Roman Jewelers And Lapidaries

(via Roman Book On Precious Stones: 1950) Sydney H Ball writes:

As to the cutting of gems, Pliny states that cut stones with a smooth level surface are preferred to those which exhibit depressions or other irregularities. An oblong shape is best; next to it, the lenticular; after this, circular stones are admired, those which are irregularly angular being held in the least esteem. In explanation, flat stones were preferred to those capable of being cut only cabochon, as the former were suitable for engraving. The oblong had evidently supplanted the ancient lenticular form while the angular was perhaps only used when to cut the rough gem in one of the more desired forms would drastically reduce the weight of a stone. The only stone Pliny mentions as faceted was the beryl (and its variety emerald) and this only by polishing the six faces of the natural prism; a method believed to be the best to increase the stone’s brilliancy. The Hindus, in Pliny’s stime, preferred long hexagonal beryl beads and these, pierced, were strung on elephant’s hair, it being the only stone they wore without gold setting. The piercing evidently improved the color adn transparency of some beryls although the finest were not pierced but were held in place by studs of gold attached to the ends. Beads of plasma and garnet also cut into prisms are from time to time found in Roman ruins, so abundantly indeed that graded necklaces can be made from them. These presumably postdate Pliny’s time. The sardonyx was also pierced and worn in neck ornaments by the poorer people of India. In Pliny’s time, the presence of a hole pierced in the stone proved it of Indian origin, an indication still in instances used by precious stone dealers. The lapidaries of the day hollowed out the lower side of garnets of deep color to give them a lighter and more pleasing hue. While shaped into cups, garnet ‘offers the most obstinate resistance to the graver’. Other stones were most easily cut, that of the callaina (turquoise) being ‘easily done’. Topazos (peridot) is the ‘only stone of high value that yields to the action of the file, the rest being polished by the aid of the stone of Naxos’ (emery). Peridot ‘wears with use’, its softness being the reason why we today rarely set it in rings. Unusually perfect rock crystals called acontetta (without flaw) were set uncut in jewelry.

Pliny states that the skilled artisan can hide the imperfections of rock crystal by cutting and engraving the stone. Tavernier, sixteen hundred years later, warned merchants to examine, with particular care, Indian diamonds with many facets, for the Hindu diamond cutter hid flaws with facets.

The garnets found on the hill of Orthosia in Asia Minor were cut ‘to perfection by the Alabandians’ in the nearby city of Alabanda. The early existence of this cutting center, exclusively for colored stones, is interesting.

Softer stones were shaped by a file but emery was used to cut and polish most gems. The emerald and the sapphire were rarely engraved and, as to the latter, the lapidary usually only polished the surface of the original pebble.

Pliny lists as famous engravers Pyrgoteles, Apollonides, Cronius, and Dioscurides, all Greeks. Alexander the Great permitted Pyrgoteles alone to engrave his likeness. Dioscurides cut a signet with an excellent likeness of Emperor Augustus, a seal thereafter used officially by the Roman Emperors. Gem engraving reached its height under Augustus adn continued on a high plane until the time of Hadrian when it began to deteriorate. Indeed, in general, the decline of classical art appears to have been more or less continuous from about 400 B.C to 200 A.D.

Seneca is the first Roman to speak of cameos (to be specific, a ring set with the head of Tiberius in relief), intaglios having preceded them by thousands of years. A few cameos, however, were cut in Greece and in Etruria early in the 5th century B.C but cameos only became relatively common a couple of centuries later when Indian layered stones were available to the Greek lapidaries. The Babylonians, centuries before, had rather crudely cut a few poor cameos. In Rome cameos which could only be used ornamentally, were never as popular as intaglios which were not only beautiful but also had their practical use as signets.

Gem Markets

Gem markets have unique rhythms. One quality the market shares with music is the mother-of-all-surprise (s). Music giants like Bach, Mozart, Beethoven were masters of deception and expert at weaving rhythms across bars. Look what's happening in the diamond, ruby and sapphire + emerald market (s). The migration of market (s) + sequences = shortage of good quality gemstones.

Think And Grow Rich

Good Books: I recommend a timeless classic by Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich. It is should be read time and time again.

The Myth Of The Robber Barons

Good Books: Myth of the Robber Barons by Burton Folsom provides an introduction to three of the greatest and most able businessmen who ever lived, Andrew Mellon, James Hill, and George Scranton + tips on how to run a business successfully + themes and case studies + invaluable lessons.

I enjoyed it.

Autism

Sometimes it's hard to describe autistic behavior. We usually associate the medical condition with kids, but I have seen similar behavioral traits in adults. Sometimes we miss the red flags + normal behaviour variations spectrum . As they say, the moving picture speaks a million words.

Here is an interesting website: www.autismspeaks.org sponsored by two nonprofit advocacy groups: Autism Speaks and First Signs. They hope the site will promote early diagnosis and treatment.

Everyscape

New Business Models: According to industry analysts EveryScape’s business model is built around selling the interior views, called MiniScapes, to local businesses. The strategy of using ordinary pictures to populate the site and then using technology to knit the photos into a 3-D environment may build a loyal following. Good luck.

Useful link:
www.everyscape.com

Lonely Prophets Of Pre-war Germany

The Economist writes about the new art dealers + gallery vs. auction houses + German Art (1919-1930) + other viewpoints @ http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/artview/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10048349

To Thine Own Selves Be True

Linda Yablonsky writes about role-playing concepts among artists + modern sensibilities + contemporary self-portraiture in painting, photography, and video + other viewpoints @ http://artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1418

Namibia And Diamonds

Namibia & diamonds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV8hLafmwpI

Namibia - Diamond industry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZeidtAYb9I

Demand for Namibian Diamonds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjemdIEa9dw

The videos were really educational. I enjoyed it.

Roman Jewelers And Lapidaries

(via Roman Book On Precious Stones: 1950) Sydney H Ball writes:

In Pliny’s time, the jewelry trade was a thoroughly integrated industry, including traders, explorers like the equestrian sent northward in search of amber—the Jean Baptiste Tavernier of his time, brokers in precious stones, makers of false stones, lapidaries and gem engravers, setters, goldsmiths, silversmiths, and retail merchants.

