Leatherheads is a romantic comedy set in the world of 1920s professional football starring, written, produced and directed by George Clooney + starring John Krasinski and Renée Zellweger.
Useful links:
www.leatherheadsmovie.com
www.clooneystudio.com
Monday, March 17, 2008
Natural Wine
I found the introduction to natural wine via www.morethanorganic.com educational + useful.
I think the colored gemstone + diamond industry may have a lot to learn from the natural wine industry.
I think the colored gemstone + diamond industry may have a lot to learn from the natural wine industry.
All Rise
All Rise: Somebodies, Nobodies, and the Politics of Dignity by Robert W Fuller is an interesting book that enlightens us with working models of dignity at workplace, personal relationships, to mention a few + it's a new way of thinking + it's direct and simple + read it.
Useful link:
http://breakingranks.net
Useful link:
http://breakingranks.net
Brilliants With Sixfold Symmetry
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
Occasionally Brilliants were fashioned with sixfold instead of the normal eightfold symmetry. In this case, the rough stones must have been dodecahedrons and were fashioned using one of the three-face points as the apex. Unlike diamonds derived from dodecahedrons, with four-face points, part of the top of a sixfold diamond could in theory easily be removed by cleaving. This section could then be used to make a Rose.
An Oval Brilliant with both sixfold and fourfold symmetry is in the Grϋnes Gewölbe, Dresden. This Brilliant, weighing over 10ct has no known pedigree. A close study reveals that it was at one time recut from a Pointed Star Cut with sixfold symmetry. It was given a different pavilion with fourfold symmetry, but the culet is still hexagonal. The refashioning was probably done at the end of the seventeenth century since the height proportions, as in most diamonds derived from dodecahedrons, are comparatively modern, with c.32° crown angles and c.43° pavilion angles.
Occasionally Brilliants were fashioned with sixfold instead of the normal eightfold symmetry. In this case, the rough stones must have been dodecahedrons and were fashioned using one of the three-face points as the apex. Unlike diamonds derived from dodecahedrons, with four-face points, part of the top of a sixfold diamond could in theory easily be removed by cleaving. This section could then be used to make a Rose.
An Oval Brilliant with both sixfold and fourfold symmetry is in the Grϋnes Gewölbe, Dresden. This Brilliant, weighing over 10ct has no known pedigree. A close study reveals that it was at one time recut from a Pointed Star Cut with sixfold symmetry. It was given a different pavilion with fourfold symmetry, but the culet is still hexagonal. The refashioning was probably done at the end of the seventeenth century since the height proportions, as in most diamonds derived from dodecahedrons, are comparatively modern, with c.32° crown angles and c.43° pavilion angles.
The Romantic Movement In France
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
In this picture, which was the real beginning of his lasting fame, Delacroix proved himself to be one of the world’s great colorists, and laid the foundations of the new handling of color which became the greatest pictorial triumph of the nineteenth century. Color in his hands was no dead thing, it became something alive, scintillating and vibrating; his results were obtained not only by the happy choice of invididual tints, but still more by the science with which he knew how to juxtapose one color against another so as to accentuate the brilliancy of each and secure a glowing harmony.
The art of Delacroix is distinguished by three things—its color, its poetry, and its decorative qualities. He turned naturally to Dante, Shakespeare, and Byron for subjects, not so much because they provided him with good themes to illustrate, as because in their poetry he found those passionate ideals and aspirations which animated his own mind. When actual events aroused a similar intensity of emotion, he painted them also. Though usually he eschewed political subjects, the Revolution of July 1830 moved him to paint his famous picture ‘The Barricade,’ now known as ‘Liberty Guiding the People, a picture which is at once a fragment of actuality and the emodiment of an ideal. For this is a true historical picture in so far as it does represent with fidelity a typical incident during the street fighting of the Revolution; and at the same time the heroine of the barricade, with her Phrygian cap, streaming tricolor, and musket, is an allegory of Libery, liberty for the people and liberty for art. Exhibited in the Salon of 1831 this picture perplexed the authorities, who could neither deny its excellence as a work of art nor altogether approve of its firebrand politics. The Director of Fine Arts temporarily solved the problem by purchasing the picture for the nation, and then turning its face to the wall! Today the picture is one of the chief treasures of the French School in the Louvre.
In the same year Delacroix made a journey to Morocco which had a considerable effect on his art, for he delighted alike in the brilliant colors and picturesque costumes of this sunny land, and on his return exhibited a number of pictures of Eastern subjects, which were enthusiastically received, and, inspiring other artists to do likewise, he gave birth to a school of artists known as the ‘Orientalists.’ Delacroix himself, however, was too big and varied a genius to confine himself to one subject, and having given a lead to the Orientalists he now devoted much of his time to decorative painting.
Though regarded by his great rival Ingres and by the classical painters as a revolutionary, Delacroix was full of respect for tradition, only whereas David and Ingres adhered to the tradition of Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci, Géricault and Delacroix upheld the tradition of Michael Angelo, Titian, Veronese, and Rubens. Though his own researches into color were perhaps his most valuable legacy to the art of France, the intention of Delacroix was not to break with the tradition but to bring back the color and methods of the old masters into modern painting. The romanticism of Delacroix was a half-way house between the old Classicism and the Realism that was coming, and as he in his youth had challenged the position of Ingres and the Classicists, so in his later years his own romanticism was challenged by Courbet the Realist.
Owing to this long battle between the classics and the romantics, the doors of the Academy were closed against Delacroix for five-and-thirty years, and it was not till he was sixty—and so barred by age from holding a professorship a the Ecole des Beaux Arts—the he was at last admitted as a member of the Institute. The artist did not long enjoy the distinction, for he died at Paris in 1863.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
In this picture, which was the real beginning of his lasting fame, Delacroix proved himself to be one of the world’s great colorists, and laid the foundations of the new handling of color which became the greatest pictorial triumph of the nineteenth century. Color in his hands was no dead thing, it became something alive, scintillating and vibrating; his results were obtained not only by the happy choice of invididual tints, but still more by the science with which he knew how to juxtapose one color against another so as to accentuate the brilliancy of each and secure a glowing harmony.
The art of Delacroix is distinguished by three things—its color, its poetry, and its decorative qualities. He turned naturally to Dante, Shakespeare, and Byron for subjects, not so much because they provided him with good themes to illustrate, as because in their poetry he found those passionate ideals and aspirations which animated his own mind. When actual events aroused a similar intensity of emotion, he painted them also. Though usually he eschewed political subjects, the Revolution of July 1830 moved him to paint his famous picture ‘The Barricade,’ now known as ‘Liberty Guiding the People, a picture which is at once a fragment of actuality and the emodiment of an ideal. For this is a true historical picture in so far as it does represent with fidelity a typical incident during the street fighting of the Revolution; and at the same time the heroine of the barricade, with her Phrygian cap, streaming tricolor, and musket, is an allegory of Libery, liberty for the people and liberty for art. Exhibited in the Salon of 1831 this picture perplexed the authorities, who could neither deny its excellence as a work of art nor altogether approve of its firebrand politics. The Director of Fine Arts temporarily solved the problem by purchasing the picture for the nation, and then turning its face to the wall! Today the picture is one of the chief treasures of the French School in the Louvre.
In the same year Delacroix made a journey to Morocco which had a considerable effect on his art, for he delighted alike in the brilliant colors and picturesque costumes of this sunny land, and on his return exhibited a number of pictures of Eastern subjects, which were enthusiastically received, and, inspiring other artists to do likewise, he gave birth to a school of artists known as the ‘Orientalists.’ Delacroix himself, however, was too big and varied a genius to confine himself to one subject, and having given a lead to the Orientalists he now devoted much of his time to decorative painting.
Though regarded by his great rival Ingres and by the classical painters as a revolutionary, Delacroix was full of respect for tradition, only whereas David and Ingres adhered to the tradition of Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci, Géricault and Delacroix upheld the tradition of Michael Angelo, Titian, Veronese, and Rubens. Though his own researches into color were perhaps his most valuable legacy to the art of France, the intention of Delacroix was not to break with the tradition but to bring back the color and methods of the old masters into modern painting. The romanticism of Delacroix was a half-way house between the old Classicism and the Realism that was coming, and as he in his youth had challenged the position of Ingres and the Classicists, so in his later years his own romanticism was challenged by Courbet the Realist.
Owing to this long battle between the classics and the romantics, the doors of the Academy were closed against Delacroix for five-and-thirty years, and it was not till he was sixty—and so barred by age from holding a professorship a the Ecole des Beaux Arts—the he was at last admitted as a member of the Institute. The artist did not long enjoy the distinction, for he died at Paris in 1863.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Designed For Pleasure
Designed for Pleasure: The World of Edo Japan in Prints and Paintings, 1680-1860 is @ Asia Society and Museum, 725 Park Avenue, at 70th Street, New York, U.S.A, Part 1, through March 30, 2008; Part 2, April 4 to May 4, 2008.
Useful links:
www.asiasociety.org
www.takashimurakami.com
Useful links:
www.asiasociety.org
www.takashimurakami.com
Wood Chips Into Ethanol
I found the concept of turning wood chips (a type of bacteria that helps termites digest wood could be key to making ethanol cheaply from wood and grass) into fuel intriguing + the startup ZeaChem believes they have developed a unique biorefinery technology using combinations of biochemical and thermochemical processing to produce ethanol more efficiently.
Useful link:
www.zeachem.com
Useful link:
www.zeachem.com
R.E.M Update
R.E.M fans will now be able to get free access to download their latest album through the social-networking application iLike, starting on March 24, 2008.
Useful links:
www.remhq.com
www.ilike.com
Useful links:
www.remhq.com
www.ilike.com
Cassandra's Dream
Cassandra's Dream is a suspense film directed by Woody Allen, starring Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell + it's about two brothers with serious financial woes, in the end they lose everything in strange ways + I've been a Woody Allen fan for a long time, and his movies are always driven by characters, which I like.
Useful links:
www.cassandrasdreammovie.com
www.woodyallen.com
Useful links:
www.cassandrasdreammovie.com
www.woodyallen.com
Diamond Price Speculation
The world-record high prices on quality diamonds is rather interesting because this has happened before + the dealers tend to have short memories or they may be going through momentary autism, or they may never learn from past mistakes, or is it pump and dump, I really don't know, but I found the article @ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL126151820080312 educational + insightful + now on the dangers of speculative pricing by dealers -- you be the judge!
Cultured Pearl Association Of America
Check out the videos of 5th Annual Tahitian Pearl Trophy Ceremony at New York City's Rockefeller Center Hotel Club Quarters @ Cultured Pearl Association of America
Useful link:
www.cpaa.org
Useful link:
www.cpaa.org
The Panic Of 1907
The book The Panic of 1907: Lessons Learned from the Market's Perfect Storm by Robert F. Bruner + Sean D. Carr is a great read and timely + it's a unique study in human behavior + it's easy-to-read and insightful + gem & jewelry & art dealers should read it.
Door-to-Door Sales: The Forgotten Channel
Door-to-Door Sales: The Forgotten Channel by Dylan Bolden and Tom Lutz suggest two ways to sell even more: squeezing salespeople more efficiently, by creating denser sales territories, closer to their homes; and putting more 'feet on the street', either by contracting out or by building a robust in-house recruitment, retention and training system.
Useful link:
www.bcg.com
I think it is vital to get the incentive structure right; who knows, the concept could be applicable in the gem & jewelry sector.
Useful link:
www.bcg.com
I think it is vital to get the incentive structure right; who knows, the concept could be applicable in the gem & jewelry sector.
The Gradual Recutting Of An Indian Table Cut
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
In the Six Voyages of John Baptista Tavernier there is an illustration of the fourth diamond that Tavernier sold to Louis XIV when he returned from his last voyage in 1669. At this point the stone weighed 51 9/16 ct. From Taverniers sketches it was impossible to produce a plausible side view of the gem with the recut Brilliant inscribed. But when I inverted the pictures, as Barbot (1858) and Kluge (1860) had done, the solution became immediately obvious. The first recutting (delivered by Alvarez in 1678) involved a loss of only about 9 ct—from 51 9/16 to 42 10/16 ct. At this stage the crown was only ‘brillianteered’—that is, the forty smallest facets were applied and polished—and the bulky pavilion was left untouched. The 1691 inventory described the stone as cut ‘à facettes, à la mode’, omitting the phrase ‘des deux côtés’.
The gem was finally transformed into a well-made Brilliant in 1786, when most of the old French Crown diamonds were refashioned in Antwerp. Now it weighed only 26¾ ct and was described as ‘un très grand diamant brilliant, forme carrée, coins émousses, de bonne eau, et net’.
In the Six Voyages of John Baptista Tavernier there is an illustration of the fourth diamond that Tavernier sold to Louis XIV when he returned from his last voyage in 1669. At this point the stone weighed 51 9/16 ct. From Taverniers sketches it was impossible to produce a plausible side view of the gem with the recut Brilliant inscribed. But when I inverted the pictures, as Barbot (1858) and Kluge (1860) had done, the solution became immediately obvious. The first recutting (delivered by Alvarez in 1678) involved a loss of only about 9 ct—from 51 9/16 to 42 10/16 ct. At this stage the crown was only ‘brillianteered’—that is, the forty smallest facets were applied and polished—and the bulky pavilion was left untouched. The 1691 inventory described the stone as cut ‘à facettes, à la mode’, omitting the phrase ‘des deux côtés’.
The gem was finally transformed into a well-made Brilliant in 1786, when most of the old French Crown diamonds were refashioned in Antwerp. Now it weighed only 26¾ ct and was described as ‘un très grand diamant brilliant, forme carrée, coins émousses, de bonne eau, et net’.
The Romantic Movement In France
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
These methods of painting—though afterwards employed by the Pre-Raphaelites—were then a complete innovation in painting, and the painting was so novel in conception, so contrary to the received ideas of the time, that when it was at length completed and shown in the Salon of 1819 it was at first greeted with nothing but abuse. Nevertheless, this picture marks a turning-point in the history of French painting; it brought strong feeling and pulsating life into the barren and frozen official art, and gave new ideals to the younger generation.
At the time the genius of Géricault was more highly appreciated in England than in France, and after the exhibition of his masterpiece the artist visited London, where his drawings and paintings of horses were intensely admired, and Géricault did signal service to the art of both countries by returning to Paris full of praise for the painting of Bonington and Constable, whose pictures he introduced to and made known in Paris. Unfortunately for the world this great genius was short-lived. Early in 1823 he was stricken down by a mortal illness, and after eleven months of terrible suffering, borne with fortitude and composure, he died in January 1824 at the early age of thirty-three. His place at the head of the Romantic School was taken by Delacroix, who had been his friend and fellow student in the studio of Guérin.
