- The diamond industry is going through its natural ‘period’. Consumers are more interested in other types of luxury goods and if the trend continues then diamonds won’t be their first choice.
- The so-called diamond banks in Europe, US and elsewhere have started tightening credit facilities for diamantaires, which may directly/indirectly affect the dealers/retailers business one way or the other.
- The Internet is becoming a major challenge/player for new-comers as well as the established ones. High volume, taxes, low margin, and name-recognition are both good/bad news for the business, and the only way to survive in this dog-eat-dog world is to specialize in unique products, improved/innovative customer services, and finding new ways to cut costs to maintain cash flow and profitability.
- Synthetic diamonds are getting more visible, affordable and identifiable.
- It’s believed that De Beer’s market share is roughly forty percent and there will more restructuring in the coming months. The company is also under lot of pressure from the African governments to facilitate/process diamonds locally in order to create more employment for the locals. De Beers may not have that many choices and the real losers will be ‘middle market’ players.
- Even though the Kimberley Process was initiated with good intent, its effective execution may not be up to the mark due to various factors. It is estimated that ten percent of the world’s diamonds are produced in bad conditions for low wages.
- We are going to see more active involvement by human rights groups in various formats.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Being John Malkovich
Memorable quote (s) from the movie:
Craig Schwartz (John Cusack): There's a tiny door in my office, Maxine. It's a portal and it takes you inside John Malkovich. You see the world through John Malkovich's eyes... and then after about 15 minutes, you're spit out... into a ditch on the side of The New Jersey Turnpike.
Maxine (Catherine Keener): Sounds great! Who the fuck is John Malkovich?
Craig Schwartz (John Cusack): Oh, he's an actor. He's one of the great American actors of the 20th century.
Maxine (Catherine Keener): Oh yeah? What's he been in?
Craig Schwartz (John Cusack): Lots of things. That jewel thief movie, for example. He's very well respected. Anyway, the point is... this is a very odd thing. It's supernatural, for lack of a better word. I mean, it raises all sorts of philosophical-type questions, you know... about the nature of self, about the existence of a soul. You know, am I me? Is Malkovich Malkovich? I had a piece of wood in my hand Maxine. I don't have it any more. Where is it? Did it disappear? How could that be? Is it still in Malkovish's head? I don't know! Do you see what a metaphysical can of worms this portal is? I don't see how I could go on living my life the way I've lived it before.
Craig Schwartz (John Cusack): There's a tiny door in my office, Maxine. It's a portal and it takes you inside John Malkovich. You see the world through John Malkovich's eyes... and then after about 15 minutes, you're spit out... into a ditch on the side of The New Jersey Turnpike.
Maxine (Catherine Keener): Sounds great! Who the fuck is John Malkovich?
Craig Schwartz (John Cusack): Oh, he's an actor. He's one of the great American actors of the 20th century.
Maxine (Catherine Keener): Oh yeah? What's he been in?
Craig Schwartz (John Cusack): Lots of things. That jewel thief movie, for example. He's very well respected. Anyway, the point is... this is a very odd thing. It's supernatural, for lack of a better word. I mean, it raises all sorts of philosophical-type questions, you know... about the nature of self, about the existence of a soul. You know, am I me? Is Malkovich Malkovich? I had a piece of wood in my hand Maxine. I don't have it any more. Where is it? Did it disappear? How could that be? Is it still in Malkovish's head? I don't know! Do you see what a metaphysical can of worms this portal is? I don't see how I could go on living my life the way I've lived it before.
The Colored Stone Touch
To experience the concept you may have to look at colored stones from the buyer’s/seller's perspective. What are you/they looking for? What are you/they thinking when you/they are buying colored stones for someone you/they love? I bet you may go the extra mile to make that person happy. You may/will learn everything you need to know about colored stones. You don’t want surprises. In my opinion many have no clue as to where the colored stones come from. I think both the buyers and sellers will learn a lot more when they are able to see the source with their own eyes: Translation—the mines and people.
Digging a hole in ground, only to find little or nothing, will teach you something you will never be able to learn from a textbook, lectures or seminars. You will never forget that experience. Seeing is believing. I believe when you find one, and if it’s a good one, you will appreciate and respect colored stones. The invaluable experience will assist, both ways, to make wise choices.
Digging a hole in ground, only to find little or nothing, will teach you something you will never be able to learn from a textbook, lectures or seminars. You will never forget that experience. Seeing is believing. I believe when you find one, and if it’s a good one, you will appreciate and respect colored stones. The invaluable experience will assist, both ways, to make wise choices.
The Business School And The Theatre
The gemological institutes should incorporate the concept in their curriculum so that the students are able to assort role playing sessions and simulate the techniques in the real world. Gem buying, selling, retail management skills require insight, product knowledge and an effective delivery systems so that you are able to connect with the real world. All the world is a stage.
(via Times News Network) Shreya Biswas writes:
All the world’s a stage, and sure enough, these days they are teaching acting at the B-school itself. As management institutes realise the potential of simulation in teaching students how to handle the real thing, theatre workshops, skits and assorted role-playing sessions are all increasingly making their way into the MBA curriculum.
IIM-C, IIM-L, FMS and MDI Gurgaon have taken the lead in this front while corporates like Maruti, Motorola, Philips and Castrol are some who have already incorporated theatre techniques in HR sessions.
Sure, the Indian B-schools have role models to follow in Harvard, Wharton and Darden where the techniques have been already taken to the next level. MDI Gurgaon already has had it as an elective for the last two years and is also going to come up with MDPs on theatre techniques in business communication by December 2007. These techniques help students to internalise various management principles and understand the corporate world better.
Topics relevant to the course are taken up and students come up with skits based on the same. They take up the roles of a leader in a bankrupt company or an HR head facing talent crunch with the top deck of company being poached by rivals, besides trying to explain the effective supply chain management possible in a household kitchen.
Last August, the Dramatics Cell of IIM Calcutta (IIMC) and leading theatre group Nandikar hosted ‘Journey into Theatre’, a workshop to promote acting and performing arts as a tool of communication that extends to real life. The workshop included a host of games designed by Nandikar that modelled situations similar to those encountered in corporate life and explored how managers react to them. These situations ran the entire gamut from negotiations, trust building in a team, politics and business ethics, all courses that are incorporated in IIM(C)’s curriculum.
Says Prof Leena Chatterjee, behavioural sciences, IIMC, “In our second year, we have an elective called ‘management of self in organisations’, which includes several role-playing exercises. This includes role plays on managing team meetings, managing people, performance counselling interview, handling a difficult employee and more. We also use films or novels to look at various kinds of interpersonal issues.”
Enthused by this, Maruti is going to introduce theatre techniques as training tool this year itself. It will be introduced as a part of its management development programme and training for senior leadership roles. Says SY Syddiqui, head, HR, Maruti, “This is an innovative idea and helps to break away from the monotonous way of training people. I saw it in one of the B-schools and will now implement it in Maruti.”
Motorola had a similar workshop in 2005 in theatre techniques as part of their training module. Teambuilding, complex communication methods were all addressed through this. Raghuram Reddum, director, HR, Asia Pacific staffing and mobile device, Motorola, India, says, “These are innovations to better the training process. It helps to get a better grasp on subjects through these techniques.”
While several institutions have been practising it in India and abroad, some like Darden, Harvard, Wharton have taken it to the next level with the sessions being an interactive one. A play is performed by the players and the end of the skit depends on the volley of questions thrown out by the audience. Says Asha Bhandarkar, Professor, organisational behaviour and chairperson, PGP-HR and International Management, “This helps the performing group understand the problems better and suggest solutions while the audience take serious interest in theme played on.”
Agrees Ashok Kapoor, professor, communication and marketing, “Its a great confidence building measure and lets students understand problems and individuals better. Some of my students have even got back with interesting feedback like ‘due to the course, I can understand when my boss is acting and when he is genuinely concerned’. In IIM-L, students, infact record these sessions in their iPods and play it later to understand the issues.
(via Times News Network) Shreya Biswas writes:
All the world’s a stage, and sure enough, these days they are teaching acting at the B-school itself. As management institutes realise the potential of simulation in teaching students how to handle the real thing, theatre workshops, skits and assorted role-playing sessions are all increasingly making their way into the MBA curriculum.
IIM-C, IIM-L, FMS and MDI Gurgaon have taken the lead in this front while corporates like Maruti, Motorola, Philips and Castrol are some who have already incorporated theatre techniques in HR sessions.
Sure, the Indian B-schools have role models to follow in Harvard, Wharton and Darden where the techniques have been already taken to the next level. MDI Gurgaon already has had it as an elective for the last two years and is also going to come up with MDPs on theatre techniques in business communication by December 2007. These techniques help students to internalise various management principles and understand the corporate world better.
Topics relevant to the course are taken up and students come up with skits based on the same. They take up the roles of a leader in a bankrupt company or an HR head facing talent crunch with the top deck of company being poached by rivals, besides trying to explain the effective supply chain management possible in a household kitchen.
Last August, the Dramatics Cell of IIM Calcutta (IIMC) and leading theatre group Nandikar hosted ‘Journey into Theatre’, a workshop to promote acting and performing arts as a tool of communication that extends to real life. The workshop included a host of games designed by Nandikar that modelled situations similar to those encountered in corporate life and explored how managers react to them. These situations ran the entire gamut from negotiations, trust building in a team, politics and business ethics, all courses that are incorporated in IIM(C)’s curriculum.
Says Prof Leena Chatterjee, behavioural sciences, IIMC, “In our second year, we have an elective called ‘management of self in organisations’, which includes several role-playing exercises. This includes role plays on managing team meetings, managing people, performance counselling interview, handling a difficult employee and more. We also use films or novels to look at various kinds of interpersonal issues.”
Enthused by this, Maruti is going to introduce theatre techniques as training tool this year itself. It will be introduced as a part of its management development programme and training for senior leadership roles. Says SY Syddiqui, head, HR, Maruti, “This is an innovative idea and helps to break away from the monotonous way of training people. I saw it in one of the B-schools and will now implement it in Maruti.”
Motorola had a similar workshop in 2005 in theatre techniques as part of their training module. Teambuilding, complex communication methods were all addressed through this. Raghuram Reddum, director, HR, Asia Pacific staffing and mobile device, Motorola, India, says, “These are innovations to better the training process. It helps to get a better grasp on subjects through these techniques.”
While several institutions have been practising it in India and abroad, some like Darden, Harvard, Wharton have taken it to the next level with the sessions being an interactive one. A play is performed by the players and the end of the skit depends on the volley of questions thrown out by the audience. Says Asha Bhandarkar, Professor, organisational behaviour and chairperson, PGP-HR and International Management, “This helps the performing group understand the problems better and suggest solutions while the audience take serious interest in theme played on.”
Agrees Ashok Kapoor, professor, communication and marketing, “Its a great confidence building measure and lets students understand problems and individuals better. Some of my students have even got back with interesting feedback like ‘due to the course, I can understand when my boss is acting and when he is genuinely concerned’. In IIM-L, students, infact record these sessions in their iPods and play it later to understand the issues.
Hobby, Passion And Love Of Money
I wish hobbyists start collecting colored stones in a similar way. Every colored stone is a piece of history.
Times News Network writes:
Senior advocate in the Bombay High Court, Dinyar Madon, accompanied his son to Mumbai’s annual coin fair two years ago, little knowing that he would be sold on a new hobby. Each gold, silver and copper coin that he picked up told a story of an ancient Indian king or the British Raj. He later learnt that there is money to be made exchanging old coins and banknotes, but Madon resolved to build a collection purely as a hobby. He is unwilling to disclose how much he has invested but he has a sizeable portfolio today.
"People invest in the stock market because they get high returns even though there is an element of risk involved. But the advantage of investing in coins and collectibles is that there is no risk. If one has an authentic old coin, one will only profit because a limited number of units are in circulation,” says Malcolm Todywalla of Todywalla’s Auctions, one of the big dealers in the business.
Before enthusiasts bring out the precious hoard of one- and two-paisa coins they have saved from the ’40s and ’50s, though, the dealer strikes a note of disappointment: "Such coins do not offer much in terms of exchange value because they were minted in large numbers and are not too old either. When we say ancient coins, we are talking of those that were minted way back in the 6th century BC, down to the Gupta period, the Kushan period, then the Mughal era and British India coins," Todywalla says.
While the shop around the corner may offer a few rupees for newer coins, the big traders discourage customers who arrive with bagfuls of small change that is 50 or 60 years old. In fact, rather than give these pieces of modern history away for a mere ten rupees each, they are advised to preserve them for their children so that it instills in them a sense of pride and love for their heritage. Perhaps makes numismatists out of them, too.
'Nascent' is the word that experts use to describe the Indian market for old coins and collectibles. Collectibles include other antiques like mill canteen tokens, gold and silver medals awarded to employees and students, or even badges, like those worn by peons in pre-Independence India. Royal correspondence and old share certificates fetch a good price too. It takes but a few thousand rupees to break into the hobby, although there is no benchmark index that can guarantee the exact worth of an investment a few years later.
