Hoop earrings bring an ethnic wave of trendy attitude, and sometimes a classic and crisp fall look. A bold medallion will catch an eye.

Whether Cleopatra or studious schoolgirl, there is something new you will love to wear, something that will give you graces. Grace you leave everywhere you go will turn everything you touch to silver and gold. You are in fashion this season, indeed, so treat yourself well, and adorn yourself in layers of kaleidoscopic art and optimism.

I think you may need a bauble or a trinket to go with your tennis whites, and your velour loungewear. Glittering rhinestones and Austrian crystals pave the way for the diamonds of your tomorrow. Collect and purchase only the most glittering things that you love, and soon you will be surrounded by only beauty. You will be golden.

Gaze heavenward to catch the light of stars. Hold a radiant prism in your palm until you are lifted to the heights of a divine seductress, until you send your own beams – and are sought, by an entire world of admirers wanting to be adored themselves. Then you will be the one to give them a lift, up to your own private solar system. Emulate a celebrity, or remember a lost artifact, and polish it until it shines like the gold in the heavens.