In the Chou period (1000 B.C), the Chinese nobles despised trade and regarded merchants with contempt. The Greeks also disdained the tradesman, holding that haggling over profits made poor citizens. Cato (234-149 B.C), the Roman patriot, in the introduction to his treatise on agriculture, states that farming ‘makes the bravest men and the sturdiest soldiers.’ Trade may be more profitable than farming, but it is much more hazardous. However, ‘I think well of a merchant as a man of energy and studious of gain: but it is a career that leads to danger adn ruin.’ Cicero says of a tradesmen ‘they make no profit except by a certain amount of falsehood’ although business on a large scale, provided it was honorably conducted, ‘is not so very discreditable’ especially if after he has made his fortune the merchant retires and becomes a gentleman farmer. In the time of Augustus, similarly, the merchant, particularly the retailer, was held more or less in contempt by the Romans. In consequence, many of the merchants in Pliny’s time were not Romans but Greeks, and in his opinion also merchandising, the invention of the Phoenicians, was much less respectable than agriculture. Indeed, in his day, farming was the only respectable business.

Dionysius Periegetes, of about Pliny’s time, in his geographical poem, in which we find many references to gem occurrences, states that he is no merchant nor has he sailed the Indian Ocean ‘like the many who stake their lives for vast wealth.’

Saint John Chrysostom (347-407 A.D) expressed himself as follows: ‘Whoever buys a thing in order to make a profit selling it, whole and unchanged, is the trader who is cast out of God’s Temple.’ In the 14th century the merchant was scarcely to be distinguished from the pirate. Nietzche (1884-1900 A.D) says his morality was merely the refinement of that of a pirate.

Pliny, as we have said, did not highly regard those of the jewelry trade, and he evidently considered them a tricky crew. He emphasized their unwillingness to permit their clients to satisfy themselves of the genuineness of the wares offered. We, further, find the morals of the trade not high, for in the reign of that pervert Heliogabalus, Valerianus Vetus was executed for having designed and made small gold images, worn as ornaments by the ladies of pleasure. But there were exceptions for, dating from the days of Julius Caesar, there is an epitaph of a jeweler on the Via Sacra, perhaps written by relatives, which concludes: ‘He was compassionate and loved the poor,’ an eulogy many of us might covet.

Most authorities ascribe the motive of Lucius Piso, Governor of Further Spain, as recounted by Cicero, to his desire to be above all suspicion of dishonesty. I am rather inclined to ascribe it to his lack of faith in the uprightness of the artisan concerned. In going through his military exercises, he broke his ring—it probably being hollow and of fine, hence soft, gold. The governor summoned a goldsmith to his tribunal in the open forum of Corduba (Cordova), gave him the ring, weighed out the extra gold required for the job, and had the ring repaired in full view of the local populace. In Plutarch’s Essay, he speaks of the ‘impertinent labor of the goldsmith.’ In the Menaechmi, a comedy by Plautus (died 184 B.C), one of the women asks that her bracelet be taken to the goldsmith’s, that an ounce of gold be added to it, and that it be fashioned anew. Today, the wealthy Hindu, to protect himself, follows the procedure of Piso, for in India, likewise, the goldsmith is held in little esteem.

Theophrastus, writing about 315 B.C, mentions those stones which are cut as gems, some being so hard they cannot be cut with iron ‘but only by other stones’. Some sort of a lathe was even the used by lapidaries, as certain of the gems of that time have been shaped by the turner’s instruments. The carbuncle, emerald, and other stones, notably the stone from the ‘gold mines of Lampsacus used as a seal by the King’ (of Persia) were engraved as signets. Cutting the lapis lyncurius (tourmaline?) was difficult and workmanship was needed to bring out the luster of the emerald ‘for originally it is not so bright.’

Roman Jewelers And Lapidaries (continued)

Descartes Error

Good Books: The book "Descartes Error" by A. Damasio investigates people who have suffered serious brain injuries and found that people who do not perceive emotions correctly will act irrationally. According to Damasio, emotion is necessary for rational behavior. Emotions allow you to choose quickly and easily among the many choices constantly available to you, saving you time and allowing you to zero in on correct solutions to problems.

A real gem. I enjoyed it.

Vinod Khosla

Vinod Khosla is considered by many one of the most successful entrepreneur + investor in renewable energy, microfinance, and the environment. Specific investment themes include:
1) Cellulosic - Mascoma, Celunol, Range Fuels, 1 stealth startup
2) Future Fuels - LS9, Gevo, Amyris Biotechnologies, Coskata Energy
3) Efficiency - Transonic Combustion, GroupIV Semiconductor, 1 stealth startup
4) Homes - Living Homes, Global Homes
5) Natural Gas - Great Point Energy
6) Solar - Stion, Ausra
7) Tools - Nanostellar, Codon Devices, Praj
8) Water - 2 stealth startup
9) Plastic - Segetis, 1 stealth startup
10) Corn/Sugar Fuels - Altra, Cilion, Hawaii Bio

Useful links:
Vinod Khosla, Khosla Ventures
www.khoslaventures.com

Inside Burma

It has been reported that there are many Westerners of all colors and disguises inside Burma buying rubies, sapphires, jade and other colored stones of all qualities despite the hue and cry of banning Burmese colored gemstones. It's an addiction + no matter what the trade associations, politicians, bureaucrats and human rights activists try to do behind the scene discreet dealers will flock to Burma one way or the other. I think you need someone like Edward Zwick, the director and producer of the film Blood Diamond, to tell world in a dramatic way. I think he did a good job by producing the movie to highlight the plight of poor Sierra Leoneans. Blood Ruby would be a perfect title.

Raja Ravi Varma

(via BBC) It has been reported that the painting of the Maharaja of Travancore and his younger brother welcoming Richard Temple-Grenville, governor-general of Madras, on an official visit to what is now the southern state of Kerala in 1880, was bought by Neville Tuli, who correspondents say represents one of the top art dealers in Mumbai (Bombay). The painting by Indian artist Raja Ravi Varma in 1880 was sold for £602,400 ($1.24m). It was sold by the London auctioneer, Bonhams, on Friday for a price which dwarfed the estimated sale price of £50,000-70,000. Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906) was one of the most admired academic painters of colonial India, and was often invited to state occasions by British and Indian high officials.

I think there are many rich Indians who are investing in paintings, especially if it has an Indian link. Good news for the auctions houses and art dealers.

