Games + Learning

Gus Mastrapa's viewpoints in Wired about video games and their useful role in education and testing skills was insightful. James Paul Gee was spot on. Videogames is all about learning.

Useful links:
www.gameslearningsociety.org
http://jamespaulgee.cgpublisher.com

Brilliant Earth

Certified conflict free diamonds. www.brilliantearth.com

Global Business BBC

Peter Day's Global Business programme on the clothing industry in Bangladesh was insightful. Many thanks.

Useful links:
www.itglwf.org
www.inditex.com
http://bgmea.com.bd

Action Comics # 1

It has been reported that Comic Connect has just sold Action Comics #1, an extremely rare, top-condition copy for exactly $1,000,000. Check it out.

Useful link:
www.comicconnect.com

Random Thoughts

In the next five years, the mantra of providing the best...for the least is going to become ever-present. In other words, if you go into an extended-stay two-star hotel, you are going to get wireless, better thread-counts on your sheets and other things that five-star hotels typically had. And on a high-luxury end, people are also going to want more value for their dollar, and so it's up to the different hoteliers to figure out what that is going to be.

- Dianna Wong
www.diannawong.com

Spot on.

Gary Hamel Viewpoint

Interesting insights. Many thanks Gary. I think Apple knows how to connect the dots, and that's why they are successful. Period.

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

Cantor Exchange

Cantor Fitzgerald is expected to launch an electronic futures exchange in April 2010 that would allow investors to bet on box office returns for movies. A different way to get into the game, really.

Useful links:
www.cantorexchange.com
www.hsx.com

Bloom Energy Update

Michael Kanellos's viewpoints in Wired about yttria stabilized zirconia, the secret ingredient in Bloom Energy’s Bloom boxes was interesting. Many thanks.

Useful links:
www.bloomenergy.com
www.uspto.gov
www.greentechmedia.com

RayWOx

Hirschmann Laborgeräte GmbH from Eberstadt and KACO new energy GmbH from Neckarsulm has developed an industrially useful and reliable design for the waste water cleaning system. The systems will be sold by KACO new energy under the RayWOx product name. Brilliant!

Useful links:
www.kaco-newenergy.com
www.dlr.de
www.hirschmann-laborgeraete.de

World of Gems Conference 2010

Gemworld International, Inc., publisher of the GemGuide has announced the second international gem conference to be held in Rosemont, Illinois at Chicago's O’Hare. Mark your calendar.

Useful links:
www.worldofgemsconference.com
http://gemguide.com

6,225ct Zambian Emerald

Gemfields has announced the discovery of 6,225-carat rough emerald at its Kagem mine in Zambia. The emerald has been named Insofu, which means elephant in the vernacular of the region's indigenous Bemba people, in honor of the World Land Trust's Elephant Corridor Project and in consideration of the stone's unusually large size. Check it out. It is really a big piece. http://gemfields.co.uk/image_gallery11.asp

Useful link:
www.gemfields.co.uk

Jade Collector

Dao Trong Cuong must be a true jade lover. He not only sold his villa in Hanoi, but also borrowed money from the bank to buy the jade at $1.45 million to make the world’s largest jade Buddha statue. Amazing story. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/lifestyle/201001/Largest-gemstone-Buddha-statue-on-the-work-890298

Chrysoprase + Prase Opal, Haneti, Central Tanzania

James E. Shigley/Brendan M. Laurs/Nathan D. Renfro (GIA) has written a brilliant piece on chrysoprase and green prase opal (nickel-bearing chalcedony and common opal) recovered from altered serpentinite deposits near Haneti, Tanzania. Check it out.

Useful link:
www.gia.edu

Titanium-Diffused Sapphire Update

Every new gem treatment needs systematic identification. What was new to the researchers was that the evidence of treatment was reduced or even eliminated in faceted blue sapphires, which is scary. Many wouldn't even recognize the stones when they are mixed in a parcel. Buyer beware, really.

