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Cut, Colo (CGA)-As a gemstone, the diamond is beautiful, durable and rare. Its beauty comes from being brilliant and from flashes of spec- tral colours or fire seen inside the stone and is determined by cut, colour and clarity. These three qualities combined with the carat weight of the stone will determine how onerous a particular diamond is going to be on the pocketbook. These four C's of the trade should also include a fifth C-the cus- tomer. Prior to diamond cutting and polishing, which began in the early part of the 14th century, it was taboo to cut a diamond because it might lose its magical powers. In the early 16th century, the historically famous Koh-i-Noor diamond f rom India was first cut as a shallow stone probably to retain as much weight as possible. It was recut in the early 19th century to its pre- sent, smaller shape, which is more brilliant and conforms to modern standard proportions. The propor- tions of the round brilliant and other cuts such as princess, mar- quise, pear, heart, oval and step, collectively called fancy cuts, have evolved with time and have been standardized to produce the maxi- mum amount of brilliance and fire in a stone. The round cuts show the most brilliance compared to other fancy shapes. This is why this is the most common shape sold for jew- ellery. Some of the new cuts such as princess (quadrillion) or radiant provide brilliance close to the round cuts. Many people prefer fancy shapes because of their sleekness and elegance. Most fancy shapes of diamond look big- ger than the same weight of round cut because of their slender shape and often shallow pavilion, particu- larly shapes like marquise, pear and trillion. Selection of a colour in a dia- mond is a matter of personal pref- erence. Colourless diamonds enjoy the most sales. Most colour- less diamonds normally have a slight tint of yellow, grey or brown. The price of the stone decreases with the increase of these tints. ur And For an average cus- tomer, colour grades from D to J in mounted jewellery are difficult to differentiate. Price-wise D (no colour) is the most expensive colour and N through Z the least expensive. Natural inclusions of other minerals, small dia- monds and fractures found inside a diamond create an obstacle in the path of light, thus reducing the amount of light that can enter and be internally reflected in the stone to affect its bril- liance. A system of clarity Clarity grading based upon the visibility of inclusions under 10x magnification has been developed and internationally accepted. The categories vary from flawless (FL) with no inclusions to heavily included or imperfect (11,12 & 13), where inclusions are clearly vis- ible with the naked eye. The diamonds with high- er-clarity-grade cost more than the ones with lower clarity. The price of a higher-clarity-grade diamond will also depend on its colour as well as its cut. BodyY 9las expnded ino rUni 10 SAairod oremtnaedanfadal wax. CALL FOR MORE DETAILS 5&0 Ont. St. S. 875050 (PZA HUT MAU.)75-0508 The Canadian Champion, Friday, March 20, 1998-17 -Bridal Guide Fall In Love With... Royal Doultof 7dtourt" 227 Main St. E. Milton Corner of Main & Martin 878-0050 ,i ree 91fr &rappen & Defwer CAROLLE GOTTWALD I3Speciaizng n I Bridal-Fashion Photography I(90.5j ô93-0204 and Television O SARGENT FARMS BBQ CATERING I NC. Weddings * Reunions • Corporate Events• From complete food and beverage requirements to the entire set up (tables, chairs, flatware, linens, dance floor, flowers etc.), Sargent Farms BBQ Catering can provide you with everything you will need for your important day. Utilizing our completely mobile 7' BBQ, every- thing is freshly cooked on site. Our experienced and professional ban- quet co-ordinators will work with on an on-going basis, taking care of all arrangements so you can relax and enjoy your gathering. Some of our specialties include Sargent Farm's own BBQ chicken, as well as pork and prime cuts of beefprovided exclusively by The Milton Meat Shoppe. We also prepare various seafood menus including salmon steaks, shrimp and scallop shish kabobs. All of our meats are specially prepared with our original recipe marinades for delicious flavour in every bite. Sargent Farms BBQ Catering is dedicated to making your event unique and can customize any BBQ Buffet to fit your needs. For more information call: 1-800-342-1523 or 878-4401 ext. 19 (Fax) 878-8998