CIBJO Update

CIBJO has launched a new commission, CIBJO Association Executive Networking Commission (CAENCOM), for the purpose of developing and facilitating networking strategies within the CIBJO community. All the best.

Useful links:
www.cibjo.org
www.canadianjewellers.com

Chaim Even Zohar Viewpoint

Chaim was spot on. I think natural and synthetic diamonds will eventually become complementary products offered by most diamond dealers, including producers. Signs of the times I guess.

Useful links:
www.diamondintelligence.com
www.mine-diamonds.com
www.royalasscher.com
www.internationaldiamondcouncil.org
www.cen.eu/CENORM/sectors/TechnicalCommitteesWorkshops/workshops/ws47-diams.asp
www.cibjo.org
www.wfdb.com
www.idma.net

Art Market Update

Old Master sales are driven far more by supply than by demand. Artists who lived centuries ago are not going to produce any more work. Museums rarely sell their holdings and almost never let go of top-quality pieces. So the Old Master market is fed largely by private collectors. When markets are riding high, some can be persuaded to sell. But when times are rough, why not sit and wait? After all, Old Masters tend to be long-term holdings, handed down from generation to generation—what difference can it make to wait another year? Prices might go up.

- Economist
www.economist.com

Useful links:
www.sothebys.com
www.christies.com

So true!

Ushahidi

Ushahidi is a great toolkit to collect & visualize information. Check it out.

Useful link:
http://ushahidi.com

Random Thoughts

It's such an untapped resource. Government data is something we have already spent the money on... and when it is sitting there on a disk in somebody's office it is wasted.

- Tim Berners-Lee
http://data.gov.uk
http://data.gov.uk/apps/planningalerts
http://data.gov.uk/apps/fillthathole
http://data.gov.uk/apps/school-finder-0
http://www.data.gov
http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee

Brilliant!

Benedict Allen

Adventure Travel Live on January 29 - 31, 2010, at the Royal Horticultural Halls, London. Don't miss.

Useful links:
www.benedictallen.com
www.adventuretravellive.com

Jaipur Literature Festival 2010

Asia’s leading literature event. Don't miss. http://jaipurliteraturefestival.org

The Great Game Of Business

Jack Stack's opinion piece in the New York Times about open book management was interesting. In fact I liked the concept. Thanks Jack.

Useful links:
www.greatgame.com
www.srcholdings.com

Jewelry Stories

Interested in JIC's Ultimate Proposal Contest? The details of the contest can be found at www.jic.org

Emerald Market Update

Ron Ringsrud's travel tales/markets in Muzo, Colombia.

Useful link:
www.emeraldmine.com

Random Thoughts

An entertainer might get a big part and say that it was a big break, but there were 25 auditions leading up to it. If he didn't get that big part, he would've been offered one soon. It's more of a story of accretive steps--what people do bit by bit that turns into a big picture, though at the time it looks like a big break.

- Jim Randel
www.jimrandel.com

So true!

MIT International Development Initiative

MIT International Development Initiative = appropriate design solutions/technologies + community needs/partners + people first attitude/approach = change the world. The good news is, small changes/steps can make a big difference and change people's behavior. Amazingly it works.

Useful links:
http://web.mit.edu/idi
http://d-lab.mit.edu
www.aidg.org
www.buildchange.org
www.containers2clinics.org

Global Business BBC

What happens when owners give their businesses away to the workers? A lot, really. Listen to Peter Day talking to the real people in business who did things completely differently to change the world. I loved the program. I really liked the employee ownership idea. Thanks Peter.

Useful links:
www.demos.co.uk
www.employeeownership.co.uk
www.parfetts.co.uk
www.makearchitects.com
www.lindumgroup.com

Diamond Oceans

Eric Bland's report in the Discovery News about the presence of oceans of liquid diamond, filled with solid diamond icebergs on Neptune and Uranus was interesting. I hope it's really there. It's worth exploring.

Useful links:
www.nature.com/nphys
www.sandia.gov

Mexico's Cave Of Crystals

Mexico's cave of crystals is a geological wonder of the world. A happy accident, really. Naica Cave may close when the people who own the mine run out of money. A must visit. Check out Professor Iain Stewart's new BBC series How the Earth Made Us: The epic story of how geology, geography and climate have influenced mankind on 19 January, 2010, on BBC Two.