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was born at Charenton in 1798, but spent his early years at Marseilles, where he gained that love of vivid color and bright sunshine which afterwards distinguished his paiting. His father, an ex-foreign minister under the Directory and subsequently prefect of Marseilles and Bordeaux, did not take kindly to the idea of his son becoming a painter, but he died before his son came of age, and Eugène Delacroix then found shelter with a married sister in Paris, where he overcame family opposition and was allowed to study art.
His father, however, had left him penniless, and the young artist was so poor that in 1822, after painting his first great picture ‘The Barque of Dante,’ he could not afford to buy a frame, but sent the canvas to the Salon surrounded by four laths which he had colored with yellow powder. There it was seen by Baron Gros, who generously recognized the great talent of the poor artist, and not only persuaded the administration to give the picture a handsome new frame, but hung it in a place of honor in the Salon Carré.
‘The Barque of Dante’ made the painter famous at once, and did not offend the Classicists. Gross said the picture was ‘Rubens reformed,’ and paternally advised the artist. ‘Come to us; we will teach you how to draw.’ Delacroix was grateful to Gros for his kindness, but went his own way, and two years later he shocked the Classicists and delighted te Romantics by his picture ‘The Massacre of Scio.’
It will be remembered that Constable’s ‘Hay Wain’ was exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1824, and when Delacroix saw it he was so overwhelmed by its color that he obtained permission to retouch his own ‘Massacre of Scio’. In a fortnight he completely repainted this picture, using the purest and most vivid colors he could find, with the result that it now became as brilliant in color as it had already been in action and movement. The turbulent energy in this painting was too much for the Classicists, and Gros, playing on the title, said, ‘This is the massacre of painting.’ On the other hand, enthusiastic young critics lauded the picture with extravagant praise, one of them asserting that it showed up ‘all the horror of despotism’ in art as in life.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
These methods of painting—though afterwards employed by the Pre-Raphaelites—were then a complete innovation in painting, and the painting was so novel in conception, so contrary to the received ideas of the time, that when it was at length completed and shown in the Salon of 1819 it was at first greeted with nothing but abuse. Nevertheless, this picture marks a turning-point in the history of French painting; it brought strong feeling and pulsating life into the barren and frozen official art, and gave new ideals to the younger generation.
At the time the genius of Géricault was more highly appreciated in England than in France, and after the exhibition of his masterpiece the artist visited London, where his drawings and paintings of horses were intensely admired, and Géricault did signal service to the art of both countries by returning to Paris full of praise for the painting of Bonington and Constable, whose pictures he introduced to and made known in Paris. Unfortunately for the world this great genius was short-lived. Early in 1823 he was stricken down by a mortal illness, and after eleven months of terrible suffering, borne with fortitude and composure, he died in January 1824 at the early age of thirty-three. His place at the head of the Romantic School was taken by Delacroix, who had been his friend and fellow student in the studio of Guérin.
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was born at Charenton in 1798, but spent his early years at Marseilles, where he gained that love of vivid color and bright sunshine which afterwards distinguished his paiting. His father, an ex-foreign minister under the Directory and subsequently prefect of Marseilles and Bordeaux, did not take kindly to the idea of his son becoming a painter, but he died before his son came of age, and Eugène Delacroix then found shelter with a married sister in Paris, where he overcame family opposition and was allowed to study art.
His father, however, had left him penniless, and the young artist was so poor that in 1822, after painting his first great picture ‘The Barque of Dante,’ he could not afford to buy a frame, but sent the canvas to the Salon surrounded by four laths which he had colored with yellow powder. There it was seen by Baron Gros, who generously recognized the great talent of the poor artist, and not only persuaded the administration to give the picture a handsome new frame, but hung it in a place of honor in the Salon Carré.
‘The Barque of Dante’ made the painter famous at once, and did not offend the Classicists. Gross said the picture was ‘Rubens reformed,’ and paternally advised the artist. ‘Come to us; we will teach you how to draw.’ Delacroix was grateful to Gros for his kindness, but went his own way, and two years later he shocked the Classicists and delighted te Romantics by his picture ‘The Massacre of Scio.’
It will be remembered that Constable’s ‘Hay Wain’ was exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1824, and when Delacroix saw it he was so overwhelmed by its color that he obtained permission to retouch his own ‘Massacre of Scio’. In a fortnight he completely repainted this picture, using the purest and most vivid colors he could find, with the result that it now became as brilliant in color as it had already been in action and movement. The turbulent energy in this painting was too much for the Classicists, and Gros, playing on the title, said, ‘This is the massacre of painting.’ On the other hand, enthusiastic young critics lauded the picture with extravagant praise, one of them asserting that it showed up ‘all the horror of despotism’ in art as in life.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Mobile UV-Vis Spectrophotometer
The portable UV-Vis Spectrophotometer is an important analytical gemological instrument that provides high resolution absorption + photoluminescence spectrums that are useful in identifying causes of color in diamonds + treated colored diamonds + origin determination of colored stones + pearl color authenticity + it's reliable and user-friendly.
Useful link:
www.oceanoptics.com
Useful link:
www.oceanoptics.com
Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki, a well-known Silicon Valley entrepreneur, launched of his second media startup, Alltop, at South by Southwest + his business models are unique and inspiring.
Useful links:
http://sxsw.com
http://alltop.com
http://truemors.com
www.garage.com
Useful links:
http://sxsw.com
http://alltop.com
http://truemors.com
www.garage.com
The Cheating Brain
Mary Carmichael's article His Cheating Brain @ http://www.newsweek.com/id/121492 was insightful because I have come across people in the gem & jewelry & art sector with similar traits and I have always wondered how to categorize them with a sweet jargon + I liked the term 'sensation seeker' + I might add sensation seeker with corrosive phenomenal effects + the writer was spot on.
Jewelry Market Update
According to industry analysts Italian jewelers are concerned by the economic slowdown in the United States, which is the most important export market for Italian producers + the rising prices of precious metals + volatile currencies have also added to the uncertainities.
Useful link:
www.cpsarezzo.it
I think jewelry companies in the Far East + South Asia + Southest Asia + the Middle East are also concerned like the Italians by the economic slowdown in the United States + in my view the only way to survive is to focus on quality + uniqueness of products.
Useful link:
www.cpsarezzo.it
I think jewelry companies in the Far East + South Asia + Southest Asia + the Middle East are also concerned like the Italians by the economic slowdown in the United States + in my view the only way to survive is to focus on quality + uniqueness of products.
The Coen Brothers
I am intrigued by the inventive + artistic talents of The Coen Brothers (Joel directs + Ethan produces) + together they have created memorable films I like.
Useful links:
www.coenbrothers.net
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coen_Brothers
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001054/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001053/
Useful links:
www.coenbrothers.net
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coen_Brothers
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001054/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001053/
Functional Chocolate
According to Barry Callebaut, nearly a quarter of Western consumers are increasingly interested in chocolate (s) with physical or emotional health benefits + these include Acticoa, a cocoa powder that contains a high level of the antioxidant polyphenols, pro-biotic chocolate for gut health, and a tooth-friendly chocolate made with isomaltulose, a natural constituent of honey and sugar cane.
Useful links:
www.barry-callebaut.com
www.euromonitor.com
www.foodproductiondaily.com
http://www.hawaiianchocolate.com/chocolate_tales_marijuana.html
A lesson for the gem & jewelry & art sector! Are there any diamond (s), colored stone (s) jewelry or art works that provide emotional benefits? Over to you.
Useful links:
www.barry-callebaut.com
www.euromonitor.com
www.foodproductiondaily.com
http://www.hawaiianchocolate.com/chocolate_tales_marijuana.html
A lesson for the gem & jewelry & art sector! Are there any diamond (s), colored stone (s) jewelry or art works that provide emotional benefits? Over to you.
Certifigate: Upgrading The Jennifer Lopez Pink
Chaim Even Zohar writes about the colors of certifigate + the lack of universal nomenclature on the wording of the various color grades + the GIA monopoly on color grades + the consumer's dilema + other viewpoints @ http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.asp
Chaim Even Zohar is the 'natural' voice--not only for the trade but also for the consumers + he has written vividly as to what goes on behind the scene + at times I wonder whether the concept of diamond grading is an idiot's game + the consumer is but one of the victims of GIA’s certifigate + the far greatest damage was done – and still is being done + as he rightly put it, in the small colored goods community, it had become apparent that if you didn’t play the game and were out of favor with the GIA’s power brokers, you really had no chance of staying in the business. Shocking!
Chaim Even Zohar is the 'natural' voice--not only for the trade but also for the consumers + he has written vividly as to what goes on behind the scene + at times I wonder whether the concept of diamond grading is an idiot's game + the consumer is but one of the victims of GIA’s certifigate + the far greatest damage was done – and still is being done + as he rightly put it, in the small colored goods community, it had become apparent that if you didn’t play the game and were out of favor with the GIA’s power brokers, you really had no chance of staying in the business. Shocking!
The Global Business Leader
The book The Global Business Leader: Practical Advice for Success in a Transcultural Marketplace by J. Frank Brown is full of fantastic business advice + I believe his ideas are not only timely but spot on.
Useful link:
http://knowledge.insead.edu/contents/FrankBrown.cfm
Useful link:
http://knowledge.insead.edu/contents/FrankBrown.cfm
John Mawe’s Blunders
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
For many years I wondered who had first introduced the idea that, for a Brilliant to be correctly shaped, it was desirable that it should have an overall height equal to its wideth. Then I came across the following passage from the second edition of John Mawe’s Treatise on Diamonds: ‘The rule to be adopted in regulating the height of the brilliant is (supposing the stone to be a regular octahedron), to divide it into eighteen parts. Five-eighteenths are cut away to form the table, and one-eighteenth for the collet, which will reduce the height one-third, and the diameter of the collet will be one-fifth of the table. If these distances are preserved, the collet will play in the center of every facet, but if there is any variation, it will play higher or lower, and greatly diminish the intensity of luster...’
Mawe cannot have meant an octahedron, but rather a bipyramid reduced in advance to a shape with an overall height equal to its width—he goes on to repeat the rules of Jeffries and to give additional proof, both in his illustration of a correctly proportioned Brilliant and in his own text: ‘the inclination of the facets to the girdle ought to be 45°, and the bizel should be inclined to the table at the supplement of the same angle.’ His first statement is an obvious misprint or oversight, yet no writer appears to have noticed it, not even Paul Grodzinski who, in his reprinted edition of Mawe’s Treatise, comments on a number of other details but not on this. Many other writers have simply accepted the error, believing that Mawe was referring to early Brilliant Cuts with octehedral main angles. But it is obvious that a stone of this sort could have been fashioned only in the very rare instances where the rough stone was a regular octahedron. No cutter would ever have started fashioning a stone by transforming an irregular crystal into an octahedral shape, thereby considerably reducing its weight. The old rules remained in force and no changes in standard proportions were made until the late nineteenth century.
Of course, cutters did not always observe the rules for ideal proportions, but even the earliest Square Cut Brilliants were hardly likely to be fashioned from octahedral rough; for the most part they were refashionings of obselete cuts. If an old square-shaped Point or Table Cut displayed satisfying light effects, the gem was simply faceted into a Brilliant without changing the proportions. It is possible, presumably, that such recuts may occasionally have served as prototypes for fashioning directly from octehedral rough.
For many years I wondered who had first introduced the idea that, for a Brilliant to be correctly shaped, it was desirable that it should have an overall height equal to its wideth. Then I came across the following passage from the second edition of John Mawe’s Treatise on Diamonds: ‘The rule to be adopted in regulating the height of the brilliant is (supposing the stone to be a regular octahedron), to divide it into eighteen parts. Five-eighteenths are cut away to form the table, and one-eighteenth for the collet, which will reduce the height one-third, and the diameter of the collet will be one-fifth of the table. If these distances are preserved, the collet will play in the center of every facet, but if there is any variation, it will play higher or lower, and greatly diminish the intensity of luster...’
Mawe cannot have meant an octahedron, but rather a bipyramid reduced in advance to a shape with an overall height equal to its width—he goes on to repeat the rules of Jeffries and to give additional proof, both in his illustration of a correctly proportioned Brilliant and in his own text: ‘the inclination of the facets to the girdle ought to be 45°, and the bizel should be inclined to the table at the supplement of the same angle.’ His first statement is an obvious misprint or oversight, yet no writer appears to have noticed it, not even Paul Grodzinski who, in his reprinted edition of Mawe’s Treatise, comments on a number of other details but not on this. Many other writers have simply accepted the error, believing that Mawe was referring to early Brilliant Cuts with octehedral main angles. But it is obvious that a stone of this sort could have been fashioned only in the very rare instances where the rough stone was a regular octahedron. No cutter would ever have started fashioning a stone by transforming an irregular crystal into an octahedral shape, thereby considerably reducing its weight. The old rules remained in force and no changes in standard proportions were made until the late nineteenth century.
Of course, cutters did not always observe the rules for ideal proportions, but even the earliest Square Cut Brilliants were hardly likely to be fashioned from octahedral rough; for the most part they were refashionings of obselete cuts. If an old square-shaped Point or Table Cut displayed satisfying light effects, the gem was simply faceted into a Brilliant without changing the proportions. It is possible, presumably, that such recuts may occasionally have served as prototypes for fashioning directly from octehedral rough.
The Romantic Movement In France
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
The Art of Delacroix, Gericault, Corot, Millet, And The Barbizon School
1
Some thirty years before the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood began its triumphant fight in England for the free expression of new ideals in art, a similar struggle between old and new schools of artists was waged with extraordinary vehemence in France. We saw how under the Revolution and the Empire a cold Classicism was the dominating tendency in French painting, and how gradually there arose among the younger artists a reaction against this traditional art. The spirit of unrest, which profoundly agitated France after the restoration of the Bourbons and culminated in the revolutionary explosion of 1848, first began to show itself in the art and literature of the younger generation. On one hand were the defenders of tradition, of the ‘grand style’ of Academic painting, defenders of the classic ideal based on the sculpture of ancient Greece and Rome; on the other were ardent young reformers, intoxicated with the color and movement of life itself, who found their inspiration, not in the classics, but in romantic literature, in Dante, Shakespeare, Goethe, Byron, and Sir Walter Scott. Passion, movement, the imaginative expression of life were the aims of this group of artists, who became known as the Romantics.
