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“I’em in made, or it’s component parts I will tell you that a diaeest precious stones there are If ere to assign a value of ‘ten’ to how hard it is, then the other gems we know such as rubies and sapphires would be a nine Jadite would be seven Specifically those types of jade – as they were collectively referred to in the ancient era – which were at a hardness of seven or more were Jadeite Under seven were called nephrite”

“It’s our first class on the subject, and as such I don’t want to inundate you with inforems, diamonds are the hardest As a result they are the preference for engagee and wear, and represent the endurance and eternity of a couple’s love

Lan Jue’s voice was netic Not too fast, not too slow His words were plain, his delivery solid The students listened easily as he continued

Lan Jue stepped from the dais and handed the tray to Jin Tao “Pass this around and make sure everyone has a chance to look” He s a little restraint In fact losing this diaardless, but it would take the opportunity away froh the students The atrew a little more relaxed

Lan Jue paid no further mind to Jin Tao and the diamond, and returned to the podiu the hardness of a diamond Today, e’ll discuss is how to assess the quality of a diamond, if you are so inclined First, is the size Generally speaking the size of a gem is directly proportional to it’s cost – the saeem, the more it’ll cost you Conversely the smaller, the cheaper It certainly applies as a rule to diamonds”

“If your interest in a dia for soe of one karat or more The price difference between a point ninety-nine and one karat diaht now is precisely one karat The size of a diah, doesn’t not entirely determine it’s price however If this diamond were two karats the price would not be doubled, necessarily”

“Other than size, in an effort to determine the quality of a diamond, there are a small number of other criteria to consider Could one assume that two, one-karat diamonds would be of similar prices? This would be false, as their quality could be vastly different The price, then, could be just as volatile”

The tray had begun to make it’s way back from the far recesses of the class The students were all familiar with diamonds, but it was the first time for most that they saw one up close, much less with an explanation They examined it with interest as it passed

“There are three others ways to deterem’s quality, aside from size They are color, clarity, and cut We’ll start with color For dia in the order of color is indicating by alphabet, with the lowest letters displaying inferior color The highest, is D This indicates one hundred percent, pure white Perfection Next is E, nearly perfect Then F, approxiht percent white These three are the top of the color scale Lower letters are G, H, I, J, and K The further down the list you go, the eeenificant i a purchase you don’t always need to chase after perfection D, E and F gee of F, nearly entirely white”

As the gem passed from hand to hand, Lan Jue continued to elaborate on the intricacies of diamond identification He folloith clarity, and cut, delivering the information with ease and approachability

“The perfect diamond would be one whose color, cut and clarity are the top of it’s class These are what are called Flawless Diamonds This is where the phrase ‘flawless beauty’ comes from”

Time passed quickly as the class proceeded, Lan Jue carefully providing the knowledge to the gathered students The dia it’s journey back on his podiu for You all have been patient and attentive It’s time for the lottery”

He picked up the tray before him “Our method will be simple, to ensure fairness for all participants”

Lan Jue passed out scraps of paper he’d prepared in advance “Please write your names on the paper, then pass them back up when you’re finished We’ll place your tickets in a box and draw one slip Whoever has their name on that paper, that’s the diamond’s nener”

The slips were quickly written and recovered Lan Jue placed them all in a box he’d prepared earlier, and set it on the podium He stuck his hand within, rustled the contents, and pulled out a single scrap

“Alright, and the winner is… Zhou… Zhou Qianlin!” Lan Jue stuttered ever so slightly, surprised by the unlikely result

What are the chances? But there it was, the winner, Zhou Qianlin

She herself was taken aback, and her numerous male fans seated behind her waved their ar was aht crossed his eyes as he employed his psychic force to probe the interior of the box In the one hundred or so tickets he found, forty-two bore Zhou Qianlin’s name…

1 In China, it’s custoh school – to stand and say hello to the teacher in this fashion at the start of class It’s really only done in universities for teachers that are highly respected