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.‘‘They do come in other colors, but for the most part they aren’t as valued, unless the color is quite brilliant.For example, the pink diamonds from Australia, and some of the high-carat famous diamonds like the Hope diamond are very rare and very valuable.A red diamond can be a million dollars a carat.But here, I take it, we’re dealing with the white diamond.’’‘‘Yes.’’‘‘Did it have a yellow cast that you noticed?’’Diane shook her head.‘‘No.It was really a beautiful stone.It had a traditional round cut.’’He shook his head.‘‘Cut doesn’t refer to shape, but the quality of the cut.Not all diamonds are cut kindly.’’‘‘You are enjoying this, aren’t you?’’‘‘I am.’’‘‘Doesn’t the rock room have a computer exhibit on diamonds?’’‘‘Yes, it does, but it’s not nearly as interactive as I am.’’Diane shook her head and laughed.‘‘I made you laugh.I’m making progress.’’ Mike took a clear plastic container from the tray, removed a stone and held it in his hand.‘‘Diamonds have a high refractive index.You want a cut that reflects the light out of the top of the stone and doesn’t let light leak out the bottom.’’‘‘Leak out the bottom?’’‘‘It has to do with the angle each facet is to the others.In an ideal cut, the arrangement maximizes the light’s ability to disperse throughout the stone and reflect back out the top.A good-quality diamond can be ruined by a bad cut.When you said the diamond looked like a really good diamond, you were probably referring to how it glittered.’’Diane thought a moment and met his gaze.‘‘You’re right.It sparkled.’’‘‘How large was it?’’Diane looked at her hand, visualizing Kacie’s ring.She was fairly good at estimating measurements, hav ing measured so many skeletons.‘‘About seven or eight millimeters in diameter.’’‘‘That’s about a carat.That is a respectable dia mond.’’ He lay the stone in his hand out on a piece of cotton batting he took from the drawer.‘‘This is a carat diamond.’’‘‘It was about that same size.Do you have some thing black you could put it on?’’Mike shook his head.‘‘You don’t want to view dia monds against a black background.Black makes all diamonds look white, and you’ll miss the light yellow tinge of a lesser diamond.’’‘‘I’m getting all kinds of useful information.’’‘‘That’s what the museum’s here for.’’Diane caught a twinkle in his light brown eyes.‘‘You’re right about that,’’ she said, smiling in spite of herself.Diane picked up the diamond and put it against her skin.‘‘That’s about the size of the one I saw.How much is this diamond worth?’’‘‘This is a particularly good diamond.It’s one carat—carat refers to weight, by the way.It’s actually weight that matters and not size.This one is pretty much clear of flaws.It has what’s called an ideal cut and is rated a D on the color scale, which is at the top of the colorless range.On the market, this would cost around ten thousand dollars.’’Chapter 26Diane looked up at him sharply.‘‘Ten thousand dollars?’’‘‘Good diamonds are expensive.’’‘‘I didn’t realize that diamonds are that rare.’’‘‘They’re not.But over three-quarters of the world’s diamonds are controlled by one company, and they’re very good at making diamonds seem rare.’’Diane picked up the diamond and studied it in the palm of her hand.‘‘That’s a lot of money for a diamond.’’‘‘You don’t think your guy could afford that?’’‘‘I haven’t seen his bank account, but I would have thought it unlikely.’’‘‘Then it may not have been a diamond.We’ve been working on the assumption that the stone was a dia mond, but it takes an expert to identify one.’’Mike reached in and pulled out several more plastic containers and lined up five stones on the batting.He dropped one of the lids on the floor and it started rolling.Diane reached down and picked it up before it got across the floor.‘‘I could have sworn you did that on purpose,’’ said Diane when she rose and placed it back on the table.‘‘I did.I rearranged the stones.I thought I’d let you pick out the diamond.’’Diane looked at the row of stones.They were all beautiful, all about the same size, and very similar.‘‘What if these get mixed up? Can you tell them apart?’’‘‘Sure.I know in what order I placed them, and I have photos of their internal structures [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]