‘Who will deliver us from the Greeks and Romans?’ was a catchword among the young enthusiasts who found more beauty in life and Nature than in the masterpieces of ancient sculpture. The deliverer was found in the ranks of the reactionaries, in a young artist who was the pupil of Guérin the classicist. Jean Louis André Théodore Géricault was born at Rouen in 1791 and came to Paris about 1806, studying first with Carle Vernet and afterwards with Guérin. His method of drawing was so different from that approved by the school of David, that it exasperated his ‘correct’ and academic master, who told Géricault he had better give up art because it was evident he would never succeed in it.
One day as Géricault was walking along a road near St. Cloud, a dapple-grey horse in a cart turned restive and plunged about in the sunshine. Géricault whipped out his sketch-book and jotted down notes of the movement of the animal and the play of light and shade on his dappled coat, and these notes gave him the idea of a great picture. He would paint an equestrian portrait, not the stiff image of a man on a wooden horse, but a vivid presentment of the plunging, sun-illumined animal he had seen. He persuaded his friend Lieutenant Dieudonné to pose for the rider, and he had a cab-horse brought round each morning that he might freshen his eye with the points of the horse. Working with the highest enthusiasm and energy Géricault, in the space of a fortnight, produced his ‘Officier des Chasseurs à Cheval,’ now in Louvre. This picture created a sensation in the Paris Salon of 1812.
Two years afterwards Géricault repeated his success with a companion picture, ‘The Wounded Cuirassier,’ and after a short period of military service—when he had further opportunities of studying his favorite equine models—he went in 1817 to Italy, where he ‘trembled’ before the works of Michael Angleo, who henceforward became his inspiration and idol.
When Géricault returned to France in 1818, he found all Paris talking about nothing but a naval disaster of two years earlier, an account of which had just been published by two of the survivors. The drama of the shipwreck of the Medusa seized upon the imagination of the artist, who determined to make it the subject of a picture. He spent months in collecting material for this work. He found the carpenter of the Medusa and induced him to make a model of the famous raft by which the survivors were saved. He spent days in hospitals studying the effects of illness and suffering. He persuaded two of the surviving officers of the ship to give him sittings, and painted one leaning against the mast and the other holding out his two arms towards the rescuing ship on the horizon. All his models were taken from life, and it is interesting to note that his friend, the famous artist Eugène Delacroix, posed for the man who lies inert on the left with his head against the edge of the raft.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
The Art of Delacroix, Gericault, Corot, Millet, And The Barbizon School
1
Some thirty years before the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood began its triumphant fight in England for the free expression of new ideals in art, a similar struggle between old and new schools of artists was waged with extraordinary vehemence in France. We saw how under the Revolution and the Empire a cold Classicism was the dominating tendency in French painting, and how gradually there arose among the younger artists a reaction against this traditional art. The spirit of unrest, which profoundly agitated France after the restoration of the Bourbons and culminated in the revolutionary explosion of 1848, first began to show itself in the art and literature of the younger generation. On one hand were the defenders of tradition, of the ‘grand style’ of Academic painting, defenders of the classic ideal based on the sculpture of ancient Greece and Rome; on the other were ardent young reformers, intoxicated with the color and movement of life itself, who found their inspiration, not in the classics, but in romantic literature, in Dante, Shakespeare, Goethe, Byron, and Sir Walter Scott. Passion, movement, the imaginative expression of life were the aims of this group of artists, who became known as the Romantics.
‘Who will deliver us from the Greeks and Romans?’ was a catchword among the young enthusiasts who found more beauty in life and Nature than in the masterpieces of ancient sculpture. The deliverer was found in the ranks of the reactionaries, in a young artist who was the pupil of Guérin the classicist. Jean Louis André Théodore Géricault was born at Rouen in 1791 and came to Paris about 1806, studying first with Carle Vernet and afterwards with Guérin. His method of drawing was so different from that approved by the school of David, that it exasperated his ‘correct’ and academic master, who told Géricault he had better give up art because it was evident he would never succeed in it.
One day as Géricault was walking along a road near St. Cloud, a dapple-grey horse in a cart turned restive and plunged about in the sunshine. Géricault whipped out his sketch-book and jotted down notes of the movement of the animal and the play of light and shade on his dappled coat, and these notes gave him the idea of a great picture. He would paint an equestrian portrait, not the stiff image of a man on a wooden horse, but a vivid presentment of the plunging, sun-illumined animal he had seen. He persuaded his friend Lieutenant Dieudonné to pose for the rider, and he had a cab-horse brought round each morning that he might freshen his eye with the points of the horse. Working with the highest enthusiasm and energy Géricault, in the space of a fortnight, produced his ‘Officier des Chasseurs à Cheval,’ now in Louvre. This picture created a sensation in the Paris Salon of 1812.
Two years afterwards Géricault repeated his success with a companion picture, ‘The Wounded Cuirassier,’ and after a short period of military service—when he had further opportunities of studying his favorite equine models—he went in 1817 to Italy, where he ‘trembled’ before the works of Michael Angleo, who henceforward became his inspiration and idol.
When Géricault returned to France in 1818, he found all Paris talking about nothing but a naval disaster of two years earlier, an account of which had just been published by two of the survivors. The drama of the shipwreck of the Medusa seized upon the imagination of the artist, who determined to make it the subject of a picture. He spent months in collecting material for this work. He found the carpenter of the Medusa and induced him to make a model of the famous raft by which the survivors were saved. He spent days in hospitals studying the effects of illness and suffering. He persuaded two of the surviving officers of the ship to give him sittings, and painted one leaning against the mast and the other holding out his two arms towards the rescuing ship on the horizon. All his models were taken from life, and it is interesting to note that his friend, the famous artist Eugène Delacroix, posed for the man who lies inert on the left with his head against the edge of the raft.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
New Energy Sources
Earth: The Sequel: The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming by Fred Krupp + Miriam Horn is an inspiring book full of ideas + I think there will be new start-ups in the energy sector + some of them will be very lucky!
Useful link:
www.edf.org
Useful link:
www.edf.org
The Chinese Art Market
I found the article Pump and Dump by Gady A. Epstein @ http://www.forbes.com/global/2008/0324/022.html interesting and insightful + here is what Liang Changsheng, art director of the Contemporary Artwork Auction firm in Beijing has to say:
'The trick of creating that next hot artist is an idiot's game. First get critics to write about him(The critics are paid by artists, auction houses and galleries for this service). Then organize exhibitions to introduce his work (That's paid for, too, even at the most prestigious national museums). Then you can put the work in auction with an establishing price and buy it back yourself in order to set an example for the public. Of course, it would be better if some other bidders join in.'
This reminded me of the colored stone + diamond business, especially the high-ticket stones (rubies, sapphires, emeralds, colorless + fancy colored diamonds) with guaranteed best-grade certificates + origin report. It is definitely an idiot's game!
'The trick of creating that next hot artist is an idiot's game. First get critics to write about him(The critics are paid by artists, auction houses and galleries for this service). Then organize exhibitions to introduce his work (That's paid for, too, even at the most prestigious national museums). Then you can put the work in auction with an establishing price and buy it back yourself in order to set an example for the public. Of course, it would be better if some other bidders join in.'
This reminded me of the colored stone + diamond business, especially the high-ticket stones (rubies, sapphires, emeralds, colorless + fancy colored diamonds) with guaranteed best-grade certificates + origin report. It is definitely an idiot's game!
Ian Gittler
Ian Gittler is an author + photographer + designer living in New York City. I liked his work.
Useful link:
www.iangittler.com
Useful link:
www.iangittler.com
The Importance Of Systemic Thinking
I found the article about Toyota by J. Brian Atwater + Paul Pittman on Systematic Thinking interesting because the issues that are related to systematic thinking are also applicable to gem identification.
Useful link:
www.apics.org
Useful link:
www.apics.org
Friday, March 14, 2008
Resource Generation
The nonprofit Resource Generation offer programs and seminars for wealthy adults to better understand themselves as philanthropists, their place in the socio-economic system, and their capacities to contribute to social change + I liked the concept.
Useful links:
www.resourcegeneration.org
www.ackerman.org
www.criticalresistance.org
www.thresholdfoundation.org
www.fordfound.org
www.philanthropy.iupui.edu
Useful links:
www.resourcegeneration.org
www.ackerman.org
www.criticalresistance.org
www.thresholdfoundation.org
www.fordfound.org
www.philanthropy.iupui.edu
Harding Brothers
The Bristol-based Harding Brothers operates a number of cruise ships whose itineraries take them, literally, all over the world + the jewelry sales have gone up with the introduction of leading brands which I believe is due to a magic combination of offering the right brands, targeting product to the location and employing salespeople who really know the business.
I think it's a brilliant idea.
Useful link:
www.hardingretail.co.uk
I think it's a brilliant idea.
Useful link:
www.hardingretail.co.uk
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Update
The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued new guidelines for the jewelry industry via http://www.fincen.gov/20080310.html which I think might impact compliance obligations.
Useful links:
www.fincen.gov
www.jvclegal.org
Useful links:
www.fincen.gov
www.jvclegal.org
Marc Prensky
Don't Bother Me Mom--I'm Learning! by Marc Prensky is a fascinating book + the educational value of the games are priceless.
Useful link:
www.marcprensky.com
Useful link:
www.marcprensky.com
Jeffries’ Square Brilliant
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
David Jeffries was the first writer to describe the Square Brilliant Cut. In 1750, when his Treatise on Diamonds first appeared, the Square Cut had been in fashion for about fifty years and was the dominant Brilliant Cut. Round, oval and drop-shaped Brilliants were also fashioned but were considered Fancy Cuts; to these Jeffries only devoted a single page.
Jeffries, a jeweler and a dealer in diamonds, was fortunate enough to live in London at a time when cutters in that city were famous for the quality of their work. He devoted himself to the study of diamond fashioning and discussed his theories in great detail with the master cutters, selecting for analysis only the most perfect Brilliants. The results were theoretical, in that they ignored the fact that cutters were obliged to produce the most profitable gem possible from each crystal or piece of rough. However, Jeffries was a pioneer in that he showed the way for both jewelers and laymen to discover ‘a well or even ill made Brilliant’. His fifty-five diagrams show ideally proportioned Brilliants for weights from 1-100ct. For each diamond he gave the correct depth and the correct culet size. A comparison of any Square Cut Brilliant would show whether it matched the weight indicated for its size or whether it was lumpy or spread.
Unlike that of the ‘Peruzzi’ design and the Round Brilliants, the table facet of Jeffries’ Square Brilliant is not a regular octagon. Instead, it has fourfold symmetry with the facet edges meeting alternately at 150° and 120°, a shape which goes suprisingly well with the outline. The facet edges forming the internal star are not straight, but bent at an angle towards the center of the gem and therefore not parallel to the other facet edges. The main angles of both crown and pavilion are 45°. The height of the crown and depth of the pavilion have a ratio of 1:2, resulting in a table size of about 56 percent. The girdle should be as thin as possible, though not ‘knife-edged’ (to avoid chipping). The size of the culet conforms with the results of the calculations made by Eppler roughly two hundred years later, i.e. 8 to 10 percent.
David Jeffries was the first writer to describe the Square Brilliant Cut. In 1750, when his Treatise on Diamonds first appeared, the Square Cut had been in fashion for about fifty years and was the dominant Brilliant Cut. Round, oval and drop-shaped Brilliants were also fashioned but were considered Fancy Cuts; to these Jeffries only devoted a single page.
Jeffries, a jeweler and a dealer in diamonds, was fortunate enough to live in London at a time when cutters in that city were famous for the quality of their work. He devoted himself to the study of diamond fashioning and discussed his theories in great detail with the master cutters, selecting for analysis only the most perfect Brilliants. The results were theoretical, in that they ignored the fact that cutters were obliged to produce the most profitable gem possible from each crystal or piece of rough. However, Jeffries was a pioneer in that he showed the way for both jewelers and laymen to discover ‘a well or even ill made Brilliant’. His fifty-five diagrams show ideally proportioned Brilliants for weights from 1-100ct. For each diamond he gave the correct depth and the correct culet size. A comparison of any Square Cut Brilliant would show whether it matched the weight indicated for its size or whether it was lumpy or spread.
Unlike that of the ‘Peruzzi’ design and the Round Brilliants, the table facet of Jeffries’ Square Brilliant is not a regular octagon. Instead, it has fourfold symmetry with the facet edges meeting alternately at 150° and 120°, a shape which goes suprisingly well with the outline. The facet edges forming the internal star are not straight, but bent at an angle towards the center of the gem and therefore not parallel to the other facet edges. The main angles of both crown and pavilion are 45°. The height of the crown and depth of the pavilion have a ratio of 1:2, resulting in a table size of about 56 percent. The girdle should be as thin as possible, though not ‘knife-edged’ (to avoid chipping). The size of the culet conforms with the results of the calculations made by Eppler roughly two hundred years later, i.e. 8 to 10 percent.
The Victorian Age
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
5
Watts for nobility of thought and conception and Stevens for grandeur of design and execution will, in all probablity, be considered by posterity to have been the two most eminent artists of the Victorian era, but though it may be less easy to find, among the painters, the outstanding giants who mark the same period in literature, the very number of names as distinguished as they as they are familiar show how active and flourishing the arts were during the Queen’s long reign. Many artists who enjoyed, and still enjoy, a wide popularity must necessarily be omitted from this Outline, but no survey, however hasty, of Victorian painting can ignore the band of Scottish artists who won fame in the south as well as in the north. Among them we may mention the historical and romantic painter John Pettie (1839-93); Peter Graham, the cattle painter; John MacWhirter, the popular painter of the Highlands; William M’Taggart, unrivalled in his delicate yet vigorous renderings of foaming seas and windy shores; and Sir W Q Orchardson, the leader of this band of Scottish students, and one of the most polished, typical, and popular of all Victorian artists. William Quiller Orchardson (1835-1910) was born in Edinburgh and came to London about 1862, and thereafter maintained and held his position as one of the most popular of Academy exhibitors. He excelled in a variety of subjects: his ‘Sir Walter Gilbey’ and ‘Master Baby’—a group of his wife and child—rank among the great portraits of the nineteenth century; ‘Napoleon on Board the Beellerophon is one of the best known and most admired of modern historical paintings; but perhaps the best loved of all his works are those paintings of contemporary life, like ‘The Tender Chord’, which, without being positively ‘anecdotal,’ yet suggest a story and convey a sentiment. It was the distinction of Orchardson that his story-telling was never crude and obvious, his sentiment was always gentle and refined, his execution was suave and accomplished, so that his pictures, often representing moods of wistful reverie, charmed the eye of the beholder and at the same time conjured up a scene which dwelt in the memory and made its own appeal to the imagination.
