A girl's best friend

On "Sex in the City," Charlotte's is over two carats set in platinum. Tiffany & Co. is her brand. Harry Winston creates multimillion-dollar pieces for Hollywood out of flawless cuts of some of the best gems in the world. And you can't listen to a rap song these days without hearing about the "ice bling-blinging" on someone's wrist or neck.\nThey are diamonds and they are much more than a girl's best friend. So essential is the choice of a diamond wedding ring that Georgianne Marcinkovich, Director of the Creative Learning Center at IU, collaborated with jeweler Pat Knoff-Vincent to create the class "Shopping for a Diamond" that kicked off Thursday in the Indiana Memorial Union.\nMarcinkovich, director of classes that range from woodcut printmaking to a spring break trip to Florence, Italy, thought that it would be great for students and Bloomington community members to be educated in diamond buying because it is such an expensive investment.\n"A lot of people spend more on a diamond than on a lot of things. People often shop beyond their means when they purchase diamonds," Marcinkovich said.\nThe class, which runs every Thursday for five weeks costs $4800 for students ($5200 for non-students). Students can be bill their Bursar account with the charge. There is a $1000 materials fee that has to be paid in cash to the instructor, but this fee allows students access to examine some great original jewelry by Knoff-Vincent as well as other various gems. \nKnoff-Vincent is no stranger to the diamond and gem business. A jewelry designer for over 21 years, she has done everything from designing pins for the U.S. ski team to buying stones directly for other retailers. She is certified in everything from metalsmithing to the prestigious gemologist certification from the Gemologist Institute of America.She decided to teach the class to give people a hands-on experience in investigating what to look for in every facet of diamond purchasing.\n"I've worked a lot with gems, a lot with diamonds," Knoff-Vincent said at the start of her first class to her three students.\n"I'd like to learn some about diamonds, gems and metals…so I can know for myself what to look for," non-student Jimmy Owens said.\nJust like people read Consumer Reports and other reputable sources as they search to make an automobile purchase, people should make sure they find a reputable source when they make an equally large diamond purchase, Knoff-Vincent said.\n"With some jewelers selling cubic zirconium as diamonds, it is important to know what to look for," she said.\nKnowing what to look for in a diamond all comes down to the Four C's: cut, clarity, carat and color. All of these characteristics mold into the quality of the diamond that a buyer receives, Knoff-Vincent said.\n"Buying diamonds or any gem is important for students too, especially those looking to make a long-term investment in an engagement ring or another diamond piece," Knoff-Vincent said. "People often want to go to the name brands like Cartier and Tiffany & Co., but they need to understand that a lot of that goes to the name brand."\nWhile Knoff-Vincent does admit that jewelers like Harry Winston do get good gems and probably get to pick from some of the best in the world, expensive jewelers stock billions of dollars of diamonds and pay expensive retail space that the consumer ends up paying for in the mark-up of the jewelry.\n"Why diamonds are generally so expensive is a combination of a lot of things, primarily the fact that diamonds are the only gem that is composed of just one element," Knoff-Vincent said.\nIronically, Knoff-Vincent explained, diamonds are a crystalline mineral that is composed of only one element -- carbon; the same element that is in the graphite of the pencils people use daily.\n"Diamonds are one of the rarest forms of the most common elements," Knoff-Vincent said.\n"Diamonds can only be cut by other diamonds, which leads to a cutting process that is a science." This initial class of "Shopping for a Diamond" focused primarily on the history of the diamond and background information. The following four classes will break down the four C's. The class is still accepting members and information can be obtained at the Activities Desk on the first floor of the IMU.\n"Sometimes students don't have the time or resources to take an IU class about interesting subjects like diamonds or pottery," Georgianne Marcinkovich said. "But they can take these classes for five weeks, a ten hour total time commitment, and still learn in a good, fun atmosphere"