Vipul Maheshwari, a chartered accountant practising in Mumbai, advises buyers to be prudent while buying so that they do not end up paying too much. "Personally, I think there is a thrill in holding a 1,500-year-old coin in the palm of your hand," Maheshwari says. "For me, this is a passion, not an investment. But there is always the knowledge that the hobby can fetch handsome returns should one ever come upon hard times."
Countries like the US have an organised support system comprising banks and corporates that are dedicated to investing in collectibles, although they have only 200 years of heritage to back them up. An old American banknote has been known to sell for the equivalent of Rs 4 crore. But India lacks the awareness and the organised funding that is available in the West.
Todywalla explains that the demand for an older coin is not always higher than one that was minted more recently. "For instance, India’s princely states all had their own coinage, but our buyers are not familiar with the kings of those principalities or the script that is engraved upon them, so they do not excite as much interest," he says.
Conversely, coins and banknotes minted during the British India period are fast-moving items and their value appreciates quickly, even though they may not be as aesthetic or carry as much detail as the ancient Gupta or Mughal coins. This is simply because they are inscribed in English, a language that the ordinary buyer can relate to.
"Whereas a Gupta coin, narrower in width than our modern 50-paise coin, may bear a detailed hunting scene that depicts King Chandragupta wielding a bow and arrow and shooting a lion," says Todywalla. Of course, such items are sought out by collectors and aesthetes who will spend hours browsing carefully through boxes of dirty, decaying coins just so they don’t miss anything that is vital to their collection.
True, a piece of history has the power to charm everybody from government employees working nine-to-five jobs to professionals and businessmen. Nothing will part a collector from his coins, except the one thing that makes the world go round. Money. It is only when he is in desperate need of finance, mostly to fulfil a family obligation, that he will consider breaking his collection.
But when a passion leads one to invest money and time, then external factors like family dynamics may intrude. Todywalla knows of a lawyer who had built an enviable collection by putting aside a sum of money for his hobby every week. However, his father and his wife did not understand his penchant for spending wads of money to bring home old pieces of metal. They pressurised him to sell off his collection.
Eventually the man buckled and did so, and made a neat profit in the process. "Once they noticed that it was possible to make so much money out of old coins, the family did a turnaround and asked him to go ahead with his hobby if he wished. Of course, he was heartbroken by then, and resolved never to buy another coin. To this day, he comes over two or three times a week to browse, but has never made a purchase," says Todywalla. For most, numismatics is love over money.
Times News Network writes:
Senior advocate in the Bombay High Court, Dinyar Madon, accompanied his son to Mumbai’s annual coin fair two years ago, little knowing that he would be sold on a new hobby. Each gold, silver and copper coin that he picked up told a story of an ancient Indian king or the British Raj. He later learnt that there is money to be made exchanging old coins and banknotes, but Madon resolved to build a collection purely as a hobby. He is unwilling to disclose how much he has invested but he has a sizeable portfolio today.
"People invest in the stock market because they get high returns even though there is an element of risk involved. But the advantage of investing in coins and collectibles is that there is no risk. If one has an authentic old coin, one will only profit because a limited number of units are in circulation,” says Malcolm Todywalla of Todywalla’s Auctions, one of the big dealers in the business.
Before enthusiasts bring out the precious hoard of one- and two-paisa coins they have saved from the ’40s and ’50s, though, the dealer strikes a note of disappointment: "Such coins do not offer much in terms of exchange value because they were minted in large numbers and are not too old either. When we say ancient coins, we are talking of those that were minted way back in the 6th century BC, down to the Gupta period, the Kushan period, then the Mughal era and British India coins," Todywalla says.
While the shop around the corner may offer a few rupees for newer coins, the big traders discourage customers who arrive with bagfuls of small change that is 50 or 60 years old. In fact, rather than give these pieces of modern history away for a mere ten rupees each, they are advised to preserve them for their children so that it instills in them a sense of pride and love for their heritage. Perhaps makes numismatists out of them, too.
'Nascent' is the word that experts use to describe the Indian market for old coins and collectibles. Collectibles include other antiques like mill canteen tokens, gold and silver medals awarded to employees and students, or even badges, like those worn by peons in pre-Independence India. Royal correspondence and old share certificates fetch a good price too. It takes but a few thousand rupees to break into the hobby, although there is no benchmark index that can guarantee the exact worth of an investment a few years later.
Vipul Maheshwari, a chartered accountant practising in Mumbai, advises buyers to be prudent while buying so that they do not end up paying too much. "Personally, I think there is a thrill in holding a 1,500-year-old coin in the palm of your hand," Maheshwari says. "For me, this is a passion, not an investment. But there is always the knowledge that the hobby can fetch handsome returns should one ever come upon hard times."
Countries like the US have an organised support system comprising banks and corporates that are dedicated to investing in collectibles, although they have only 200 years of heritage to back them up. An old American banknote has been known to sell for the equivalent of Rs 4 crore. But India lacks the awareness and the organised funding that is available in the West.
Todywalla explains that the demand for an older coin is not always higher than one that was minted more recently. "For instance, India’s princely states all had their own coinage, but our buyers are not familiar with the kings of those principalities or the script that is engraved upon them, so they do not excite as much interest," he says.
Conversely, coins and banknotes minted during the British India period are fast-moving items and their value appreciates quickly, even though they may not be as aesthetic or carry as much detail as the ancient Gupta or Mughal coins. This is simply because they are inscribed in English, a language that the ordinary buyer can relate to.
"Whereas a Gupta coin, narrower in width than our modern 50-paise coin, may bear a detailed hunting scene that depicts King Chandragupta wielding a bow and arrow and shooting a lion," says Todywalla. Of course, such items are sought out by collectors and aesthetes who will spend hours browsing carefully through boxes of dirty, decaying coins just so they don’t miss anything that is vital to their collection.
True, a piece of history has the power to charm everybody from government employees working nine-to-five jobs to professionals and businessmen. Nothing will part a collector from his coins, except the one thing that makes the world go round. Money. It is only when he is in desperate need of finance, mostly to fulfil a family obligation, that he will consider breaking his collection.
But when a passion leads one to invest money and time, then external factors like family dynamics may intrude. Todywalla knows of a lawyer who had built an enviable collection by putting aside a sum of money for his hobby every week. However, his father and his wife did not understand his penchant for spending wads of money to bring home old pieces of metal. They pressurised him to sell off his collection.
Eventually the man buckled and did so, and made a neat profit in the process. "Once they noticed that it was possible to make so much money out of old coins, the family did a turnaround and asked him to go ahead with his hobby if he wished. Of course, he was heartbroken by then, and resolved never to buy another coin. To this day, he comes over two or three times a week to browse, but has never made a purchase," says Todywalla. For most, numismatics is love over money.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Ruby And Sapphire Quality Grading
Till today there are no consensus on grading rubies and sapphires. The reasons may be political, geographical and other technical factors. There is love/hate relationship among gem dealers and lab gemologists and it will be there forever. No one has done research on the side effects of color graders from short/long term use of soft drugs, medical status, color blindness/defectiveness, color descriptions and perceptions in various languages and much more. The common belief is it is better to have an imperfect system than no system at all.
Wilawan Atichat, Visut Pisutha Arnond, Sakrapee Saejoo, Chotima Kunwisutpan, Boontawee Sriprasert and Chakkaphant Sutthirat writes:
Grading systems for color, clarity and cut have been developed by the Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand Gem Testing Laboratory (GIT-GTL) to improve the overall quality grading of ruby and sapphire from various global sources. These quality grading systems are used for communication in the gem and jewelry trades in Thailand and Japan (currently for ruby).This ongoing research has been expanded from the ruby and sapphire grading systems previously established by GIT-GTL.
Ruby and sapphire quality factors were determined from the results of a questionnaire that was given to gem traders in Thailand. These data were then used as a basis to establish eight preliminary sets of master stones that included ruby and various sapphires (blue, orange pink, purple, pink, orange, yellow, and green). Each set contained 15 stones of varying quality. These master stone sets were then sent to gem traders to solicit opinions. The outcome data were then integrated into the color, clarity, and cut grading systems. Eight final standard (master stone) sets were then developed, composed of 25 oval shaped, 0.75ct stones covering five quality grades (Excellent, Very good, Good, Fair, and Poor).
For color grading, the stones were placed 15-25cm from the standard light source (Macbeth 5000 K with an intensity of 1200 lux), and were visually graded face-up at a distance of 30cm and viewed perpendicular to the table surface. The hue, tone, and saturation of the stones were considered: dispersion and scintillation were excluded.
For clarity grading a Dialite Flip light source was positioned to the side of the stones (1cm away), which were placed on a dark background and graded using a 10x loupe. For confirmation purposes, the clarity of the stones was graded again with the unaided eye at 30cm distance (and 15-20cm from the light source) in the face-up position against a white background. The clarity grading was evaluated by using the GIT-GTL scoring system. As for the cut grading, factors for brilliance, face-up proportions, profile proportions, and finish were taken into consideration. The overall quality grading was usually peformed by at least three experienced gemologists.
The final evaluation of these corundum standard sets by gem traders in Thailand revealed that they are generally compatible with the quality grading being used in the trade. GIT-GTL is currently using these master stone sets for ruby/sapphire grading for some clients in Thailand and Japan.
Wilawan Atichat, Visut Pisutha Arnond, Sakrapee Saejoo, Chotima Kunwisutpan, Boontawee Sriprasert and Chakkaphant Sutthirat writes:
Grading systems for color, clarity and cut have been developed by the Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand Gem Testing Laboratory (GIT-GTL) to improve the overall quality grading of ruby and sapphire from various global sources. These quality grading systems are used for communication in the gem and jewelry trades in Thailand and Japan (currently for ruby).This ongoing research has been expanded from the ruby and sapphire grading systems previously established by GIT-GTL.
Ruby and sapphire quality factors were determined from the results of a questionnaire that was given to gem traders in Thailand. These data were then used as a basis to establish eight preliminary sets of master stones that included ruby and various sapphires (blue, orange pink, purple, pink, orange, yellow, and green). Each set contained 15 stones of varying quality. These master stone sets were then sent to gem traders to solicit opinions. The outcome data were then integrated into the color, clarity, and cut grading systems. Eight final standard (master stone) sets were then developed, composed of 25 oval shaped, 0.75ct stones covering five quality grades (Excellent, Very good, Good, Fair, and Poor).
For color grading, the stones were placed 15-25cm from the standard light source (Macbeth 5000 K with an intensity of 1200 lux), and were visually graded face-up at a distance of 30cm and viewed perpendicular to the table surface. The hue, tone, and saturation of the stones were considered: dispersion and scintillation were excluded.
For clarity grading a Dialite Flip light source was positioned to the side of the stones (1cm away), which were placed on a dark background and graded using a 10x loupe. For confirmation purposes, the clarity of the stones was graded again with the unaided eye at 30cm distance (and 15-20cm from the light source) in the face-up position against a white background. The clarity grading was evaluated by using the GIT-GTL scoring system. As for the cut grading, factors for brilliance, face-up proportions, profile proportions, and finish were taken into consideration. The overall quality grading was usually peformed by at least three experienced gemologists.
The final evaluation of these corundum standard sets by gem traders in Thailand revealed that they are generally compatible with the quality grading being used in the trade. GIT-GTL is currently using these master stone sets for ruby/sapphire grading for some clients in Thailand and Japan.
Gemstones From Chantaburi, Thailand
Matee Jungsanguasith is considered the Godfather of sapphires in Chantaburi, Thailand. He is low-key, humble, knowledgeable and a wealthy man.
Pongchan Chantayos (narrated by Matee Jungsanguasith) writes:
That day must be a little bit different than the other days because this man just noticed that...the loose soil turned up from the passing of a sharp shovel being pulled by his big buffalo contained many colorful small gravels. That's strange! He thought.
But...will the loose soil mixed with these strange gravels make the rice plants in this plot of land give more grains than other plots? That's all he could think of.
In the evening he returned home with many thumb sized gravels, some were brownish red, some were clear red. He placed them in the empty milk cans lined up under his light bed before lying down to sleep. The life of the farmers in a tiny village adjacent to the Cambodia border moved slowly, repeatedly the same, until..
The news was passed from mouth to mouth that somebody from nearby villages entered to buy red gravel. They called them Siamese ruby. Some gravel had the price equivalent to many bushels of rice...
He hurried back home right away. "I should have a lot of money because I had collected the gravel every day, each day quite a few stones."
Under his light bed.....all the milk cans were empty. Where were all the gravels? Anybody saw the gravels in the milk can? He shouted.
"I used them all up for my slingshot while I went hunting for the birds." His youngest son replied.
The stories from the many old people...all telling the same thing about a family of farmers who pioneered and worked on the land in the vicinity of Amphur Nawong. These were among the sites for the first encounter of ruby in Thailand.
From then on, the red gemstone or Siamese ruby, was quickly known all over the world in a short period of time because of its unique quality: bright red color, sparkling fire after being cut and polished, and most important--the attractive amount of profit every time the stone moved from one owner to another.
It was being told that the first siles that gemstones were found were in Khao Ploywaen area. This is the name given since very long time ago. We may infer that in this area someone must have found gem quality stones that can be used for the rings. In former times, people did not need heavy machineries which consume gasoline in the mining of gemstones. In Khao Ploywaen area the stones were so plentiful that people just scratched the topsoil and found the valuable stones. The gemstones found during that time were green, yellow, star, and blue sapphire.