Useful link:
www.plymouth.ac.uk/PlanetEarth

Mineral Artists Show 2010

Grand Masters of Mineral Art at Tucson on February 7, 2010. Don't miss.

Useful links:
www.finemineral.com
www.westwardminerals.com
www.bluecapproductions.com

Mineralogical Almanac

Mineralogical Almanac: A great source of information on minerals from Russia. Check it out.

Gaming Update

Tom Chatfield's viewpoints in The Independent about the role video games play in raising social and political awareness was interesting. Thanks Tom.

Useful links:
www.darfurisdying.com
www.gamesforchange.org
www.mtvu.com
www.blitzgamesstudios.com
www.blitzgames.com
www.gamebasedlearning2009.com
http://consolarium.blip.tv

Random Thoughts

A genuine revolution of values means in the final analysis that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies.

- Martin Luther King
www.thekingcenter.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr

Spot on.

Gold Market Update

The Gold Report interview with Howard Ruff was educational/insightful. Thanks.

Invest in inflation; it's the only thing that's going up.
- Will Rogers

Useful links:
www.theaureport.com
www.rufftimes.com

The Routes Of Man

The Routes of Man: How Roads Are Changing the World and the Way We Live Today by Ted Conover is a brilliant travelogue. A must read.

Useful link:
www.tedconover.com

Natural Capital Project

The Natural Capital Project, a group based at Stanford University, California, has developed a suite of computer programs called InVEST, which will analyse and map ecosystem services. Check it out.

Useful links:
www.naturalcapitalproject.org
http://royalsociety.org
www.unep.org

The Seventh Seal

Great story. Great characters. A unique total internal reflection. A Ingmar Bergman classic.

Useful links:
www.ingmarbergman.se
www.ingmarbergmanfoundation.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingmar_Bergman

Cadmium Contamination

Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America (MJSA) has alerted its members to take precautionary steps to ensure any base metal jewelry imported into the U.S. market is not made with cadmium. The alert came following an Associated Press (AP) investigation of U.S. retail outlets, in which 12 of 103 pieces of mainly Chinese-made children’s costume jewelry were found to contain dangerous amounts of the toxic metal-a finding that has spurred the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and state and federal legislators to vow regulatory action. I wonder if there is any monitoring/testing mechanism to restrict cadmium/lead in retail jewelry outlets in India/China. I guess the point would be, buyer beware. Period.

Useful links:
www.mjsa.org
www.atsdr.cdc.gov
www.cpsc.gov

Ideas Economy

Innovation: Fresh thinking for the ideas economy. http://ideas.economist.com

Basic Human Pleasures

Nicholas Kristoff's opinion piece in the New York Times about happiness was a brilliant piece. I think being helpful, being focused on helping others is a state of mind, it's an attitude. If you do it right, it's a good one, really.

Useful links:
http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com
www.happinesshypothesis.com
www.smiletrain.org

World Economic Forum 2010

Improve the State of the World: Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild. World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2010, Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. January 27 - 31, 2010. www.weforum.org

Barack Obama Musical

A tribute to Barack Obama. A musical that charts his meteoric journey from community worker to the White House. Check it out. http://hope-musical.com

Golden Globe Awards 2010

The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards. January 17, 2010. Don't miss.

Useful link:
www.goldenglobes.org

VicenzaOro First

New Trends in Jewelry. Visit VicenzaOro First jewelry show.

Useful link:
www.vicenzaoro.org

JBT CreditShare

The Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) has introduced a new, free online platform called JBT CreditShare, a unique platform to confidentially share/retrieve customer data. I wish the gem business had a similar platform. www.jewelersboard.com

Philanthropy 2010

Philanthropy—corporate and individual—2010. The BusinessWeek special report was educational and insightful. Thanks.

Useful links:
www.corporatephilanthropy.org
http://rockpa.org
www.gatesfoundation.org
www.redcross.org
www.philanthropyaction.com

Jancis Robinson Viewpoint

A great wine review. Thanks Jancis.

Useful links:
www.jancisrobinson.com
www.ft.com/arts/columnists/robinson
www.de-villaine.com

Ivory Update

Robin McKie's viewpoints in the Guardian about illegal ivory trading was interesting and insightful. Killing for tusks is a particularly gruesome trade. Elephants are intelligent animals whose sophisticated social ties are exploited by poachers. They will often shoot young elephants to draw in a grieving parent, which is then killed for its ivory. So true.