The Most Wanted Works Of Art

Kelly Devine Thomas writes about collector's habits + wish lists of museum curators + eternally hot art works by the greats + most wanted art works + other viewpoints @ http://artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1417

Green Your Business

(via FastCompany) Mark Borden, Jeff Chu, Charles Fishman, Michael A. Prospero, and Danielle Sacks writes about greening business with smart ideas @ Slideshow: 50 Ways to Green Your Business

Useful link:
http://www.fastcompany.com/multimedia/slideshows/content/50-ways-to-green_pagen_2.html

Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

(via YouTube) Diamonds are a girl's best friend @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhQ8ltHZwu8

The Carat

(via The History and Use of Diamond:1962) S Tolansky writes:

In the Middle Ages and the period of the Renaissance the jewel which was really extensively worn, naturally enough by ladies, was not the diamond but the pearl. Pearls have been taken from the Persian Gulf since the days of the Macedonians, if not earlier, and from the time of the Ptolemies pearl fishing has been actively conducted in the Red Sea. It is well-known that certain freshwater mussels can produce excellent river pearls and this, too, has been a source of pearls since ancient times. The river pearls of Britain are even mentioned by Tacitus and by Pliny, and a breast-plate studded with British river pearls was dedicated by Julius Ceasar to Venus Genetrix. It is perhaps worthy of mention that in 1355 Scottish river pearls are referred to in a legal statute, and that in the time of Charles II the Scottish river pearl trade was on a scale big enough to justify a Parliamentary discussion.

However, it was essentially the pearls of the Orient which really flooded Europe and they were certainly used in great profusion by the great ladies at the courts. Pearl collars, pearl hair decorations and pearl girdles are seen very frequently in contemporary portraits. This use of pearls mounted to a climax at the time of Queen Elizabeth I. The well-known portraits of this Queen, now in the National Portrait Gallery, London, show her to be wearing thousands of pearls. In one painting an enormous pearl rope of several turns contained perhaps a thousand pearls, and the whole grand dress is simply covered with this gem. The weight must have been considerable.

Now it was from this extensive pearl trade of the Orient that the weight measure still used today for all gems, diamond included, arose originally. In early times, the smallest units of weight adopted in commerce were, generally, specified seeds. For example, the barley grain was the lowest weight unit in this country and there are still, by definition 7000 grains to the pound weight. Of course, such a weight is an average. The astute ancient pearl dealers of the Orient made the very striking discovery that the dry seeds of the fruit of the locust-pod tree are remarkably uniform in weight. This tree is very widespread over the Mediterranean and in the whole Near and Far East. The locust-pd tree produces a curved fruit, something resembling a flattened, hard banana in appearance, rather like a horn. The pearl traders noticed that no matter how old the tree, and no matter which part of the pod the seeds came from, the weights of the dry seeds were remarkably uniform. This seed being readily available, it was adopted by the pearl dealers as the unit of weight for measuring pearls. The old Greek name for the plant is Keration, from whence we derive the word carat. The carat was originally the weight of the seed of this locust-pod fruit.

That the seeds have an amazing uniformity in weight can be demonstrated today with precision balances. The small differences found, say less than 1/1000th part of an ounce, are too small to have been measurable by the simple balances available to the ancient traders. As far as they could measure, such seeds were absolutely identical, and this fact is a remarkable tribute to the astuteness of the ancient pearl traders.

For many centuries the adopted working carat was a little different in weight in different parts of Europe, but always more or less the same, i.e something near to a fifth part of a gram, or 1/140th part of an ounce. Strangely enough, although the carat has been in use in this country since Norman times at least, it was for long only an agreed measure of commerce and had no legal standing at all. Even up to the middle of the nineteenth century the persistent differences in different trading centers were still appreciable. The weight in milligrams of the carat was 197 in Florence, 205 in Berlin, 206 in Vienna, 207 in Madras. The values used actually ranged from 188 to 213 milligrams, a variation of some thirteen percent. This was too much to be tolerated for reliable international Committee on Weights and Measures in Paris proporsed the adoption of what is now called the metric carat, which was to be exactly 200 milligrams, i.e 1/5th of a gram, or 1/142nd of an ounce. The French Government sought international agreement, but this very sensible proposal was resisted by many jewelers. However, pressure was exerted, and in 1915 the Board of Trade in this country at last legalized the metric carat. This was carried out more or less simultaneously in Britain, Holland, Belgium and the U.S.A, the four countries in which the dealing in diamonds was mainly concentrated. Strangely enough, South Africa, a principal source of diamonds, only adopted the metric carat as late as 1923. It is now universally used for gemstones and this fact must be remembered when the weights of old historical diamonds are being discussed.

The carat is quite a small measure, yet so costly is the diamond that the carat is subdivided still further, especially in the United States, where it is divided into one hundred points. Thus a stone weighing one and a quarter carats is written 1.25 carats and this particular diamond would be described as being of weight one carat and twenty five points. The carat is still retained as of old for the pearl, though in this trade a coarser sub-division is usual, the pearl grain, which is a quarter of a carat.

It is not easy to visualize carat sizes, but the following will help. A natural octahedron of height about 1/10th of an inch could weigh 1/10th of a carat. An octahedron of height one quarter of an inch could weigh about 1 carat. For an octahedron of height half an inch, the weight might be 8 carats. The polished gem of the shape called the brilliant grades differently because of the material lost in shaping. A brilliant 1/10th of an inch across weights about 1/16th of a carat, while a 1 carat brilliant-cut gem has a diameter of about one quarter of an inch. A brilliant gem of diameter half an inch would weigh about 8 carats. It will be seen that a 1 carat gem is a sizeable stone, hence the need for the division into points when estimating prices, especially of the finished products. Since a good quality 1 carat, finished, brilliant shaped diamond can cost currently some $1600 (?) in the U.S.A that very small additional quantity of weight which is called the point, although no more than a mere 10 milligrams, i.e just about 1/14000th part of an ounce, is worth as much as $16 (?). It is not surprising that finished brilliants are very carefully weighed to 1/100th part of a carat nowadays by jewelers when valuation takes place.

As a reminder, attention is drawn to the unfortunate use of the word carat in this country to denote the fineness of gold. Pure gold is classed as 24 carat gold, and alloys are graded accordingly. For instance, 18 carat gold means that the alloy contains 18/24ths of pure gold, i.e. 75 percent American, and continental practice favors a different spelling for the gold carat, replacing the c by k to read karat. This is an admirable suggestion and we would be well advised to adopt this practice here to avoid confusion with the carat which internationally accpeted now as a gem weight and should have nothing to do with the alloy/gold content.

Last Supper Gets 16bn Pixel Boost

(via BBC) A 16 billion pixel image of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper has been posted on the internet, allowing art lovers close up details of the 15th Century work.

Useful link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7065903.stm

Varnedoe’s Vision

Robert Storr writes about Kirk Varnedoe + his significant contributions to the art world + his legacy + other viewpoints @ http://artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1416

Edward Norton

(via You Tube) Edward Norton - "My Baby Just Cares for Me"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxd_TlVn0e8

A real gem. I enjoyed it. Watch it.

Pearl

(via Modern Jeweler) Tips from pros on how to sell pearls @ Pearls 101

Green Business

(via FastCompany) Mark Borden, Jeff Chu, Charles Fishman, Michael A. Prospero, and Danielle Sacks writes about cleaning up your business with several options @ 50 Ways to Green Your Business

Brilliant!