The searching of gemstones started to be more active and fun after heavy rain. When the heavy rain washed out the top soil, the gravels and gemstones were exposed. The experienced local people could differentiate gemstones from other gravels.
When the rain comes, washes out the soil, exposes the stones
Big ones, golden yellow color, bright and shine
Some are bright green, slightly green, yellowish green
With the size of an egg, as big as a clam, everywhere
Does anybody know how long ago that gemstones were found in Chantaburi, Thailand?
If one questions the local people or the elderly, the answer is that they have seen gemstones in Chantaburi since they were very young and nobody knows exactly how long the gemstones have been around.
There is a record in the Siam Chronicles about the Royal visit of King Rama V to Chantaburi that the local people from Sipraya Village called 'Jeenju' had brought a big sapphire and some small ruby. It was the year 1876. No written record was found before this year.
Khao Ploywaen, Bangkacha, Borai, Nongbon, Nawong, Tokprom, Boweru, Elem, etc are the sources for quality gemstones of Eastern Thailand. This has made Chantaburi a meeting place for Thai gem dealers since the old days until now and the international popularity of Siamese ruby, more and more businessmen around the world are drawn to Chantaburi for the dealing in gemstones.
Chantaburi today
The natural resources change with time. Underground....the raw material diminishes. Above the ground.....more and more knowledge and experiences accumulates until it is difficult for anybody to catch up.
The accumulated experience is tranferred from generation to generation. The experience is characterized as the lay person wisdom. The wisdom that the local people gained is evident in the color enhancement of gemstones by heat treatment. The wisdom that the local people developed is transferred within the family. Each family has their own secret technique. This technique is obtained from practical experience and knowledge.
The knowledge without any certificate and diploma.
The technique......which is accepted around the world.
The technique.....heat treatment of gemstones.
Today Chantaburi people rely on the accumulated experience. They go to every corner of the world searching for the raw materials of gemstones. Rough gemstones from every part of the world are transferred to Chantaburi.
Pongchan Chantayos (narrated by Matee Jungsanguasith) writes:
That day must be a little bit different than the other days because this man just noticed that...the loose soil turned up from the passing of a sharp shovel being pulled by his big buffalo contained many colorful small gravels. That's strange! He thought.
But...will the loose soil mixed with these strange gravels make the rice plants in this plot of land give more grains than other plots? That's all he could think of.
In the evening he returned home with many thumb sized gravels, some were brownish red, some were clear red. He placed them in the empty milk cans lined up under his light bed before lying down to sleep. The life of the farmers in a tiny village adjacent to the Cambodia border moved slowly, repeatedly the same, until..
The news was passed from mouth to mouth that somebody from nearby villages entered to buy red gravel. They called them Siamese ruby. Some gravel had the price equivalent to many bushels of rice...
He hurried back home right away. "I should have a lot of money because I had collected the gravel every day, each day quite a few stones."
Under his light bed.....all the milk cans were empty. Where were all the gravels? Anybody saw the gravels in the milk can? He shouted.
"I used them all up for my slingshot while I went hunting for the birds." His youngest son replied.
The stories from the many old people...all telling the same thing about a family of farmers who pioneered and worked on the land in the vicinity of Amphur Nawong. These were among the sites for the first encounter of ruby in Thailand.
From then on, the red gemstone or Siamese ruby, was quickly known all over the world in a short period of time because of its unique quality: bright red color, sparkling fire after being cut and polished, and most important--the attractive amount of profit every time the stone moved from one owner to another.
It was being told that the first siles that gemstones were found were in Khao Ploywaen area. This is the name given since very long time ago. We may infer that in this area someone must have found gem quality stones that can be used for the rings. In former times, people did not need heavy machineries which consume gasoline in the mining of gemstones. In Khao Ploywaen area the stones were so plentiful that people just scratched the topsoil and found the valuable stones. The gemstones found during that time were green, yellow, star, and blue sapphire.
The searching of gemstones started to be more active and fun after heavy rain. When the heavy rain washed out the top soil, the gravels and gemstones were exposed. The experienced local people could differentiate gemstones from other gravels.
When the rain comes, washes out the soil, exposes the stones
Big ones, golden yellow color, bright and shine
Some are bright green, slightly green, yellowish green
With the size of an egg, as big as a clam, everywhere
Does anybody know how long ago that gemstones were found in Chantaburi, Thailand?
If one questions the local people or the elderly, the answer is that they have seen gemstones in Chantaburi since they were very young and nobody knows exactly how long the gemstones have been around.
There is a record in the Siam Chronicles about the Royal visit of King Rama V to Chantaburi that the local people from Sipraya Village called 'Jeenju' had brought a big sapphire and some small ruby. It was the year 1876. No written record was found before this year.
Khao Ploywaen, Bangkacha, Borai, Nongbon, Nawong, Tokprom, Boweru, Elem, etc are the sources for quality gemstones of Eastern Thailand. This has made Chantaburi a meeting place for Thai gem dealers since the old days until now and the international popularity of Siamese ruby, more and more businessmen around the world are drawn to Chantaburi for the dealing in gemstones.
Chantaburi today
The natural resources change with time. Underground....the raw material diminishes. Above the ground.....more and more knowledge and experiences accumulates until it is difficult for anybody to catch up.
The accumulated experience is tranferred from generation to generation. The experience is characterized as the lay person wisdom. The wisdom that the local people gained is evident in the color enhancement of gemstones by heat treatment. The wisdom that the local people developed is transferred within the family. Each family has their own secret technique. This technique is obtained from practical experience and knowledge.
The knowledge without any certificate and diploma.
The technique......which is accepted around the world.
The technique.....heat treatment of gemstones.
Today Chantaburi people rely on the accumulated experience. They go to every corner of the world searching for the raw materials of gemstones. Rough gemstones from every part of the world are transferred to Chantaburi.
Gemological Course Development
Today Duncay Pay is the chief academic officer at GIA, USA. I have worked with Duncan on course development projects in Thailand, and his comments are truly valuable. He is intelligent and likable with superb product knowledge and gem trade experience.
Duncay Pay writes:
GIA's founder, Robert M Shipley, conducted his first gemology class on the campus of the University of Southern California. He then wrote additional course material and offered it through Distance Education. Later, he offered short-term, on-site courses to jewelers nationwide.
Today, the course development department researches and writes GIA's texts. The department includes researchers, writers, and editors. We also employ video specialists, gemologists, jewelry specialists, and graphic artists and transfer other specialists into course development as needed.
To ensure that our materials meet industry needs, we have a rigorous course development process. Once we establish a need for a new course or a substantial course revision, our curriculum committee meets to decide course objectives and student outcomes. In addition, we solicit input from many segments of the industry when we develop our new course objectives.
Once outlines are approved, our writers compose drafts guided by the department's subject specialists and education department management. Next a selected group from GIA education, GIA research, and others in the Institute with knowledge in that particular subject reviews the content. We then implement the reviewers' comments and lay out the assignment with appropriately placed text, photographs, illustrations, and captions.
Once the assignment has the look and feel of a completed product, it is often submitted for review to an external subject specialist. We also send drafts to internal subject specialist, who use their wide range of experience to review the information for accuracy and proper terminology.
As the written course material progresses through the review process, we work on classroom presentations, instructor notes, and teaching schedules with education management and faculty.
Outside of faculty contributions, the most important feedback about our education programs comes from the industry. We receive input from our Board of Governors and industry advisory groups, as well as from alumni and current students.
Our ongoing contact with the jewelry industry and our research department keeps us abreast of new discoveries, synthetic materials, and treatments. We also subscribe to commercial price lists and trade publications. We monitor industry and general news for events that may affect course material. Course development at GIA is a continual, dynamic process that we believe leads to clearly written, attractive, and valuable material that benefits all our students.
Duncay Pay writes:
GIA's founder, Robert M Shipley, conducted his first gemology class on the campus of the University of Southern California. He then wrote additional course material and offered it through Distance Education. Later, he offered short-term, on-site courses to jewelers nationwide.
Today, the course development department researches and writes GIA's texts. The department includes researchers, writers, and editors. We also employ video specialists, gemologists, jewelry specialists, and graphic artists and transfer other specialists into course development as needed.
To ensure that our materials meet industry needs, we have a rigorous course development process. Once we establish a need for a new course or a substantial course revision, our curriculum committee meets to decide course objectives and student outcomes. In addition, we solicit input from many segments of the industry when we develop our new course objectives.
Once outlines are approved, our writers compose drafts guided by the department's subject specialists and education department management. Next a selected group from GIA education, GIA research, and others in the Institute with knowledge in that particular subject reviews the content. We then implement the reviewers' comments and lay out the assignment with appropriately placed text, photographs, illustrations, and captions.
Once the assignment has the look and feel of a completed product, it is often submitted for review to an external subject specialist. We also send drafts to internal subject specialist, who use their wide range of experience to review the information for accuracy and proper terminology.
As the written course material progresses through the review process, we work on classroom presentations, instructor notes, and teaching schedules with education management and faculty.
Outside of faculty contributions, the most important feedback about our education programs comes from the industry. We receive input from our Board of Governors and industry advisory groups, as well as from alumni and current students.
Our ongoing contact with the jewelry industry and our research department keeps us abreast of new discoveries, synthetic materials, and treatments. We also subscribe to commercial price lists and trade publications. We monitor industry and general news for events that may affect course material. Course development at GIA is a continual, dynamic process that we believe leads to clearly written, attractive, and valuable material that benefits all our students.
Friday, June 01, 2007
His Girl Friday
Memorable quote (s) from the movie:
Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell): There's an old newspaper superstition that the first big check you get, you put in the lining of your hat. In your hat! It brings good luck.
Murphy(Porter Hall): I've been a reporter for 20 years - I never heard that before.
Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell): Neither did I.
Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell): There's an old newspaper superstition that the first big check you get, you put in the lining of your hat. In your hat! It brings good luck.
Murphy(Porter Hall): I've been a reporter for 20 years - I never heard that before.
Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell): Neither did I.
Chuck Fipke
Charles Fipke is perhaps the most eccentric, experienced and lucky exploration geologist who hit jackpot discovering diamonds in the sub-Artic barren lands near Lac De Gras. His story reminds me of the discovery of diamonds by John Thoburn Williamson of the famous Williamson Diamond Mines Ltd (Mwadui) in Tanzania. The book Fire Into Ice: Charles Fipke & the Great Diamond Hunt describes the real story of diamond find in Canada. Good read.
Wikipedia writes:
Charle E. (Chuck) Fipke is a former prospector who discovered the existence of diamonds around Lac de Gras in Canada's Northwest Territories. He is now a multimillionaire diamond magnate, described as "near-sighted, goateed, short and tough as an oak stump, his speech jolted by a stutter and a hair-trigger laugh”.
Fipke was born in Edmonton, Alberta. In 1970, he graduated from University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Geology.
Fipke, called, "Stumpy" and "Captain Chaos" by employees, had made finding diamonds in the north of Canada his singular goal since their discovery in late 1970s. A joint venture between Fipke's Dia Met Minerals and BHP-Utah in the 1980s and 1990s culminated in the establishment of Canada's first diamond mine, Ekati Diamond Mine, in 1998. Fipke and partner Stu Blusson each own 10% of Ekati.
Fipke was divorced by his wife Marlene, who had been with him since he began searching for the diamonds. This divorce at the time was Canada's largest divorce settlement with her portion of the assets estimated to be approximately C$123.1 million.
In 2006, Fipke donated C$6 million to the University of British Columbia to support the creation of a centre for innovative research.
Wikipedia writes:
Charle E. (Chuck) Fipke is a former prospector who discovered the existence of diamonds around Lac de Gras in Canada's Northwest Territories. He is now a multimillionaire diamond magnate, described as "near-sighted, goateed, short and tough as an oak stump, his speech jolted by a stutter and a hair-trigger laugh”.
Fipke was born in Edmonton, Alberta. In 1970, he graduated from University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Geology.
Fipke, called, "Stumpy" and "Captain Chaos" by employees, had made finding diamonds in the north of Canada his singular goal since their discovery in late 1970s. A joint venture between Fipke's Dia Met Minerals and BHP-Utah in the 1980s and 1990s culminated in the establishment of Canada's first diamond mine, Ekati Diamond Mine, in 1998. Fipke and partner Stu Blusson each own 10% of Ekati.
Fipke was divorced by his wife Marlene, who had been with him since he began searching for the diamonds. This divorce at the time was Canada's largest divorce settlement with her portion of the assets estimated to be approximately C$123.1 million.
In 2006, Fipke donated C$6 million to the University of British Columbia to support the creation of a centre for innovative research.
Fishing For Pearls In The Indian Ocean
2007: Here is a colorful story of pearl harvesting in Sri Lanka. I believe Bahrain may be the last place left where pearl harvesting is still conducted the old-fashioned way. It's educational and entertaining. The world of pearl harvesting has changed a lot in the last 100 + years.