Useful links:
www.cites.org
www.traffic.org
www.wwf.org

River Twice Research

Economic/Political Trends. www.rivertwice.com

Random Thoughts

Film-making is very similar to entrepreneurship. The role of a film producer is analogous to that of a venture capitalist. Good producers, like smart venture capitalists, know that it's not just about writing a check and it's not just about big stars and quality music. In the same way, simply providing venture funding or throwing money at a start-up cannot ensure success, and it's not necessarily a great thing for entrepreneurs to have lots of work experience and domain expertise in their industry. The actors and the director, like entrepreneurs, work to bring the script and business plan to life. More than anything else, making a good film and building a business from scratch both require oodles of creativity.

- Rajeev Mantri
www.navamcapital.com

Spot on.

Offshore Wind Projects

European Wind Energy Association Report. www.ewea.org

Pecha Kucha

I really liked the Pecha Kucha format: 20 images x 20 seconds. Think visually. Refine. Go. Amazingly it works. Thanks Scott Berkun for sharing the info.

Useful links:
www.pecha-kucha.org
www.klein-dytham.com
http://ignite.oreilly.com

Michael Wolf

Architecture of density. A Michael Wolf project. www.photomichaelwolf.com

Jewelry Market Update

Rob Reuteman's viewpoints in Fox Business about the state of the U.S jewelry business was interesting. Thanks Rob.

In many cases of independently-owned jewelry stores, the owners simply reached a point where they'd had enough. They either didn't have heirs to take over as they neared retirement, or they were tired of working 10-hour days and struggling against rising metals prices and a tanking economy.
- Hedda Schupak

Useful links:
www.foxbusiness.com
www.sageworksinc.com

So true!

The Rules Of Winning Chess

The Rules of Winning Chess by Nigel Davies is an insightful book to enjoy and savor, and has lesssons for all of us. A must read.

Useful links:
http://tigerchess.wordpress.com
http://ndavies.myzen.co.uk

globalDESIGN

The globalDESIGN tradeshow opens on February 12, 2010, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Check it out. http://jewelersresource.com

Monumenta 2010

Monumenta 2010 / Christian Boltanski. A must visit.

Useful links:
www.monumenta.com
www.grandpalais.fr

The Intelligent Hand

Simply brilliant designs. Thinking differently. www.designboom.com

Reforesting Cities

I thought Vanessa Keith's idea was brilliant. Buildings are fertile ground for reforestation if you know how to do it. It could also reverse climate change, one small step at a time. Let's just do it.

Useful links:
http://urbanomnibus.net
http://studioteka.com

Gary Hamel Viewpoint

Gary was spot on. What were the ideals that inspired Michelangelo, Galileo, Jefferson, Gandhi, William Wilberforce, Martin Luther King and Mother Theresa to acts of greatness? A passionate commitment to transcendent values such as beauty, truth, wisdom, justice, charity, fidelity, joy, courage and honor. So true. I think the language of business today is uninspiring and inert. They have morphed into ninety five five's. Period. To embrace what Socrates called the good, the just and the beautiful requires total internal reflection 10x.

Useful links:
www.garyhamel.com
http://blogs.wsj.com/management

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report

The GEM 2009 Global Report. www.gemconsortium.org

Waterstone's Children's Book Prize 2010

The shortlist for the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize 2010 has been announced. Check it out. www.waterstones.com

Chaim Even Zohar Viewpoint

Chaim was spot on. In surveys, phrasing of the questions is very important. Mixing natural diamonds with synthetics, treated and imitation has always been an issue. Correct definitions shouldn't get lost in translation. Just do the right thing.

Useful links:
www.diamondintelligence.com
www.jcoc.net
www.mvimarketing.com
www.ftc.gov
www.apollodiamond.com
www.chatham.com
http://d.neadiamonds.com
www.gemesis.com
www.morioncompany.com
http://tairus.com
www.diamondnexuslabs.com
www.moissanite.com

Luke Johnson Viewpoint

Luke Johnson was spot on. To build start-ups, you need a degree of credibility and persistence. With some luck the funds will flow, and you are on your way to success.