Diamond Jewelry As Corporate Gifts

In India the market for diamond jewelry as corporate gifts is growing with more and more corporates including IT, insurance, banks, builders, pharmaceutical, and consumer electronics companies following the trend. The perception is diamond jewelry has the highest aspirational value, as well as being a gift that lasts a lifetime. The corporate gifts include pendants with spiritual motifs, earrings, diamond trinkets, designer items and so on. Industry analysts believe the market is expected to grow in double digits in the coming years.

Rio’s Pink Diamond Tender

According to industry analysts the Rio Tinto Diamonds Argyle pink diamond tender, met with high interest + the purplish reds, deep pinks and other shades were able to fetch good prices. Some 100 or so potential bidders + a few celebrity diamond designers + retailers were able to view + buy the diamonds in secret locations in Perth, Hong Kong and New York. Good luck.

Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005

(via YouTube): Steve Job's speech was inspiring, intense, and touching. I hope it inspires you.

Useful link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA

Neutron Beams Search For Da Vinci's Lost Masterpiece

(via Wired) Interview with Art diagnostician Maurizio Seracini + the application of ultrasound, X-rays, infrared, thermography and ultraviolet devices for positive identification + other viewpoints @ http://www.wired.com/culture/art/news/2007/10/lost_fresco

Useful links:
www.editech.com
http://cisa3.calit2.net

Shooting From The Hip

Richard B. Woodward writes about Diane Arbus (1923–71) + the photojournalist and her way of capturing someone’s spirit + other viewpoints @ http://artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1415

The Pyramidal Point Cut

(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:

In sixteenth-century portraits, the sitter frequently wears a pointed diamond, but too many of these Point Cuts are drawn with abnormally high proportions. They cannot possibly all have been fashioned from triangular types of rough. The reason for their unusual height must have been the artist’s belief that the sharper the stone was, the better it would serve its serious purpose—as a script diamond—of inscribing love devices on the beloved’s window!

It would be possible to give coutless examples of diamond jewelry of the Middle Ages, as well as some from later periods, and explain their symbolism. The exquisite ‘Palatine’ or ‘Bohemian’ gold crown, also called the ‘Crown of an English Princess’, was made around 1370-80. It was originally decorated with a large number of diamond crystals, all about 2mm in size. Most have been lost, but twenty-two have been preserved and are still in the crown. They appear to be naturally rounded octahedrons. Some of them may have been slightly fashioned in order to match the others, and certainly most of them were rubbed with some sort of polishing agent.

Irregular octahedrons were being fashioned at least towards the end of the fourteenth century, since inventories of the beginning of the fifteenth century already mention both fait and non faite, or naif and ‘cut’. The task of the earliest diamond cutters was to improve symmetry and achieve full transparency by smoothing the faces and giving them a high polish. This could be done by grinding, preceded when necessary by bruting; this always had to be done in a direction which diverged at least one or two degrees from the so-called ‘divine angle’ of crystallization (i.e. about 54¾º).

It also seems indisputable that some particularly ingenious cutters of the time had mastered the art of cleaving, which in those days was practised only in great secrecy. They had discovered, by trial and error, that diamonds have ‘grain’—that is, specific directions in which they can be worked—and from then on they were able to create gems of almost any shape, not only those of a natural crystal, though initially these were the shapes most imitated, since it was believed that a diamond must appear natural and untouched in order to retain its magical powers.

Distorted octahedrons, broken apexes, crooked edges and other irregularities occasioned by nature prompted cutters to apply additional faceting on crystals which, though basically octahedrons, showed traces of cube or dodecahedron or both. Given the slightly convex shape of diamond faces, it would not be difficult to apply small triangular facets by grinding. Sometimes extra ‘fancy facets’ could be added to disguise disturbing flaws or natural fractures.

No cutter would want to reduce the apparent ‘size’ (i.e. the width of the girdle plane) of a bipyramid, but the height of the crown or the depth of the pavilion could be reduced without too much affecting the ‘size’. Grinding (if this was to be the method used for fashioning) had to start from the center of a face and proceed towards both the girdle and the apex, gradually lowering the height of the gem. It could be left slightly rectangular or with one or more of the corners blunted.

It is possible to tell whether the height of a pyramidal crystal has been lowered by looking at the internal square reflection visible in every diamond of pyramidal shape. Other reflections can also be seen between this large reflection and the corners of the stone but these are of no interest at this point unless a tiny square appears round the apex, which indicates that the biyramid is too high for an octahedron and that the gem has therefore been fashioned from an entirely different crystal shape—a was, for instance, or a dodecahedron.

The extraordinary octahedral form of the crystal gave the cutter three squares from which to choose the one that would serve as the girdle. He usually chose the direction which would give the final stone the largest size, unless there were good reasons for choosing another direction (e.g. irregularities in the crystal, inclusions or faults in symmetry). For each possible solution there would be two apexes, one of which would eventually be symmetrized and fashioned into an attractive upper pyramid. If necessary, the depth of the pavilion could be successfully reduced to a fraction of the height of the crown—if, for instance, the pavilion were heavily flawed—but I have never found a pyramidal diamond with an entirely flat base. Such a diamond would show no reflection whatsoever.

One good example is the gem on the horse’s forehead in the statuette of St George in Munich. A detailed examination of the stone revealed that it had crown angles of 45º and pavilion angles of 10º. The ‘size’ of the Point Cut is 14 x 14mm. The overall height is about 10mm and it weighs about 10 ct. These figures indicate that it was fashioned from a rather inferior octahedron.

Sheik Fitaihi Speak

Sheik Fitaihi has played an enormous role in buying jewelry at auctions. This is what he has to say: 'Nothing is forever. Today is for me, tomorrow is for someoneelse. I don't think about my impact on the market. I don't think about others; I concentrate on myself. If you want to be successful think about yourself, not about others.'

He sees the auction house and its offerings as a collection of families. 'When we are working with Christies, hundreds of families are working; when you working with a dealer, you are, working with one family only.'

Colored Stone Dealer Speak

The Thai method of punishment for stealing a gem is quick and final. Often the thief is 'accidentally' run over and buried in the mine and by a tractor. Or, someone may be hired to dispatch the thief--no problem, apparently, where poverty is rife and some people will do anything for money. The rule is that the thief be shot only in the head. The stomach is not touched because it is slit open to search for any swallowed gems.

Diamond Dealer Speak

The old story in the diamond line was once: 'What one fool can buy, a hundred wisemen cannot sell.' These days: 'What one fool can sell, a hundred wisemen cannot collect the money on time.' Selling is difficult enough, yet it is still easier to sell out-of-town than to collect.

