New Wave Energy Projects

Michael Pollitt's article on new wave energy experimentation by researchers + the Anaconda prototype + computational studies @ http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/aug/07/research.waveandtidalpower was really interesting. A must read.

Useful links:
www.epsrc.ac.uk
www.atkinsglobal.com
www.checkmateuk.com

I am really curious about the Anaconda wave energy converter concept. If the Anaconda design is able to capture wave energy + cheaper than other devices, then we have found a new way to produce power.

Random Thoughts

It is easy to fly into a passion – anybody can do that—but to be angry with the right person and at the right time…in the right way – that is not easy, and it is not everyone who can do it.

- Aristotle

Second Life For Business

Kermit Pattison's article on Second Life's founder Philip Rosedale + his viewpoints on business via Second Life @ http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2008/08/interview-philip-rosedale.html?page=0%2C0 was brilliant. A must read.

Useful links:
www.secondlife.com
http://lindenlab.com

The New Venus Jewel Grading System For Diamonds

I found Venus Jewel's Diamond Grading System interesting. I wonder how their customers perceive the subjective interpretation of color, clarity and cut, but if they are happy with the grades and prices, Alleluia!

Useful link:
www.venusjewel.com

The Great Gatsby

(via Wiki) The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published on April 10, 1925, it is set in Long Island's North Shore and New York City during the summer of 1922. Having reread this book several times, I think it's one of the very best American novels. A must read.

Heard On The Street

The best time to buy is when we have a negativity bubble.

The New Jewelry.com

Go to the newly-designed fresh-looking website @ www.jewelry.com for updates, tips on researching and buying jewelry. A must visit.

Random Thoughts

After several failures, I finally remembered some advice I once got from a golf pro: 'Practice doesn’t make perfect; practice makes permanent.' Therefore I received my strategy and tried to buy good business at fair prices rather than fair business at good prices.

- Warren Buffett

How To Detect Art Forgeries

The Economist article on art forgeries + new technological advancements in detection and profiling + other viewpoints @ http://www.economist.com/science/tm/displayStory.cfm?source=hptextfeature&story_id=11877571 was brilliant. A must read.

Useful links:
www.ieee.org
http://infolab.stanford.edu/~wangz/home
www.kmm.nl
http://www3.vangoghmuseum.nl

Giant Kites = Renewable Energy

Alok Jha's article on sourcing renewable energy via giant kites + the experimental versions by researchers in Europe/USA @ http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/aug/03/renewableenergy.energy was interesting and insightful. Who would have thought that childhood pastime of flying kites would become a potential source for renewable energy!

Useful links:
www.makanipower.com
www.bwea.com
www.foe.co.uk
www.lr.tudelft.nl/live/pagina.jsp?id=8d16d19a-e942-45aa-9b52-48deb9312e92&lang=en

The World's Best Airport

According to an annual survey conducted by Skytrax, a U.K-based consultancy, the Hong Kong International Airport (www.hongkongairport.com) was named the world's best for the seventh year.

Congratulations!

Go to www.skytraxresearch.com for further information.

Imitation Jewelry Update

We are seeing a new trend in the jewelry market in India. Price-sensitive rural and middle classes are opting for imitation jewelry, and the market has grown considerably over the years. The choices are there + designs and prices are beautiful and sweet. Thanks to soaring gold prices. Signs of the time, I guess.

Useful link:
www.rangeelaexports.com

Edinburgh Festival

(via Wiki) Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for several simultaneous arts and cultural festivals which take place during August each year in Edinburgh, Scotland. These festivals are arranged by a number of formally unrelated organizations, meaning there is no single event officially termed the Edinburgh Festival.

Useful link:
www.eif.co.uk

A must visit.

Kimberley Process Update

The Kimberley Process has released 2007 statistical data on diamond output, exports and imports. Go to www.kimberleyprocess.com for further information.

Sustainable Energy Solutions: Theory + Practice

Ad van Wijk is the Founder/Chairman of Econcern, an international energy company providing solutions for renewable energy/sustainable energy via solar energy, wind energy, bioenergy.

Ormat is an interesting Israeli company run by husband and wife (Lucien/ Dita Bronicki) dedicated to engineering geo-thermal energy plants and producing power from them, in several parts of the world.

Useful links:
www.econcern.com
www.ormat.com

What's interesting is that both companies are finding ways of creating sustainable energy solutions and putting them in to practice.

Pearl Testing: Analytical Methods

Pearl testing at times can be very difficult. Experts use a combination of different methods for positive identification. For instance freshwater pearls typically may contain high concentration of manganese, and the high manganese concentration in the specimens can be detected by trace element analysis (Laser Ablation ICP-MS) or by X-ray luminescence methods, which may also help differentiate between freshwater and marine pearls. Provenance determination in a pearl can be achieved by Laser Ablation ICP-MS. Infrared/Raman spectroscopy can also be used to identify modifications of calcium carbonate in pearls to identify the origin of pearl color + naturally colored Tahiti cultured pearls and naturally colored freshwater cultured pearls can be distinguished from their artificially dyed counterparts by Raman spectroscopy. Natural pearls can be differentiated from cultured pearls by different X-radiography tests that reveal the internal structures from a manufactured nucleus. Several radiograms may have to be taken to study varying depths within the pearl's internal growth structures to create a profile. It's not always easy. Lately the application of tabletop X-ray tomograms have improved pearl testing dramatically.

Signs Of The Time

I reread David Owen's article 'My Airline' (Shouts & Murmurs column in the New Yorker). For a unique airplane experience go to http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2008/07/07/080707sh_shouts_owen to read the full text. Funny + Sad.