I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success ... Such emotions can make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything.
- Nikola Tesla

Useful links:
www.lukejohnson.org
www.riskcapitalpartners.co.uk
www.channel4.com
www.teslasociety.com
www.ft.com/comment/columnists/lukejohnson

The Animals Film

Victor Schonfeld's The Animals Film takes us inside the world of factory farming/behind-the-scene world of animal experimentation research. Watch it.

Useful link:
www.victorschonfeld.com

Art Market Update

Elinor Gordon, who died last July at the age of 91, was a dealer and collector who helped elevate the status of Chinese export porcelain. Her private collection will be auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York on January 23, 2010. It's a remarkable collection.

Useful links:
www.sothebys.com
www.societyofthecincinnati.org

Random Thoughts

The spectrum of a planet is like a fingerprint. It provides key information about the chemical elements in the planet’s atmosphere. With this information, we can better understand how the planet formed and, in the future, we might even be able to find telltale signs of the presence of life.

- Markus Janson
www.eso.org/public/news/eso1002

Spot on.

Gemstone Information Manual

Gemstone Information Manual provides industry information for natural gemstones, enhanced natural gemstones and man-made stones. Check it out. www.agta.org

Decision Deficit Disorder

Thomas Davenport was spot on. Real-life organizations don't use good decision processes in many cases. Period. I think for many organizations deciding how to decide is/will be a big issue forever.

Useful links:
www.tomdavenport.com
www.ets.org

Colored Stone Magazine

According to the Roskin Gem News Report, Colored Stone magazine would soon be no more. I loved the magazine, really. I hope someone in the trade will buy the magazine and keep it going.

Useful links:
www.roskingemnews.com
www.colored-stone.com

The Value Of Nothing

The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy by Raj Patel is a thought-provoking book about us/our state of mind: why do things cost what they do? A must read.

Useful link:

http://rajpatel.org

Best Wildlife Photos

Check out the images. They were simply brilliant. I loved it. Thanks Sean O'Neill.

Random Thoughts

There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we now know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. These are things we do not know we don’t know.

- Donald Rumsfeld
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Rumsfeld

Spot on.

Richard Wilson 20:50

Richard Wilson's timeless work is well worth another look. Really.

Useful link:
www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk

Start-Up Stories In India

SMS GupShup = India's version of Twitter. I think in India mobile (500 million cellular users) is the right medium to connect with people. The real revolution will start when 3G (high-speed) wireless services takes off. Stay tuned.

Useful links:
www.smsgupshup.com
www.vizisense.com
www.mytodaysms.com

Next-Gen Interactive Gesture Control

Ashlee Vance's viewpoints in the New York Times about the latest crop of gesture-powered devices that actually work was interesting. I think the gesture revolution could make today’s touch-screen tools obsolete as people use gestures to control everything. Sign of the times, really.

Useful links:
www.gesturetek.com
www.cesweb.org
www.xbox.com/en-US/live/projectnatal
http://canesta.com
www.primesense.com

Christoph Niemann Viewpoint

Delightful, creative, and funny. I loved it. Thank you, Mr. Niemann!

Useful link:
www.christophniemann.com

Moon Rocks

Alexis Madrigal's report in Wired Science about Hawaiian moon rocks was interesting. How much is a moon rock worth? NASA estimates the value of lunar mission moon rocks could be $55 million an ounce (1970), to $1 million for 10 ounces (2003). Wow! This is hard to believe, really.

Useful links:
www.collectspace.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_rock
www.nasa.gov

Global Business BBC

Peter Day's global business programme on what business leaders can learn from improvisational comedy/rock musicians was brilliant. I had no idea if it worked. Amazingly it works. Thanks Peter.

Useful links:
http://improvyourbiz.com
www.academy-of-rock.co.uk

Random Thoughts

Even in my 50s, in Harvard, if I had a lecture I’d be up early to try to get it squared out in my head–not that I could ever quite manage to do so. Lecturing week after week, as part of the pedagogic routine, is more of a test than people realise. In the end, the most important thing is to be in good physical and mental shape. You can prepare as much as you like and amass material galore, but unless you come in fresh, like an athlete onto the track, you aren’t going to do the job required.

- Seamus Heaney/Dennis O’Driscoll
www.seamusheaney.org
http://dennisodriscoll.com

Spot on.