(via The National Geographic Magazine, Vol.XLIX, No.2, February, 1926) Bella Sidney Woolf writes:
The fame of the Ceylon Pearl Banks goes back into the mist of ages. It is recorded that in 600 B.C., Vijaya, who landed in Ceylon in 543 B.B. and became its first king, sent a gift of chanks and pearls to his father-in-law, the King of Madura. Pliny discourses on the value of Ceylon pearls and on their formations, and Ibn Batuta, that shrewd medieval globe-trotter, gained first-hand knowledge of a pearl fishery in the fourteenth century.
From time to time in the long history of the Ceylon Pearl Fishery breaks have occurred. The spat has vanished, the young oysters have been swept away by adverse currents or have been destroyed by rapacious fish.
After one of these intervals, lasting 19 years, a pearl fishery was opened in February, 1925. The scientific operations were in the hands of Dr Pearson, Marine Biologist to the Government of Ceylon, and Mr A H Malpas, both of whom have devoted many years of study and research to the life history of the pearl oyster.
Off for the historic pearl banks
On a Sunday afternoon we set out in the government trawler Nautilus from Colombo Harbor, to visit the historic Pearl Banks. As the palm-fringed shore faded away and the trawler went north across a golden pathway of sunshine, one had a pleasurable sense of stepping back into the past; for, though steam trawlers now play their part in the fishery, there is no doubt that the actual procedure of diving and the traditions have not altered one jot or tittle since the days of Vijaya.
The Nautilus commanded by Captain Kerkham, R N R., late Superintendent of the Fisheries for the Ceylon Pearl Company, is a very comfortable boat for her size, and whether sitting on her deck under the awning for meals or sleeping in the airy cabins, there was no hint of hardship or discomfort.
The night was rough, so we turned in early, but were up at 4 O’clock, when the Nautilus dropped anchor. It was starlit night, and out of the darkness there came lights, green and red, moving mysteriously. They were the lights of the trawlers Lilla and Violet, towing in the fishing fleet.
Slowly the dawn came and revealed the gray throbbing waters of the Gulf of Manaar, with red and white flags bobbing up and down at irregular intervals. It looked for all the world like a gathering for a regatta. We were over the famous Twynam Paar, the pearl bank that has recently been located. These rocky ‘paars’ on which the oysters congregate in millions, lie for the most part in five to nine fathoms.
The fishing fleet takes one straight back 3000 years. In high-prowed dhoneys like these, the fishermen set out to sea in the days of King Vijaya, and the rigging and tackle have not changed by a hair’s breadth.
The sun flooded the sea and the whole scene took on stir and animation and clamor. The dhoneys had cast off from the trawlers and were being directed into position by the Nautilus. Nothing is done in the East without a full accompaniment of noise, and the fishery is no exception.
The Arabs excels the Tamil as a diver
The decks of the dhoneys were packed with brown figures: the manducks, who lower the divers, busy with their ropes; the divers themselves clambering over sides, the other occupants of the boats chattering, pulling at gear, or doing nothing with a maximum of commotion.
It is an entrancing sight—the boats, some painted bright blue or yellow, bobbing up and down on the translucent blue water, flutter of gay colored cloths and turbans hung on spars and rigging, the muscular brown bodies shining in the sunshine or gleaming in the water.
The Arab holds his nose with a clip, the Tamil uses his fingers
The divers are chiefly Tamils from southern India, and Arabs, the latter being the more efficient. The Tamil makes a terrible ado about it. If he descents and finds few oysters, instead of trying again, he raises his voice to heaven with shouts of ‘Sippi ille!” (No oysters!).The Arab’s motto is, “It’s dogged as does it.” Without any noise or commotion, he goes down into the depths and works swiftly and perseveringly, bringing in far more oysters than the excitable Tamil.
There is a difference in the methods of the divers, although they both go down in the same way. The manduck controls two ropes. A stone or metal ‘sinker’ is attached to the one, a net basket to the other. The diver descends with one foot on the sinker and the second rope and net bag in his hand. Arrived at sea bottom, he gathers the oysters and throws them into the bag; then he pulls at the rope and the manduck hauls him up to the surface.
The Tamil does not hold the rope till he reaches the surface; he begins to swim. The Arab comes up to the surface holding the rope, and in this way saves time. The Arab puts on a nose-clip; the Tamil holds his nose with finger and thumb.
The effect of an Arab diver rising to the surface is very striking. The man looks like a brown frog, as he comes up through the water. As one watches the divers at work, one is reminded of Browning’s lines from ‘Paracelsus’: Are there not…..dear Michal, Two points in the adventure of a diver, One—when, a beggar, he prepares to plunge , One—when, a prince, he rises with his pearl?
The average time that a diver stays under water is between 60 and 70 seconds, but cases are known in which he has remained below for nearly two minutes. The divers work in pairs, and their shells are packed into bags on the decks of the dhoneys. It is fascinating to watch the muscular brown figures at work in the water, and the manducks outlined against the sky pulling at the ropes.
The Arab divers haul themselves out of the water onto the decks of the dhoneys with superb ease, even after making so many descents that one would imagine they were exhausted. The muscles stand out on their shining brown bodies and the skin gleames like polished bronze.
One man I remember above all, a magnificent figure, towering above the rest, with a scrap of cotton loin cloth as his only apparel, save a large key which hung on a cord round his waist. There was something ludicrous in the key, attached to someone so devoid of any apparent possessions. Then I pictured him leaving his little home, say at Basra, locking the front door, casting a longing look at his date palms and girding on his latch key. Let us hope he returned with many pearls, or the proceeds of them, and the key.
The shark-charmer has lost his job
In some cases the divers discharge water and even blood from their mouth, ears, and nostrils; but, watching them close at hand, I did not detect any of these distressing symptoms. The men seemed perfectly comfortable and, in the case of the Arabs, thoroughly contented. A good diver can make 40 or 50 descents in a day.
It is astonishing that they are not attacked by sharks, but no case of such an attack occurred during the fishery. In old days the service of a shark-charmer was employed, but this superstition seems to have gone west. Many Arabs have a verse of the Koran tied round the arm, neck or wrist a protection from sharks.
At noon the hooter founds and diving ceases for the day. The government sealing officer set out in his launch and goes from one boat to the other, putting the government seal on bags. When this useful precautionary work is accomplished, the dhoneys collect round the tugs, set their sails, and are attached to the tugs by towlines.
A more beautiful sight than the dhoneys following after the tugs cannot be imagined, their huge brown and white sails shining in the sunshine, flapping like the wings of great birds, and a curling, sparkling wave breaking from their bows.
In the old days, of course, the fleet made for Pearl Town under its own sail and took many long hours to accomplish the journey. This towing of the fleet is one of the few innovations introduced into the age-old procedure of the fishery.
Pearl town a mushroom city
It is intensely interesting to watch the crowded decks of the dhoneys from the stern of the trawler. The Arabs, after the day’s work, wrap themselves in their burnooses, some of the grimy white, others blue and yellow. They herd round the fire lit in the dhoney, stretch themselves out, and sleep till the boats approach Pearl Town.
Then there is bustle and stir on board. About half a mile from shore the dhoney cast off from the tugs, and race for the shore takes place. It is case of first come, first served, and every diver is anxious to be the first to get his oysters into the government kottu, the inclosure in which the oysters are counted and divided.
Meanwhile we in the trawler transship to a launch and hurry shoreward, in order to see the arrival of the boats. Marichchukaddi, Pearl Town, seen from the sea, is a most attractive spot—a low, reddish coast line, tree and turf covered with a background of jungle, stretching away to a game sanctuary.
The shore is crowded with people, in colored cloths and turbans. It is astonishing to think that when there is no pearl fishery Marichchukaddi is deserted, save for a few native huts. Now a town of 30000 to 40000 inhabitants has sprung up, as if by magic. A day or two after the closing of the fishery these inhabitants of Pearl Town melt away like the figment of a dream. Only the cadjan (palm-leaf) huts and a few substantial buildings remain. The shore is deserted and silence reigns where for weeks rose a babel of many tongues, while Pearl Town enjoyed her crowded hour of glorious life.
The government takes two thirds and allows divers one third
It is delightful to watch the dhoneys making for the shore like a flock of birds on brown and white translucent wings, skimming over the shining waters. The moment the boats are beached the divers leap ashore, seize their bags and carry them up the beach on their heads. Each looks like the slave, in the story of Alladin, bearing treasure, and so indeed they do in some cases.
The bags are dumped in the kottu, a huge palisaded inclosure, with a numbered place set aside for bags from each correspondingly numbered boat. The shells are counted by government officials and made up into bags of 1000 each. The government’s share is two thirds, the diver keeps one third.
The bustle and hustle and clamor in the kottus can be imagined when it is realized that at one point of the fishery 125 boats were out and 1908 divers had to pass through the inclosure. All was conducted in a very systematic manner, however, the divers coming in at one entrance and leaving by another, bearing their share of the catch, which they carried off to an open market, held in a pleasant, green, tree-encircled hollow.
Pearl buyers of every nationality swarm about like bees
A crowd of buyers of every nationality and age swarms round the divers like bees, chattering and bargaining. The divers sell in small quantities. At the beginning of the 1925 fishery they obtained as much a rupee a shell.
The purchasers thrust their shells into palm-leaf bags, which form one of the staple articles of sale in Pearl Town shops and hurry off to open their treasures. It is a unique sight to watch single figures or groups of two or three seated, knife in hand, searching for pearls and absolutely absorbed in the hunt.
Finding the pearls is a tricky business, for they are often deeply embedded in the flesh of the oyster. The expert first passes his finger round the rim of the shell, then presses back the flesh with his knife and conducts a systematic search through the soft flesh. In one small oyster eleven small pearls were found.
In some cases the pearl is not detached, but is formed on the shell, when it is known as blister pearl. If it is well raised above the shell, it can be cut out and set in a ring or brooch, where perfect roundness is not required, as for a necklace.
When the divers have sold all their oysters, they seek the Diver’s Bathing Pool and wash the salt from their weary limbs. A continuous flow of talk, in which the word sippi (oyster) occurs incessantly, shows that they are living over again the day’s adventures.
The sights of Pearl Town
Pearl Town itself provides a fund of entertainment. There are long streets of cadjan huts, in which every variety of article is displayed for sale—clothes, umbrellas, bead necklaces, foodstuffs, and household utensils in profusion. There is a hospital, a police station, a post office, and a courthouse.
There are very elaborate sanitary arrangements and precautions in order to prevent any outbreak of the dread epidemics—cholera and plague.
The pearl dealers, grave, bearded men who have come from long distances in India, sit in a row of huts, with their brass sieves for grading the pearls and their huge brass-bound chests. Under a tulip tree sit the pearl drillers, who perform the delicate operation of piercing the gems.
One can wander for hours through Diver Street, Old and New Moor Street, Tank Street, and Chetty Street, or study the family camps in the open under the trees, peering into the cadjan huts, where mysterious cooking operations are in progress, examining the accommodations at the Rest House, where primitive lodging can be obtained.
Queer incidents occur. At one point, as we passed along a path through a grassy field, a small boy rushed out from a group sitting under some trees and, thrusting a tin at us, said in a shrill voice: “Will you not want a pineapple tinned in this country?” We declined the offer, but admired the business enterprise.
Auction of oysters is conducted in three languages
From one tree hung at least 20 umbrellas, looking like strange birds with folded wings. The man in charge explained that the umbrellas were left in his safe-keeping while the owners were at work—a primitive form of cloakroom.
Toward evening Pearl Town looks its best, especially if one strolls out to the edge of the jungle and hears the call of birds in the pink light of a glowing sunset. At 9 o’clock every evening the government auction of oysters was held by Mr F J Smith, government agent of the Northern Province, to whom the running of the pearl fisheries and Pearl Town was entrusted.
The auction took place in the courthouse. Rembrandt would have painted this scene joyfully—the upturned dusky faces of the buyers, who squatted on the floor in serried rows; the gorgeous colors of cloth and turban half revealed by the light of a lamp from the dais on which the government agent sat.
The bidding was conducted in Tamil, Singhalese, and Arabic by means of interpreters. Oysters were sold in lots of less than 1000.
The highest price paid per thousand was Rs.110; the highest average price per day was Rs.74; the average for the whole fishery was Rs.45 per thousand; the total revenue to government, Rs.514326.00 (The normal value of the rupee is about 48½ cents).
The purchasers of large quantities of the oysters remove the shells to totties, inclosures which contain the oysters until they rot. Millions of maggots eventually consume the flesh. The residue is examined, sieved, and sifted innumerable times, and even the dust is picked over, so that the tiniest seed pearl may be escape.
“He was a bold man that first ate an oyster,” says Colonel Atwit in Swift’s Polite Conversation.” One might add that he is a bolder man who braves the perfume of decaying oysters and seeks for pearls. But the glorious uncertainity of the gamble leads him on, and there are few thrills equal to that of finding one pearl of great price.
The following interesting notes on the formation of the pearl are contributed by Dr Pearson, the Ceylon Government’s Marine Biologist:
“The mystery of pearl production has been the subject of much speculation throughout historic times. The formation of the pearl was variously ascribed by the ancients to the consolidation of drops of dew, to the distillation of the tears of the Nereids, or yet again to the effect of a flash of lightning.