Useful link:
www.git.or.th

CIBJO Congress 2010 Update

The 2010 Congress of CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has opened at the International Congress Centre (ICM) in Munich Germany. Check out the hightlights of the conference at http://congress2010.cibjo.org

Django Reinhardt

Django Reinhardt was one of the greatest jazz guitarist. Woody Allen lovingly mythologized Reinhardt in his 1999 film, Sweet and Lowdown. That's how I fell in love with Reinhardt's beautiful music. Many thanks to Will Frieldwald.

Useful link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Django_Reinhardt

War Horse

War Horse is based on a children's book by Michael Morpurgo. Don't miss.

Useful link:
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/warhorse

Startup Weekend

Upcoming events and business competition resources. Check it out.

Useful links:
http://startupweekend.org
www.microsoftstartupzone.com
www.microsoft.com/BizSpark
http://sxsw.com

Staying Alive In Avalanche Terrain

Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain by Bruce Tremper is a fascinating book about avalanche safety. A must read.

Useful links:

http://brucetremper.com

www.avalanche.org

Art Market Update

Souren Melikian's viewpoints in the New York Times about Bronzino's portraits was insightful. Many thanks.

Useful links:
www.metmuseum.org
www.nga.gov

Henry Moore

Mark Hudson's viewpoints in the Telegraph about Henry Moore's sculptors was very interesting. He was a genius.

Useful links:
www.henry-moore-fdn.co.uk
www.tate.org.uk

Thomas Endlein Photo

Dr Thomas Endlein's (University of Cambridge) amazing photo, an Asian weaver ant hanging upside down on a glass-like surface and holding a 500mg (0.02oz) weight in its jaws was stunningly beautiful. Congratulations!

Useful links:
www.endlein.org
www.bbsrc.ac.uk

Franz Ackermann

New ideas. Impressions. www.whitecube.com

A Stop Doing List

This is one of the best post I have read in a long time. It was all about time management. Many thanks, Jim.

Useful link:
www.jimcollins.com

The Bloom Box Story

How green/sustainable is the Bloom Box? Will it change the world? Only time will tell.

Useful links:
www.bloomenergy.com
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/18/60minutes/main6221135.shtml

Random Thoughts

Dominance of De Beers and the other big companies is not going to change so quickly. What will continue to change, however, are the rough diamond marketing structures. We will probably see the end of the Diamond Trading Company within a few years. We will also most likely see that the governments of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa will control their own marketing mechanisms, just as the governments of Angola and Russia are doing today. Rough diamond marketing may ostensibly be in the hands of private companies, but it will definitely be more government-controlled.

- Chaim Even-Zohar
www.diamondintelligence.com
www.mine2mistress.com
www.idexonline.com

Spot on.

CRASH, Homage To JG Ballard

CRASH, Homage to JG Ballard, Gagosian Gallery, London, until April 1, 2010. Don't miss.

Useful links:
www.gagosian.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._G._Ballard

Craig Ward

A hairy alphabet, by Craig Ward was brilliant. I liked it.

Useful link:
www.wordsarepictures.co.uk

Shaun Rein Viewpoint

Shaun Rein was spot on. What does it take to get rich? Luck and timing. Never being afraid to fail. Creative. Having a good spouse. Family and health. Plus that Otherness. Sometimes money isn't everything. That's what the rich usually say, really.

Useful link:
www.cmrconsulting.com.cn

FrontlineSMS:Medic

Social innovation. Simple. Affordable imaging technology (LUCAS = Lensless Ultra-wide-field Cell monitoring Array platform based on Shadow imaging).

Useful links:
http://medic.frontlinesms.com
http://innovate.ee.ucla.edu

Random Thoughts

We consider this an important step and enabling technology towards more practical optical systems based on this exciting material platform. Starting with these synthetic, nanostructured diamond samples, we can start dreaming about the diamond-based devices and systems that could one day lead to applications in quantum science and technology as well as in sensing and imaging.