Advanced Leadership Initiative

Re-train for a new vocation. http://advancedleadership.harvard.edu

Assassin's Creed II

Assassin's Creed II = real time travel. A great story. The game flows, and it's completely immersive.

Useful links:
http://assassinscreed.uk.ubi.com
www.ubi.com

Drive

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink is an informative book on a new trend and explains it beautifully. A must read.

Useful link:

www.danpink.com

Globalfest 2010

A springboard for world music artists. A genuinely international music.

Useful link:
www.globalfest-ny.org

William Blake Etchings

Rare William Blake etchings at Tate gallery. Don't miss.

Useful links:
www.tate.org.uk
www.artfund.org
www.museum.ru
www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Carat Gem Lab

A new gem testing laboratory has launched its services in France. To learn more about Carat Gem Lab, visit www.caratgemlab.com

Art And The Computer Game Environment

Gaming at Fact gallery. New media artists. Innovative games designers. Don't miss.

Useful links:
www.artinliverpool.com
http://messhof.com
www.billviola.com
http://rileyharmon.com
www.blasttheory.co.uk
www.mag.keio.ac.jp
www.caofei.com
www.michaeljohansson.com
www.ubermorgen.com
http://anitafontaine.com

Design Works

Design-thinking classes by Roger Martin at Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Check it out. www.rotmandesignworks.ca

Wine World 2010

John Mariani was spot on. What do consumers want? Lower prices and better selection. What a difference a decade makes, really.

Useful links:
www.johnmariani.com
www.wine-searcher.com
www.vinfolio.com

Random Thoughts

The case of Sharad Ramanathan reminds me that to be a great engineer is to travel outside your own comfort zone, to explore alternative paradigms, to open yourself to alternative fields of knowledge. When he was becoming Bell Labs 'spiderman,' Sharad had the breadth of vision to engage biologists, neuroscientists, mathematicians, and other experts in disciplines quite distinct from his own. Think back to Da Vinci: it's no coincidence, in my view, that Leonardo — the consummate engineer — was also the archetypal Renaissance man: artist, scientist, inventor, journalist, anatomist. No stovepiped thinking there.

- Jeong Kim
www.alcatel-lucent.com/wps/portal/BellLabs

The 2008 commencement speech at the G.W.C. Whiting School of Engineering was inspiring.

The Helen Hill Collection

Helen Hill was an experimental animator, filmmaker, artist, writer, and a social activist. It was good to hear that the Library of Congress has added Helen's Scratch and Crow (1995) to film registry. She will be so dearly missed.

Useful links:
http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa
www.loc.gov
www.helenhill.org

Innovation Game

Joe Leahy's opinion piece in Financial Times about the rise of multinational R&D centres in India and the impact was interesting. I hope the application technology benefit us all. I think when we work together we can accomplish more. Period.

We are at the cusp of a new paradigm in which innovation will happen in India and China first and then it’ll go to the rich countries. Companies, if they don’t realise it, will be toast.
- Prof Vijay Govindarajan, Tuck School of Business, New Hampshire

Useful links:
http://ge.geglobalresearch.com
www.ari.nus.edu.sg

Rudy De Waele Viewpoint

Mobile Trends 2020 was insightful/inspiring. Thanks Rudy.

Useful links:
www.m-trends.org
www.dotopen.com

Random Thoughts

Back in the day, there were women who would only wear the real deal, but now it's really hip to wear costume jewelry.

- Paula Correri
www.tobereport.com

Spot on.

Bill Cunningham Viewpoint

On the Street Quicksilver. All the shades of silver/pearl gray, a fresh fashion color was brilliant. Thanks Bill. I loved it.

Startups 2010

Flip through BusinessWeek's slide show for a look at America's most promising startups. In my view America = creativity + resilience = entrepreneurs. Period. I think the world can learn a lot from what America is doing. Hopefully, we can learn from each other too.

Andy Warhol Film Project

A rare documentation of nearly every aspect of Warhol’s world.

Useful links:
www.warholfoundation.org
www.whitney.org
www.moma.org

The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special

The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special: In 3-D! On Ice. The Simpson special airs on Sunday night on Fox after Episode No. 450 — Once Upon a Time in Springfield. Don't miss.