“Leaving aside these more fanciful views, the most reasonable theory ascribes the creation of a pearl to the intrusion into the tissues of the oyster of some foreign particle, such as a sand grain, or parasitic worm, or indeed any suitable irritant. The problem still awaits definite solution, however, though there would appear to be considerable support for the parasite theory.
“The pearl oyster has its soft parts covered by a skin, which has the faculty of producing the nacre, or mother-of-pearl, with which the inside of the shell is lined. On occasion foreign particles find their way between the soft parts and the shell.
“Thus a secretion of nacre is stimulated around the intruding particle and a blister pearl is formed, which remains attached to the mother-of-pearl lining of the shell. Or, again, a young parasite may bore its way through the skin, carrying with it a few of the nacre-forming cells, which will proliferate and envelop the parasite.
“So the unfortunate parasite becomes inclosed in a nacreous tomb and forms the nucleus of a beautiful pearl. As a French scientist has put it, “La plus belle perle n’est done, en definitive, que le brilliant sarcophage d’un ver.” (The most beautiful pearl is in reality only the brilliant sarcophagus of a worm).
The Portuguese made first detailed record of Ceylon Pearl Fisheries
It is not until we reach the Portuguese occupation of Ceylon (1517-1658) that we find any detailed account of the manner in which a pearl fishery of those days was conducted, although fragmentary references to earlier fisheries are frequent, and from these it would appear that the general methods for the conduct of a fishery have remained substantially unaltered during the last 2000 to 3000 years, according to Mr A H Malpas.
During the Portuguese period, Manaar was the center of the pearl fishing industry, but it had lost much of its prosperity when the Dutch captured it in 1658 and succeeded to the pearl fisheries. The Dutch held a number of profitable fisheries before they lost Ceylon to the British in 1796.
The pearl oyster is not a true oyster
The pearl oyster (Margaritifera vulgaris) is not a true oyster, but belongs to the mussel family. It somewhat resembles the scallop in shape, although the two halves of the shell are almost equal in size and they have not the characteristic corrugations of the scallop.
Like the marine mussel, the pearl oyster possesses a byssus, or bundle of tough horny threads, which it has the power of casting off and renewing at will. By means of this byssus it anchors itself to rocks or other suitable objects.
There are two spawning seasons a year, coincident with the periods of the northeast and southwest monsoons, when millions of young oysters are liberated. Thus each year sees two spatfalls, or deposits of young oysters.
The first few days of the young oyster’s life, immediately after it is hatched from the egg, are spent as a free swimming larva in the surface waters of the sea, until such time as the shell is formed, when the oyster sinks to the bottom and attaches itself by means of its byssus either to other oysters or to any existing anchorage. Should the young oyster fall on sand, it does not generally survive a long period. Only those oysters falling on rock reach a fishable age.
The pearl fishery of 1925 laster for 37 days, but, owing to adverse weather, the catch was small—a total of 16,000,000 oysters. When one realizes the quantities of oysters, one is ready to exclaim with Joseph Hall, Bishop of Exeter (1574-1656):
“There is many a fine pearl laid up in the bosom of the sea,
That never was seen nor never shall be.”
Or one may philosophize with wise Sir Thomas Browne, Hall’s contemporary:
“To enjoy true happiness, we must travel into a very far country, and even out of ourselves, for the pearl we seek for is to be found not in the Indian, but in the Empyrean Ocean.”
(via The National Geographic Magazine, Vol.XLIX, No.2, February, 1926) Bella Sidney Woolf writes:
The fame of the Ceylon Pearl Banks goes back into the mist of ages. It is recorded that in 600 B.C., Vijaya, who landed in Ceylon in 543 B.B. and became its first king, sent a gift of chanks and pearls to his father-in-law, the King of Madura. Pliny discourses on the value of Ceylon pearls and on their formations, and Ibn Batuta, that shrewd medieval globe-trotter, gained first-hand knowledge of a pearl fishery in the fourteenth century.
From time to time in the long history of the Ceylon Pearl Fishery breaks have occurred. The spat has vanished, the young oysters have been swept away by adverse currents or have been destroyed by rapacious fish.
After one of these intervals, lasting 19 years, a pearl fishery was opened in February, 1925. The scientific operations were in the hands of Dr Pearson, Marine Biologist to the Government of Ceylon, and Mr A H Malpas, both of whom have devoted many years of study and research to the life history of the pearl oyster.
Off for the historic pearl banks
On a Sunday afternoon we set out in the government trawler Nautilus from Colombo Harbor, to visit the historic Pearl Banks. As the palm-fringed shore faded away and the trawler went north across a golden pathway of sunshine, one had a pleasurable sense of stepping back into the past; for, though steam trawlers now play their part in the fishery, there is no doubt that the actual procedure of diving and the traditions have not altered one jot or tittle since the days of Vijaya.
The Nautilus commanded by Captain Kerkham, R N R., late Superintendent of the Fisheries for the Ceylon Pearl Company, is a very comfortable boat for her size, and whether sitting on her deck under the awning for meals or sleeping in the airy cabins, there was no hint of hardship or discomfort.
The night was rough, so we turned in early, but were up at 4 O’clock, when the Nautilus dropped anchor. It was starlit night, and out of the darkness there came lights, green and red, moving mysteriously. They were the lights of the trawlers Lilla and Violet, towing in the fishing fleet.
Slowly the dawn came and revealed the gray throbbing waters of the Gulf of Manaar, with red and white flags bobbing up and down at irregular intervals. It looked for all the world like a gathering for a regatta. We were over the famous Twynam Paar, the pearl bank that has recently been located. These rocky ‘paars’ on which the oysters congregate in millions, lie for the most part in five to nine fathoms.
The fishing fleet takes one straight back 3000 years. In high-prowed dhoneys like these, the fishermen set out to sea in the days of King Vijaya, and the rigging and tackle have not changed by a hair’s breadth.
The sun flooded the sea and the whole scene took on stir and animation and clamor. The dhoneys had cast off from the trawlers and were being directed into position by the Nautilus. Nothing is done in the East without a full accompaniment of noise, and the fishery is no exception.
The Arabs excels the Tamil as a diver
The decks of the dhoneys were packed with brown figures: the manducks, who lower the divers, busy with their ropes; the divers themselves clambering over sides, the other occupants of the boats chattering, pulling at gear, or doing nothing with a maximum of commotion.
It is an entrancing sight—the boats, some painted bright blue or yellow, bobbing up and down on the translucent blue water, flutter of gay colored cloths and turbans hung on spars and rigging, the muscular brown bodies shining in the sunshine or gleaming in the water.
The Arab holds his nose with a clip, the Tamil uses his fingers
The divers are chiefly Tamils from southern India, and Arabs, the latter being the more efficient. The Tamil makes a terrible ado about it. If he descents and finds few oysters, instead of trying again, he raises his voice to heaven with shouts of ‘Sippi ille!” (No oysters!).The Arab’s motto is, “It’s dogged as does it.” Without any noise or commotion, he goes down into the depths and works swiftly and perseveringly, bringing in far more oysters than the excitable Tamil.
There is a difference in the methods of the divers, although they both go down in the same way. The manduck controls two ropes. A stone or metal ‘sinker’ is attached to the one, a net basket to the other. The diver descends with one foot on the sinker and the second rope and net bag in his hand. Arrived at sea bottom, he gathers the oysters and throws them into the bag; then he pulls at the rope and the manduck hauls him up to the surface.
The Tamil does not hold the rope till he reaches the surface; he begins to swim. The Arab comes up to the surface holding the rope, and in this way saves time. The Arab puts on a nose-clip; the Tamil holds his nose with finger and thumb.
The effect of an Arab diver rising to the surface is very striking. The man looks like a brown frog, as he comes up through the water. As one watches the divers at work, one is reminded of Browning’s lines from ‘Paracelsus’: Are there not…..dear Michal, Two points in the adventure of a diver, One—when, a beggar, he prepares to plunge , One—when, a prince, he rises with his pearl?
The average time that a diver stays under water is between 60 and 70 seconds, but cases are known in which he has remained below for nearly two minutes. The divers work in pairs, and their shells are packed into bags on the decks of the dhoneys. It is fascinating to watch the muscular brown figures at work in the water, and the manducks outlined against the sky pulling at the ropes.
The Arab divers haul themselves out of the water onto the decks of the dhoneys with superb ease, even after making so many descents that one would imagine they were exhausted. The muscles stand out on their shining brown bodies and the skin gleames like polished bronze.
One man I remember above all, a magnificent figure, towering above the rest, with a scrap of cotton loin cloth as his only apparel, save a large key which hung on a cord round his waist. There was something ludicrous in the key, attached to someone so devoid of any apparent possessions. Then I pictured him leaving his little home, say at Basra, locking the front door, casting a longing look at his date palms and girding on his latch key. Let us hope he returned with many pearls, or the proceeds of them, and the key.
The shark-charmer has lost his job
In some cases the divers discharge water and even blood from their mouth, ears, and nostrils; but, watching them close at hand, I did not detect any of these distressing symptoms. The men seemed perfectly comfortable and, in the case of the Arabs, thoroughly contented. A good diver can make 40 or 50 descents in a day.
It is astonishing that they are not attacked by sharks, but no case of such an attack occurred during the fishery. In old days the service of a shark-charmer was employed, but this superstition seems to have gone west. Many Arabs have a verse of the Koran tied round the arm, neck or wrist a protection from sharks.
At noon the hooter founds and diving ceases for the day. The government sealing officer set out in his launch and goes from one boat to the other, putting the government seal on bags. When this useful precautionary work is accomplished, the dhoneys collect round the tugs, set their sails, and are attached to the tugs by towlines.
A more beautiful sight than the dhoneys following after the tugs cannot be imagined, their huge brown and white sails shining in the sunshine, flapping like the wings of great birds, and a curling, sparkling wave breaking from their bows.
In the old days, of course, the fleet made for Pearl Town under its own sail and took many long hours to accomplish the journey. This towing of the fleet is one of the few innovations introduced into the age-old procedure of the fishery.
Pearl town a mushroom city
It is intensely interesting to watch the crowded decks of the dhoneys from the stern of the trawler. The Arabs, after the day’s work, wrap themselves in their burnooses, some of the grimy white, others blue and yellow. They herd round the fire lit in the dhoney, stretch themselves out, and sleep till the boats approach Pearl Town.
Then there is bustle and stir on board. About half a mile from shore the dhoney cast off from the tugs, and race for the shore takes place. It is case of first come, first served, and every diver is anxious to be the first to get his oysters into the government kottu, the inclosure in which the oysters are counted and divided.
Meanwhile we in the trawler transship to a launch and hurry shoreward, in order to see the arrival of the boats. Marichchukaddi, Pearl Town, seen from the sea, is a most attractive spot—a low, reddish coast line, tree and turf covered with a background of jungle, stretching away to a game sanctuary.
The shore is crowded with people, in colored cloths and turbans. It is astonishing to think that when there is no pearl fishery Marichchukaddi is deserted, save for a few native huts. Now a town of 30000 to 40000 inhabitants has sprung up, as if by magic. A day or two after the closing of the fishery these inhabitants of Pearl Town melt away like the figment of a dream. Only the cadjan (palm-leaf) huts and a few substantial buildings remain. The shore is deserted and silence reigns where for weeks rose a babel of many tongues, while Pearl Town enjoyed her crowded hour of glorious life.
The government takes two thirds and allows divers one third
It is delightful to watch the dhoneys making for the shore like a flock of birds on brown and white translucent wings, skimming over the shining waters. The moment the boats are beached the divers leap ashore, seize their bags and carry them up the beach on their heads. Each looks like the slave, in the story of Alladin, bearing treasure, and so indeed they do in some cases.
The bags are dumped in the kottu, a huge palisaded inclosure, with a numbered place set aside for bags from each correspondingly numbered boat. The shells are counted by government officials and made up into bags of 1000 each. The government’s share is two thirds, the diver keeps one third.
The bustle and hustle and clamor in the kottus can be imagined when it is realized that at one point of the fishery 125 boats were out and 1908 divers had to pass through the inclosure. All was conducted in a very systematic manner, however, the divers coming in at one entrance and leaving by another, bearing their share of the catch, which they carried off to an open market, held in a pleasant, green, tree-encircled hollow.
Pearl buyers of every nationality swarm about like bees
A crowd of buyers of every nationality and age swarms round the divers like bees, chattering and bargaining. The divers sell in small quantities. At the beginning of the 1925 fishery they obtained as much a rupee a shell.
The purchasers thrust their shells into palm-leaf bags, which form one of the staple articles of sale in Pearl Town shops and hurry off to open their treasures. It is a unique sight to watch single figures or groups of two or three seated, knife in hand, searching for pearls and absolutely absorbed in the hunt.
Finding the pearls is a tricky business, for they are often deeply embedded in the flesh of the oyster. The expert first passes his finger round the rim of the shell, then presses back the flesh with his knife and conducts a systematic search through the soft flesh. In one small oyster eleven small pearls were found.
In some cases the pearl is not detached, but is formed on the shell, when it is known as blister pearl. If it is well raised above the shell, it can be cut out and set in a ring or brooch, where perfect roundness is not required, as for a necklace.
When the divers have sold all their oysters, they seek the Diver’s Bathing Pool and wash the salt from their weary limbs. A continuous flow of talk, in which the word sippi (oyster) occurs incessantly, shows that they are living over again the day’s adventures.