- Marko Loncar
http://nano-optics.seas.harvard.edu

Interesting news.

Chambord By Donald Edge

I think Chambord by Donald Edge is the world's most expensive spirits container. According to Donald Edge, the Chambord orb bottle is decorated with more than 60 carats worth of diamonds including 1,100 round brilliant cut diamonds, pear cut diamonds, a square cut emerald diamond, the finest round pearls and hand-wrought eighteen-carat yellow gold. Check it out. It's for sale.

Useful links:
www.chambordbydonaldedge.com
www.donaldedge.com
www.mbfashionweek.com

Blue Tongue Films Story

Blue Tongue Films is a unique phenomena in the unpredictable world of independent film. Many thanks to Michael Cieply for sharing the story. I wish them all the best.

Useful link:
www.bluetonguefilms.com

The Flip Story

The Flip story = Simplicity = Forget the technology + Enjoy the experience = Approachable + Fun. Many thanks to Carmine Gallo. I loved it.

Useful links:
www.theflip.com
www.carminegallo.com

Pantone Fall 2010 Fashion Color Report

The Must-Have Color Trends For Fall 2010.

Useful links:
www.pantone.com
www.colorexpert.com
http://morealivewithcolor.com

Chaim Even Zohar Viewpoint

We are entering a new era. Revenue optimization is more than a buzz word. No one really knows the fate of the diamond industry in 2010. Many thanks to Chaim for sharing his thoughts.

Useful links:
www.diamondintelligence.com
www.debeersgroup.com
www.dtc.com

Phantom Of The Opera II: Love Never Dies

Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical—Phantom of the Opera II: Love Never Dies—has arrived. Check it out.

Useful links:
www.loveneverdies.com
www.andrewlloydwebber.com
www.adelphitheatre.co.uk

Everest: The Death Zone

Everest: The Death Zone. This documentary captures the essence of a climb better than any other I have seen. For every six successful summits on Everest, one person will die. With more people climbing into the Death Zone, above 26,000 feet, one critical question is how oxygen deprivation affects the brain. I think this documentary holds some universal applications to life and business.

Transcripts: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/2506everest.html

Even with the best technology, the best training, you can still end up frozen to death at 27,500 feet. That's what makes Everest Everest.
- David Breashears
http://davidbreashears.com

Rolex Learning Center

Laboratory. Library. International cultural hub. Brilliant design/architecture. Innovative. Practical. It's awesome. I liked it.

Useful links:
www.rolexlearningcenter.ch
www.sanaa.co.jp

Borderless Innovation

Brilliant insights. Many thanks to Knowledge @ Wharton.

The network really changes everything.
- Mohan Sawhney, Director
Center for Research in Technology and Innovation
Kellogg School

Innovating is where the customer is. Because if they live the problem, they'll (understand) the solution.
- Paul Davey, Head, R&D
Vodafone

About 80% of them are not what we're looking for. But about 20% are substantial things that we need to look into. Every business unit is looking into one opportunity -- some of them are things that we didn't even know we needed to figure out.
- Chris Thoen, Director, Innovation and Knowledge Management
Procter & Gamble (P&G)

Useful links:
www.pgconnectdevelop.com
www.ge.com/innovation/healthymagination

Wine Scam

Pick and mix. According to Lizzy Davies (Guardian), the executives from the Languedoc-Roussillon region were found to have made a €7m (£6.1m) profit through a fraud which lasted from January 2006 until March 2008. Overall, 13.5m litres of fake wine were shipped to the US to be drunk by unsuspecting US consumers. Wine drinkers: Caveat Emptor!

Useful links:
http://gallo.com
www.foxsearchlight.com/sideways

Martin Rietze

Martin Rietze has photographed some of the planet's spectacular terrains. They are stunningly beautiful. All I can say is, see for yourself.