Golf Pro

A golf pro once demonstrated a trick shot. He took an egg, put it on a tee and took a sand wedge. And he said, 'I'll hit that tee, snap it and the egg will drop on the grass unbroken. And he did it. He snapped a tall wooden tee and the egg dropped unbroken. I wanted to see how actually it was done. So I said, 'Do that again.' He said, 'No, I may not be as lucky the second time.'

- Lee Kwan Yew

Bruce Hornsby

I am a huge fan of Bruce Hornsby + his music is a magic-blend of jazz, pop, classical, bluegrass, rock, vaudeville, at times uncategorizable, but the refined musicality puts you in a hypnotic trance.

Useful link:
www.brucehornsby.com

Jewelry Enterprise Software

Octahedron Pty Ltd, is an interesting web-based point-of-sale and business management software company.

Useful link:
www.octahedron.com.au

Al Pacino

The Insider (1999) - Al Pacino Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIjpP-XngKA

I liked it.

Auctioned 'Rembrandt' Fetches £2m

(via BBC) A painting given a reserve of £1,500 sold for more than £2m at auction after bidders became convinced it was a Rembrandt self portrait. The work had hung on the wall of a house in Cirencester for several years before being sold in the town.

Philip Allwood - from Moore, Allen and Innocent - said he thought the portrait might be a Rembrandt but its owner said it had been checked and was not. But bidders who drove the price up to £2m were convinced otherwise, he added.

Mr Allwood said he had to make sure the painting was not misdescribed in the auction room's catalogue.

"When I first saw it I said it looked very much like a Rembrandt and was assured by the client it had been checked out years ago and it wasn't," said.

Deciding to do some more research on the painting, Mr Allwood spoke to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Experts there assured him that, while it was of the period of Rembrandt, it was "probably not" painted by him.

He said the auction house was not sure so was very careful not to misdescribe the painting in the catalogue.

"But on the day of the auction both the winner and under bidder seemed convinced it was genuine," Mr Allwood added. "The buyer who wishes to remain anonymous seemed very relaxed spending that sort of money."

When I read this story I said to myself, we are living in interesting times. At times I come across gemstones, top quality rubies (Burma, Vietnam, Tajikistan, Madagascar), sapphires (Kashmir, Burma, Sri Lanka, Madagascar), emeralds (Colombia, Brazil, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Zambia, Madagascar), and now Paraiba tourmalines (Brazil, Nigeria, Mozambique) bought and sold like paintings. Miners have one story, dealers have another story, gem testing laboratories have their own version + buyers think the stones come from a well-known source because they liked it, and pay high prices. Sometimes it is hard to teach gemstone pricing because (a) there is no business logic (b) once you like the stone, if you have the money, you pay, feel relaxed and want to remain anonymous.

Lost & Found

Ann Landi writes about Sculptor Lee Bontecou's art works + other viewpoints @ http://artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1399

Clean Diamond Trade Act

(via Wikipedia) Clean Diamond Trade Act, established in 2003, is a United States law designed to stop the trade of diamonds that fund violent civil conflicts in many African countries. The law implemented U.S. participation in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for trade in rough diamonds.

[PDF] Public Law 108–19 108th Congress An Act

The Natural Diamond Point

(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:

The natural Diamond Point (naif or pointe non faite in early French inventories) is an octahedral crystal with natural faces. The term has been in use at least since the middle of the twelfth century: it can be applied to any natural diamond crystal which, when set, shows a sharp apex or point, but the term is restricted to the natural octahedron. Since this is one of the three fixed forms in the isometric (cubic) crystal system, in theory it always displays exactly similar triangular faces, with fixed angles between the faces and fixed height proportions.

However, perfect symmetry with smooth, shining faces is hardly ever found in diamond crystals. They often have a natural bipyramidal form (either regular or with curved faces and edges) but are more often distorted because of unequal face development. In fact the octahedron frequently occurs in combination with one or both of the other fixed forms—the dodecahedron and the cube. It is also found combined with one or more of the four non-fixed isometric forms. Though absolute perfection is rare in a natural crystal it can, of course, be achieved by cleaving off irregular sections.

The natural Diamond Point was highly valued in ancient India and therefore hardly ever officially exported to the western world—there are, for instance, no pointed diamonds in the illustrations of the stones brought back to France by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier in the seventeenth century. But when it did finally reach Europe, the ‘point’ became a popular symbol and was used for all sorts of purposes, such as interior decoration and the facing of building.

In a natural diamond octahedron, the angle of inclination of the crystal faces at the girdle plane is 54º 44’ 8.3’’, usually rounded up to 53¾º. The sides of each triangular face will meet at a point forming an angle of 70º 31’ 43.4’’ (70½ º). By checking these figures it is possible to verify that a pyramidal shape is a true crystal and not a fashioned bipyramid, in which the angles differ from those of the natural crystal.

Most early Diamond Points were later fashioned into Tables, and later still into Brilliants. Regrettably, very few have survived in their original shape, and those that do are either foiled or their settings filled with dirt so that their beauty is no longer apparent. They are known, however, from museum collections, portraits and descriptions in wills and inventories.

Consilience

I like Edward O. Wilson's Consilience, concept because the convergence of sciences, art and humanities = interaction of countless humans = the business of new discovery/opportunities.

Michael Douglas

Gordon Gekko at his best. (Michael Douglas) Wall Street (1987)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxsn5Mm6fzA

I liked this one.

Deja Vu: Another EC Investigation Into De Beers

Chaim Even-Zohar writes about the European Commission (EC) - De Beers agreement + renewed investigation on the market impact of SoC + other viewpoints @ http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.asp

Inside Iraq’s National Museum

Roger Atwood writes about Iraq’s National Museum of Antiquities + the looting that followed after Saddam Hussein's downfall + other viewpoints @ http://artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1368

Small Diamonds In Gothic Jewels

(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:

During the first half of the 15th century, jewels of one particular style were very popular among collectors and for offering gifts. These were small, attractive pieces, often with mixed religious and secular ornamentation. Brooches in particular, but also clasps, pendants and rings, were cast and chased in gold with every conceivable motif, enamelled in bright colors and decorated with one, sometimes two, gems. It was in this type of jewelry that diamonds were introduced on a really large scale, though small rubies, sapphires, emeralds and pearls were also frequently used. The diamonds were small or medium-sized natural points fashioned into pyramidal cuts or fancy shapes, and in natural (but symmetrized) or imitated crystal forms.

