A Diamond Day

It happened a bit over a week ago. Wednesday morning dawned colder than usual - at least, I think it did. I overslept. Since it was so late, I didn't think I'd be able to get to my usual haunt (25% discount day at my favorite thrift store), at least not without sacrificing my writing time and my walk, but I decided to play it more by ear than by plan (you read that post).

Anyway, as it happened, I not only finished my morning pages but managed to drag the Big Lug on the walk, too. The clock told me I was cutting it close to the 9:30 store opening time, yet when we reached the corner that made it either a "short" or "long" walk I knew the long version was the way to go - he's been a couch potato lately, and I wanted to do maximum damage to whatever artery block might have settled in with him. When he mentioned my time limit (to wriggle out?) I shrugged and said, "if something is there for me, it will wait until I get there to find it." And I meant it.

So when I finally reached the store just after 10 and saw the mob of other jewelry hunters, I really wasn't expecting too much. Hopeful, but not presuming, I called out a greeting to the clerk (as I always do - she's a gem), scanned the display case, found a few possibilities, then waited patiently until she had a free moment (she handles the cases and the register for the entire housewares section).

She greeted me with a smile, a sigh, and a roll of her eyes toward the other end of the counter. I nodded my commiseration - I'd watched her try to make her two arms into seven too many times not to. I pointed out my three items (in little zip-close bags) to be pulled, then let her jump back into the fray.

All three were not what I thought they'd be - one was brass not gold, the second was paste not stone. I almost didn't opent the third bag, thinking the place was even more picked over than I'd thought it would be - especially since it appeared to be just a silver chain curled up in the corner of the bag, and a $4.99 price tag usually means nice, plain, but nothing spectacular attached to it. I didn't even know why I'd pointed to it in the first place, honestly, since I have sterling chains galore. Yet when I took a second look, I was glad I did - it had a pendant strung on it, a small but pretty one. I shook it into my hand.

Not just pretty, but beautiful, isn't it? The chain felt smooth on my fingers, not harsh like steel (but not the fluid feel of gold). I checked the tag near the clasp, saw (fuzzy with my poor eyes) "925" (sterling), nodded, then studied the pendant. Appeared to be silver, too, with a colorless stone that was probably CZ (because silver usually is). A well-made piece, crisp lines, but I couldn't read more than the last "5" with my naked eye. Good enough. I loved it, I bought it (for $3.74 - 25% off day, remember?), then finished my seemingly endless errands.

Once I got home and unloaded the car, I pulled out my loupe. The tag on the chain said "925" all right, no surprises there. Double-check the pendant. Adjust distance. "5" definitely, but another "5"? I blinked and looked again. Not 925 after all - there, in razor-sharp relief was "585."

Not silver. White gold.

Ding, ding, ding!

A litany of muttered "thank You, thank You, thank You's" left my lips. Later, I met my student, made dinner, read before bed, all with a smile on my face. I was curious about the stone, of course, but when I hit it with the UV flashlight the next day it appeared to almost reflect the purple light (a bit blue, but mostly not), so while I thought it might be a diamond (as I reported last Thursday) I wasn't holding my breath. I did, however, decide to price some white gold chains in the big (fairly high-end) jewelry store near my office the next time I had a tutorial there, maybe even splurge and make a real necklace.

Tuesday, I finally made it out. I found the perfect chain - perfect length, perfect glitter factor (some were outshining the pendant), perfect for the size of the piece. Not the perfect price, however. I gulped at the tag. I hadn't bothered to shop anywhere online so it was a major case of sticker shock - $119 for a $3.74 pendant seemed ridiculous. I don't know what prompted me to ask - a thirst for knowledge or a desparate need to stall (she'd showed me a lot of chains) - but I popped out with "how can I figure out if this is a diamond or not?"

She held out her hand. "Would you like me to check it for you?" she asked. "It will only take a moment." They have a diamond tester (high-end store, remember?), and all she had to do is touch it, making sure the sensitive tip of the probe rested squarely on stone not metal - no small feat since it's so small. But she did it. I watched. It was cool, free, and fascinating. And then the silly box sang the verdict.

Diamond!

The room wobbled and my head buzzed - I actually thought I might faint for a moment. Not because I love diamonds so much - I much prefer rubies, emeralds, and any other non-potential-conflict stone - but because ... well, c'mon, four dollars!

So I bought the chain. I know, I could get it cheaper, but cheaper isn't always better, especially when I can't see the quality, right there, on my neck. Plus, not only did this (I'm sure) work-for-commission employee basically hand me my first amazing treasure find, she offered to clean the piece (free) before I left.

I went home in a daze. The Big Lug grinned from ear-to-ear when I told him, and high-fived me (he supports my "hobby" - if he only knew). I re-looked at my gem books, too. Duh - diamonds, real diamonds, can fluoresce just about any color (I remembered that) but when they turn blue under longwave they are not synthetic. Now that it was clean, I saw pure blue under UV and not the blue-purple I had seen when it was, apparently, dirty. I measured the stone in the pendant, too, and I think it's 1/5 carat, set in about 1 gram of white gold (since it has the purity marking but not any other hallmark - that's British law). Not much money in raw materials, but, based on what I see, this is probably a very good stone, and defintely a well-crafted setting. Trust me, I have more than $4 here.

Out of curiosity, I also went back to the 14K gold earrings I bought a couple of weeks ago, scrubbed and rinsed them and hit them with the UV. Though the stones are tiny (1/3 to 1/2 carat total weight, I'd guess), and they're not as sparkly as this one (not professionally cleaned), they all glow blue as well.

I have diamonds out the wazoo.

It was a very good day.

... thank You, thank You, thank You ...