Useful link:
http://mrietze.com

Nasser Azam's Antarctica Project

I think the Antarctic landscape will be the best place on earth to connect and communicate the beauty, strangeness, rarity, and durability on a big canvas. All the best Nasser.

Useful link:
www.azam.com

Network Theory

The network theory visualized by Steven Strogatz (Cornell University), Peter Dodds (University of Vermont), and Marcelo Magnasco/Francis Corson (Rockefeller University) was interesting. I thought the tree/leaf analogy was brilliant.

Useful links:
http://tam.cornell.edu/faculty-bio.cfm?NetID=shs7
http://www.uvm.edu/~pdodds
http://sur.rockefeller.edu/Plone

Art Market Update

The Economist report was insightful.

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

Global Business BBC

Peter Day's Global Business programme about the grey-haired world/pros and cons/the big business opportunity was insightful. I am always learning something new. Many thanks Peter.

Useful links:
www.bitecic.com
www.engineering.leeds.ac.uk
www.gehealthcare.com
www.upmc.fr
www.robosoft.fr
www.tissueregenix.com
www.georgemagnus.com

Gallery 27

Paintings by Sir Anthony Hopkins have gone on display at Compton Cassey Gallery/Gallery 27. Check it out.

Useful links:
www.gallery27.com
www.jonathanpoole.co.uk

Random Thoughts

I found it remarkable that at a recent Barron’s roundtable discussion in New York where a number of prominent strategists and portfolio managers had gathered, India—the world’s second-most populous country, with more than a billion people and an economy that is growing at around 8% per annum—wasn’t mentioned once. In the year to March 2009, India added 125 million mobile phone subscribers! And whereas Indian auto sales are tiny compared to China’s vehicle sales (running currently at an annual rate of over 12 million units and up over 90% year on year), they are nevertheless up 39% year on year, with an annual rate of 1.6 million sales.
India’s middle class is estimated at 170 million (half the population of the US), and the country has one of the lowest vehicle-penetration rates in the world. Given that India also has one of the youngest populations—half of its 1.1 billion-plus people are less than 25 years old, compared to 42% in Brazil, 36% in China, and less than 30% in the developed nations—car sales will undoubtedly continue to soar in the next few years. In this respect, we should also take into account that India’s population will continue to grow rapidly and will exceed China’s population before 2030.

- Dr. Marc Faber
www.gloomboomdoom.com
http://online.barrons.com

Spot on.

BRITs 2010

It's the real show. The 30th anniversary event. www.brits.co.uk

A Good Talk

Meet Daniel Menaker to learn the art of conversation/sociability and the science. You won't get bored. http://danielmenaker.com

Old Master Drawings

More than 90 drawings of Frederik 'Frits' Lugt, from the 18th and 19th centuries, have been put on show at the Institut Néerlandais in Paris. It's a collection that’s well worth a visit. Many thanks to Economist.

Useful links:
www.fondationcustodia.fr
www.institutneerlandais.com

Flawless: Inside The Largest Diamond Heist In History

Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History by Scott Andrew Selby + Greg Campbell is an exciting book about a real-life diamond theft. A must read.

Useful links:

www.scottandrewselby.com

www.bygregcampbell.com

CIBJO Precious Metals Commission Special Report

The Precious Metals Commission of CIBJO, The World Jewellery Confederation, has released its special report that examine issues related to the precious metals industries. A complete copy of the CIBJO Precious Metals Commission Special Report can be downloaded at: www.cibjo.org

CIBJO Pearl Commission Report Update

The Pearl Commission of CIBJO, The World Jewellery Confederation, has reviewed a number of amendments to the Pearl Blue Book. Check it out. www.cibjo.org

Random Thoughts

The rough diamond market is recovering and prices are close to where they were prior to the downturn; the diamond stocks haven't reflected this yet, trading relatively flat over the past six months. There was also no re-rating on the back of the better-than- expected Christmas numbers and the valuations still appear cheap. We think there is an opportunity here.

- Tyler Broda
www.canaccordadams.com

Spot on.