There is one inventory, dating from 1439, which has so far been published only as part of a collection of inventories connected with Frederick IV, Duke of Austria and the Tyrol. Frederick, at one time nicknamed ‘the Hapsburg with empty pockets’, was so successful in exploiting rich silver mines in the Tyrol that he ended up being the wealthiest member of his dynasty. When he died he left over a thousand pieces of jewelry, including more than four hundred small, attractive pieces. There are over forty different motifs in the inventory, and often several examples of each motif, including twenty-two portrait medallions, ten falcons and four deer, as well as other animal jewels featuring horses, lions, camels, dogs, birds, etc. There are also a number of St Georges, Apostles, flowers, chessboards and so on. There are over five hundred diamonds mentioned in the inventory, mostly without any description other than the occasional michel or gross, which indicates that they were fairly large of pyramidal shape. Diamonds of any other shape were always described.

Two other well-known jewels are the brooch from the Treasury of the House of Burgundy (now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna) which shows a pair of fashionably dressed lovers standing in a ‘love garden’ of wreaths and branches; and the Founder’s Jewel which in 1404 William of Wykeham left to New College, Oxford, where it has remained to this day.

Gothic jewels were known for the high intrinsic value of their individual stones and were therefore often eventually broken up and their settings melted down. No illustrations of Frederick’s rich collection exist, but similar brooches were ‘dedicated in the Cathedral of Essen.’

Meme

(via Wikipedia) Richard Dawkins coined the term meme, which first came into popular use with the publication of his book The Selfish Gene in 1976. A meme, as defined within memetic theory, comprises a theoretical unit of cultural information, the building block of cultural evolution or diffusion that propagates from one mind to another analogously to the way in which a gene propagates from one organism to another as a unit of genetic information and of biological evolution. Multiple memes may propagate as cooperative groups called memeplexes (meme complexes).

A short story written in 1876 by Mark Twain, A Literary Nightmare, describes his encounter with a jingle so 'catchy' that it plays over and over in his mind until he finally sings it out loud and infects others (also known as an earworm).

Daniel Dennett on YouTube

I liked this one.

We all tend to fall for a new meme in the gem + jewelry industry one way or the other. It's amazing, it works. It could be on new treatment (s), new synthetic (s), new gem deposit (s), new design (s), new trend (s) + the never-ending news + insider tips on prices, grades, qualities, artificial scarcity engineering, the list goes on. What makes it so depressing is the memetic infection that can have upon one's psyche, which substantially increases the likelihood of additional misjudgments.

Gold

According to Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) gold trade through Dubai reached $5.23 billion in the third quarter of 2007, an increase of 55 per cent from $3.37 billion during the same period in 2006. Dubai’s top trading partners for gold include India, Switzerland, Malaysia and the GCC states. India and Switzerland were top importers from Dubai and India, Australia, Malaysia, USA and Switzerland were top exporters to Dubai. The experts believe the factors that could impact gold price (s) include fluctuations in the US economy + oil prices + social and political unrest around the world, resulting in extreme market volatility.

The Joker

Peter Schjeldahl writes about Richard Prince + the real story.

The Top Ten 2003

Milton Esterow writes about the annual list of the world’s top collectors—plus the Top Ten @ http://artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1369 + http://artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1370

Burt Lancaster Profile

Burt Lancaster profile on TCM @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgm47U_TVwk

I liked it.

Painting Found In Trash

Ula Ilnytzky writes about Elizabeth Gibson who spotted the brightly colored abstract work (now worth US$ 1 million +/- according to Sothebys) on her morning walk four years ago, lying in trash along a street, on Manhattan's Upper West Side + other viewpoints @ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071023/ap_on_re_us/trash_treasure

Crater Of Diamonds State Park

Here is an interesting diamond update from the Crater of Diamonds Park, Murfreesboro, Arkansas. The Crater of Diamonds park is the world's only diamond-producing site open to the public and visitors can keep the stones they dig up.

It has been reported that Eric Blake, 32, of Appleton, Wis., spotted a 3.92-carat white stone along a trail at the Crater of Diamonds State Park when he set down a 70-pound bucket of mud that he was carrying to a wash basin. Good luck!

Useful link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071023/ap_on_fe_st/odd_diamond_found

Utz Certified

According to (www.utzcertified.org) Lucas Simons, director of new programmes at Utz Certified, 'The cocoa sector is facing challenges in terms of social responsibility and the environment. Independent certification and transparency are important instruments for sustainable production, rural development and poverty reduction.' The group is currently working on a code of conduct and a traceability system for all cocoa providers in the Ivory Coast, one of the biggest suppliers of cocoa to the US and Europe. With 90 per cent of Ivorian cocoa being exported to Europe and North America, for example, food companies can hardly forget the massive role they play in helping give suppliers a decent standard of life. About 60.1 per cent of exports went to the EU in the growing season 2005-2006.

I think it's time that the gem and jewelry sector learn from the Cocoa sector. I think discussions on The Role of Diamond and Colored Stones in Developed and Developing Countries wouldn't be a bad idea. The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) supports the smallholder cocoa farmers who usually live below the United Nations (UN) poverty line.

According to the World Food Day website, a mind-boggling 854 million people live below this poverty line and go to sleep every night with an empty belly, while 25,000 people die of starvation every day.

What about the diamond and colored stones industry? What about the gemstone miners in South America, Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia? Who actually cares for them? In fact very few. I think sustainibility is important in the diamond and colored stone industry, and its in the best interests of the miners, dealers, jewelers and consumers. What do you think?

The Collector

Vince Aletti writes about Robert Mapplethorpe + Sam Wagstaff, Robert Mapplethrope's mentor + the current boom market for photography.

Rediscovering Latin America

Roger Atwood writes about the new trend in Mexican colonial portraiture to Chilean Surrealism + other viewpoints @ http://artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1336

Henry Carstens

(via Dailyspeculations/Brett Steenbarger) Henry Carstens's latest article, Introduction To Testing Trading Ideas, is a gem. It walks traders through the process of historical testing, significance testing, and portfolio allocation.

Brilliant!

Danny DeVitto

Other People’ s Money (1991) speech by Danny DeVitto @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfL7STmWZ1c

I liked it.

About Jewelers

(via Forbes) The number of jewelers in the U.S. is expected to decline, but by less than 1% by 2014, the Department of Labor says. Nonetheless, the industry isn't growing, largely due to the influx of mass-produced jewelry in recent years. Would-be necklace and ring makers shouldn't be entirely discouraged--the government says prospects for highly skilled jewelers, particularly those who make custom or luxury jewelry--are 'excellent.' You might want to work on your entrepreneurial skills if you plan on going into this field though. About 40% of all jewelers are self-employed, according to the Labor Department.