The sights of Pearl Town
Pearl Town itself provides a fund of entertainment. There are long streets of cadjan huts, in which every variety of article is displayed for sale—clothes, umbrellas, bead necklaces, foodstuffs, and household utensils in profusion. There is a hospital, a police station, a post office, and a courthouse.
There are very elaborate sanitary arrangements and precautions in order to prevent any outbreak of the dread epidemics—cholera and plague.
The pearl dealers, grave, bearded men who have come from long distances in India, sit in a row of huts, with their brass sieves for grading the pearls and their huge brass-bound chests. Under a tulip tree sit the pearl drillers, who perform the delicate operation of piercing the gems.
One can wander for hours through Diver Street, Old and New Moor Street, Tank Street, and Chetty Street, or study the family camps in the open under the trees, peering into the cadjan huts, where mysterious cooking operations are in progress, examining the accommodations at the Rest House, where primitive lodging can be obtained.
Queer incidents occur. At one point, as we passed along a path through a grassy field, a small boy rushed out from a group sitting under some trees and, thrusting a tin at us, said in a shrill voice: “Will you not want a pineapple tinned in this country?” We declined the offer, but admired the business enterprise.
Auction of oysters is conducted in three languages
From one tree hung at least 20 umbrellas, looking like strange birds with folded wings. The man in charge explained that the umbrellas were left in his safe-keeping while the owners were at work—a primitive form of cloakroom.
Toward evening Pearl Town looks its best, especially if one strolls out to the edge of the jungle and hears the call of birds in the pink light of a glowing sunset. At 9 o’clock every evening the government auction of oysters was held by Mr F J Smith, government agent of the Northern Province, to whom the running of the pearl fisheries and Pearl Town was entrusted.
The auction took place in the courthouse. Rembrandt would have painted this scene joyfully—the upturned dusky faces of the buyers, who squatted on the floor in serried rows; the gorgeous colors of cloth and turban half revealed by the light of a lamp from the dais on which the government agent sat.
The bidding was conducted in Tamil, Singhalese, and Arabic by means of interpreters. Oysters were sold in lots of less than 1000.
The highest price paid per thousand was Rs.110; the highest average price per day was Rs.74; the average for the whole fishery was Rs.45 per thousand; the total revenue to government, Rs.514326.00 (The normal value of the rupee is about 48½ cents).
The purchasers of large quantities of the oysters remove the shells to totties, inclosures which contain the oysters until they rot. Millions of maggots eventually consume the flesh. The residue is examined, sieved, and sifted innumerable times, and even the dust is picked over, so that the tiniest seed pearl may be escape.
“He was a bold man that first ate an oyster,” says Colonel Atwit in Swift’s Polite Conversation.” One might add that he is a bolder man who braves the perfume of decaying oysters and seeks for pearls. But the glorious uncertainity of the gamble leads him on, and there are few thrills equal to that of finding one pearl of great price.
The following interesting notes on the formation of the pearl are contributed by Dr Pearson, the Ceylon Government’s Marine Biologist:
“The mystery of pearl production has been the subject of much speculation throughout historic times. The formation of the pearl was variously ascribed by the ancients to the consolidation of drops of dew, to the distillation of the tears of the Nereids, or yet again to the effect of a flash of lightning.
“Leaving aside these more fanciful views, the most reasonable theory ascribes the creation of a pearl to the intrusion into the tissues of the oyster of some foreign particle, such as a sand grain, or parasitic worm, or indeed any suitable irritant. The problem still awaits definite solution, however, though there would appear to be considerable support for the parasite theory.
“The pearl oyster has its soft parts covered by a skin, which has the faculty of producing the nacre, or mother-of-pearl, with which the inside of the shell is lined. On occasion foreign particles find their way between the soft parts and the shell.
“Thus a secretion of nacre is stimulated around the intruding particle and a blister pearl is formed, which remains attached to the mother-of-pearl lining of the shell. Or, again, a young parasite may bore its way through the skin, carrying with it a few of the nacre-forming cells, which will proliferate and envelop the parasite.
“So the unfortunate parasite becomes inclosed in a nacreous tomb and forms the nucleus of a beautiful pearl. As a French scientist has put it, “La plus belle perle n’est done, en definitive, que le brilliant sarcophage d’un ver.” (The most beautiful pearl is in reality only the brilliant sarcophagus of a worm).
The Portuguese made first detailed record of Ceylon Pearl Fisheries
It is not until we reach the Portuguese occupation of Ceylon (1517-1658) that we find any detailed account of the manner in which a pearl fishery of those days was conducted, although fragmentary references to earlier fisheries are frequent, and from these it would appear that the general methods for the conduct of a fishery have remained substantially unaltered during the last 2000 to 3000 years, according to Mr A H Malpas.
During the Portuguese period, Manaar was the center of the pearl fishing industry, but it had lost much of its prosperity when the Dutch captured it in 1658 and succeeded to the pearl fisheries. The Dutch held a number of profitable fisheries before they lost Ceylon to the British in 1796.
The pearl oyster is not a true oyster
The pearl oyster (Margaritifera vulgaris) is not a true oyster, but belongs to the mussel family. It somewhat resembles the scallop in shape, although the two halves of the shell are almost equal in size and they have not the characteristic corrugations of the scallop.
Like the marine mussel, the pearl oyster possesses a byssus, or bundle of tough horny threads, which it has the power of casting off and renewing at will. By means of this byssus it anchors itself to rocks or other suitable objects.
There are two spawning seasons a year, coincident with the periods of the northeast and southwest monsoons, when millions of young oysters are liberated. Thus each year sees two spatfalls, or deposits of young oysters.
The first few days of the young oyster’s life, immediately after it is hatched from the egg, are spent as a free swimming larva in the surface waters of the sea, until such time as the shell is formed, when the oyster sinks to the bottom and attaches itself by means of its byssus either to other oysters or to any existing anchorage. Should the young oyster fall on sand, it does not generally survive a long period. Only those oysters falling on rock reach a fishable age.
The pearl fishery of 1925 laster for 37 days, but, owing to adverse weather, the catch was small—a total of 16,000,000 oysters. When one realizes the quantities of oysters, one is ready to exclaim with Joseph Hall, Bishop of Exeter (1574-1656):
“There is many a fine pearl laid up in the bosom of the sea,
That never was seen nor never shall be.”
Or one may philosophize with wise Sir Thomas Browne, Hall’s contemporary:
“To enjoy true happiness, we must travel into a very far country, and even out of ourselves, for the pearl we seek for is to be found not in the Indian, but in the Empyrean Ocean.”
Thursday, May 31, 2007
The Beauty Of Numbers
(via Vinna Mara Magalhaes)
1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 12345321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 1234567897654321
1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 12345321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 1234567897654321
Cool Hand Luke
Memorable quote (s) from the movie:
(George Kennedy): He was smiling... That's right. You know, that, that Luke smile of his. He had it on his face right to the very end. Hell, if they didn't know it 'fore, they could tell right then that they weren't a-gonna beat him. That old Luke smile. Oh, Luke. He was some boy. Cool Hand Luke. Hell, he's a natural-born world-shaker.
My Lord, whatever I done, don't strike me blind for another couple of minutes. That's my darling Luke. He
grins like a baby but bites like a gator.
(George Kennedy): He was smiling... That's right. You know, that, that Luke smile of his. He had it on his face right to the very end. Hell, if they didn't know it 'fore, they could tell right then that they weren't a-gonna beat him. That old Luke smile. Oh, Luke. He was some boy. Cool Hand Luke. Hell, he's a natural-born world-shaker.
My Lord, whatever I done, don't strike me blind for another couple of minutes. That's my darling Luke. He
grins like a baby but bites like a gator.
African Diamond Duty
The Indian diamond industry may lose its luster if South Africa, Botswana, Congo and Angola decides to go ahead with 5-7% export duty on rough diamonds. The African countries want more value for their rough diamonds to boost their local economy. They believe Indians and others have made enough money over the decades and now they want diamond polishing units to be operational in Africa to generate local employment and other services. A recent survey of the diamond industry by audit firm KPMG says India’s share of the diamond processing business will decline from 57% (by value) now to 49% by 2015. The study adds that 10% of the world’s diamonds will be locally processed by then. The duty being considered by African countries will, if levied, accelerate this trend. A few enterprising Indian firms have already started setting up operations in Africa.
Rental Jewelry In Egypt
Desperate Egyptians are finding new ways to get married without losing status by renting jewelry. Egypt is undergoing a lot of changes with problems such as high employment, rising inflation, and low monthly salaries. There are no immediate solutions and it’s complicated due to various factors. Egyptians love their traditions. With weak economy and unaffordable gold prices many parents are going the extra mile to find happiness for their daughters. Rent-A-Jewelry-On-Wedding-Night is becoming more common and practical because many in Egypt’s lower income brackets may take years to save enough money for the special event. They just can’t afford the cost and style. A bride’s family may request anywhere from $500 to $10000 ++ for a wedding band and two bangles or for entire set of gold jewelry and a diamond ring. Because of the state of the economy and reality many families are learning to break away from the emotional attachment with gold and diamond. At the end of the day life is about choices you make and in Egypt women are choosing happiness over a traditional customs. In Egypt it looks like jewelry rental trend may gradually replace the traditional jewelers because of the state of the economy. Egypt’s gold heritage is unique and rich with traditions and it should reform and prosper with new ideas and utility. I hope the traditions remain affordable and durable with superb luster.
The Beauty Of Numbers
(via Vinna Mara Magalhaes)
9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888
9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Good Morning, Vietnam
Memorable quote (s) from the movie:
Lt. Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby): Sir, the man has got an irreverent tendency. He did a very off-color parody of former VP Nixon.
General: I thought it was hilarious.
Lt. Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby): Respectfully, sir, the former VP is a good man and a decent man.
General: Bullshit! I know Nixon personally. He lugs a trainload of shit behind him that could fertilize the Sinai. Why, I wouldn't buy an apple from the son of a bitch and I consider him a good, close, personal friend.
Lt. Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby): Sir, the man has got an irreverent tendency. He did a very off-color parody of former VP Nixon.
General: I thought it was hilarious.
Lt. Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby): Respectfully, sir, the former VP is a good man and a decent man.
General: Bullshit! I know Nixon personally. He lugs a trainload of shit behind him that could fertilize the Sinai. Why, I wouldn't buy an apple from the son of a bitch and I consider him a good, close, personal friend.
Star Rubies And Sapphires
When you read the story you realize that beauty is still in the eye of the beholder. There is a religious + historical spin to this story, and for this reason valuation becomes even more difficult. When you look at the prices quoted for the stones, it becomes clear that they are quoting prices based on the size (s) of the stone not the quality.
Mr. G. Vidyaraj, the owner of world's largest Star-Rubies is the direct descendant of the royal family of great Kingdom of Vijayanagar, India. The most famous of its kings was Krishna Deva Raya (1509-30), who imported velvets and damasks from Aden and China, horses from Arabia and elephants from Ceylon. Vidyaraj's gems must have been court jewels or the spoils of a war. The history of these stones, as narrated by Vidyaraj, is fascinating. Vijayanagar was world-centre for trade of precious gems and jewellery and traders from far flung corners of the world embarked upon hazardous and lengthy journeys coming to Vijayanagar in search of magnificent and unusual stones; with them they brought Emeralds from South America, Rubies from Burma and Pearls from Persian-gulf. Some of the world's more celebrated stones, mostly diamonds, like the Kohinoor, the Orlov, the Hope and the Pitt, are believed to have originated from the Vijayanagar dynasty. This great kingdom fell after the Talikota war of 1565, and his ancestors fled from Vijayanagar to the erstwhile state of Mysore.
You can now buy the Ravirathna, world's largest star ruby cut like a cabochon on top, weighing 3553 carats for a Billion US Dollars. Or it's smaller cousin, the Rajarathna, the largest star ruby in the world, weighing 2475 carats, for 500 Million US Dollars. If you cannot afford either, you might consider buying the Neelanjali, a double star sapphire weighing 1370 carats displaying twelve star lines, on offer for 200 Million US Dollars. Or world's largest uncut Burma ruby of 45000 carats for US Dollars 50 Million or may be a Burma ruby of four or five carats available at 75,000 US Dollars per carat.
''Being the worshippers of Shiva, they had brought with them several tiny sacred objects supposed to be lingams or symbols of Lord Shiva. These objects were called saligramas."
Always a rationalist at heart, he suspected that there might be something interesting hidden behind the centuries of grime and soot. So he sent off his family and domestic staff out on a holiday afternoon, and attacked one of the sacrosanct objects with soap and brush.
What emerged appeared, even to Vidyaraj's untrained eye, to be a precious stone. Ever the cautious lawyer, Vidyaraj locked the stones away again and began reading books on gemology in his spare time. As his knowledge of precious stones improved, he took the smallest of the stones out, and began taking it around to various gem cutters in the city. He would ask one to clean it, another to cut it, a third to start making facets and so on.