My World

No-one sees the world the way you do. Check out BBC's MyWorld competition. It's educational and entertaining. Give it a try. For more info click here.

World Wide Wait

The Economist was spot on. Ever noticed how long it takes for web pages to load these days? Sometimes forever.

Lawrence Williams Viewpoint

Lawrence Williams raises a number of interesting points. Is China's growth for real? Some people believe the Chinese growth is all smoke and mirrors. Hard to tell, really. But if there is a crash, the aftershock will be a terrifying reminder that we are living in a mad, mad, mad world.

Useful links:
http://crisismaven.wordpress.com
www.modernchinastudies.org
www.mineweb.com

Sanjay Anandaram Viewpoint

Sanjay was spot on. Q: Isn’t every business a social venture? A: A social venture is one where the dominant goal of the venture is to have social impact (e.g. jobs, enhanced incomes, health, education) with profits (to ensure sustainability) being only the means of achieving this social impact. The entrepreneurship mindset determines the approach (e.g. scale, problem-solving) and culture (e.g. speed, efficiency, low cost, innovative) of this social venture. Many thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Useful link:
www.jumpstartup.net

Design Indaba

The biggest and best design + innovation + creativity conference in Africa. Don't miss. www.designindaba.com

Random Thoughts

So when I buy a business, I am usually buying the manager with them, because I don’t know how to run the business. So when someone comes along that wants to sell their business, I have to look at them in the eye and I have to decide whether they love the money or love the business. It’s okay to love the money, but they have to love the business.

- Warren Buffett
www.berkshirehathaway.com

Spot on.

BBC Archive

BBC’s vast archives are finally being made instantly accessible. Go to www.bbc.co.uk/archive

The Pearl Of Great Price

Mark Tully's latest via BBC on pearls and their mystical properties was a brilliant presentation. I loved it. Many thanks.

Useful link:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qn7f

Random Thoughts

The idea that men buy the ring themselves and then get down on one knee and pop the question is a myth. We find most men are too practical to spend this sort of money on a whim. They want to think about it very carefully and weigh up the options. In most cases they don't take the decision at all, but leave it to their loved one.

- Stephen Turner
www.macintyres.co.uk

Spot on.

Raina Kelley Viewpoint

Spot on. Why everything you think about Valentine's Day is wrong. My view is just do the right thing. Period.

Love is a promise, love is a souvenir, once given never forgotten, never let it disappear.
- John Lennon

Tokujin Yoshioka Design

Tokujin Yoshioka's Rainbow Church, an inspiring collage of crystal prisms was stunningly beautiful. I have never seen anything like this before. Hats off to Yoshioka!

Useful links:
www.tokujin.com
www.musee-matisse-nice.org

The Dieline

The best package-design blog. Check it out. www.thedieline.com

The New Golden Age

Mark Stahlman's opinion piece in Strategy + Business about the new Silicon Establishment was a brilliant piece. Many thanks. It was interesting to see the technology sector morph into something new/modified generating amazing investments, and then going inert. Hopefully a new and sustainable long cycle version will emerge. Stay tuned.

Useful links:
www.carlotaperez.org
www.microsoft.com
www.ibm.com
www.intel.com
http://www2.goldmansachs.com
www.google.com

Deutsche Borse Photography 2010

The Photographers' Gallery in London is the opening venue for the exhibition between 12 February – 18 April 2010. Later in 2010 the exhibition will be shown at the C/O Berlin and the Deutsche Börse Group headquarters in Frankfurt. Don't miss.

Useful links:
www.photonet.org.uk
www.co-berlin.info

The Virtual Revolution

Join the debate. www.bbc.co.uk/virtualrevolution

Fritz Lang's Metropolis Returns

Metropolis (Germany 1927/2010). Restored version. The images speak for themselves. Don't miss.