Working conditions: Many jewelers work alone, requires vocational training, local retailers rely heavily on word-of-mouth advertising.

Median salary: About $28,000 per year.

Not very impressive, in fact depressing. How can you recommend anyone to try the jewelry industry. The fact of the matter is many have no clue as to how jewelers make their living. The perception is jewelry industry is glamorous and there is a lot of money in it. Yes and No. At least the American government have a tradition of publicising periodic reports on the state of the jewelry industry. What about other governments? Look at the developing countries in Asia, like China, India and Southeast Asian countries. Why can't they go the extramile and disclose? You have got to be an insider to know what goes on behind the scene.

Rough Diamonds

(via jckonline) According to Jewelers Vigilance Committee importers of rough diamonds must now fax a copy of the Kimberley Process Certification arriving with the imported diamonds to the U.S. Census Bureau upon making any entry with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Good luck!

I really don't know how effective the Kimberley Process Certification concept is in other parts of the world. There are rough diamonds arriving from god-knows-where, but most likely from the continent of Africa or Russian federation into Southeast Asia and South Asia. I think the couriers are aware of the risks but still they are taking chances to find a buyer, especially in Southeast Asia.

James Dean

James Dean, is an American film actor, one-of-a-kind actor who had that extra something + his iconic status appealed for the disenfranchised young of the era + his death at a young age created a legendary status. I really liked Rebel Without a Cause and Giant.

(via www.imdb.com) Useful links:
Giant (1956) Jett Rink
"Crossroads" (1955)
Broadway Trust (1955)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955) Jim Stark
"Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" (1955)
The Unlighted Road (1955)
"Lux Video Theatre"
The Life of Emile Zola (1955)
The Foggy, Foggy Dew (1952)
East of Eden (1955). Cal Trask
"The United States Steel Hour" (1955)
The Thief (1955)
"General Electric Theater" (1954)
The Dark, Dark Hours (1954)
I'm a Fool (1954)
"Danger" (1953-1954)
Padlocks (1954)
The Little Woman (1954)
Death Is My Neighbor (1953)
No Room (1953)
"The Philco Television Playhouse" (1954)
Run Like a Thief (1954)
Harvest (1953)
"Robert Montgomery Presents" (1953)
Harvest (1953)
"Armstrong Circle Theatre" (1953)
The Bells of Cockaigne (1953)
"Kraft Television Theatre" (1952-1953)
A Long Time Till Dawn (1953)
Keep Our Honor Bright (1953)
Prologue to Glory (1952)
"Campbell Playhouse" (1953)
Life Sentence (1953)
Something for an Empty Briefcase (1953)
"Omnibus" (1953)
Glory in the Flower (1953)
"The Big Story" (1953)
Rex Newman, Reporter for the Globe and News (1953)
"Studio One" (1952-1953)
Sentence of Death (1953)
Abraham Lincoln (1952)
Ten Thousand Horses Singing (1952)
"Tales of Tomorrow" (1953)
The Evil Within (1953)
"Treasury Men in Action" (1953)
The Case of the Sawed-Off Shotgun (1953)
The Case of the Watchful Dog (1953)
Trouble Along the Way (1953)
"You Are There" (1953)
The Capture of Jesse James (1953) Jesse James
"The Kate Smith Hour" (1953)
Hounds of Heaven (1953)
Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (1952)
"Hallmark Hall of Fame" (1952)
Forgotten Children (1952)
"The Web" (1952)
Sleeping Dogs (1952)
Sailor Beware (1952)
"CBS Television Workshop" (1952)
Into the Valley (1952)
"The Stu Erwin Show" (1951)
Jackie Knows All (1951)
Fixed Bayonets! (1951)
"The Bigelow Theatre" (1951)
T.K.O. (1951)
"Family Theatre"
Hill Number One (1951)

Laughing In The Face Of Adversity

The Economist writes about the boom and correction phase in the contemporary-art market + inflated expectations and panic-attack among the collectors + the credit crunch, recession, depressed housing market, the weak dollar link + other viewpoints @ http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10006840&top_story=1

When Human Beings Are The Canvas

Mark Spiegler writes about Santiago Sierra + his unique art format + his visualization of a concept in extraordinary manner (s) + other viewpoints @ http://artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1335

Diamond Rivers

(via The Diamond World, 1981) David Koskoff writes:

In Diamond Rivers (1977), an educational film produced for television by Bill Benenson, one old-timer, one of the last one-man Brazilian diamond diggers, tells about himself and what impels him and small diggers everywhere:

'I think I was born looking for diamonds. My father was a prospector and he died without having anything. And I, as old as I am, I don’t have anything either. But I have never stopped looking. Not for long, anyway. Why do I do it? Because I like it, and it is what I know best. If I was lucky, when I went to town and got money I would buy good clothes, a good hat, good boots, a good revolver to put in my belt, and then I would go party. Beer, wine, cognac, and sing and dance and party some more, and then, when the money was gone, I would come back to the river and look for more. Where is the prospector who invests his money, buys land or a house? They do not exist, I tell you. He is a man without future, only living for the day...There were some good days...'

How true! It's sad, but that's the way it is.

Google Vanity Ring

(via Technovelgy) Google Vanity Ring is a special piece of net-ready jewelry that provides a concrete number for your ego googling.

Here's how it works. Rather than a precious gem, the ring displays something even more precious - the number of hits you get on Google when you check for reference to your name. Every night, you put it in its little cradle connected to your computer. Then, you type in your name in the application window; the application then googles you and displays the number of hits - also called 'attention carats' - on the face of the ring.

I really liked it.

Pearl

It has been reported that the first International Pearl Convention will be held in Abu Dhabi and Dubai (November 18, 2007), in order to highlight the country's pearling tradition and cultural identity with pearl seminars, films, fashions, cultured pearl displays and an Arabia pearl exhibition.

A unique highlight will be the world's second largest natural pearl + the 30-millimeter 'Rosebud' pearl + 13-millimeter 'Golden Dome Oriental' pearl + the two strand 'Oriental" necklace' + 18th century button pearl and gold jewelry.

I think the objective of this convention is to connect pearl collectors and investors worldwide + provide a platform to revive the once-famous pearl market of the Middle-East.

Gregory Peck

I am a huge fan of Gregory Peck + he is percieved as Hollywood royalty, one of the screen's great patriarchs, well-respected and universally adored + he knows how to present audiences with good stories of intensity and character.