Endeavor

Endeavor, a non-profit group based in New York, is dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship in emerging economies. I think Endeavor is changing/redefining the concept of entrepreneurship in emerging economies of the world.

Useful link:
www.endeavor.org

David Galenson

Patricia Cohen's article on David Galenson + the quantitative methodology/valuation in the art field + other viewpoints @ http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/04/arts/design/04pica.html?_r=1&oref=slogin was brilliant.

Useful link:
www.davidgalenson.com

In my view ranking artworks is a good idea. If the experts are able to simplify the valuation methodology, then I think it might work. Many in the industry believe that art markets are speculative/manipulative. You have got to be an insider or knowledgeable to understand the whole business.

Synchrotron Light

Synchrotron light is used in cutting-edge research in physics, chemistry and materials sciences + many new areas of research in fields such as medicine, geological and environmental studies, structural genomics and archaeology. The experts are now in the process of developing the so-called fourth generation light sources.

Useful links:
www.desy.de
www.xfel.eu
www.scitech.ac.uk
www.cockcroft.ac.uk
www.srs.ac.uk
www.isis.rl.ac.uk

Baalbeck International Festival

(via Wiki) The Baalbeck International Festival is the oldest and most known cultural event in the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean. Since 1955, hundreds of thousands of people from around the world have flocked to the city of Baalbeck in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon to attend the annual festival. Classical music, dance, theater, opera, and jazz as well as modern world music are performed each July and August in the ancient Roman Acropolis, one of the largest and well preserved Roman temples ever built.

Useful link:
www.baalbeck.org.lb

A must visit. I think the festival is a sign of hope.

Vestas

Denmark is a world leader in wind energy, and produces more than 10% of its power from turbines. The story of Vestas, a homegrown wind company, is impressive.

Go to www.vestas.com for further information.

Clear air + Green living.

Pearl Harvesting In UAE

I found the video on pearl harvesting in the UAE + the pearl trade @ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/07/080731-pearls-video-ap.html interesting.

Colored Stone Market Update

Gem quality emeralds has been found near the town of Lages, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, in Brazil. Gem dealers believe it's a new source. The most frequently seen imitations are glass or assembled stones in the gem market. If in doubt, consult a reputed gem testing laboratory.

John Scharffenberger

I found Peter Kaminsky's story on cacao farmers in the rain forest of Guatemala + John Scharffenberger's gift to the cacao farmers + the bountiful ecosystem + the chocolate marketplace @ http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/12749?pageNumber=1&page=0 interesting and insightful.

A must read.

Useful link:
www.scharffenberger.com

Without the rain forest, there would be no cacao; and without cacao, there would be no chocolate; and without chocolate, life would be much less pleasant.
- John Scharffenberger

Random Thoughts

I think as long as there are risks, there will be losses. If the day ever comes when there are no risks, there will also be no profits.

- Robert Rubin

How true!

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

(via Wiki) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a Russian novelist, dramatist and historian. Through his writings, he made the world aware of the Gulag, the Soviet labour camp system, and, for these efforts, Solzhenitsyn was both awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970 and exiled from the Soviet Union in 1974. He returned to Russia in 1994. That year, he was elected as a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in the Department of Language and Literature. He is the father of Ignat Solzhenitsyn, a well-known conductor and pianist. He has passed away at the age of 89 (August 3, 2008).

May his soul rest in peace.

Useful link:
http://nobelprize.org

Bottomless Belly Button

Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw is a comedy-drama that follows the dysfunctional adventures of the Loony Family.

Useful link:
www.dashshaw.com

The graphic novel was brilliant. I liked it.

Philippe Starck

(via Wiki) Philippe Starck is a well-known French designer and probably the best known designer in the New Design style. His designs range from spectacular interior designs to mass produced consumer goods such as toothbrushes, chairs, and even houses.

Useful links:
www.philippe-starck.com
www.ted.com/index.php/speakers/philippe_starck.html
www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/04/style/DESIGN4.php

High quality products at affordable prices. His designs are superb. I liked it.

Compton Verney

(via Wiki) Compton Verney House is an 18th century country mansion in Warwickshire which has been converted into the Compton Verney art gallery. In 1993 it was bought in a run-down state by Littlewoods millionaire Sir Peter Moores and restored into a gallery capable of hosting international exhibitions. It is now run by Compton Verney House Trust, a registered charity.

Useful links:
www.comptonverney.org.uk
www.pmf.org.uk

A must visit.

Nandan Nilekani's World

I thoroughly enjoyed Shoba Narayan's article on Nandan Nilekani + his unique tastes and aspirations @ http://www.livemint.com/2008/08/01235122/The-applied-IDEAS-man.html

Brilliant! A must read.

Indian Art Market Update

According to The Fine Art Fund experts, the size of the Indian art market has grown from US$2 million to approximately US$400 million in the last seven years. I think the surge could be due to aesthetic or visual appeal + affordable prices + the internet. Most upcoming double-income middle class families purchase art works to decorate their drawing rooms. The internet is definitely changing the commerce of art in India + more virtual e-shops may be the next big thing to happen in the thriving art market.

Useful links:
http://artpanache.com
www.thefineartfund.com

The World Economy Today

According to a Morgan Stanley report, 50 of the 190 or so countries in the world now have inflation running at double-digit rates, including most emerging markets (meaning, about half the world's population is already experiencing double-digit price increases). We are facing synchronized rise in inflation speeding up the dark side of globalization around the world faster than we thought.

Useful links:
www.morganstanley.com
www.ecb.int
www.adb.org
www.conference-board.org
www.cibcwm.com

Inflation is going to make the world rounder.
- Jeff Rubin, Chief economist, CIBC World Markets

I think we are entering a more volatile and uncertain period full of nasty surprises. The easy-money days are gone.