5
Watts for nobility of thought and conception and Stevens for grandeur of design and execution will, in all probablity, be considered by posterity to have been the two most eminent artists of the Victorian era, but though it may be less easy to find, among the painters, the outstanding giants who mark the same period in literature, the very number of names as distinguished as they as they are familiar show how active and flourishing the arts were during the Queen’s long reign. Many artists who enjoyed, and still enjoy, a wide popularity must necessarily be omitted from this Outline, but no survey, however hasty, of Victorian painting can ignore the band of Scottish artists who won fame in the south as well as in the north. Among them we may mention the historical and romantic painter John Pettie (1839-93); Peter Graham, the cattle painter; John MacWhirter, the popular painter of the Highlands; William M’Taggart, unrivalled in his delicate yet vigorous renderings of foaming seas and windy shores; and Sir W Q Orchardson, the leader of this band of Scottish students, and one of the most polished, typical, and popular of all Victorian artists. William Quiller Orchardson (1835-1910) was born in Edinburgh and came to London about 1862, and thereafter maintained and held his position as one of the most popular of Academy exhibitors. He excelled in a variety of subjects: his ‘Sir Walter Gilbey’ and ‘Master Baby’—a group of his wife and child—rank among the great portraits of the nineteenth century; ‘Napoleon on Board the Beellerophon is one of the best known and most admired of modern historical paintings; but perhaps the best loved of all his works are those paintings of contemporary life, like ‘The Tender Chord’, which, without being positively ‘anecdotal,’ yet suggest a story and convey a sentiment. It was the distinction of Orchardson that his story-telling was never crude and obvious, his sentiment was always gentle and refined, his execution was suave and accomplished, so that his pictures, often representing moods of wistful reverie, charmed the eye of the beholder and at the same time conjured up a scene which dwelt in the memory and made its own appeal to the imagination.
Art: Creative Ways To Manufacture Demand
The article Pump and Dump by Gady A. Epstein via http://www.forbes.com/global/2008/0324/022.html explains the tricks of the art business in China + here is what Liang Changsheng, art director of the Contemporary Artwork Auction firm in Beijing has to say: The trick of creating that next hot artist is an idiot's game. First get critics to write about him (The critics are paid by artists, auction houses and galleries for this service). Then organize exhibitions to introduce his work (That's paid for, too, even at the most prestigious national museums). Then you can put the work in auction with an establishing price and buy it back yourself in order to set an example for the public. Of course, it would be better if some other bidders join in.'
SAD Syndrome
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a mood disorder + the sufferers experience depressive symptoms in the winter + when the depressive symptoms occur in summer rather than winter, the condition is often referred to as Reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder (RSAD) and can include heightened anxiety, fatigue, etc + the seasonal mood variations are believed to be related to light + I have come across many dealers, diamond/colored stone graders and jewelers who are SAD and the best thing to do is not to show stones or jewelry when you recognize the symptoms.
Useful links:
www.sada.org.uk
www.mayoclinic.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder
Useful links:
www.sada.org.uk
www.mayoclinic.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder
Colored Stone Market Update
White sapphires are in high demand for color enhancements (coating + surface diffusion), especially beryllium treatment + colorless/white sapphires are also perceived as diamond simulants, but now beryllium treatment has dramatically changed the market landscape + many of the small colorless sapphires used in inexpensive jewelry are synthetic flame fusion sapphires.
Heard On The Street
The colored gemstone treaters from Thailand are always ahead of the gem testing laboratories in the treatment vs. detection challenge.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
D Diamond Concept
I found the new concept restaurant + lounge bar called 'D Diamond' @ the Elements shopping mall in Hong Kong, by Damiani, brilliant! + I believe it's one-of-a-kind restaurant embedded with Damiani jewels in special showcases + Italian/Japanese cuisine.
Useful link:
www.damiani.it
www.hiphongkong.com
Useful link:
www.damiani.it
www.hiphongkong.com
Lord Of War
Victor Bout, one of the world’s most famous + wanted arms traffickers + blood (conflict) diamond dealer, was arrested in Thailand here + he inspired the Nicholas Cage movie 'Lord of War'.
Useful links:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399295
New York Times magazine profile of Bout
Useful links:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399295
New York Times magazine profile of Bout
Caire’s Theory Of The Gradual Evolution Of The Brilliant Cut
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
For about two hundred years now, people writing about diamonds have been speculating about how the Brilliant Cut came into being. None of the writers of the eighteenth century, not even Jeffries (1750) or Dutens (1776), concerned themselves with the historical aspects of the diamond industry. In fact, Caire, the Paris jeweler, appears to have been the first person to take an interest in how cuts developed.
He began by studying Jeffries’ sequence for the faceting of a Brilliant. In this, the rough pyramidal crystal was first symmetrized and lowered in height and then bruted into the shape of an old Table Cut with four crown facets. These were split into eight and then into sixteen facets before the stone was finally ‘brillianteered’. Caire suggested that what he called the Single Cut was achieved by slicing off the corners of the Table Cut, and the Double Cut by splitting the resultant eight facets.
Obviously he had to substantiate this theory by illustrating the sequence. As actual specimens did not exist, he selected the nearest thing he could find, four poorly fashioned Indian Cut diamonds from among stone imported simply as raw material to be fashioned into Brilliants. However, his examples were unconvincing, so he produced names of ‘inventors’ for two phases: Cardinal Mazarin for the Double Cut and purely fictitious character, Peruzzi, for the Brilliant Cut itself. In his revised edition of Bauer’s Edelsteinkunde (1932), the gem expert Schlossmacher unwisely reiterated Caire’s ideas and supplemented them with sketches of his version of the Peruzzi design. Caire’s theories were accepted as gospel and are still considered so by many people.
Not, however, Tom Brunés, who believed that ancient cabalistic geometry was the origin of the design of the Square Brilliant. In his monograph The Secrets of Ancient Geometry, he reproduced a diagram of a symbol that was already accepted several thousand years ago: a circle with a square, with two inverted triangles. To this, two more triangles were added. When the circle is removed, we are left with an eight-pointed star, a symbol widely used in architecture, especially in ancient temples, mosaic floors, stained glass windows, etc. It is in this star within a square that we can really see where the basic pattern of a Square Brilliant originated. A few more points are joined, a few more parallels ruled, and there we have the completed design of the Peruzzi Cut! As in ancient geometry, no measuring device is needed.
For about two hundred years now, people writing about diamonds have been speculating about how the Brilliant Cut came into being. None of the writers of the eighteenth century, not even Jeffries (1750) or Dutens (1776), concerned themselves with the historical aspects of the diamond industry. In fact, Caire, the Paris jeweler, appears to have been the first person to take an interest in how cuts developed.
He began by studying Jeffries’ sequence for the faceting of a Brilliant. In this, the rough pyramidal crystal was first symmetrized and lowered in height and then bruted into the shape of an old Table Cut with four crown facets. These were split into eight and then into sixteen facets before the stone was finally ‘brillianteered’. Caire suggested that what he called the Single Cut was achieved by slicing off the corners of the Table Cut, and the Double Cut by splitting the resultant eight facets.
Obviously he had to substantiate this theory by illustrating the sequence. As actual specimens did not exist, he selected the nearest thing he could find, four poorly fashioned Indian Cut diamonds from among stone imported simply as raw material to be fashioned into Brilliants. However, his examples were unconvincing, so he produced names of ‘inventors’ for two phases: Cardinal Mazarin for the Double Cut and purely fictitious character, Peruzzi, for the Brilliant Cut itself. In his revised edition of Bauer’s Edelsteinkunde (1932), the gem expert Schlossmacher unwisely reiterated Caire’s ideas and supplemented them with sketches of his version of the Peruzzi design. Caire’s theories were accepted as gospel and are still considered so by many people.
Not, however, Tom Brunés, who believed that ancient cabalistic geometry was the origin of the design of the Square Brilliant. In his monograph The Secrets of Ancient Geometry, he reproduced a diagram of a symbol that was already accepted several thousand years ago: a circle with a square, with two inverted triangles. To this, two more triangles were added. When the circle is removed, we are left with an eight-pointed star, a symbol widely used in architecture, especially in ancient temples, mosaic floors, stained glass windows, etc. It is in this star within a square that we can really see where the basic pattern of a Square Brilliant originated. A few more points are joined, a few more parallels ruled, and there we have the completed design of the Peruzzi Cut! As in ancient geometry, no measuring device is needed.
Once In Golconda
Once in Golconda – A true Drama of Wall Street 1920-1938 by John Brooks is a great book and I see similarities all around, even though the setting is 1920s and 30s Wall Street, the story is familiar + I enjoyed it.
The Victorian Age
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
4
In the same year as Stevens, namely 1817, there was born in London another great artist, who, though he certainly gained honors and rewards during his lifetime, nevertheless found himself hampered by the circumstances of his time in carrying out the desires of his art. George Frederick Watts was born in London on February 23, 1817, the son of a Welsh father, who encouraged his artistic bent and permitted him to study at the Academy schools and also under the sculptor William Behnes (1795-1864). When he was twenty five Watts entered the competition for the best designs for decorating in fresco the new House of Lords, and won the first prize of £300 with his ‘Caractacus led Captive through the Streets of Rome.’ This was competition in which both Alfred Stevens and Ford Madox Brown were unsuccessful. On the strength of this prize Watts in 1843 went to Italy, where he remained for four years, mostly in Florence, and was befriended by Lord Holland. Returning to England, Watts entered another competition in 1847 for decorating the House of Lords, this time in oils, and again won the first prize of £500 with his ‘Alfred inciting the Saxons to resist the Danes.’ As a result of these successes Watts was employed for the next ten years on mural decorations, painting ‘St George overcoming the Dragon’ for the House of Lords and his allegory of ‘Justice’ for the great hall of Lincoln’s Inn; but though his desire was to continue painting in this style, further opportunities were denied him. He offered to give his time freely in painting decorations for Euston railways station, but the offer was declined, and balked of his intention to create elevating works of art in public buildings, he began that great series of painted allegories with which his name is most closely associated.
Explaining his own ideals Watts once said: ‘My intention has not been so much to paint pictures that charm the eye, as to suggest great thoughts that will appeal to the imagination and the heart, and kindle all that is best and noblest in humanity.’ Successful in his early years and never covetous of great wealth, Watts was able in his middle years to paint exactly as he pleased without thinking of sales and patrons. He painted portraits, but he never painted any person he did not respect and admire, and the noble series of portraits of the great men of his time which he gave to the National Portrait Gallery shows how little, even in portraiture, did Watts paint for money. Similarly, the pick of his allegorical paintings, a cycle of the history of humanity, was kept for years in his own gallery at Little Holland House, till in 1897 he generously presented the collection to the Tate Gallery. Watts was essentially a philosophical artist and he has not inaccurately been described as ‘ a preacher in paint,’ for, in his opinion, it was not enough for an artist to portray noble aspirations, he must also ‘condemn in the most trenchant manner prevalent vices,’ and utter ‘warning in deep tones against lapses from morals and duties.’ All aspects of Watts art may be seen to advantage in the room devoted to his works at the Tate Gallery, where his beautiful ‘Hope’ and his ‘Love and Life’ reveal noble aspirations of humanity, while his unforgettable ‘Mammon’ and ‘The Minotaur’ condemn prevalent vices and warn against lapses from morals.
As a sculptor Watts is represented at the Tate Gallery by his bronze bust of ‘Clytie,’ but his most important work in this medium is his equestrian group ‘Physical Energy,’ originally designed as a monument to Cecil Rhodes and set up over the empire-builder’s grave on the Matoppo Hills, South Africa. A replica of this fine statue has been placed in Kensington Gardens.
The life of Watts was long and full of honors. He was elected A.R.A and R.A in the same year, 1867; twice he was offered and refused a baronetcy, but two years before his death he accepted the Order of Merit. He died in 1904 at the great age of eighty-seven, his last years having been spent chiefly in his country house at Compton, Surrey, where a large permanent collection of his works is still visible to the public.
The Victorian Age (continued)
4
In the same year as Stevens, namely 1817, there was born in London another great artist, who, though he certainly gained honors and rewards during his lifetime, nevertheless found himself hampered by the circumstances of his time in carrying out the desires of his art. George Frederick Watts was born in London on February 23, 1817, the son of a Welsh father, who encouraged his artistic bent and permitted him to study at the Academy schools and also under the sculptor William Behnes (1795-1864). When he was twenty five Watts entered the competition for the best designs for decorating in fresco the new House of Lords, and won the first prize of £300 with his ‘Caractacus led Captive through the Streets of Rome.’ This was competition in which both Alfred Stevens and Ford Madox Brown were unsuccessful. On the strength of this prize Watts in 1843 went to Italy, where he remained for four years, mostly in Florence, and was befriended by Lord Holland. Returning to England, Watts entered another competition in 1847 for decorating the House of Lords, this time in oils, and again won the first prize of £500 with his ‘Alfred inciting the Saxons to resist the Danes.’ As a result of these successes Watts was employed for the next ten years on mural decorations, painting ‘St George overcoming the Dragon’ for the House of Lords and his allegory of ‘Justice’ for the great hall of Lincoln’s Inn; but though his desire was to continue painting in this style, further opportunities were denied him. He offered to give his time freely in painting decorations for Euston railways station, but the offer was declined, and balked of his intention to create elevating works of art in public buildings, he began that great series of painted allegories with which his name is most closely associated.