Those days of amateurism did cost him a lot. He now admits that more than half of 1125 carat star ruby, the Vidyaraj, was lost while cutting it. Now it weighs just 650 carat. Interestingly, this particular stone, which has Guinness Book listing,
Almost a decade ago, Vidyaraj first revealed the existence of a gigantic ruby that he named the Indumathi after his wife. It was a double star 2475-carats ruby with two stars of six lines each. This became the largest known ruby in the world, replacing the Rosser Reeves ruby, which is on display at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC.
Before this piece could make it to the Guinness Book, it was surpassed by another even bigger ruby that Vidyaraj named after himself. The Vidyaraj gem is 3.6 cm high and 4.1 cm wide.
And just when the world thought it had seen it all, Vidyaraj made public another stone, that he called the Rajarathna, at the end of 1986. It weighed 2805 carats in its rough form, and lost only 330 carats in cutting. His new revelation took the gem world by storm.
The media then started watching Vidyaraj, who was by then something of a celebrity, closely. How many more mineral wonders did he have up his sleeve, they wondered?
Vidyaraj certainly did not disappoint them. Exactly two years later, he gave the world one more valuable jewel, the Neelanjali, which weighed 2400 carat in its rough form, and 1370 carat after cutting.
The Neelanjali is now in the Guinness Book as the largest double sapphire in the world. It replaced in the world records a sapphire that adorns a stone bust of Abraham Lincoln in the Kazanjian Foundation in Los Angeles.
Now, he has revealed the existence of two more stones. One he describes as the "world's largest uncut ruby," a translucent pomegranate red stone of Burmese origin weighing a staggering 45,000 carats, and quotes a negotiable price of 50 million US Dollars. The other is, of course, the 3553 carat Ravirathna star ruby, for which he wants the astronomical price of One Billion U.S.Dollars. This deep red Burmese ruby displays an animated star of six red rays.
While other of the world's most precious stones, like the giant Star of Africa diamond, Queen Elizabeth's crown jewel, are kept safely in places like the high-tech vault in the Tower of London, Vidyaraj's huge precious stone collection is stored in undisclosed bank vaults dotted around the globe. However, pictures of them are readily available, as are certificates from renowned gemologists, who testify to their existence and value.
References:
Indian Express 30/11/1986
The Wall Street Journal 31/12/1991
The Illustrated weekly Of India 29/06/1991
Obsession 25/08/1991
The City Tab 07/12/1986
Indian Express 07/04/1999
Sunday Observer 01/01/1995
Kalki 28/10/2001
The Times of India 06/05/2000
The New York Times 15/01/1992
World’s Largest Uncut Ruby
Star ruby
45000 carats
World’s largest uncut star ruby is far superior to any other stone in color, quality and clarity. It is translucent and deep red in color with hardness 9 on Moh’s scale.
Price: US$50 million (negotiable)
Neelanjali
Double star sapphire
1370 carats
Neelanjali" a 1370 carat double star sapphire displaying twelve rays has no parallel in the world. Each star line cutting at 30 degrees on cabochon head produces great optical delight when viewed under light .This gained entry into Guinness Book of World Records as a new entry.
Price: US$150 million (negotiable)
Rajarathna
Star ruby
2475 carats
Rajarathna" a 2475 carat rare star ruby displaying six star lines ,is the largest star ruby in existance,as such is entered into Guinness Book of World Records as the largest star ruby. The animated jumps high on the cabochon head. Its star lines are clear and sharp under light. Being translucent, it has a pleasant pomegranate color with a slight purple tinge.
Price: US$250 million (negotiable)
Ravirathna
Star ruby
3553 carats
"Ravirathna" a 3553 carat unprecedented star ruby is far superior to both Rajarathna and Neelanjali in color, quality, clarity and cut. It displays clearly an animated star of six red rays that shines on the cabochon head. It is translucent and deep red in color, amazing in concept, exquisite in exposure. Really the gem of gems! a super star.
Price: US$550 million (negotiable)
Mr. G. Vidyaraj, the owner of world's largest Star-Rubies is the direct descendant of the royal family of great Kingdom of Vijayanagar, India. The most famous of its kings was Krishna Deva Raya (1509-30), who imported velvets and damasks from Aden and China, horses from Arabia and elephants from Ceylon. Vidyaraj's gems must have been court jewels or the spoils of a war. The history of these stones, as narrated by Vidyaraj, is fascinating. Vijayanagar was world-centre for trade of precious gems and jewellery and traders from far flung corners of the world embarked upon hazardous and lengthy journeys coming to Vijayanagar in search of magnificent and unusual stones; with them they brought Emeralds from South America, Rubies from Burma and Pearls from Persian-gulf. Some of the world's more celebrated stones, mostly diamonds, like the Kohinoor, the Orlov, the Hope and the Pitt, are believed to have originated from the Vijayanagar dynasty. This great kingdom fell after the Talikota war of 1565, and his ancestors fled from Vijayanagar to the erstwhile state of Mysore.
You can now buy the Ravirathna, world's largest star ruby cut like a cabochon on top, weighing 3553 carats for a Billion US Dollars. Or it's smaller cousin, the Rajarathna, the largest star ruby in the world, weighing 2475 carats, for 500 Million US Dollars. If you cannot afford either, you might consider buying the Neelanjali, a double star sapphire weighing 1370 carats displaying twelve star lines, on offer for 200 Million US Dollars. Or world's largest uncut Burma ruby of 45000 carats for US Dollars 50 Million or may be a Burma ruby of four or five carats available at 75,000 US Dollars per carat.
''Being the worshippers of Shiva, they had brought with them several tiny sacred objects supposed to be lingams or symbols of Lord Shiva. These objects were called saligramas."
Always a rationalist at heart, he suspected that there might be something interesting hidden behind the centuries of grime and soot. So he sent off his family and domestic staff out on a holiday afternoon, and attacked one of the sacrosanct objects with soap and brush.
What emerged appeared, even to Vidyaraj's untrained eye, to be a precious stone. Ever the cautious lawyer, Vidyaraj locked the stones away again and began reading books on gemology in his spare time. As his knowledge of precious stones improved, he took the smallest of the stones out, and began taking it around to various gem cutters in the city. He would ask one to clean it, another to cut it, a third to start making facets and so on.
Those days of amateurism did cost him a lot. He now admits that more than half of 1125 carat star ruby, the Vidyaraj, was lost while cutting it. Now it weighs just 650 carat. Interestingly, this particular stone, which has Guinness Book listing,
Almost a decade ago, Vidyaraj first revealed the existence of a gigantic ruby that he named the Indumathi after his wife. It was a double star 2475-carats ruby with two stars of six lines each. This became the largest known ruby in the world, replacing the Rosser Reeves ruby, which is on display at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC.
Before this piece could make it to the Guinness Book, it was surpassed by another even bigger ruby that Vidyaraj named after himself. The Vidyaraj gem is 3.6 cm high and 4.1 cm wide.
And just when the world thought it had seen it all, Vidyaraj made public another stone, that he called the Rajarathna, at the end of 1986. It weighed 2805 carats in its rough form, and lost only 330 carats in cutting. His new revelation took the gem world by storm.
The media then started watching Vidyaraj, who was by then something of a celebrity, closely. How many more mineral wonders did he have up his sleeve, they wondered?
Vidyaraj certainly did not disappoint them. Exactly two years later, he gave the world one more valuable jewel, the Neelanjali, which weighed 2400 carat in its rough form, and 1370 carat after cutting.
The Neelanjali is now in the Guinness Book as the largest double sapphire in the world. It replaced in the world records a sapphire that adorns a stone bust of Abraham Lincoln in the Kazanjian Foundation in Los Angeles.
Now, he has revealed the existence of two more stones. One he describes as the "world's largest uncut ruby," a translucent pomegranate red stone of Burmese origin weighing a staggering 45,000 carats, and quotes a negotiable price of 50 million US Dollars. The other is, of course, the 3553 carat Ravirathna star ruby, for which he wants the astronomical price of One Billion U.S.Dollars. This deep red Burmese ruby displays an animated star of six red rays.
While other of the world's most precious stones, like the giant Star of Africa diamond, Queen Elizabeth's crown jewel, are kept safely in places like the high-tech vault in the Tower of London, Vidyaraj's huge precious stone collection is stored in undisclosed bank vaults dotted around the globe. However, pictures of them are readily available, as are certificates from renowned gemologists, who testify to their existence and value.
References:
Indian Express 30/11/1986
The Wall Street Journal 31/12/1991
The Illustrated weekly Of India 29/06/1991
Obsession 25/08/1991
The City Tab 07/12/1986
Indian Express 07/04/1999
Sunday Observer 01/01/1995
Kalki 28/10/2001
The Times of India 06/05/2000
The New York Times 15/01/1992
World’s Largest Uncut Ruby
Star ruby
45000 carats
World’s largest uncut star ruby is far superior to any other stone in color, quality and clarity. It is translucent and deep red in color with hardness 9 on Moh’s scale.
Price: US$50 million (negotiable)
Neelanjali
Double star sapphire
1370 carats
Neelanjali" a 1370 carat double star sapphire displaying twelve rays has no parallel in the world. Each star line cutting at 30 degrees on cabochon head produces great optical delight when viewed under light .This gained entry into Guinness Book of World Records as a new entry.
Price: US$150 million (negotiable)
Rajarathna
Star ruby
2475 carats
Rajarathna" a 2475 carat rare star ruby displaying six star lines ,is the largest star ruby in existance,as such is entered into Guinness Book of World Records as the largest star ruby. The animated jumps high on the cabochon head. Its star lines are clear and sharp under light. Being translucent, it has a pleasant pomegranate color with a slight purple tinge.
Price: US$250 million (negotiable)
Ravirathna
Star ruby
3553 carats
"Ravirathna" a 3553 carat unprecedented star ruby is far superior to both Rajarathna and Neelanjali in color, quality, clarity and cut. It displays clearly an animated star of six red rays that shines on the cabochon head. It is translucent and deep red in color, amazing in concept, exquisite in exposure. Really the gem of gems! a super star.
Price: US$550 million (negotiable)
Photographing Inclusions
John Koivula is the grandmaster of photomicrography of gem inclusions. I don't know how many times I have read this article, but the more I read I always always learn something new. For those who are interested, Photoatlas of Inclusions + volume 1 + 2, are excellent references.
(via Gems & Gemology, Vol.XVII, Fall, 1981) John Koivula writes:
Although the general principles of photomicrography are easily learned and applied, high quality photomicrography is an art that is mastered only with time and great patience. The microscope must be kept scrupulously clean, and the effects of light on the subject inclusion must be fully understood in order to determine what method (s) of illumination will yield the most useful photographic image. Specialized techniques that can save film and time, while producing top quality photomicrographs, are usually learned only through long hours of experience. This article discusses some of these techniques, such as the importance of a properly prepared microscope and photographic subject, as well as the control of vibrations and exposure time. In addition, the various methods of illumination that are adaptable to a standard binocular gemological microscope are introduced.
Photomicrography of inclusions in gems requires the combined techniques of gemological microscopy, photomicrography, and the various specialized methods of illumination that aid in capturing images of a gem’s interior on film. It is a simple matter to load film and place a camera body with a microscope adapter over a microscope eye piece, put a gem in the microscope’s gem holder, focus on the inclusions within, and start snapping pictures one after the other by pushing the button on the cable release. These, however, are only the first small steps toward good photomicrography.
A sound working knowledge of inclusions in gems and how they react to various forms of illumination is vitally important. This knowledge is the first major step toward outstanding photomicrography. Along this road of learning there are a number of stumbling blocks. How should exposure time be controlled? What about long exposures? How can vibration be reduced? What illumination techniques are available and how can they best be used? And so on.
It is my intent in this article to introduce some important considerations for photographing inclusions through a microscope and to help remove many of these stumbling blocks for the interested gemologist. This article does not attempt to reiterate the ‘how to’ of photomicrography, which has been presented in numerous other articles. Rather it reports the specific application of these techniques to, and in many cases their refinement for, photographing inclusions.
Why photomicrography?
Not only are inclusion photographs often quite beautiful, but they can be highly informative as well. Properly identified and catalogued, photomicrographs can serve as a visual reference library that greatly aids the gemologist both in the routine identification of gemstones and in the determination of their origins, especially whether natural or synthetic. It is neither economical nor feasible for one individual to own every gem with interesting inclusions that has ever been encountered, and it is impossible to remember the internal characteristics of every major gem species. With photomicrographs, however, important inclusion characteristics are always available for quick reference.
Photomicrography also affords the jeweler-gemologist a permanent record of the internal characteristics of a specific gemstone. Inasmuch as no two inclusion images are ever exactly alike, the jeweler-gemologist, aided by photomicrographs, can identify beyond reasonable doubt a specific previously photographed stone. Even if a gem is recut, as long as the inclusions are deep within the stone rather than right on the surface, the stone can be identified through previous photomicrographs.
Getting a clean start
A good microscope should be treated as you would treat any precision instrument. When not in use, it should always be covered. Never smoke around optical equipment, and avoid eating while taking photomicrographs. Although these precautions should slow the process, oculars, objectives, and phototube lenses will eventually become dirty. Accordingly, when lens cleaning is needed, a can of compressed air should be used first to blow off all lose dirt particles. Then a soft camel’s hair brush can be employed to lightly loosen any stubborn dust so that another dose of compressed air will blow it away. Oily or greasy smudges can be cleaned with either distilled water (easily produced by breathing on the lens surface) or any of the standard quick evaporating lens cleaners and a lint-free lens tissue. Never dry wipe a lens, as this will damage the coating and almost always guarantees a scratched surface. Dirty lenses produce fuzzy, blurred photomicrographs, making it virtually impossible to obtain a critical focus on the subject.