The World According To Kirk Douglas

I found Kirk Douglas's comforting words of wisdom @ http://www.newsweek.com/id/150476 educational and insightful. A must read.

Useful links:
www.centertheatregroup.org
www.losangelesmission.org

Now in my golden years, I've learned that you can't know how to live until you know how to give.
- Kirk Douglas

Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made.
- Robert Browning

How true!

Art Update

Souren Melikian writes about 'The Lure of the East' show on view at Tate Britain until August 31, 2008 + other viewpoints @ http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/02/arts/MELIK2.php

A must read.

Useful link:
www.tate.org.uk

Build The Perfect Survival Kit

Build the Perfect Survival Kit by John D. McCann is an excellent book with actual survival techniques. A must read.

Useful link:

www.bepreparedtosurvive.com

Random Thoughts

Ninety per cent of the planet’s living space--and biodiversity--is under water. And there are only five manned craft on Earth that can get to the bottom of it. What they find is both terrifying and alluring.

- J.M. Ledgard
Intelligent Life

Pure Canadian Gold Maple Leaf

The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf is the official bullion gold coin of Canada and is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Royal Canadian Mint's (RCM) 100-kg 99.999 percent pure Gold Maple Leaf coin has been certified as the largest gold coin (estimated value US$1 million) in the world. I think it's a worthwhile investment.

Useful links:

www.mint.ca
www.guinnessworldrecords.com

The Authentics Foundation

Here is what the Authentics Foundation website says about counterfeits:

The Authentics Foundation is an international nongovernmental organization dedicated to raising public awareness of counterfeits. Its primary goal is to inform consumers about the negative aspects of the counterfeit market, including money laundering, drug cartels, paramilitary involvement, organized criminal gang associations, child labor, and risks to one’s safety. Myauthentics.com is the foundation’s website, letting you know about the latest counterfeiting news, and also helping you spot the fakes flooding your markets so you can make safe, smart choices. In addition to its website, The Authentics Foundation hosts events across the globe to spread the word about fakes.

Useful link:
www.myauthentics.com

Everything known to human beings can be faked one way or another due to technological advances. What kind of a world do we want to live in? Genuine or imitation? I think it's always better to buy genuine products.

Imperishable Beauty

The Boston Museum of Fine Arts is exhibiting 120 + works by the leading designers and fabricators of late nineteenth to early twentieth-century Art Nouveau jewelry from July 23 - November 9, 2008.

Go to www.mfa.org/exhibitions/sub.asp?key=15&subkey=5707 for further information. A must visit.

Useful link:
www.mfa.org

Wifredo Lam

I like Wifredo Lam's art. The unique hybridity provides perpetual surprises. To me they are beautiful + natural + speaks the color and language of the world.

Useful links:

www.wifredolam.net

www.molaa.com

Heard On The Street

I’m at a stage in my career where I’d say human behavior is the most important determinant of a business’s long-term success.

Random Thoughts

I’ve seen too many businesses – investment firms and others – run into the ground by impressive people who start to think they’re smarter than everyone else. That’s when big mistakes get made. There are enough ways to screw up in this business without bringing it on yourself because of ego.

- Barry Rosenstein

The OneGeology Project

The OneGeology project takes local geological information and makes it global. I think when the geological maps become detailed companies may be able to find earth's exploitable resources, such as minerals and oil via appropriate technology.

Useful links:
www.onegeology.org
www.bgs.ac.uk

Harmonizing Anti-Money Laundering Rules

Chaim Even Zohar writes about OECD’s FATF document + other viewpoints @ http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.asp

A must read.

Fake Diamond Rough

(via Bangkok Post, Friday August 01, 2008): A stolen stone, which the owner claimed was a 2,100-carat uncut diamond valued at 315 million baht has been found to be a fake worth just a few hundred baht. According to Somchai Pornjindarak, president of the Thai Gem and Jewellery Traders Association, said the stolen item was not a diamond, but merely a cubic zirconia, or artificial diamond.

A real comedy show. I was at the site (the gem testing laboratory) in Bangkok when the media broke the news.

Art Update Asia

Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop writes about art projects by international artists presented at an exhibition held during the International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA) 2008 + other viewpoints @ http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/01/arts/jessop.php

A must read.

Useful link:
www.isea2008singapore.org

I think electronic art is niche within the niche. We will be seeing more spinoffs in the coming years.

The Climate Group Report

According to a report by the Climate Group, China is on the way to overtaking developed countries in creating clean technologies. Go to www.theclimategroup.org for further information.

Lithium Debate

I found Danny Bradbury's article on lithium + other viewpoints @ http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jul/31/motoring.energy interesting.

Go to www.worldlithium.com/An_Abundance_of_Lithium_1.html for further information.

Data from USGS puts total world resources of lithium metal at around 14m tonnes. The total world resource includes all the lithium metal we know about, whether it is commercially viable to extract it or not. But the USGS data is based on a 1976 National Research Council report. A lot has changed in 32 years. Back then, most lithium came from a mineral called spodumene.

Random Thoughts

I’ve had the good fortune of being around smart investors my whole life, including my father. But I’d have to say learning from what works and what doesn’t is how you really become a better investor. In the end, the market is the best teacher.

- Wayne Cooperman

Heard On The Street

How big is the free economy? Whichever definition you like, there's a lot of money to be made around free.