Explaining his own ideals Watts once said: ‘My intention has not been so much to paint pictures that charm the eye, as to suggest great thoughts that will appeal to the imagination and the heart, and kindle all that is best and noblest in humanity.’ Successful in his early years and never covetous of great wealth, Watts was able in his middle years to paint exactly as he pleased without thinking of sales and patrons. He painted portraits, but he never painted any person he did not respect and admire, and the noble series of portraits of the great men of his time which he gave to the National Portrait Gallery shows how little, even in portraiture, did Watts paint for money. Similarly, the pick of his allegorical paintings, a cycle of the history of humanity, was kept for years in his own gallery at Little Holland House, till in 1897 he generously presented the collection to the Tate Gallery. Watts was essentially a philosophical artist and he has not inaccurately been described as ‘ a preacher in paint,’ for, in his opinion, it was not enough for an artist to portray noble aspirations, he must also ‘condemn in the most trenchant manner prevalent vices,’ and utter ‘warning in deep tones against lapses from morals and duties.’ All aspects of Watts art may be seen to advantage in the room devoted to his works at the Tate Gallery, where his beautiful ‘Hope’ and his ‘Love and Life’ reveal noble aspirations of humanity, while his unforgettable ‘Mammon’ and ‘The Minotaur’ condemn prevalent vices and warn against lapses from morals.
As a sculptor Watts is represented at the Tate Gallery by his bronze bust of ‘Clytie,’ but his most important work in this medium is his equestrian group ‘Physical Energy,’ originally designed as a monument to Cecil Rhodes and set up over the empire-builder’s grave on the Matoppo Hills, South Africa. A replica of this fine statue has been placed in Kensington Gardens.
The life of Watts was long and full of honors. He was elected A.R.A and R.A in the same year, 1867; twice he was offered and refused a baronetcy, but two years before his death he accepted the Order of Merit. He died in 1904 at the great age of eighty-seven, his last years having been spent chiefly in his country house at Compton, Surrey, where a large permanent collection of his works is still visible to the public.
The Victorian Age (continued)
James Andreoni
I found an interesting piece in the NY Times Magazine on What Makes People Give + what really intrigued me is the 'Warm Glow' theory (translation: In the warm-glow view of philanthropy, people aren’t giving money merely to save the whales; they’re also giving money to feel the glow that comes with being the kind of person who’s helping to save the whales.)
I think James Andreoni was spot on. He is right.
Useful link:
http://econ.ucsd.edu/~jandreon
I think James Andreoni was spot on. He is right.
Useful link:
http://econ.ucsd.edu/~jandreon
Random Thoughts
Memory for complex events is basically a reconstructive process. Memory belongs to the imagination. Human memory is not like a computer which records things; it is part of the imaginative process, on the same terms as invention.
- Alain Robbe-Grillet
- Alain Robbe-Grillet
Twin Light
Alfa Mirage's Twin Light (Xenon + LED light) is an interesting light source that enables users to view alexandrite (natural alexandrite= red violet under Xenon light/blue violet under LED light) easily + it's user-friendly (gemological light source + as a penlight for viewing jewelry) and portable.
Useful link:
www.alfamirage.com
Useful link:
www.alfamirage.com
Opal Update
Opals are becoming a popular gemstone in China because its one-of-a-kind gemstone status with the so-called play-of-color, its character + life + a good story + one theory behind the demand for opals could be the diminishing margins in the diamond jewelry business + innovative jewelers are now looking elsewhere to make money + they think with effective consumer education on opal they could work out a sustainable business model in China provided the rough supplies are consistent.
Useful links:
www.opals-australia.com.au
www.opals-australia.com.au
Useful links:
www.opals-australia.com.au
www.opals-australia.com.au
Bienvenue chez les CH'TIS
Bienvenue chez les CH'TIS is a French motion picture comedy starring Kad Merad + Dany Boon + Zoé Félix + I really liked the plot + I think it's a feel-good movie.
Useful link:
www.bienvenuechezleschtis-lefilm.com
Useful link:
www.bienvenuechezleschtis-lefilm.com
Vicenza Fairs
The names of all three of the Vicenza Fair's jewelry exhibition have been changed beginning January 2008 + VicenzaOro Winter, VicenzaOro Spring, VicenzaOro Autumn becomes First (January 13 - 20, 2008), Charm (May 17 - 21, 2008), and Choice (September 6 - 10, 2008) respectively.
Useful link:
www.vicenzafiera.it
Useful link:
www.vicenzafiera.it
World Diamond Congress 2008
The 33rd World Diamond Congress will be held from May 12 - 15 at the Portman Ritz-Carlton in Shanghai, China.
Useful link:
www.worlddiamondcongress2008.com
www.worldfed.com
Useful link:
www.worlddiamondcongress2008.com
www.worldfed.com
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Palladium
Palladium Alliance International provides educational materials for jewelers and consumers on palladium + its environment-friendly.
Useful link:
www.luxurypalladium.com
Useful link:
www.luxurypalladium.com
Society's Breakthrough!
Society's Breakthrough!: Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People by Jim Rough is a fascinating book with useful insights + I was very much interested in the concept of Wisdom Councils at every level of society + he was spot on with historical, philosophical and practical anecdotes + I think the book could transform you to a thoughtful citizen.
Useful link:
www.societysbreakthrough.com
Useful link:
www.societysbreakthrough.com
The Victorian Age
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
Occasionally he received a commission for a painting, and his noble portrait of Mrs Mary Ann Collmann at the National Gallery, was painted in 1854, the lady being the wife of an architect, Leonard Collmann, who sometimes employed Stevens.
In 1850 Stevens began the chief work of his life with his competition model for the Wellington Monument. Originally he was placed only sixth in the competition and awarded a prize of £100, but fortunately on further consideration the superior merit and appropriateness of his design was perceived and the commission for the monument was definitely given to Stevens. For the remaining seventeen years of his life the artist was at work on this monument, which was all but completed at his death, with the exception of the crowning equestrian statue of the Duke, which, by a strange caprice, was ruled out by the Dean because he did not like the idea of a horse in a church! Eventually this pedantic objection was overruled, and the equestrian statue, carried out from Steven’s model, was placed in position as recently as 1911, so that the whole monument as conceived by Stevens may now be seen in St Pauls. Other memorials of the genius of Stevens in St Paul’s are the four mosaics of Prophets in the spandrels under the dome, which he designed in 1862. The original cartoon for the mosaic of ‘Isaiah’ is now in the Tate Gallery, and nothing equal to it can be found nearer than the Sistine Chapel at Rome. Concurrently with these great masterpieces, Stevens worked at the decoration of Dorchester House, Park Lane, where he completed for Mr Holford two chimney-pieces, a buffet, and other features, and designed a painted ceiling, the whole being a scheme of unequalled splendor in English interior decoration. Worn out by the strain of his monument and his severe battle with life, Alfred Stevens died on May 1, 1875, in the house he had designed and built for himself at 9 Eaton Villas, Haverstock Hill. Apart from the works already mentioned, only a few fragments remain of the art of Alfred Stevens, but while we must always deplore that more opportunities were not given to so great and various an artist, enough exists to prove to all time the measure of his genius.
The Victorian Age (continued)
Occasionally he received a commission for a painting, and his noble portrait of Mrs Mary Ann Collmann at the National Gallery, was painted in 1854, the lady being the wife of an architect, Leonard Collmann, who sometimes employed Stevens.
In 1850 Stevens began the chief work of his life with his competition model for the Wellington Monument. Originally he was placed only sixth in the competition and awarded a prize of £100, but fortunately on further consideration the superior merit and appropriateness of his design was perceived and the commission for the monument was definitely given to Stevens. For the remaining seventeen years of his life the artist was at work on this monument, which was all but completed at his death, with the exception of the crowning equestrian statue of the Duke, which, by a strange caprice, was ruled out by the Dean because he did not like the idea of a horse in a church! Eventually this pedantic objection was overruled, and the equestrian statue, carried out from Steven’s model, was placed in position as recently as 1911, so that the whole monument as conceived by Stevens may now be seen in St Pauls. Other memorials of the genius of Stevens in St Paul’s are the four mosaics of Prophets in the spandrels under the dome, which he designed in 1862. The original cartoon for the mosaic of ‘Isaiah’ is now in the Tate Gallery, and nothing equal to it can be found nearer than the Sistine Chapel at Rome. Concurrently with these great masterpieces, Stevens worked at the decoration of Dorchester House, Park Lane, where he completed for Mr Holford two chimney-pieces, a buffet, and other features, and designed a painted ceiling, the whole being a scheme of unequalled splendor in English interior decoration. Worn out by the strain of his monument and his severe battle with life, Alfred Stevens died on May 1, 1875, in the house he had designed and built for himself at 9 Eaton Villas, Haverstock Hill. Apart from the works already mentioned, only a few fragments remain of the art of Alfred Stevens, but while we must always deplore that more opportunities were not given to so great and various an artist, enough exists to prove to all time the measure of his genius.
The Victorian Age (continued)
The Peruzzi Legend
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The idea that the Brilliant Cut was invented was based on nothing more than armchair speculation by Caire, who wrote in La Science des Pierres Précieuses (1813): ‘C’est par une suite de recherches sur le diamant brut qui avait de la couleur, qu’on parvint à la taille dit diamant recoupé. Les renseignements que j’ai pu me procurer semblent en attribuer la glorie à Vincent Peruzzi, de Venise, qui vivait vers la fin du dix-septième siècle.’ This very tentative and unsubstantiated statement was at once accepted, and repeated verbatim throughout the nineteenth century even by such respected authoritites as the Dutch diamond cutter and trade union leader, Henri Polak. Squares were well-known and highly prized all through the eighteenth century, but it is possible that they were first produced and marketed commercially around 1690, frequently quoted in the literature as the date when the Brilliant Cut was supposed to have been created.
The term Peruzzi Cut has never been used in the diamond trade itself, but has become so firmly established that there is no point in trying to abolish it. It has come to represent absolute perfection. Wilhelm Maier (1949) was full of admiration for its symmetry. He described the central star formation and the facet edges parallel throughout, and added that the balance of the facet edges is the most perfect ever achieved.
The idea that the Brilliant Cut was invented was based on nothing more than armchair speculation by Caire, who wrote in La Science des Pierres Précieuses (1813): ‘C’est par une suite de recherches sur le diamant brut qui avait de la couleur, qu’on parvint à la taille dit diamant recoupé. Les renseignements que j’ai pu me procurer semblent en attribuer la glorie à Vincent Peruzzi, de Venise, qui vivait vers la fin du dix-septième siècle.’ This very tentative and unsubstantiated statement was at once accepted, and repeated verbatim throughout the nineteenth century even by such respected authoritites as the Dutch diamond cutter and trade union leader, Henri Polak. Squares were well-known and highly prized all through the eighteenth century, but it is possible that they were first produced and marketed commercially around 1690, frequently quoted in the literature as the date when the Brilliant Cut was supposed to have been created.
The term Peruzzi Cut has never been used in the diamond trade itself, but has become so firmly established that there is no point in trying to abolish it. It has come to represent absolute perfection. Wilhelm Maier (1949) was full of admiration for its symmetry. He described the central star formation and the facet edges parallel throughout, and added that the balance of the facet edges is the most perfect ever achieved.
The Making Of Second Life
The Making of Second Life: Notes from the New World by Wagner James Au is a fascinating book on the creators of the concept + I am a big fan of Second Life.
Useful link:
http://nwn.blogs.com
Useful link:
http://nwn.blogs.com
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Art Fair
Carol Vogel writes about the European Fine Art Fair at Maastricht, the Netherlands + dealers and collectors from around the world + other viewpoints @ http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/10/arts/10fair.php
Useful links:
www.tefaf.com
www.haunchofvenison.com
www.mfa.org
www.artic.edu
www.artsmia.org
www.toledomuseum.org
www.clarkart.edu
www.lacma.org
www.nelson-atkins.org
www.noortman.com
www.johnnyvanhaeften.com
Useful links:
www.tefaf.com
www.haunchofvenison.com
www.mfa.org
www.artic.edu
www.artsmia.org
www.toledomuseum.org
www.clarkart.edu
www.lacma.org
www.nelson-atkins.org
www.noortman.com
www.johnnyvanhaeften.com
Wellcome Images
I found the Wellcome Image Awards 2008 interesting + the images via Optical Projection Tomography is so beautiful + I hope to see the concept applied in gemology in the near future at an affordable cost.
Useful links:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/gallery/2008/mar/10/medicalresearch.photography?picture=332890990
www.wellcomecollection.org
Useful links:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/gallery/2008/mar/10/medicalresearch.photography?picture=332890990
www.wellcomecollection.org
The Victorian Age
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
3
Apart from all the other artists of his time stands the lonely figure of Alfred Stevens (1817-75), who, though never fully appreciated by his own contemporaries, is now generally recognized to have been probably the greatest and most complete artist that England ever produced. Stevens was cast in a heroic mould and ought to have lived in a heroic age; painter, sculptor, and architect, he possessed the universality of some giant of the Renaissance; and no other artist of any country has approached more closely in his work to the temper of Michael Angelo. Yet this great Englishman was never recognized or honored by the Royal Academy; throughout his life he had a hard struggle to make a living, and while his Wellington Monument and Prophets for St Paul’s Cathedral prove that he was capable of executing works of the mightiest genius both in painting and in sculpture, for want of more appropriate employment Stevens was condemned to spend a great part of his life in designing stoves, fenders, etc., for commercial firms.
Alfred Stevens was born at Blandford in Dorset in 1817. He was the son of an heraldic painter, whom he assisted from an early age, and while he was still in his teens his rare genius was recognized by some of the better-off residents in the district, who subscribed a purse to enable him to study art in Italy. Thus assisted, Stevens went to Italy in 1833, and stayed there for nearly nine years, studying painting, sculpture, and architecture, chiefly in Florence and Rome. In the latter city he was for two years (1841-2) assistant to the Danish sculptor Thornwaldsen (1770-1844), author of the famous Lion of Lucerne, carved in the solid rock in memory of the Swiss Guards who died in defense of Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette.
When Alfred Stevens returned to England in 1842 he was, according to modern authorities, ‘the most thoroughly educated artist the country has seen,’ but his erudition and genius long failed to find suitable employment. In 1844 he competed, unsuccessfully, for a commission to to execute decoration in Westminster Hall, and in the following year he accepted an appointment as Master of Architectural Drawing, Perspective, Modelling, and Ornamental Painting to a new school of Design at Somerset House. To Stevens, however, teaching was never more than a stopgap; he knew that his real business in life was to create works of art, and consequently as soon as he was given an opportunity to do creative work he resigned his appointment and in 1847 he began to decorate Deysbrook, near Liverpool. For the next few years he managed to make a living by working for other architects; in 1849 and 1854 he worked for Cockerell on St George’s Hall, Liverpool; he designed the bronze doors for Pennethorn’s Geological Museum in Jermyn Street; he designed the lions for the British Museum railings in 1852; but work of this kind was so uncertain that in 1850 he had been glad to accept a position as designer in the firm of Hoole at Sheffield. Thanks to Alfred Stevens, this firm secured first prize for their stoves and fenders in the Great Exhibition of 1851.