Useful links:
www.metropolis2710.de
www.murnau-stiftung.de
www.berlinale.de

Jancis Robinson Viewpoint

Jancis Robinson's viewpoints in Financial Times about wine lovers and the new technology was a brilliant piece. Many thanks.

Useful links:
www.cellartracker.com
http://vincellar.vinfolio.com
www.wineaccess.com
www.burghound.com
www.jancisrobinson.com
www.erobertparker.com

Art: The Economist Report

Amazingly confidence is finally returning to the saleroom, after the fallout from the financial crisis. As one art dealer quipped, 'If you get in the art, the buyers will follow.' Stay tuned.

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

Brett Arends Viewpoint

Spot on. Diamond is a hard stone. It lasts a long time. But what about financially? Is it equally durable? Are they likely to hold or gain value over time? It's a Catch-22 situation. Yes and No.

Useful links:
www.diamonds.net
www.debeersgroup.com

IBM Report

Saul Berman/Ragna Bell/Eric Riddleberger's viewpoints in Forbes about the application of alignment, adaptability and analytics in business models was educational and insightful. Many thanks.

Useful link:
www.ibm.com

Start With Why

Meet Simon Sinek @ www.startwithwhy.com

Art Market Update

Souren Melikian's opinion piece in the New York Times about the auction week at Sotheby's was interesting.

Bidders were prepared to go for anything, as long as the artists had achieved a degree of prominence. Buyers seemed eager to spend their money and obtain something tangible in exchange, however flimsy the aura surrounding the works might appear to be. Never before has contemporary art received such an unreserved financial accolade.
- Souren Melikian

Useful link:
www.sothebys.com

Random Thoughts

From batteries to cars, BYD engineers have found that successful product manufacturing begins by copying others.

- Liang Dongmei/Yang Binbin/Fu Yanyan/Wang Duan
http://english.caing.com

I am amazed that Caixin has published the truth about the culture of copying in China online. Very brave indeed.

Karl Rabeder's Story

Truly amazing story. Karl Rabeder, a millionaire from Austria, has sold (nearly) everything to start a real/simple life. Very brave indeed. I hope he is doing the right thing. All the best. Many thanks to Henry Samuel for sharing the info.

It was the biggest shock in my life, when I realised how horrible, soulless and without feeling the five star lifestyle is. In those three weeks, we spent all the money you could possibly spend. But in all that time, we had the feeling we hadn't met a single real person – that we were all just actors. The staff played the role of being friendly and the guests played the role of being important and nobody was real.
- Karl Rabeder

Best App Ever Award

Philip Elmer-DeWitt's story in Fortune about Dave Castelnuovo + Allan Dye, and their best-selling programs on the App Store was interesting.

Useful links:
www.boltcreative.com
http://bestappever.com
http://148apps.biz

Tainted Love

Diamonds mined illegally in conflict zones will always find their way onto the international markets because of its portability. According to Global Witness report, the continued existence of blood diamonds poses a serious problem for consumers looking to demonstrate their love with a diamond ring this Valentine’s Day, February 14, so do the right thing. Questions consumers can ask:

- Do you know where the diamonds you sell come from?
- Can I see a copy of your company’s policy on conflict diamonds?
- Can you show me a written guarantee from your suppliers that your diamonds are conflict-free?
- How is the supply chain audited?

Useful links:
www.globalwitness.org
www.kimberleyprocess.com

Good intentions, but I think most retail jewelers are not properly trained to answer the questions. It's not easy. They will go autistic, really.

TED 2010

Read up on it now. www.ted.com

Diamond Engagement Rings Report

Ken Gassman's diamond engagement rings report was a brilliant piece. Many thanks.

Most diamond engagement rings are F to I color, VVS2 to I1 in clarity, and 0.75 to 1.00 (or perhaps a few as large as 1.50) in carat size. About half of all diamonds in engagement rings are round; the balance are various fancy cuts.
- Ken Gassman

Useful links:
www.kennethgassman.com
www.americangemsociety.org
www.bluenile.com
www.idexonline.com

Chaim Even Zohar Viewpoint

Zimbabwe isn’t the problem – the Kimberley System itself has become dysfunctional and meaningless. Sad, really. Chaim was spot on.