A New Gemstone

(via The Journal of Gemmology/2008/vol.31/no.1/2) R Chapman, I F Mercer, A H Rankin and J Spratt writes:

Thortveitite
Relevant factors in considering the origin of the studied stone may be summarized as thus:
- This gemstone was originally purchased as a waterworn pebble in Bangkok 2004. Of course, this could be simulated in a tumbler but given the lack of a developed gemstone market for this material, could this be a chance appearance?
- If material of this size, color and clarity is indeed synthetic, then more may have entered the market. If it has in fact been manufactured specifically for the gem market, it could be expected that further synthetic specimens are likely to have come to light during the past four years or more.
- The chemistry reveals a fairly pure scandium end-member material, which suggests possible synthesis.
- The inclusions are not particularly characteristic of synthetic material but thtey do indicate a likely hydrothermal origin. Published information on synthesis of thortveitite is currently confined to non-hydrothermal methods.
- Recent geological fieldwork results suggests that scandium minerals are more widespread than has hitherto been inferred.

My view is Bangkok is still perceived as an important gemstone refinery of the world. Gemstones species, both known and less known arrive in Bangkok one way or another from all corners of the world for processing. Top/commercial quality natural stones may be sold as natural or synthetic, synthetics as natural or synthetic, treated stones as treated, natural or synthetic. When colored stones are purchased in a mixed parcel of rough, anything is possible. But the discovery of thortveitite in a mixed lot in Bangkok is an interesting story. The stone could be a simulant for many purplish blue colored stones.

One-Of-A-Kind Art Work

Here is what Visionaire 54 Sport's website says about their first wearable publication:

Using the most advanced printing technologies, Visionaire produces full-coverage, full-color, photographically-printed Lacoste polo shirts featuring artwork by photographers Nick Knight, Peter Lindbergh, Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin with M/M (Paris), Phil Poynter; artists Thomas Demand, Thomas Ruff, T.J. Wilcox; designer Karl Lagerfeld; filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar; musicians David Byrne, Michael Stipe; and painter Richard Phillips. This issue is a collaboration with Lacoste, currently celebrating its 75th anniversary.

Go to www.visionaireworld.com for further information.

Brilliant concept. I liked it.

Venice Film Festival 2008

The 65th Venice International Film Festival, organised by the Venice Biennale, will take place at Venice Lido from August 27 - September 6, 2008. Go to www.labiennale.org for further information.

Finding The Van Goghs Under The Van Goghs

Sharon Begley's article on finding the van Goghs under the Van Goghs via sophisticated technology + other viewpoints @ http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/labnotes/archive/2008/07/30/there-s-a-peasant-under-my-van-gogh.aspx was insightful. A real spinoff!

Useful links:
www.hasylab.de
www.desy.de
http://home.tudelft.nl
http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/ancham/asap/abs/ac800965g.html
http://pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/ancham/asap/figures/ac-2008-00965g_0001.html

The Treacherous World Of Film Distribution

John Anderson's article on the business of film distribution @ http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/30/movies/30self.html?_r=1&oref=slogin was brilliant and insightful.

Useful links:
www.picturehouse.com
www.bottleshockthemovie.com

Ask An Astrobiologist

Ask an Astrobiologist is a service to answer astrobiology questions from the public, both about the origin and evolution of life on Earth and looking forward to the search for life on other worlds. Go to http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist for further information.

Once In A Lifetime Holiday

Here is what Leading Hotels of the World's website says about the incredible journey:

In celebration of our 80th anniversary and the 80th Academy Awards, The Leading Hotels of the World brings you an epic voyage in homage to one of Hollywood’s greatest spectacles, the Oscar®-winning sensation 'Around the World in 80 Days.' True, we have taken a bit of creative license, but how else could we wrap such an amazing journey in such absolute glamour? Traveling in a private jet all the way, you and a companion will see everything in the world worth seeing and do everything in the world worth doing. Best of all, 10% of the USD 1 million price will be donated to the Elton John AIDS Foundation for the global fight against AIDS. So, with that in mind, we invite you to open your hearts and wallets and get ready to set off on the adventure of a lifetime.

Useful link:
www.lhw.com

With a price tag of US$1 million, it must a be once-in-a-lifetime holiday. But if it's partly for a good cause + if you have US$1 million to spare, why not!

An Interesting Diamond Story

According to German scientists Andrei Sommer, Dan Zhu, and Hans-Joerg Fecht at the University of Ulm, diamonds could have played an important role in the origin of life on Earth. Go to http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20080730/982/tsc-diamonds-not-only-for-ever-they-led_1.html for further information. Interesting theory.

Useful link:
http://pubs.acs.org

Heard On The Street

When times are tough, gold soars.

North Korean Posters

North Korean Posters: The David Heather Collection by Koen De Ceuster + David Heather was interesting. A really lucky entrepreneur. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Random Thoughts

There’s a big difference between loving to win and hating to lose, which has a lot to do with one’s approach to risk. Someone who loves to win is willing to take a lot of risks because the euphoria of winning outweighs the bad outcomes. If you hate to lose, though, any bad outcome is not acceptable. To be a great investor, I think you really have to hate to lose.

- Jon Jacobson

Alternative Energy

Geoffrey Carr's report on alternative energy + the market for energy @ http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11565685 was brilliant. A must read.

A New Business Model In Video Games

I found the article on new business model (video games): give away the game and charge avid players for extras @ http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11632829 interesting. I think micropayments and advertising may be the popular choices to stay in business.

Heard On The Street

We don’t always succeed, but we try to make new and unusual mistakes rather than repeat the same ones over and over again. That's business.

Carol Channing

Owen Edwards writes about Carol Channing, the broadway star who sang 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend' in the 1974 musical Lorelei + the tale of the lost-and-found bejeweled dress + other viewpoints @ http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/object-rhinestone-dress.html

Useful link:
www.carolchanning.org

The first time I took a bow in that dress, I fell over forward and almost broke my teeth.
- Carol Channing

An interesting story on diamond imitations.