The Victorian Age (continued)
3
Apart from all the other artists of his time stands the lonely figure of Alfred Stevens (1817-75), who, though never fully appreciated by his own contemporaries, is now generally recognized to have been probably the greatest and most complete artist that England ever produced. Stevens was cast in a heroic mould and ought to have lived in a heroic age; painter, sculptor, and architect, he possessed the universality of some giant of the Renaissance; and no other artist of any country has approached more closely in his work to the temper of Michael Angelo. Yet this great Englishman was never recognized or honored by the Royal Academy; throughout his life he had a hard struggle to make a living, and while his Wellington Monument and Prophets for St Paul’s Cathedral prove that he was capable of executing works of the mightiest genius both in painting and in sculpture, for want of more appropriate employment Stevens was condemned to spend a great part of his life in designing stoves, fenders, etc., for commercial firms.
Alfred Stevens was born at Blandford in Dorset in 1817. He was the son of an heraldic painter, whom he assisted from an early age, and while he was still in his teens his rare genius was recognized by some of the better-off residents in the district, who subscribed a purse to enable him to study art in Italy. Thus assisted, Stevens went to Italy in 1833, and stayed there for nearly nine years, studying painting, sculpture, and architecture, chiefly in Florence and Rome. In the latter city he was for two years (1841-2) assistant to the Danish sculptor Thornwaldsen (1770-1844), author of the famous Lion of Lucerne, carved in the solid rock in memory of the Swiss Guards who died in defense of Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette.
When Alfred Stevens returned to England in 1842 he was, according to modern authorities, ‘the most thoroughly educated artist the country has seen,’ but his erudition and genius long failed to find suitable employment. In 1844 he competed, unsuccessfully, for a commission to to execute decoration in Westminster Hall, and in the following year he accepted an appointment as Master of Architectural Drawing, Perspective, Modelling, and Ornamental Painting to a new school of Design at Somerset House. To Stevens, however, teaching was never more than a stopgap; he knew that his real business in life was to create works of art, and consequently as soon as he was given an opportunity to do creative work he resigned his appointment and in 1847 he began to decorate Deysbrook, near Liverpool. For the next few years he managed to make a living by working for other architects; in 1849 and 1854 he worked for Cockerell on St George’s Hall, Liverpool; he designed the bronze doors for Pennethorn’s Geological Museum in Jermyn Street; he designed the lions for the British Museum railings in 1852; but work of this kind was so uncertain that in 1850 he had been glad to accept a position as designer in the firm of Hoole at Sheffield. Thanks to Alfred Stevens, this firm secured first prize for their stoves and fenders in the Great Exhibition of 1851.
The Victorian Age (continued)
Blessed Unrest
Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming by Paul Hawken is a fabulous book on environmental social justice on this planet + I liked it.
Useful link:
www.paulhawken.com
Useful link:
www.paulhawken.com
Square Brilliants
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The first commercially produced Brilliants were rounded and derived from dodecahedral crystals, or were refashioned from Burgundian Point Cuts or Pointed Star Cuts. They became so popular that craftsmen had to find ways of adapting the design to octahedral rough (of which there was already a far greater supply), and applying the same type of faceting to square outlines without too much loss of weight. The result was the Square Brilliant, a very slightly rounded gem with sharp corners and obvious four-part symmetry in the main facets—a reversion in style from the Baroque to the Renaissance.
The first commercially produced Brilliants were rounded and derived from dodecahedral crystals, or were refashioned from Burgundian Point Cuts or Pointed Star Cuts. They became so popular that craftsmen had to find ways of adapting the design to octahedral rough (of which there was already a far greater supply), and applying the same type of faceting to square outlines without too much loss of weight. The result was the Square Brilliant, a very slightly rounded gem with sharp corners and obvious four-part symmetry in the main facets—a reversion in style from the Baroque to the Renaissance.
Antony Gormley
Antony Gormley is a well-known English sculptor + many of his works are based on moulds taken from his own body, an interesting concept + I think his works are aimed at the general public + it's natural and beautiful. I liked it.
Useful link:
www.antonygormley.com
Useful link:
www.antonygormley.com
Film Festival Online
Babelgum, a new online video site, founded by Italian billionaire, Silvio Scaglia, is interesting because they have got good ideas + technology + money + if they could attract viewers and advertisers + terrific luck, I think with high profile directors like Spike Lee behind the The Babelgum Online Film Festival, Babelgum could provide an interesting business model for the film world.
Useful link:
www.babelgum.com
Useful link:
www.babelgum.com
Chinese Art
Economist writes about the beauty and rarity of the extraordinarily decorative precious ritual vessels used by the Chinese for the ancestral temple + the bidding frenzy by the Chinese art collectors + other viewpoints @ http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/artview/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10831852
Monday, March 10, 2008
Wikinomics
Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything by Don Tapscott + Anthony D. Williams is an interesting book with a lot insights on mass collaboration + the book made me to rethink + I believe the whole concept is about knowledge management + expect modified versions in a highly competitive and dynamic marketplace.
Useful link:
www.wikinomics.com
Useful link:
www.wikinomics.com
Crystal Vision
Designboom + Swarovski are inviting entries for the international design competition + the subject is: Crystal Vision + they are looking at innovative product concepts for the Swarovski stores.
Useful links:
http://www.designboom.com/crystalvision.html
www.swarovski.com
www.designboom.com
Useful links:
http://www.designboom.com/crystalvision.html
www.swarovski.com
www.designboom.com
Cushion-Shaped Brilliants
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
A cushion-shaped diamond is either square or rectangular, with clearly rounded corners and usually slightly rounded sides. The name, of fairly recent origin, is not ideal since real cushions are often completely round or obsolutely square, but it is far better than the terms Old Mine Cut or Old Miner which were introduced at the end of the last century to describe the kind of cut applied to most Brazilian rough. The fashion for round Brilliants, incidentally, coincided with the discovery of the South African mines.
Many of the Baroque cuts had cushion-shaped outlines, but the shape was less important than the fashioning. Cushion shapes were introduced more and more when the old Table Cuts were refashioned. Many Table Cuts had blunt or missing corners which had to be disposed of without reducing the size of the gem. The easiest way to do this was to round the corners off. The second half of the eighteenth century was a great period for recutting unfashionable designs, and the cutters aimed to achieve a slightly larger display from octahedral rough than would have been possible if the gems had been given sharp corners. From this point on, jewelers used a regular mixture—which appears to have been entirely acceptable—of square and cushion-shaped Brilliants, combined with occasional diamonds of round, pear-shaped or other outlines. Normally the gems were placed according to their shapes in order to accentuate the design of the piece of jewelry, but sometimes—as, for instance, in opulent necklaces made soley of large diamonds—the stones were arranged in order of size irrespective of shape. As long as bruting remained a long and arduous process, nearly all dodecahedrons were fashioned into cushion shapes. We have evidence of this in the writings of several authos: Dutens (1773), for instance, says that ‘de nos jours on prefère la forme dodecaèdre, comme las plus propre à acquerir par le taillage la belle proportion voulue..’
Today, the circular Brilliant Cut is the standard, and other outlines are only applied when the rough particularly favors them. But during the last hundred years a number of large Cushion-shaped Brilliants have been fashioned, including the Tiffany, the Rojtman, the Jubilee, the Assher and the Red Cross.
The Deepdeene Diamond (104.52 ct) was widely discussed in the 1970s when questions were raised about is unusual golden-yellow color. With the Tiffany diamond, there has been exaggerated retention of weight simply in order to have a diamond of over 100 ct, a goal which could not have been achieved if correct proportions had been applied. The drawings show that the diamond had a very large table (c. 64 percent) and very wide crown angles (over 50°), resulting in a high crown. The girdle is too thick (6 percent) for a gem of this size. The pavilion, however, is well proportioned; it follows the rule of 45° angles and has a reflecting culet of about 7 percent. The broad pavilion facets indicate that it was cut in the second half of the nineteenth century.
A cushion-shaped diamond is either square or rectangular, with clearly rounded corners and usually slightly rounded sides. The name, of fairly recent origin, is not ideal since real cushions are often completely round or obsolutely square, but it is far better than the terms Old Mine Cut or Old Miner which were introduced at the end of the last century to describe the kind of cut applied to most Brazilian rough. The fashion for round Brilliants, incidentally, coincided with the discovery of the South African mines.
Many of the Baroque cuts had cushion-shaped outlines, but the shape was less important than the fashioning. Cushion shapes were introduced more and more when the old Table Cuts were refashioned. Many Table Cuts had blunt or missing corners which had to be disposed of without reducing the size of the gem. The easiest way to do this was to round the corners off. The second half of the eighteenth century was a great period for recutting unfashionable designs, and the cutters aimed to achieve a slightly larger display from octahedral rough than would have been possible if the gems had been given sharp corners. From this point on, jewelers used a regular mixture—which appears to have been entirely acceptable—of square and cushion-shaped Brilliants, combined with occasional diamonds of round, pear-shaped or other outlines. Normally the gems were placed according to their shapes in order to accentuate the design of the piece of jewelry, but sometimes—as, for instance, in opulent necklaces made soley of large diamonds—the stones were arranged in order of size irrespective of shape. As long as bruting remained a long and arduous process, nearly all dodecahedrons were fashioned into cushion shapes. We have evidence of this in the writings of several authos: Dutens (1773), for instance, says that ‘de nos jours on prefère la forme dodecaèdre, comme las plus propre à acquerir par le taillage la belle proportion voulue..’
Today, the circular Brilliant Cut is the standard, and other outlines are only applied when the rough particularly favors them. But during the last hundred years a number of large Cushion-shaped Brilliants have been fashioned, including the Tiffany, the Rojtman, the Jubilee, the Assher and the Red Cross.
The Deepdeene Diamond (104.52 ct) was widely discussed in the 1970s when questions were raised about is unusual golden-yellow color. With the Tiffany diamond, there has been exaggerated retention of weight simply in order to have a diamond of over 100 ct, a goal which could not have been achieved if correct proportions had been applied. The drawings show that the diamond had a very large table (c. 64 percent) and very wide crown angles (over 50°), resulting in a high crown. The girdle is too thick (6 percent) for a gem of this size. The pavilion, however, is well proportioned; it follows the rule of 45° angles and has a reflecting culet of about 7 percent. The broad pavilion facets indicate that it was cut in the second half of the nineteenth century.
The Victorian Age
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
Among a number of scholarly artists who were influenced by the example of Leighton, one of the most distinguished was his eventual successor in the presidency of the Royal Academy, Sir Edward John Poynter (1836-1919). This artist was born in Paris and was the son of an architect, Ambrose Poynter, who was himself a skilful painter in water colors and had been an intimate friend of R.P.Bonington. E.J.Poynter studied art first in the Academy schools and afterwards in Paris, where one of his most intimate friends and fellow-students was the illustrator George du Maurier, author of Trilby. Poynter first exhibited at the Academy in 1861, and during the earlier part of his life he designed a number of decorative works, among them being mosaics for the Houses of Parliament and for St Paul’s Cathedral. He also, like Leighton, executed illustrations—some of which appeared in Once-a-Week—and painted portraits as well as landscapes; but though his activities were many and various, he was best known by his paintings of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian subjects. His first great popular success, and probably the most moving picture he ever conceived, was painted in 1865; ‘Faithful unto Death,’ now in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, shows a Roman soldier standing unmoved at his post while Pompeii is being destroyed by earthquake and volcanic eruptions, and in this picture the artist not only shows exactitude in archeological detail, but also expresses a nobility of purpose which every human being can understand and admire. In 1867 he painted ‘Israel in Egypt,’ but in later years he seldom approached the high seriousness of these early pictures and though he maintained his popularity with scholarly and agreeable renderings of classical scenes, like ‘A Visit to Æsculapius’ in the Tate Gallery, the subjects of these pictures tended to become lighter and sometimes trivial.
In addition to his work as a painter Sir E J Poynter was overwhelmed by official duties. He was elected A.R.A in 1869 and two years later he was appointed the first Slade Professor at University College, London, a post which he held till 1975, when he became Director of the Royal College of Art at South Kensington, over which he presided for seven years. Meanwhile he had in 1876 been elected R.A and henceforward his influence in the Academy council steadily increased. In 1894 he was appointed Director of the National Gallery, London, and he held this post till 1905, although in 1896 he had been appointed President of the Royal Academy, in succession to Millais. He was knighted in 1896 and made a baronet in 1902.
The wealth of Victorian England not only fostered native art, but naturally drew to these shores a number of foreign artists. Among them was one of the most famous of our modern classical painters, Sir Lawrence Alma -Tadema. This artist was born in Holland in 1836, and after studying art in Antwerp gave his attention to historical painting. He began with early French and Egyptian subjects, but commenced his series of Greek subjects about 1865. In 1869 he sent his painting ‘The Pyrrhic Dance’ to the Academy in London, where it was so well received that the painter decided to settle in England and became naturalized in 1873.
In the hands of Alma-Tadema the classical picture became historical in detail but playful and fanciful in subject. The Victorian anecdote reappeared in a Greek or Roman dress, as in his picture ‘A Silent Greeting’ at the Tate Gallery, in which a Roman warrior places a bunch of roses in the lap of a sleeping lady. ‘Love in Idleness’ is a characteristic example of his art and shows the wonderfully painted marble accessories which he was so fond of introducing into his pictures. Though full himself of antiquarian knowledge, and often called upon by Irving and other theatrical producers to assist in giving verisimilitude to the costumes and scenery for historical plays, Alma-Tadema never wearied the public with his learning, and his pictures were in the nature of agreeable dreams which made no serious demands upon the intellect or high emotions of the spectator. In the course of a long and successful career Alma-Tadema was elected A.R.A in 1876, R.A in 1879, knighted in 1899, and received the Order of Merit in 1905. He died while staying at Wiesbaden in 1912.
