‡ Its a brand new year and a perfectly marvelous time to learn something new. Knowledge is power and diamonds are fascinating. The following information will give each and every one of you, a short, interesting lesson on diamonds and what determines their value.

It owns unique powers of light reflection. When cut, it gathers light within itself, sending it back in a shower of fire and brilliance.

It is the only gem mineral composed of a single, unadulterated element, making it the purest of earth's gemstones.

It is the hardest transparent substance known to man. Steel cannot cut a diamond. The only material that can cut a diamond is another diamond.

It is fitting that the purest and most brilliant of all the world's stones should also be the most enduring.

These qualities make a diamond ring the perfect symbol of engagement.

  CUTTING is of prime importance to the beauty of a diamond. If a diamond is cut too shallow or too deep, even the finest stone will appear "dead" to the eye. Correct proportions will allow light entering the stone to return to the eye and not "leak" out the back facets. The slightest deviation from fine cutting standards will rob the diamond of its desired fire and brilliance, and therefore, affect value.

Absence of any color in the body of a diamond is considered the finest quality.

A tinge of blue or a pronounced body color of another hue is very rare. Body color is interior color, not the surface rainbow of reflected light.

On the AGS Color Scale, diamonds graded 0 through 3 are considered upper quality stones. Lower quality stones are ususally tinged with brown or yellow.

• Colorless grades are called D, E or F.
• Near colorless grades are G, H, I.
• Faint yellow grades are J, K, L.
• The letters N toZ of the alphabet denote diamonds that are very light yellow or just light yellow.

   CLARITY denotes the absence of an internal or external mark when the diamond is viewed under 10X magnification. Though a diamond is said to be "flawless' if no inclusions or superficial blemishes can be seen under a standard 10 power jeweler's loupe; truly flawless diamonds are extremely rare. It is possible to find in virtually all diamonds the minute crystals, feathers and clouds that are called inclusions.

CARAT WEIGHTis the last factor that decides the value of your diamond. For instance, a fine one-carat gem may be more costly than an inferior gem of greater weight. Weight is important, but it is cut, color and clarity that determines the per-carat price of the average size stone.

Diamonds were exclusively a man's stone until the mid-19th century. Agnes Sorel, mistress to King Charles VII of France turned the tide for women.