Random Thoughts

It's 2kg per seat and 500 seats, a worthwhile saving. We are doing it because of fuel prices and the environment. The printed matter will be replaced by content shown on the aircraft's seat-back TVs.

- Tim Clark
President, Emirates
www.emirates.com

Fancy Color Diamonds And Their Investment Potential

Harvey Harris is a leading color diamond expert. His book 'Fancy Color Diamonds' provides excellent insights into the origin and nomenclature of color diamonds + the colorful characters in the industry. It's educational, instructive and entertaining. A must read. The following is an excerpt from the book.

(via Fancy Color Diamonds, 1994) Harvey Harris writes:

It takes a different breed of investor to buy fancy colors, just as it takes a different breed of dealer to specialize in them. Indeed, a fine fancy color diamond can’t be thought of as an investment commodity in the same way as gold bullion is. Rather, it is collector’s acquisition (like painting or piece of sculpture) and is inseparable from connoisseurship. In the 1980s, connoisseurship reached new heights with the full emergence of the Pacific Basin as an industrial colossus and the unbridled creation of wealth during the takeover and leveraged buyout binges that highlighted Ronald Regan’s presidency. Although connoisseur money was attracted to spectacularly large and somewhat rare coloreless diamonds, the magnestism of ever rarer fine fancy color diamonds in all sizes proved stronger. Believe it or not, this author’s experience has shown that when it comes to fancy color diamonds, it is easier to sell a $2 to $3 million stone, than one that costs $20000 to $30000!

With the exception of very large stones, white diamonds do not lend themselves to connoisseurship. Their rarity is relative, constantly undermined or at least disproved by the need for cartel control to preserve their value. The rarity of fancy color diamonds, on the other hand, is absolute. These gems do not benefit from or need the De Beers monopoly to attain or maintain value. Dealers and connoisseurs alike know that most of these stones are already above ground in places often as hard to find as a kimberlite pipe (the site where most rough diamonds are found).

As a result, the fancy color diamond dealer must build a network of contacts in far-flung realms of the gem world if he or she is to be ensured of even the meagerest inventory. That nexus of contacts of course includes the De Beers monopoly which occasionally mines or buys important colored diamond rough. But it just as often extends into the open market where rough appears from countries that are nonaligned, or only partially aligned, with the cartel.

If the fancy color diamond specialist could rely on De Beers and the open market for supply, there would probably be far more specialists—and not just because supplies would be adequate enough to support more traders. Dealers used to what is essentially a monolithic one-stream market would be spared the constant search for goods that characterizes the fancy color diamond dealer’s life. The best possibility to secure fine specimens of rare colors is to know specialists in fancy colors, who have access to all markets, including goods coming out of large, important estates throughout the world. Trustees for these estates, often representing royalty or celebrities, sometimes wish to dispose of magnificent pieces. While nowadays, increasingly many of these stones are offered to auction houses, they often come through dealer intermediaries acting on behalf of owners who require anonymity.

Recently, I was approached directly by a Belgian diamond cutter versed in fancy colors, who was a friend of the owner of a 1.27 carat beautiful green diamond that he had polished, and that had been locked away for 28 years. Of the second of the two near identifical colors, and nearly equal weight stones cut from thte same piece of rough, the first had sold for $500 per carat in 1962! Now its twin, kept all these years as a curiosity, was up for sale at a strong six-figure price, and well worth it.

If the thought of paying several hundred thousand dollars for a stone that would have cost less than $500 three decades before tempts a double-take or if you dismiss such appreciation in value as simple evidence of modern day hyperspeculation, the fancy color diamond business is probably not for you. Specialists in these gems learn fairly quickly not to look back in time because remembrance of past prices invariably induces paralysis in the present. As I have been heard to say in these last five or six years, ‘the crazy prices of today—are the sane prices of tomorrow!’

Since the 1970s, prices for the finest fancy color diamonds have nearly always seemed outrageous in the context of the moment—and every fancy color diamond specialist can tell you of at least one lost opportunity to purchase a truly magnificent stone because he or she initially balked at its cost. Such failures of nerve seem, in retrospect, rites of passage into the world of fancy color diamonds. I had my initiation in late 1975 when I passed up a chance to buy a 12.01 carat, magnificent pink round stone, of fine clarity, that was as notable for its size as its color after the stone’s owner (Harry Winston) asked what seemed an unreasonably strong price of $600,000 ($50000 per carat) for it. Today, Winston’s heirs could ask $400,000 per carat for the same stone in its American or European jewelry salons and find eager, willing buyers!

In hindsight, it seems obvious why fancy color diamond dealers must learn the hard way about price/reality! Almost all start out as specialists in colorless diamonds. In that sector of the market, the general rule is to stand on principle and let goods go, no matter how much one needs or wants them, once their asking price exceeds the bidder’s daily definition of what is fair or rational. Dealers frequently boast that they have the self-discipline to refrain from buying stones if their owners don’t show a certain flexibility regarding price.

But self-discipline in the fancy color diamond world often involves taking leaps of faith; not refusing to budge. After all, the dealer in colorlress diamonds can indulge in the notion that something very similar to, or nearly identical with, the stone he refuses, will shortly come his or her way. The fancy color diamond dealer cannot entertain such a sentiment. Therefore, one of the first lessons to learn is to think in a manner that very often runs contrary to that in white diamond world. That’s not easy because it means transcending a certain mental conditioning that prizes obstinancy over derring-do—perseverance over risk. This mindset pervades the diamond world.