While all these artists enjoyed fame and fortune in their lifetime, other artists of equal or superior gifts were less appreciated by their contemporaries, though in several cases their fame is higher today than than of the popular favorites of their day. If we number Albert Moore (1841-93) among the Victorian classical painters, we must be careful to draw a distinction between his art and that of Leighton, Poynter, and Alma-Tadema. For, whereas these three artists emphasized the illustrative element in painting, Albert Moore laid more stress on its decorative element. Moore was not anecdotal, and for this reason his decorative compositions did not make so easy and obvious an appeal to his contemporaries; but he was filled with the Greek spirit of beauty, and his painting ‘Blossoms’ is now one of the most admired of the quasi-classical pictures in the Tate Gallery. Moore was born at York and was the son of an artist, but though he was trained in the Academy schools and began to exhibit at the Academy in the sixties, he was not well received there, and subsequently exhibited chiefly at the Grosvenor Gallery and the Old Water Color Society. He was never elected a member of the Academy, but associated with the Whistler and other independent artists. An admirable draughtsman and designer, Albert Moore was also gifted with a refined and delicate sense of color equalled by few of his contemporaries.
His brother Henry Moore (1831-95), an excellent marine painter, received more official recognition; he was elected A.R.A in 1886, R.A in 1893, and in 1885 his ‘Catspaws of the Land,’ in the Tate Gallery, was bought for the nation.
The Victorian Age (continued)
Among a number of scholarly artists who were influenced by the example of Leighton, one of the most distinguished was his eventual successor in the presidency of the Royal Academy, Sir Edward John Poynter (1836-1919). This artist was born in Paris and was the son of an architect, Ambrose Poynter, who was himself a skilful painter in water colors and had been an intimate friend of R.P.Bonington. E.J.Poynter studied art first in the Academy schools and afterwards in Paris, where one of his most intimate friends and fellow-students was the illustrator George du Maurier, author of Trilby. Poynter first exhibited at the Academy in 1861, and during the earlier part of his life he designed a number of decorative works, among them being mosaics for the Houses of Parliament and for St Paul’s Cathedral. He also, like Leighton, executed illustrations—some of which appeared in Once-a-Week—and painted portraits as well as landscapes; but though his activities were many and various, he was best known by his paintings of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian subjects. His first great popular success, and probably the most moving picture he ever conceived, was painted in 1865; ‘Faithful unto Death,’ now in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, shows a Roman soldier standing unmoved at his post while Pompeii is being destroyed by earthquake and volcanic eruptions, and in this picture the artist not only shows exactitude in archeological detail, but also expresses a nobility of purpose which every human being can understand and admire. In 1867 he painted ‘Israel in Egypt,’ but in later years he seldom approached the high seriousness of these early pictures and though he maintained his popularity with scholarly and agreeable renderings of classical scenes, like ‘A Visit to Æsculapius’ in the Tate Gallery, the subjects of these pictures tended to become lighter and sometimes trivial.
In addition to his work as a painter Sir E J Poynter was overwhelmed by official duties. He was elected A.R.A in 1869 and two years later he was appointed the first Slade Professor at University College, London, a post which he held till 1975, when he became Director of the Royal College of Art at South Kensington, over which he presided for seven years. Meanwhile he had in 1876 been elected R.A and henceforward his influence in the Academy council steadily increased. In 1894 he was appointed Director of the National Gallery, London, and he held this post till 1905, although in 1896 he had been appointed President of the Royal Academy, in succession to Millais. He was knighted in 1896 and made a baronet in 1902.
The wealth of Victorian England not only fostered native art, but naturally drew to these shores a number of foreign artists. Among them was one of the most famous of our modern classical painters, Sir Lawrence Alma -Tadema. This artist was born in Holland in 1836, and after studying art in Antwerp gave his attention to historical painting. He began with early French and Egyptian subjects, but commenced his series of Greek subjects about 1865. In 1869 he sent his painting ‘The Pyrrhic Dance’ to the Academy in London, where it was so well received that the painter decided to settle in England and became naturalized in 1873.
In the hands of Alma-Tadema the classical picture became historical in detail but playful and fanciful in subject. The Victorian anecdote reappeared in a Greek or Roman dress, as in his picture ‘A Silent Greeting’ at the Tate Gallery, in which a Roman warrior places a bunch of roses in the lap of a sleeping lady. ‘Love in Idleness’ is a characteristic example of his art and shows the wonderfully painted marble accessories which he was so fond of introducing into his pictures. Though full himself of antiquarian knowledge, and often called upon by Irving and other theatrical producers to assist in giving verisimilitude to the costumes and scenery for historical plays, Alma-Tadema never wearied the public with his learning, and his pictures were in the nature of agreeable dreams which made no serious demands upon the intellect or high emotions of the spectator. In the course of a long and successful career Alma-Tadema was elected A.R.A in 1876, R.A in 1879, knighted in 1899, and received the Order of Merit in 1905. He died while staying at Wiesbaden in 1912.
While all these artists enjoyed fame and fortune in their lifetime, other artists of equal or superior gifts were less appreciated by their contemporaries, though in several cases their fame is higher today than than of the popular favorites of their day. If we number Albert Moore (1841-93) among the Victorian classical painters, we must be careful to draw a distinction between his art and that of Leighton, Poynter, and Alma-Tadema. For, whereas these three artists emphasized the illustrative element in painting, Albert Moore laid more stress on its decorative element. Moore was not anecdotal, and for this reason his decorative compositions did not make so easy and obvious an appeal to his contemporaries; but he was filled with the Greek spirit of beauty, and his painting ‘Blossoms’ is now one of the most admired of the quasi-classical pictures in the Tate Gallery. Moore was born at York and was the son of an artist, but though he was trained in the Academy schools and began to exhibit at the Academy in the sixties, he was not well received there, and subsequently exhibited chiefly at the Grosvenor Gallery and the Old Water Color Society. He was never elected a member of the Academy, but associated with the Whistler and other independent artists. An admirable draughtsman and designer, Albert Moore was also gifted with a refined and delicate sense of color equalled by few of his contemporaries.
His brother Henry Moore (1831-95), an excellent marine painter, received more official recognition; he was elected A.R.A in 1886, R.A in 1893, and in 1885 his ‘Catspaws of the Land,’ in the Tate Gallery, was bought for the nation.
The Victorian Age (continued)
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Travel Movie
(via budgettravel) Neil Mandt's movie LastStopForPaul.com highlights interesting experiences in different parts of the world + he has some useful advice for new filmmakers.
Useful links:
www.laststopforpaul.com
www.puredigitalinc.com
www.mysmallwonder.com
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119292
Useful links:
www.laststopforpaul.com
www.puredigitalinc.com
www.mysmallwonder.com
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119292
Vantage Point
Vantage Point is a thriller + the movie is about identities + how we become obssessively analytical, get misled and become autistic + a unique jigsaw puzzle + it's a great movie.
Useful links:
http://imdb.com/title/tt0443274
www.vantagepoint-movie.com
Useful links:
http://imdb.com/title/tt0443274
www.vantagepoint-movie.com
Random Thoughts
US investment genius Warren Buffett, nicknamed the 'Sage of Omaha', now the world's richest person with a hefty US$62 billion, lives in the same house he bought in 1958 for $31,500, married his long-term partner with a wedding ring from a discount store and likes to dine in his local steak house. He is a man of simple tastes and frugal habits.
I really admire him + he is my near-flawless role model.
I really admire him + he is my near-flawless role model.
Keith Haring
Keith Haring was an artist + social activist + I think museums and collectors were slow to grasp the significance of his achievements.
Useful links:
www.haring.com
www.haringkids.com
Useful links:
www.haring.com
www.haringkids.com
The Wealth Of Networks
The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom by Yochai Benkler is a book that provides insight to understanding online networks + the impact + the radical changes yet to come + it's a good read.
Useful link:
www.benkler.org
Useful link:
www.benkler.org
Round Brilliants
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
From the time the Brilliant Cut was introduced, round Brilliants have been fashioned, but never—at least until recently—in any quantity. The tedious process of manual bruting and the loss of weight and size made them economical. Perfect circular outlines were extremely rare, even though they appear in the illustrations of Jeffries, Caire and a great many others who have obviously symmetrized their line drawings. In fact, the only type of crystal that can be easily rounded is the extremely rare regular dodecaheron.
No historical analysis of the round Brilliant Cut has ever been published and very little documentation is available. One might expect to find some interesting highlights in Mawe’s Treatise on Diamond (first published in 1813), but this contains more contradictions than information on styles of fashioning.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries circular brilliants were considered Fancy Cuts and classified with Drop Shapes, Marquises, Hearts and so on. The standard outlines then in fashion were so strongly dominant that contemporary authors concentrated almost exclusively on them. Jeffries, for instance, in his Treatise of 1750, stated that the square Brilliant (derived from octahedral rough) was the standard, and describes only one circular, one oval and one drop-shaped Brilliant. He gives no examples of stones with any other outline, not even a cushion shape.
As late as 1858 the French writer, Barbot, disapproved of the circular outline because he claimed that stones of this shape display less attractive brilliance: ‘Le brilliant est généralmement carré arrondi. Nous avons cependant vu de très beaux brilliants, taillés nouvellement, entièrement ronds, mais cette forme, quoique jouer le diamant, lui donne un miroirement moins préférable, á notre sens, que la gravité sevère de la forme carrée arrondie.’
Many of the small Brilliants used in minor Victorian jewels have survived whereas the larger and finer gems were, for the most part, recut into modern round brilliants and transferred to new settings. With diamonds weighing ½ ct or more the cost of labor was negligible. The London Cut was easily recognizable and much in demand, so the English cutters concentrated on refashioning the larger stones, reshaping the square and cushion-shaped gems and replacing the old fourfold symmetry with something closer to eightfold in an attempt to reduce the leakage of light through the pavilion facets.
Small circular diamonds were needed to complement these large circular stones, and here the less strict Amsterdam cutters came into their own. They paid their workmen low wages and were soon able to flood the market with not very well made, but far cheaper, stones. By the middle of the nineteenth century the English master cutters were no longer able to compete with the large cutting centers on the Continent, but by then the circular Brilliant was well established in Europe and few decades later was introduced by Morse into the United States.
From the time the Brilliant Cut was introduced, round Brilliants have been fashioned, but never—at least until recently—in any quantity. The tedious process of manual bruting and the loss of weight and size made them economical. Perfect circular outlines were extremely rare, even though they appear in the illustrations of Jeffries, Caire and a great many others who have obviously symmetrized their line drawings. In fact, the only type of crystal that can be easily rounded is the extremely rare regular dodecaheron.
No historical analysis of the round Brilliant Cut has ever been published and very little documentation is available. One might expect to find some interesting highlights in Mawe’s Treatise on Diamond (first published in 1813), but this contains more contradictions than information on styles of fashioning.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries circular brilliants were considered Fancy Cuts and classified with Drop Shapes, Marquises, Hearts and so on. The standard outlines then in fashion were so strongly dominant that contemporary authors concentrated almost exclusively on them. Jeffries, for instance, in his Treatise of 1750, stated that the square Brilliant (derived from octahedral rough) was the standard, and describes only one circular, one oval and one drop-shaped Brilliant. He gives no examples of stones with any other outline, not even a cushion shape.
As late as 1858 the French writer, Barbot, disapproved of the circular outline because he claimed that stones of this shape display less attractive brilliance: ‘Le brilliant est généralmement carré arrondi. Nous avons cependant vu de très beaux brilliants, taillés nouvellement, entièrement ronds, mais cette forme, quoique jouer le diamant, lui donne un miroirement moins préférable, á notre sens, que la gravité sevère de la forme carrée arrondie.’
Many of the small Brilliants used in minor Victorian jewels have survived whereas the larger and finer gems were, for the most part, recut into modern round brilliants and transferred to new settings. With diamonds weighing ½ ct or more the cost of labor was negligible. The London Cut was easily recognizable and much in demand, so the English cutters concentrated on refashioning the larger stones, reshaping the square and cushion-shaped gems and replacing the old fourfold symmetry with something closer to eightfold in an attempt to reduce the leakage of light through the pavilion facets.
Small circular diamonds were needed to complement these large circular stones, and here the less strict Amsterdam cutters came into their own. They paid their workmen low wages and were soon able to flood the market with not very well made, but far cheaper, stones. By the middle of the nineteenth century the English master cutters were no longer able to compete with the large cutting centers on the Continent, but by then the circular Brilliant was well established in Europe and few decades later was introduced by Morse into the United States.
The Victorian Age
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
2
Victorian painting was essentially a story-telling art, but the stories were not limited to one country or to one century. The classical revival, the delight in pictures representing the life of ancient Greece and Rome, which marked, as we have seen, the art of France during the Revolutionary Period, did not show itself in England till nearly half a century later. The man who introduced this style of picture into England was Frederick Leighton, who, though born at Scarborough in 1830, spent the greater part of his early life abroad. Leighton was the son of a physician and spent his boyhood in Italy. When he was only ten years old he studied drawing at Rome, and afterwards lived in Florence where he was taught by several Italian artists. When he was eighteen he visited Brussels, and in the following year he continued his art studies in Paris, where he attended a life-school and copied pictures by Titian and Correggio in Louvre. In 1850 he went to Germany, visiting Dresden and Berlin, but staying longest at Frankfurt, where he worked for two years under a painter named Steinle, and was to some extent influenced by the painters Cornelius and Overbeck, who were mentioned in the last chapter. From Germany, he returned to Paris, where he had a studio in the Rue Pigalle. At this time he was much enamored of the earliest Italian artists, and his first oil painting, executed at Frankfurt, represented ‘Giotto found by Cimabue among the Sheep.’ It was from Paris that Leighton sent to the Academy of 1855 his picture of ‘Cimabue’s Madonna carried in Procession through the Streets of Florence.’ This picture, with its precise drawing, elaborate design, and fresh, clear color, created a tremendous sensation in London, and when it was bought by Queen Victoria the reputation of the painter was immediately made. It was not till five years later, however, that Leighton left Paris and settled in London.
Leighton was now thirty years old, and he was an accomplished, much-traveled man of the world. He had charming, courtly manners, and his prestige in the arts was equalled by his social success. He executed a number of illustrations for the Brothers Dalziel, but he had no lack of other patrons, and received numerous commissions for decorative paintings and subject pictures. He gave himself largely to the illustration of Greek history and legend, two of his most famous pictures in this style being ‘Daphnephoria’ and ‘The Return of Perspective,’ now in the Leeds Art Gallery. He was generally considered to have recaptured the spirit of Greek art better than any artist since Raphael, and ‘The Bath of Psyche’ is a famous example of the almost waxen perfection of his figures, and of his manner of idealizing the nude.