Useful links:
www.kimberleyprocess.com
www.diamondintelligence.com

Solar Dynamics Observatory

If all goes well, the Solar Dynamics Observatory should provide an unprecedented amount of data about the workings of the sun. Stay tuned.

Useful link:
http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov

Random Thoughts

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Anything you put in that book, any little change you make, has huge implications not only for psychiatry but for pharmaceutical marketing, research, for the legal system, for who’s considered to be normal or not, for who’s considered disabled. And it has huge implications for stigma, because the more disorders you put in, the more people get labels, and the higher the risk that some get inappropriate treatment.

- Dr. Michael First
www.columbiapsychiatry.org
www.dsmivtr.org
http://dsm5.org

Spot on.

Bob Dylan Art Exhibition

The Halcyon Gallery is hosting an exhibition of Bob Dylan's first paintings on canvas, based on drawings and sketches made while on the road between 1989 and 1992. Don't miss.

Useful links:
www.halcyongallery.com
www.royalacademy.org.uk

Living Climate Change Video Competition

Fresh thinking. Share provocative ideas about the future. Go forth. Just do it.

Useful links:
http://livingclimatechange.com
www.ideo.com
www.design21sdn.com

Waterstone's Children's Book Prize

Katie Davies has won the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize for her tale The Great Hamster Massacre. Congratulations!

Useful link:
www.waterstones.com

If We Ran The World

Human intentions into action. www.ifwerantheworld.com

No Dirty Gold Campaign

Earthworks Report: Tarnished Gold: Assessing the Jewelry Industry's Progress on Ethical Sourcing of Metals

Useful link:
www.nodirtygold.org

Global Business BBC

Peter Day's Global Business programme on the social/economic implications of an ageing world was brilliant. I learned something new today. Many thanks Peter.

Useful links:
www.chli.com
http://inmyprime.co.uk
www.maryfurlong.com
www.newamerica.net

Art Market Update

Pearlstein/Held: Five Decades. www.bettycuninghamgallery.com

Platon Viewpoint

The interactive portfolio about the civil-rights era by Platon was educational and insightful. Many thanks.

Useful link:
www.platonphoto.com

Random Thoughts

Money is ready to flow as never before. But the ups and downs of the bidding pattern, not clearly connected with the intrinsic merit of the works being offered, indicate that the market remains haphazard, making reasonably accurate predictions virtually impossible. This is not going to make life easier for auction house specialists or the buyers they hope to attract.

- Souren Melikian

Spot on.

Rare Earth Metals

The Energy Report. www.theenergyreport.com

IDEA 2010

Design excellence. Online gallery of winners. www.idsa.org

Magnum Photo Collection

Magnum Photo Collection has been sold to Michael Dell's investment firm, MSD Capital. Nearly 200,000 vintage prints chronicling events in the past century will be accessible to scholars and the public at The University of Texas at Austin's Harry Ransom Center.

Useful links:
www.magnumphotos.com
www.msdcapital.com
www.hrc.utexas.edu

Chinese Turquoise

GIA Laboratory has written an interesting piece on turquoise from China's Hubei Province. What makes the turquoise so intriguing is the presence of uranium inclusions. The authors state that although exposure to these levels of radiation is not considered significant, breathing dust that might be created during cutting should be avoided. I wonder how many gem cutters worldwide are aware of it.

Useful links:
www.hps.org
www.nrc.gov
www.gia.edu

Random Thoughts

The former the Crown Jewel of Bavaria has been turned into a piece of hard candy. It's as if someone had painted over a Rembrandt painting. Graff was recklessly trying to increase the market value.

- Hans Ottomeyer
www.dhm.de

Laurence Graff has officially renamed the gem as the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond. Stay tuned for more news.