According to this mindset, when prices for fine colorless diamonds rise with any kind of velocity, it is viewed as speculation. Given the abundance of these goods, and the hoarding of them in the trade that has invariably accompanied every steep climb in prices since the 1940s (when dealers stockpiled melee because of wartime shortages), the term is apt. But the term is not apt for the steady acceleration of fancy color diamond prices since the mid 1970s because these goods are too rare and expensive to lend themselves to dealer hoarding or manipulation.

In April 1989, when 16 pink diamonds from Australia were sold at Christie’s in New York, trade dabblers in fancy colors were alarmed and even angry at the above market prices paid for small, often highly-included stones. Only later, when they learned that 10 of the diamonds had been bought by persons of the general public, did they realize that those prices, which had seemed a little irrational from a dealer-to-dealer standpoint, were perfectly rational from a private buyer’s perspective. That Christie’s sale signaled the fancy color diamond’s emergence as a full-fledged connoisseur item. In a time of soaring art and antiquities connoisseurship, when Andy Warhol lithographs that sold for $400 in the mid 1960s captured $40000 or more at auction 25 years later, or Swatch watches bought for $35 in 1983 brought $15000 at watch auctions 8 years later, prices paid at auction for far rarer sub 1 carat pink diamonds began to make sense. But to dealers trying to evaluate such prices from the narrow niche of their own wholesale market experience, there seemed to be no justification. But, here again, dealers were simply the products of the diamond market’s culture—and their thinking reflected the function of auctions experienced until that time.

For more than a decade, diamond dealers had used auctions mainly as a way to buy white and Cape diamonds consigned from the public at below market prices. Suddenly they were confronted with a type of diamond—namely, fancy colors—that consistently sold for above market prices! What’s more, many of these diamonds came from dealers who knew their goods would receive far higher amounts in the highly competitive auction milieu than in the more controlled and restrictive confines of an office. When it came to fairly common colorless and Cape diamonds, auctions were usually buyer-friendly events. But when it came to extremely rare fancy colors, auctions were usually seller-friendly!

It is no coincidence that the Australian pinks sold by Christie’s were consigned by Argyle Sales, the marketers of the best goods from Australia’s mammoth Kimberley diamond mines. For the first time in history, a diamond mining company had sold directly to the public. While this precedent frightened many in the trade, Argyle shareholders applauded the move. And no wonder. It is estimated that Argyle netted 10 – 20 percent more for the 16 diamonds it sold directly to collectors than would have been realized if sold to dealers. It was a profitable experiment. The ploy however, would only have worked with rarities such as pink diamonds. Until Australia’s Kimberley region diamond mine came on stream in 1985, producing around 30 million carats of mostly industrial quality diamonds, pinks were among the rarest of all diamond colors, found mostly in very tiny quantities in India centuries ago and later in Brazil and South Africa. Of these pre-Australian pinks, the vast majority were so pale that gemologists classified them either as ‘faint’ or ‘light’ in terms of saturation, tints more than hues. The few gems that possessed sufficient body color to be considered colored stones almost never earned the stand alone designation of ‘fancy’. Usually, they were judged ‘fancy light pink’.

Australia became the first producer of pink diamonds with hues so saturate that they routinely merited the designation of fancy—without any qualifiers. Here, however, it is important to stress the momentous impact these diamonds had on the world market.

From its onset, Argyle Diamond Sales Limited understood and exploited the unique psychology of the fancy color diamond market. Although the vast majority of the mine’s stones are sold out to the De Beers cartel, Argyle is allowed to keep the very best and biggest of its pinks. Nothing over 2.79 carats (rough) went to De Beers. Although this is now changed, (by agreement in 1991) Argyle is able to retain all that it desires of its pinks. Since 1985 it has cut the top 6000 carats of its production at its own cutting factory in Perth. This includes white, yellow, brown, as well as pink stones. Of this material (around 60 carats per year) so far never more than 83 stones, have been true, fine fancy pinks!

To ensure that it received the highest prices possible for these gems, Argyle reserved them for company-run annual sealed-bid auctions, which is called ‘tenders’, inaugurated in 1986—the first occurred in Antwerp, Belgium, and subsequent ones in Geneva, Switzerland. ‘The list of attendees at these invitation only sales reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of world’s leading fancy color diamond dealers’ wrote gem journalist David Federman in his essay for Christie’s catalog devoted to Argyle’s 16 pink diamonds sold in April 1989. He continued, ‘Pitting these specialists against one another has resulted in rather breathtaking prices for both Argyle’s ‘tender’ stones in particular and its pinks in general.’

But even so, it was a London jeweler, Laurence Graff, who captured the two main spoils of that 1989 sale—a 7.05 carat pear-shaped fancy blue, and 3.14 carat fancy purplish-pink cushion-cut that went for $2.09 and $1.26 million, respectively. By paying prices many of its colleagues in the audience thought far too high, Graff was forced to make a ‘leap of faith’ that is uncommon among conventional diamond dealers, but all too common among the few in the trade who share his passion for fancy color diamonds.

Decodeme

I think deCODEme is the world's first service to offer a comprehensive genome scan and online analysis of your unique DNA profile. My concerns include security factors + interpretation skills. Many won't be able to accurately interpret the results. But still I think this is a brilliant idea.

Useful link:
www.decodeme.com

A Lensless Microscope

(via Wired) I found the article on a lensless microscope that Caltech researchers have designed for automatically sorting out cancerous cells in body in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences interesting.

Go to http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/07/mini-microscope.html for further information.

H. Tracy Hall

H. Tracy Hall, the creator of man-made industrial diamond, has passed away at his home in Utah, U.S.A. He was 88.

Useful link:
www.htracyhall.org

My eyes caught the flashing light from dozens of tiny crystals. My hands began to tremble; my heart beat rapidly; my knees weakened and no longer gave support—I knew that diamonds had finally been made by man.
- H Tracy Hall

May God bless his soul. Rest in peace, Tracy Hall.