The graceful sense of form noticeable in his paintings was also displayed in Leighton’s works of sculpture, of which the best known are ‘The Sluggard’ and ‘Athlete with Python,’ both in the Tate Gallery. From the moment he set foot in England, Leighton’s career was a series of unbroken successes. He was elected A.R.A in 1864, R.A in 1868, and ten years later, after the death of Sir Francis Grant in 1878, he was elected President of the Royal Academy and received a knighthood. He was created a baronet in 1886, and on January 1, 1896, a few months before his death, he was made Baron Leighton of Stretton, being the first British painter elevated to the peerage.
Leighton never married. He built himself a handsome house, with an Arab Hall, from his own design, at No.2 Holland Park Road, and his home, now known as Leighton House, is preserved as a memorial of his art.
Looking backward, we may surmise that the wide popularity enjoyed by Leighton and his followers was not altogether unrelated to the revival of interest in antiquity and archeology which, beginning in the reign of Queen Victoria, has continued undiminished to this day. At a time when the mind of the public was roused by reports in the newspapers of the discoveries made by excavators in Greece, Egypt, and elsewhere, it not surprising that visitors to the Academy should have made favorites of those pictures which sought to portray life as it was in Greece or Egypt in the olden days.
The Victorian Age (continued)
2
Victorian painting was essentially a story-telling art, but the stories were not limited to one country or to one century. The classical revival, the delight in pictures representing the life of ancient Greece and Rome, which marked, as we have seen, the art of France during the Revolutionary Period, did not show itself in England till nearly half a century later. The man who introduced this style of picture into England was Frederick Leighton, who, though born at Scarborough in 1830, spent the greater part of his early life abroad. Leighton was the son of a physician and spent his boyhood in Italy. When he was only ten years old he studied drawing at Rome, and afterwards lived in Florence where he was taught by several Italian artists. When he was eighteen he visited Brussels, and in the following year he continued his art studies in Paris, where he attended a life-school and copied pictures by Titian and Correggio in Louvre. In 1850 he went to Germany, visiting Dresden and Berlin, but staying longest at Frankfurt, where he worked for two years under a painter named Steinle, and was to some extent influenced by the painters Cornelius and Overbeck, who were mentioned in the last chapter. From Germany, he returned to Paris, where he had a studio in the Rue Pigalle. At this time he was much enamored of the earliest Italian artists, and his first oil painting, executed at Frankfurt, represented ‘Giotto found by Cimabue among the Sheep.’ It was from Paris that Leighton sent to the Academy of 1855 his picture of ‘Cimabue’s Madonna carried in Procession through the Streets of Florence.’ This picture, with its precise drawing, elaborate design, and fresh, clear color, created a tremendous sensation in London, and when it was bought by Queen Victoria the reputation of the painter was immediately made. It was not till five years later, however, that Leighton left Paris and settled in London.
Leighton was now thirty years old, and he was an accomplished, much-traveled man of the world. He had charming, courtly manners, and his prestige in the arts was equalled by his social success. He executed a number of illustrations for the Brothers Dalziel, but he had no lack of other patrons, and received numerous commissions for decorative paintings and subject pictures. He gave himself largely to the illustration of Greek history and legend, two of his most famous pictures in this style being ‘Daphnephoria’ and ‘The Return of Perspective,’ now in the Leeds Art Gallery. He was generally considered to have recaptured the spirit of Greek art better than any artist since Raphael, and ‘The Bath of Psyche’ is a famous example of the almost waxen perfection of his figures, and of his manner of idealizing the nude.
The graceful sense of form noticeable in his paintings was also displayed in Leighton’s works of sculpture, of which the best known are ‘The Sluggard’ and ‘Athlete with Python,’ both in the Tate Gallery. From the moment he set foot in England, Leighton’s career was a series of unbroken successes. He was elected A.R.A in 1864, R.A in 1868, and ten years later, after the death of Sir Francis Grant in 1878, he was elected President of the Royal Academy and received a knighthood. He was created a baronet in 1886, and on January 1, 1896, a few months before his death, he was made Baron Leighton of Stretton, being the first British painter elevated to the peerage.
Leighton never married. He built himself a handsome house, with an Arab Hall, from his own design, at No.2 Holland Park Road, and his home, now known as Leighton House, is preserved as a memorial of his art.
Looking backward, we may surmise that the wide popularity enjoyed by Leighton and his followers was not altogether unrelated to the revival of interest in antiquity and archeology which, beginning in the reign of Queen Victoria, has continued undiminished to this day. At a time when the mind of the public was roused by reports in the newspapers of the discoveries made by excavators in Greece, Egypt, and elsewhere, it not surprising that visitors to the Academy should have made favorites of those pictures which sought to portray life as it was in Greece or Egypt in the olden days.
The Victorian Age (continued)
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Heard On The Street
In the market all things are valued according to their scarcity + what is worth little today is worth much tomorrow.
The Bank Job
Roger Donaldson is an Australian-born New Zealand film producer, director and writer who has made numerous successful movies + his movie The Bank Job is a true story of a heist gone wrong.
Useful links:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200465
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1720472,00.html
Useful links:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200465
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1720472,00.html
Collective Unconscious
I really liked Sheila Heti 's concept of candidate-related dreams @ http://idreamofhillaryidreamofbarack.com + I think it's a kind of communication. Brilliant!
Climos
I am really keen on environment + new ways of sourcing energy + I found the idea by Climos to grow large amounts of plankton by pouring iron into the ocean, interesting + I hope there are no unintended consequences from this type of geo-engineering.
Useful links:
www.climos.com
www.etcgroup.org
www.oceannourishment.com
www.planktos.com
Useful links:
www.climos.com
www.etcgroup.org
www.oceannourishment.com
www.planktos.com
The Charles Gillot's Collection
I was intrigued by The Charles Gillot's Collection of Japanese and Egyptian art because of its unique history + color + patterns + story + beauty and rarity, and I hope it remains with the right collector for a long time.
Useful links:
http://www.christies.com/special_sites/gillot_paris/highlights.asp
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/07/arts/melik8.php
Useful links:
http://www.christies.com/special_sites/gillot_paris/highlights.asp
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/07/arts/melik8.php
GIA Certifigate: Phase Two
Total internal reflections of Chaim Even Zohar at the Plumb Club Forum in New York + the issues related to the GIA Certifigate scandal + other viewpoints @ http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.asp
I can visualize myself as a consumer in bad times. I want to sell some of my diamonds in order to improve my households’ cash flow, only to find out that their grading reports had overstated reality, and that the color grade was lower, or that the natural stone was really treated. Who would be liable? Who would pay? What would the salesperson tell me? Not a pretty picture!
I think Chaim Even Zohar was spot on and may he live forever to write more about the real diamond world + the characters!
I can visualize myself as a consumer in bad times. I want to sell some of my diamonds in order to improve my households’ cash flow, only to find out that their grading reports had overstated reality, and that the color grade was lower, or that the natural stone was really treated. Who would be liable? Who would pay? What would the salesperson tell me? Not a pretty picture!
I think Chaim Even Zohar was spot on and may he live forever to write more about the real diamond world + the characters!
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised : Democracy, the Internet, and the Overthrow of Everything by Joe Trippi is a great read + it gave me the insight into how new media/technology/open source works + the impact.
Useful link:
www.joetrippi.com
Useful link:
www.joetrippi.com
Early Parisian Cut Brilliants
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
Bernard Morel suggests that French master cutters of the mid-seventeenth century invented certain types of fancy cut Brilliants. I have examined several unusual diamonds fashioned in Paris, such as the French Blue, the de Guise and the Hortensia, with both symmetry and faceting deviating from the standard Baroque forms, but I have found no details which had not been applied to diamonds before, except possibly for the Sancy Cuts, which may have been a French innovation. The Grand Sancy may have been the first of its kind and was, according to Cletscher, fashioned in Paris. The Sancy Cut appears further to have been a kind of Pre-Brilliant. If we knew that the Wittelsbach was also fashioned in Paris, I might be tempted to agree with Morel. But was apparently cut in Lisbon, or possibly Venice, so one cannot say with certainity that all Brilliants of this type originated from Paris.
The Paris cutters were above all specialists at refashioning Louis XIV’s primitively cut Indian diamonds, the gems delivered to him by Tavernier, Bazu and other travelers to thte Far East. They also modernized numerous obsolete cuts. Obviously, many of these had to be fashioned according the shapes they had been given rather than those which the natural rough favored. And each gem presented a different problem, demanding a solution particular to itself. One of the greatest problems was how to refashion a shallow pavilion with a very large culet. This they overcame by applying almost horizontal culet facets, which presumably explains why so many of the refashioned French gems were Stellar Cut. This technique was not new either; it was illustrated on seventeenth-century Table Cuts, for example, in a drawing by Cletscher.
The reason for the existence of both sixfold and sevenfold symmetry and for the numerous fancy outlines also lies in the original gems. When they were refashioning old Table Cuts, cutters naturally got rid of broken or missing corners and disturbing flaws. Their main task was to transform, with a minimum of waste, old cuts into gems with maximum light effects, with no necessity to adhere to a ‘standard design’. In most cases a close examination reveals the original cut of the stone, but nevertheless the results of recutting are, for the most part, extremely beautiful and the craftsmanship masterly. According to a law drawn up in 1584, French cutters were not allowed to install more than two grinding mills; in 1625 they were given permission to have three. Clearly, there was no organised importing of rough on a large scale, but there was great competition among the small establishments, which resulting in work of a very high standard.
The description of the Peach Blossom diamond (Fleur de Pêcher) in the 1691 French Crown inventory is interesting: ‘Un autre crochet de chapeau d’un seul diamant, brilliant, plus étroit d’un bout que de l’autre, de belle eau, pezant 25ks, estimé quarante-trois mille huict cent soixante-six livres, cy 43.866 liv.’ It tells us first of all that no term had yet been introduced for modified Brilliant Cuts—the outline of the diamond is described simply as being narrower at one end. And the accuracy of the estimate indicates the price Louis XIV must have paid for it, probably in about 1678 to Alvarez. In 1791, exactly a hundred years later, the same stone was described as: ‘un grand diamant fort étendu, forme en poire, tirant sur la fleur-de-pêcher, pesant vingt-quatre karats, treize seize et un trente-deuxieme, estimé deux cents mille liveres, ci 24 k. 13/16 1/32 (i.e. 24 27/32 old French carats).'
The name given to the gem was taken from its color, a pale pink, the color of peach blossom. When it was finally disposed of by the French government at the great sale of 1887 and acquired by Tiffany, it was mistakenly described as one of the Mazarins (‘Un brilliant rosé, formé poiré). The Peach Blossom is, in fact, a Baroque Brilliant, and is not so much pear-shaped as trapezoid with rounded corners. Its faceting is of the standard eightfold type, and it shows pronounced spread compared with what Jeffries considered a correctly proportioned diamond. The spreading may have been deliberate, to enhance the color effect, and it is interesting to compare its proportions with those of the Dresden Green and other colored diamonds.
Bernard Morel suggests that French master cutters of the mid-seventeenth century invented certain types of fancy cut Brilliants. I have examined several unusual diamonds fashioned in Paris, such as the French Blue, the de Guise and the Hortensia, with both symmetry and faceting deviating from the standard Baroque forms, but I have found no details which had not been applied to diamonds before, except possibly for the Sancy Cuts, which may have been a French innovation. The Grand Sancy may have been the first of its kind and was, according to Cletscher, fashioned in Paris. The Sancy Cut appears further to have been a kind of Pre-Brilliant. If we knew that the Wittelsbach was also fashioned in Paris, I might be tempted to agree with Morel. But was apparently cut in Lisbon, or possibly Venice, so one cannot say with certainity that all Brilliants of this type originated from Paris.
The Paris cutters were above all specialists at refashioning Louis XIV’s primitively cut Indian diamonds, the gems delivered to him by Tavernier, Bazu and other travelers to thte Far East. They also modernized numerous obsolete cuts. Obviously, many of these had to be fashioned according the shapes they had been given rather than those which the natural rough favored. And each gem presented a different problem, demanding a solution particular to itself. One of the greatest problems was how to refashion a shallow pavilion with a very large culet. This they overcame by applying almost horizontal culet facets, which presumably explains why so many of the refashioned French gems were Stellar Cut. This technique was not new either; it was illustrated on seventeenth-century Table Cuts, for example, in a drawing by Cletscher.
The reason for the existence of both sixfold and sevenfold symmetry and for the numerous fancy outlines also lies in the original gems. When they were refashioning old Table Cuts, cutters naturally got rid of broken or missing corners and disturbing flaws. Their main task was to transform, with a minimum of waste, old cuts into gems with maximum light effects, with no necessity to adhere to a ‘standard design’. In most cases a close examination reveals the original cut of the stone, but nevertheless the results of recutting are, for the most part, extremely beautiful and the craftsmanship masterly. According to a law drawn up in 1584, French cutters were not allowed to install more than two grinding mills; in 1625 they were given permission to have three. Clearly, there was no organised importing of rough on a large scale, but there was great competition among the small establishments, which resulting in work of a very high standard.
The description of the Peach Blossom diamond (Fleur de Pêcher) in the 1691 French Crown inventory is interesting: ‘Un autre crochet de chapeau d’un seul diamant, brilliant, plus étroit d’un bout que de l’autre, de belle eau, pezant 25ks, estimé quarante-trois mille huict cent soixante-six livres, cy 43.866 liv.’ It tells us first of all that no term had yet been introduced for modified Brilliant Cuts—the outline of the diamond is described simply as being narrower at one end. And the accuracy of the estimate indicates the price Louis XIV must have paid for it, probably in about 1678 to Alvarez. In 1791, exactly a hundred years later, the same stone was described as: ‘un grand diamant fort étendu, forme en poire, tirant sur la fleur-de-pêcher, pesant vingt-quatre karats, treize seize et un trente-deuxieme, estimé deux cents mille liveres, ci 24 k. 13/16 1/32 (i.e. 24 27/32 old French carats).'
The name given to the gem was taken from its color, a pale pink, the color of peach blossom. When it was finally disposed of by the French government at the great sale of 1887 and acquired by Tiffany, it was mistakenly described as one of the Mazarins (‘Un brilliant rosé, formé poiré). The Peach Blossom is, in fact, a Baroque Brilliant, and is not so much pear-shaped as trapezoid with rounded corners. Its faceting is of the standard eightfold type, and it shows pronounced spread compared with what Jeffries considered a correctly proportioned diamond. The spreading may have been deliberate, to enhance the color effect, and it is interesting to compare its proportions with those of the Dresden Green and other colored diamonds.
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