Useful link:
www.thesimpsons.com

Applied DNA Sciences

Applied DNA Sciences = the ultimate solution to counterfeiting. Check it out.

Useful link:
www.adnas.com

Random Thoughts

Cows have a built-in health-care system. It's very difficult to get high yields out a cow if you don't take care of her.

- David Galligan
http://dgalligan.com

The online tools were brilliant. Thanks David.

Movie Budget Records

The Numbers = A treasure trove of studio budgets and gross revenues for thousands of movies.

Useful link:
www.the-numbers.com

Places To Go 2010

The New York Times has it. Check it out. The 31 Places to Go in 2010

Environmental Stories 2010

Environmental Stories to Watch in 2010. An insightful presentation by WRI President Jonathan Lash. Check it out. www.wri.org

Videogame-based Lessons

Susannah Locke's viewpoints in Popular Science about the pros/cons of videogame-based lessons in school was interesting. I think if it helps retain information, then it's good. Learning should be fun.

Useful link:
www.popsci.com

Ruby Day

CIBJO's first mini-conference, Ruby Day, will offer presentations and research discussions on rubies at the International Congress Centre, Messe Muenchen, on February 19, 2010. The organizers believe the mini-conference will provide gemologists, jewelers and other industry professionals an opportunity to discuss recent gemstone research and offer gemological updates.

Useful link:
www.cibjo.org

Plastic Logic’s Que proReader

Plastic Logic has finally launched its new e-reader Que. I believe the Que is targeted at business users, but from a design perspective, it is a beauty. Check it out.

Useful links:
www.plasticlogic.com
www.ideo.com
www.cesweb.org

Emily Prince Project

Emily Prince's project, American Servicemen and Women Who Have Died in Iraq and Afghanistan, is on display in the UK at the Saatchi gallery in London. Very interesting indeed. Check it out.

Useful links:
www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk
www.alloftheamericanservicemenandwomen.com

Luke Johnson Viewpoint

Luke was spot on. I liked the dummy experiment. I think responsible and defined leaders on the ground will get on with the job without distractions because it's they who actually sell to customers and deliver the goods, not the board of directors. Period.

The finest leaders I have dealt with possess three qualities above all else: skill as a listener, skill as a delegator and skill as a motivator. These traits require a degree of modesty scarce among those ambitious enough to clamber to the top.
- Luke Johnson

Useful links:
www.lukejohnson.org
www.riskcapitalpartners.co.uk
www.channel4.com

George Lucas's Blockbusting

George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success by Alex Ben Block + Lucy Autrey Wilson is a great book on the film industry. A must read for movie buffs.

Useful links:
www.lucasfilm.com
www.lucasarts.com
www.edutopia.org

Hadley Centre For Climate Change

Climate change is an interesting science. I think we know very little about what truly influences the climate on this planet. We have a long way to go, really. The sheer scale of information makes all types of models amorphous.

Useful links:
http://hadobs.metoffice.com
www.metoffice.gov.uk
www.ncar.ucar.edu
www.cru.uea.ac.uk

Chaim Even Zohar Viewpoint

The one-minute video clip on conflict diamonds was shocking, really. Thanks Chaim for sharing the info.

Useful links:
www.diamondintelligence.com
www.africandiamondcouncil.org
www.adpa-diaf.org
www.debeersgroup.com
www.dtc.com
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2usaS1IP5k

Random Thoughts

When he bought the diamond, he called it the pinnacle of his career. Along with the Hope, the Wittelsbach is the rarest diamond in the world. Very, very, very few people in history have had the opportunity to hold it in their hand, so for us, as diamond dealers, to have it is a feast.

- Henri Barguirdjian
www.graffdiamonds.com
www.dhm.de
www.christies.com
www.si.edu

Spot on.

Royal Mail's Musical Stamps

A series of classic album covers have been issued as a set of stamps by the Royal Mail. They are truly miniature works of art. I really liked it. Check it out.

Useful link:
www.royalmail.com

The Happiest People

Nicholas Kristof's opinion piece in the New York Times about Costa Ricans was interesting and inspiring. What was remarkable about Costa Rica was that they decided to dissolve its armed forces and invested instead in education = stable society. It works.

Useful links:
http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl
www.happyplanetindex.org
http://epi.yale.edu/Home
www.microsites.visitcostarica.com