Forevermark Diamond Grading Laboratory

Forevermark, a De Beers marketing company, has announced the opening of Forevermark diamond grading laboratories in Antwerp, Belgium and Maidenhead, UK. The labs will grade only Forevermark selected diamonds providing added value to Forevermark business partners, as well as consumers.

Useful link:
www.diamantaire.forevermark.com

Random Thoughts

When a blue chip becomes a blue duck, the loss is severe.

- Alan Geddes

Innovative Videogames

I found The Virtual Army Experience, a traveling exhibit of the U.S. Army, intriguing. Even though it may be perceived as an innovative tool to teach teamwork, rules of engagement, leadership and high-tech equipments, if not properly utilized the concept may boomerang, really. I think the The Virtual Army Experience-like videogames could be useful teaching business methodologies and social skills.

Useful link:
http://vae.americasarmy.com

Everything Is Cinema

Everything Is Cinema: The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard by Richard Brody is an interesting biography on Jean-Luc Godard's artistic journey. A must read.

Jacob Rothschild

The conversation with Jacob Rothschild, an avid art collector @ http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/artview/displayStory.cfm?story_id=11825979 was brilliant and insightful.

I can’t stop collecting, I’m afraid.
- Jacob Rothschild

Heard On The Street

Traders and professionals are one thing, and their twists and turns give us insights into the behavior of markets. Main street is a different story.

Random Thoughts

In college …I avoided science, math, and accounting-all the normal preparations for business. I was on the arts side… As I look back on it now, it’s obvious that studying history and philosophy was much better preparation for the stock market than, say, studying statistics. Investing in stocks is an art, not a science, and people who’ve been trained to rigidly quantify everything have a big disadvantage. All the math you need in the stock market…you get in fourth grade.

- Peter Lynch

Tuesdays With Morrie

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom is a fascinating book on lessons he learned from his dying college professor. I think it's also a reminder to appreciate the simple, little things in life. A must-read.

Useful link:

www.albom.com

Madinat al-Hareer

(via Wiki) Madinat al-Hareer is a proposed 250 square kilometer planned urban area in Subiya, Kuwait, an area just opposite Kuwait City which, upon construction, would include the Burj Mubarak al-Kabir , the world's tallest structure, a natural desert reservation of 2 square kilometres, a duty free area which will be beside a new airport, in addition to a large business center, conference areas, environmental areas, athletic areas, and areas that concentrate on media, health, education, and industry. The City of Silk will also include numerous tourist attractions, hotels, spas, and public gardens. As of this time, it is unclear as to the scope of this project, if it has received any approvals, or if it has the required funding; however, the city will be built in individual phases with total completion within twenty-five years. The development will cost an estimated 25 billion Kuwaiti Dinars (136 billion USD).

Useful link:

www.madinat-al-hareer.com

We are not dreamers at all when we talk about investing $132 billion. We’re thinking on a different plane because we cannot afford to think like everyone else. We’re thinking about something that might seem unimaginable. We’re going to outmaneuver everybody who is going to remain in the old mode of thinking about economic prospects.

- Sami Alfaraj, President, Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies, www.kuniv.edu.kw

Ambitious + Contemporary architecture + Highly motivational. I hope the Silk City would be operational on time.

Unique Bordeaux Collections

The Antique Wine Company is offering limited-edition collections of the finest vintages from each of Bordeaux's eight most illustrious châteaux. Go to www.antique-wine.com for further information. Don't miss it.

Useful links:
www.chateau-margaux.com
www.vins-bordeaux.fr

Art Market Update

Souren Melikian has an interesting update on the state of the art market + the new economic environment @ http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/26/arts/melik26.php

A must read.

The Country Girl

I accidentally came across the movie, The Country Girl (1954) directed by George Seaton, and decided to watch. Bing Crosby + Grace Kelly + William Holden were brilliant. Grace Kelly won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role as the singer's long-suffering wife. In fact I am a huge fan of the trio, Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and William Holden. A must-see movie for classic movie fans.

Useful links:

www.imdb.com/title/tt0046874

http://bingcrosby.com

Vatican Splendors

The Vatican Splendors exhibition will be on display at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul, Minnesota beginning September 27, 2008. To be notified when advance tickets go on sale, go to www.mnhs.org/vatican

Useful links:
http://vaticansplendors.com
www.mnhs.org

A must visit.

Random Thoughts

What we . . . refer to confidently as memory. . . is really a form of storytelling that goes on continually in the mind and often changes with the telling.

- William Maxwell

How true!

Fine Wine Market

I found the article on fine wine market @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7521282.stm intriguing. In fact the fine wine market craze parallels more recent big diamond, rubies and emerald purchases by the rich and famous speculators. Amazingly buying wine through auctions, like gems and jewelry are becoming increasingly popular.

Useful links:
www.zachys.com
www.auctionconsultants.net

Wine is the new must have thing of the ultra-rich. Nothing says 'I'm rich' like pulling a $10,000 (£5,000) cork out of a bottle and in cultures like Asia and Russia that sort of behaviour is really a part of new wealth.
- Scott Zenko

With art you can collect it and enjoy it at the same time. Unless you are into the pleasures of simply looking at bottles the only way to enjoy a wine collection is to open the bottles and consume what' s inside, so you have just destroyed the value, if you will, of that particular piece of your collection.
- Douglas Barzelay

We believe wine is there to be drunk. We will try and make sure that the market is a bit more fair than simply one person having complete control and using it as a commodity really, as opposed to various bottles of slightly intoxicating fermented grape juice, which is really what we are talking about in the end.
- Simon Berry

The Gridlock Economy

The Gridlock Economy: How Too Much Ownership Wrecks Markets, Stops Innovation, and Costs Live by Michael Heller is a brilliant book on the tragedy of the anticommons (a phrase I like) + too many people blocking each other from creating or using a scarce resource. How true!