(via www.imdb.com) Useful links:
Moby Dick (1998) Father Mapple
The Portrait (1993)
Cape Fear (1991)
Other People's Money (1991)
Old Gringo (1989)
Amazing Grace and Chuck (1987)
The Scarlet and the Black (1983)
"The Blue and the Gray" (1982) Abraham Lincoln
The Sea Wolves (1980)
The Boys from Brazil (1978)
MacArthur (1977) Gen. Douglas MacArthur
The Omen (1976) Robert Thorn
Billy Two Hats (1974)
Shoot Out (1971)
I Walk the Line (1970)
Marooned (1969)
The Chairman (1969)
Mackenna's Gold (1969)
The Stalking Moon (1968)
Arabesque (1966)
Mirage (1965)
Behold a Pale Horse (1964)
Captain Newman, M.D. (1963)
"The Dick Powell Show" - Project X (1963)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) Atticus Finch
How the West Was Won (1962)
Cape Fear (1962) Sam Bowden
The Guns of Navarone (1961) Capt. Keith Mallory
On the Beach (1959)
Beloved Infidel (1959)
Pork Chop Hill (1959)
The Big Country (1958) James McKay
The Bravados (1958)
Designing Woman (1957)
Moby Dick (1956) Captain Ahab
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956)
The Purple Plain (1954)
Night People (1954)
Boum sur Paris (1954)
Roman Holiday (1953) Joe Bradley
The Million Pound Note (1953)
The World in His Arms (1952)
The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)
David and Bathsheba (1951) King David
Only the Valiant (1951)
Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951) Capt. Horatio Hornblower, R.N
The Gunfighter (1950)
Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
The Great Sinner (1949)
Yellow Sky (1948)
The Paradine Case (1947)
Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
The Macomber Affair (1947)
Duel in the Sun (1946)
The Yearling (1946)
Spellbound (1945)
The Valley of Decision (1945)
The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
Days of Glory (1944)

Eastern Promises

The Economist writes about ancient and contemporary Islamic art from the Arab world and Iran + other viewpoints @ http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/artview/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10006873

The Next Frontier

Eileen Kinsella writes about contemporary Western American art + the thriving high end market + works by the best-known artists like, Howard Terpning, Kenneth Riley, Tom Lovell, and John Clymer + other viewpoints @ http://artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1316

More On Burmese Gemstones

(via JCKOnline/Gary Roskin) Here is an interesting clip via CNN's Jonathan Mann:
"Myanmar Gems; Trade keeps military junta amply funded in Myanmar" + Jeremy Woodrum's U.S. Campaign for Burma + Jewelers of America's initiative asking the US Congress to amend the Burmese Freedom & Democracy Act of 2003

I really don't know how it's going to work. If there aren't any co-operation from India, China, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, it's just talk-talk with no results. I think the Americans have made the first (good) move, followed by the Europeans. You have got to find a way to educate consumers, not only in America and Europe but in Asia to highlight the plight of the Burmese. I hear Tiffany and Cartier have decided not to purchase Burmese gemstones. Good deed, but for how long? What about the jewelry stores in other parts of the world, especially Asia? That's where the action is. Till you mobilize the big market, gemstones will still be arriving via Burma with dubious identification reports. May be gem testing laboratories like the Gubelin, GRS, SSEF, AGTA and Collectors Universe could go the extra mile to help the industry because bulk of the Burmese origin reports are issued by these labs for the trade, collectors and consumers.

Biomimicry

Designs: Janine Benyus's book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature not only explains how to copy nature's time-tested, non-polluting room-temperature manufacturing and computing technologies + but also warns about our highly unnatural and exploitative technologies that could create a boomerang-effect + a real challenge for technophiles and environmentalists. A must-read book.

Book description (via Amazon):
This profound and accessible book details how science is studying nature's best ideas to solve our toughest 21st–century problems.

If chaos theory transformed our view of the universe, biomimicry is transforming our life on Earth. Biomimicry is innovation inspired by nature – taking advantage of evolution's 3.8 billion years of R\'9126D since the first bacteria. Biomimics study nature's best ideas: photosynthesis, brain power, and shells – and adapt them for human use. They are revolutionising how we invent, compute, heal ourselves, harness energy, repair the environment, and feed the world.

Science writer and lecturer Janine Benyus names and explains this phenomenon. She takes us into the lab and out in the field with cutting–edge researchers as they stir vats of proteins to unleash their computing power; analyse how electrons zipping around a leaf cell convert sunlight into fuel in trillionths of a second; discover miracle drugs by watching what chimps eat when they get sick; study the hardy prairie as a model for low–maintenance agriculture; and more.

Here is an excerpt from the book:
It's not ordinary for a bare-chested man wearing jaguar teeth and owl feathers to grace the pages of The New Yorker, but these are not ordinary times. While I was writing this book, Moi, an Huaorani Indian leader whose name means "dream," traveled to Washington, D.C., to defend his Amazonian homeland against oil drilling. He roared like a jaguar in the hearings, teaching a roomful of jaded staffers where real power comes from and what homeland actually means. Meanwhile, in America's heartland, two books about aboriginal peoples were becoming word-of-mouth best-sellers, much to their publishers' surprise. Both were about urban Westerners whose lives are changed forever by the wise teachings of preindustrial societies.

What's going on here? My guess is that Homo industrialis, having reached the limits of nature's tolerance, is seeing his shadow on the wall, along with the shadows of rhinos, condors, manatees, lady's slippers, and other species he is taking down with him. Shaken by the sight, he, we, are hungry for instructions about how to live sanely and sustainably on the Earth. The good news is that wisdom is widespread, not only in indigenous peoples but also in the species that have lived on Earth far longer than humans. If the age of the Earth were a calendar year and today were a breath before midnight on New Year's Eve, we showed up a scant fifteen minutes ago, and all of recorded history has blinked by the last sixty seconds. Luckily for us, our planet-mates- -the fantastic meshwork of plants, animals, and microbes--have been patiently perfecting their wares since March, an incredible 3.8 billion years since the first bacteria.

In that time, life has learned to fly, circumnavigate the globe, live in the depths of the ocean and atop the highest peaks, craft miracle materials, light up the night, lasso the sun's energy, and build a self-reflective brain. Collectively, organisms have managed to turn rock and sea into a life-friendly home, with steady temperatures and smoothly percolating cycles. In short, living things have done everything we want to do, without guzzling fossil fuel, polluting the planet, or mortgaging their future. What better models could there be?

Janine Benyus was honored by Time Magazine as a hero of the environment. Read the article here.

Luck Logic And White Lies

Good Books: (via Dailyspeculations) The book "Luck Logic and White Lies" by Jorg Bewersdorff is one-of-a-kind book, an encyclopedia of strategy and solutions to almost every game + a great exercise in logic and decision making + a guide for how to have fun with your family. I enjoyed the book.