The Four Cs

Diamonds are not created equally! "The Four Cs of Diamonds"— cut, clarity, color, and carat determine diamond grade. A diamond certificate accompanies each diamond and includes grades for each of four Cs as documented by a gemologist. Learn what these terms mean to avoid that "deer in headlights" look when jeweler uses these terms.

Cut refers to physical cut, not shape of diamond, and it affects brilliance of diamond. If cut is too shallow or too deep, refraction of light detracts from brilliance. Grades for cut, from best to worst, include Ideal, Premium, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. The Ideal grade applies exclusively to round diamonds.

Clarity measures purity of diamond. Most diamonds include some flaws, called inclusions. All but rare flawless diamonds contain inclusions of varying number and size. The Clarity grade measures purity of diamond, relative absence of flaws. Clarity grades appearance under 10X magnification. Top grades include F (flawless—forget it, you'll never see this), IF (internally flawless, you'll never afford it), VVS1-VVS2 (very, very slightly flawed—not we're getting a little more realistic), VS1-VS2 (very slightly flawed), and SI1-SI2 (slightly flawed). All but VS1-VS2 and SI1-SI2 diamonds contain flaws that are invisible or barely visible under 10X magnification. Lesser grades include I1- -I3 (flawed and obvious without magnification). If price is a consideration, then invisible to naked eye is a reasonable tradeoff.

Today, a great deal of research is being carried out about green tea health benefits and findings are very exciting.

Here are just a few medical conditions that drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful with:

Cancer Rheumatoid arthritis High cholesterol levels Cardiovascular disease Infection Impaired immune function Controlling high blood pressure Lowering blood sugar

Researchers believe real secret of green tea lies in fact that it is rich in EGCG which is a powerful anti-oxidant. EGCG has been found to kill cancer cells without harming healthy tissue.

A University of Purdue study recently concluded that a compound in green tea actually inhibits growth of cancer cells.

Red wine has been long studied because it contains resveratrol, a polyphenol that limits negative effects of smoking and a fatty diet.

But researchers from University of Kansas determined that EGCG is twice as powerful as resveratrol, which may explain why rate of heart disease among Japanese and French men is quite low, even though approximately seventy-five percent of them are smokers.

Research also indicates that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

But health benefits of green tea don't end there. Green tea has been found to inhibit abnormal formation of blood clots which is leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.