Useful links:
www.gridlockeconomy.com
www.law.columbia.edu/fac/Michael_Heller

A must read.

James Biber's Idea

I found James Biber's Starbucks proposal + a better experience concept @ http://blog.pentagram.com/2008/07/james-biber-remakes-starbucks.php interesting and insightful. I think it was brilliant.

Useful link:
www.pentagram.com/en/partners/james-biber.php

JVC, One Spin Too Many

Chaim Even Zohar writes about FTC/JVC cultured diamond debate + other viewpoints @ http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.asp

I fully agree with Chaim. The JVC spin was unnecessary.

Luxury Interest Group

LuxuryLifestyle + Luxury Institute = Business opportunities to serve their clients' needs.

Useful links:
www.luxurylifestyle.com
www.luxuryinstitute.com
www.luxuryboard.com

I wish them good luck.

Hyderabad Jewelry Fair

The Hyderabad Jewellery, Pearl and Gem Fair (HJF) 2008, the largest international jewelry show in South India, commenced on July 24, 2008 at HITEX Exhibition centre, Madhapur. The fair will be on till July 27, 2008.

Useful link:
www.jewelleryfair.in

Comic Book Confidential

(via Wiki) Comic Book Confidential is an American/Canadian documentary film that was released in 1988. Directed by Ron Mann and written by Mann and Charles Lippincott, the film is a survey of the history of the comic book medium in the U.S.A, from the 1930s to the 80s, particularly from the point of view of its being an art form. The film includes profiles of a number of notable and influential talents in the comics field, such as Charles Burns, Art Spiegelman, Françoise Mouly, Frank Miller, Stan Lee, Will Eisner, Robert Crumb, Harvey Pekar, and William M. Gaines. In addition to the talents discussing their best known contributions to the art, they also give readings of passages of their work. A live action version of Bill Griffith's character, Zippy the Pinhead, also appears.

Useful links:

www.sphinxproductions.com/pages/film_comicbook.html

www.imdb.com/title/tt0094897

In my view comics are an incredibly sophisticated narrative format that can be understood by the illiterate + literate alike.

Random Thoughts

I have had a very adventurous life but not because I have an adventurous nature or yearned for a life full of adventure. Fate just wanted it this way.

- Vaclav Havel
www.vaclavhavel.cz

AIAS + D.I.C.E

(via Wiki) The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS), founded in 1996, is a non-profit organization that promotes computer and video game entertainment with the annual D.I.C.E. Summit event, where its Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony has been held annually since 1998. Its membership consists of industry professionals, and only professional members who meet a set of minimum criteria are able to vote for the best entertainment software of the year.

D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit is an annual multi-day gathering of videogame executives held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Established in 2002 by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the conference is host to the annual Entertainment Software Association's Interactive Achievement Awards. The conference differs from other industry conferences in its emphasis on the business and production end of the industry, with a focus on trends and innovations in videogame design. The conference specializes in providing a more intimate, orderly venue for select industry leaders to network.

Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist, who became an Internet sensation for his 'The Last Lecture' speech on September 18, 2007, died of pancreatic cancer on July 25 (Friday), 2008. He was 47. In February, 2008, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences in California announced the creation of the Dr. Randy Pausch Scholarship Fund for university students who pursue careers in game design, development and production.

Useful links:
www.interactive.org
www.dicesummit.org
www.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5700431505846055184

Randy's 'The Last Lecture' was really inspiring. He will be dearly missed but will always remain in our hearts.

The Most Expensive Cups Of Coffee

(via Forbes) According to a new survey by the London office of U.S. consulting firm Mercer, the average cup of coffee in Moscow costs $10.19, including service, $6.77 in Paris, $6.62 in Athens, $2.03 in Buenos Aires, $2.36 in Johannesburg, and $3.75 in New York. Intriguing! Go to www.mercer.com for the annual cost of living survey, which covers 143 cities across six continents and measures the relative cost of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. A real eye opener!

John Mellencamp's Life, Death, Love And Freedom

Life Death Love and Freedom by John Mellencamp is unique and distinctive + he is enjoying a mini renaissance after his recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, but in my view his songs still have the same luster, electricity and character.

Useful link:

www.mellencamp.com

www.rockhall.com

Zhengrong Shi

Dr Zhengrong Shi is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Suntech Power, China's largest photovoltaic manufacturer. He is also an adviser to the Chinese government on renewable energy policies. He predicts solar power will rival oil and coal before the end of the next decade. I think he is the right man at the right time--China's Sunshine Boy!

Useful links:
www.suntech-power.com
www.metropoliscongress2008.com

New Acropolis Museum

(via Wiki) The New Acropolis Museum is a purpose built museum by architect Bernard Tschumi to house the archaeological findings related to the Acropolis Hill, in Athens, Greece. It is located near the Acropolis. A must-visit.

Useful links:

www.newacropolismuseum.gr

www.tschumi.com

Lucky Lakshmi 2008

Lucky Lakshmi, India’s largest jewelry shopping festival, will be held September 30 - November 3, 2008.

Useful links:
www.luckylakshmi.com
www.gjf.in
www.gold.org

A must-visit.

Bird

Charles Parker was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. A biographical film called Bird, starring Forest Whitaker as Parker and directed by Clint Eastwood, was released in 1988.

Useful links:
www.imdb.com/title/tt0094747
www.cmgww.com/music/parker

I love jazz, and 'Bird' was an inspiring jazz movie.