A clean photographic subject is almost as important as clean lenses on the microscope. Tiny dust particles appear as bright hot spots on the developed film, and oily smudges and fingerprints will distort the view of the gem’s inclusions. If the subject is very oily, a standard lens cleaner and lens tissue can be used to clean the surface. Normally, though, just wiping the stone off with a clean, lint free gem cloth is sufficient. Canned air, blower brush, and a fine point needle probe can be used to remove small dust particles that are attracted to the surface after the initial cleaning. A useful collection of items for the routine cleaning of microscope lenses and subjects should be kept close at hand.
Pyroelectric species such as tourmaline are often troublesome dust gatherers when they are slightly warmed by the micrcoscope illuminators commonly used. Therefore, a cool, fiber optic light source is recommended for the illumination fo such materials.
The time factor
Many gemologists rush their preparation for a photomicrograph, and a poor end product almost invariably results. The beginner in a hurry will end up with a far higher incidence of failure than of success. Speed will come only with experience. Whenever possible, as much time as is necessary should be invested to clean the subject thoroughly and adjust the lighting to adequately illuminate the desired features. A few extra moments taken in the initial set up will not only save film, but will also eliminate the necessity of a reshoot in most cases. It should be remembered that the number of mistakes made increases as the time spent decreases, so if you want good inclusion photomicrographs, be prepared to spend the time.
Controlling vibrations
Common vibration is often responsible for many a ruined photomicrograph. As exposure time and magnification increase, vibration problems also increase. The problem is how to isolate the photomicrographic unit from unavoidable room vibrations during the entire exposure cycle. Optical isolation benches and air floatation tables have been designed for this specific purpose, but their costs are prohibitive for most photomicrographers. Making your own vibration control stage is the logical alternative, and this is easily done.
Start with a hard, thick-surfaced, sturdy table as a primary base. Place a rubber cushion (such as a typewriter pad) on the table. Then put a ¼ to ½ inch thick steel plate. On this cushion, place a 1 to 3 inch thick granite (or similar rock) slab. Flat, pre-shaped, and finished rock slabs can be obtained from a local stone mason. The photomicrographic unit will rest on the rock slab. The rubber cushions effectively eliminate short, sharp vibrations while the table top, steel plate, and rock slab reduce rolling vibrations of longer wavelengths. This method eliminates vibrations for virtually all magnifications less than about 150x.
Even when an anti-vibration base is used, care must be taken to avoid touching the microscope itself, the table, or any miscellaneous equipment on the table during the actual exposure.
Exposure time
Long exposure times are one of the inclusions photomicrographer’s worst enemies because of the potential for color shifts in the film and vibration problems. The speed of the film used and the amount of light reaching the film dictate the length of exposure. In attempting to reduce exposure time, usually it is better to apply additional light to the subject than to use a faster film. In general, the higher the film speed is, the greater the graininess of the film will be. If the recorded image is to be enlarged, this should be considered. Also, as the film speed increases, the quality of the colors obtained decreases. There is an obvious difference in color saturation and richness between photographs taken with 50 ASA film and those taken with high speed 400 ASA film.
Illumination techniques
Darkfield illumination
Through the microscope, the routine observation and photography of inclusion in gem materials is greatly aided by the use of dark-field illumination. In the darkfield technique, the direct transmission of light from below through the inclusion host is blocked by a dark colored (preferably black), opaque light shield. The only light to reach the subject is indirect side light reflected from below around the sides of opaque light shield by a hemispherical or circular mirror-like reflector.
With this technique, only light that is scattered or reflected by the inclusions enters the microscope objectives and passes to the film plane. The inclusion subjects are seen very brightly against a dark background. Even tiny inclusions stand out in high relief, and a tremendous amount of detail may be photographed. Darkfield lighting is most applicable to the study of included crystals, some small fluid inclusions, healing fractures and cleavages.
For darkfield photomicrography, the subject must be very clean, since dust on the surface of the host readily stands out as tiny hot spots, while grease and finger smudges become highly visible surface swirls that tend to dim or fog the internal features.
Polarized light
Polarized light microscopy is often thought of as a mineralogist’s tool and has long been neglected by gemologists. Any gemological microscope with transmitted light capabilities can be easily converted, temporarily, to a polarizing microscope. Two polaroid plates are the only requirement. One Polaroid, called the polarizer, is placed over the transmitted light port under the gem subject. The other Polaroid, called the analyzer is placed over the gem subject in front of the microscope objective. Normally, the analyzer is rotated and polarizer remains fixed, but in this set-up both can be rotated. In routine examinations, unprotected plastic sheet polaroids with their fine scratches and slightly warped surfaces are adequate, but for photomicrography camera-type Polaroid filters of good optical quality are needed.
In color and variety, the world of polarized light microscopy can be both startling and beautiful, especially if one is using this technique for the first time. Internal strain around included crystals, crystal-intergrowth induced strain, and twinning all become visible under polarized light. Included crystals of very low relief, if doubly refractive, will stand out readily when polarized light is used and optic figures in gems can be located and photographed. If the polarizer is removed, the photographer can easily capture an inclusion in a strongly birefringent gem, such as peridot or zircon, by rotating the analyzer and clearing the otherwise strongly doubled image.
In polarized light photomicrography, light levels are usually low and exposure times are correspondingly long, if vibrations are controlled, though, the photographic results can be quite spectacular.
Transmitted light
Transmitted light is produced by removing the darkfield light shield and allowing the passage of light from directly below the gem, through the gem itself, upward into the microscope system. A great deal of detail normally seen with dark field illumination is lost in transmitted light. Darkly colored or opaque included crystals and fine growth features are virtually washed out. Large fluid inclusions, however, are very easily examined in transmitted light. Details in these fluid chambers that were invisible under darkfield conditions stand out readily in a beam of transmitted light. Color zoning is also easily observed and photographed.
When transmitted light is used, exposure times are at their shortest. Small dust particles on the surface of the host gem are no problem, since the quantity of direct bright light washing around them tends to cancel their ability to interfere with light transmission.
Oblique illumination
Between the 0º angle of horizontal lighting and the 90º angle of vertical illumination lies a range of angles that is known as the arc of oblique illumination.
Oblique illumination is seldom used in gemology except in the examination of opaque materials, when it is applied to transparent gems, however, the results can be both beautiful and fascinating. Behaving like thin films, fractures and ultra-thin liquid fingerprints spring to life, decorated by vibrant interference colors. Interfaces surrounding included crystals show details of growth on the crystals that otherwise elude observation. Reflecting facets return the oblique light rays to the observer’s eye, seemingly magnifying their intensity and the richness of color.
A variety of lighting sources can be used for oblique illumination. One of the most efficient is a fiber optic illuminator. Oblique illumination may also be used in combination with other methods of illumination, such as darkfield or polarized lighting, to add color highlights and additional light where needed, thus revealing more detail, adding desirable reflections, and reducing the exposure time required.
Ultraviolet illumination
The use of ultraviolet light in photomicrography and inclusion research is somewhat limited. If the host gem material, such as quartz or fluorite, is transparent to ultraviolet wavelengths, then certain included organic fluids and fluorescing solids will be seen to glow under the influence of the ultraviolet illumination. The low light levels of ultraviolet photomicrography often require excessively long exposure times, so slight vibrations in the equipment may become a problem.
Why not immersion?
Immersion techniques have their place in gemology; but not, at least in this writer’s opinion, in photomicrography. A general rule of thumb is the more lenses and other optically dense media that lie between the film plane and the subject, the lower the image quality will be. The common immersion liquids are dense, poisonous organic compounds that are typically colored. They generally are difficult to work with and sensitive to the bright lights that are needed for inclusion photography. Their colors tend to darken after only short exposure to these lights. In addition, they must be filtered continually to remove the microscopic dust particles that readily contaminate them. If they are not filtered, the suspended dirt will appear through the microscope as a milkiness composed of hundreds, or even thousands, of floaters in continuous motion, some in focus and some just out. The convection currents in these dense liquids are often seen as heat wave like swirls that can distort a photographed image, especially if the exposure time is long.
Although, to the beginner, facet reflections are often very irritating and seemingly uncontrollable, with experience and photomicrographer will find that these reflections can become welcome sources of additional lighting and can add both color and desirable highlights to photomicrographs. It is important to work with the light by manipulating both the gem being photographed and the source (s) of illumination. The use of immersion to control facet reflections, although somewhat tempting to the novice, only adds an additional thickness of optically dense material between the subject and the film, thus reducing the quality of the image.
Photographing scratched gems and rough crystals
Occasionally a gem is encountered with unique internal patterns that beg to be photographed, but the surface of the stone is so badly scratched that obtaining a clear image is virtually impossible. In such situations, a modified immersion technique can work very effectively. This technique employs a small droplet of an index of refraction liquid, such as a Cargille liquid, with a refractive index very close to that of the gem being photographed. The droplet is placed on the scratched stone and, as it wets the gem’s surface, all of the abrasions seen to disappear, effectively eliminating the image obstructions and allowing a clear view of the gem’s interior.
This technique has several advantages over total immersion. The liquid layer is very thin, so the effects of liquid color and density currents on image quality are negated. So little liquid is used that clean-up is very easy, and the strong odors that are so prevalent during total immersion are practically nonexistent. In addition, back reflecting facets can still be used to highlight the inclusion. This method is especially useful on soft, easily scratched gem materials such as amber.
This technique is also very helpful when studying the interiors of natural crystals through their rough crystal faces or waterworn surfaces. And it can be a tremendous aid in locating optic figures in anisotropic gemstones without having to resort to total immersion.
Conclusion
Inclusion photomicrography is a gemological skill that is well worth mastering. The knowledge necessary to obtain high quality photomicrographs goes far beyond the mere mechanics of the marriage of microscope to camera, and into the nature and very origins of the inclusions themselves.
Photomicrography adds yet another dimension to gemological microscopy and further aids the gemologist in recording and identifying stones and in appreciating the complex nature and striking beauty of inclusions in gems.
(via Gems & Gemology, Vol.XVII, Fall, 1981) John Koivula writes:
Although the general principles of photomicrography are easily learned and applied, high quality photomicrography is an art that is mastered only with time and great patience. The microscope must be kept scrupulously clean, and the effects of light on the subject inclusion must be fully understood in order to determine what method (s) of illumination will yield the most useful photographic image. Specialized techniques that can save film and time, while producing top quality photomicrographs, are usually learned only through long hours of experience. This article discusses some of these techniques, such as the importance of a properly prepared microscope and photographic subject, as well as the control of vibrations and exposure time. In addition, the various methods of illumination that are adaptable to a standard binocular gemological microscope are introduced.
Photomicrography of inclusions in gems requires the combined techniques of gemological microscopy, photomicrography, and the various specialized methods of illumination that aid in capturing images of a gem’s interior on film. It is a simple matter to load film and place a camera body with a microscope adapter over a microscope eye piece, put a gem in the microscope’s gem holder, focus on the inclusions within, and start snapping pictures one after the other by pushing the button on the cable release. These, however, are only the first small steps toward good photomicrography.
A sound working knowledge of inclusions in gems and how they react to various forms of illumination is vitally important. This knowledge is the first major step toward outstanding photomicrography. Along this road of learning there are a number of stumbling blocks. How should exposure time be controlled? What about long exposures? How can vibration be reduced? What illumination techniques are available and how can they best be used? And so on.
It is my intent in this article to introduce some important considerations for photographing inclusions through a microscope and to help remove many of these stumbling blocks for the interested gemologist. This article does not attempt to reiterate the ‘how to’ of photomicrography, which has been presented in numerous other articles. Rather it reports the specific application of these techniques to, and in many cases their refinement for, photographing inclusions.
Why photomicrography?
Not only are inclusion photographs often quite beautiful, but they can be highly informative as well. Properly identified and catalogued, photomicrographs can serve as a visual reference library that greatly aids the gemologist both in the routine identification of gemstones and in the determination of their origins, especially whether natural or synthetic. It is neither economical nor feasible for one individual to own every gem with interesting inclusions that has ever been encountered, and it is impossible to remember the internal characteristics of every major gem species. With photomicrographs, however, important inclusion characteristics are always available for quick reference.
Photomicrography also affords the jeweler-gemologist a permanent record of the internal characteristics of a specific gemstone. Inasmuch as no two inclusion images are ever exactly alike, the jeweler-gemologist, aided by photomicrographs, can identify beyond reasonable doubt a specific previously photographed stone. Even if a gem is recut, as long as the inclusions are deep within the stone rather than right on the surface, the stone can be identified through previous photomicrographs.
Getting a clean start
A good microscope should be treated as you would treat any precision instrument. When not in use, it should always be covered. Never smoke around optical equipment, and avoid eating while taking photomicrographs. Although these precautions should slow the process, oculars, objectives, and phototube lenses will eventually become dirty. Accordingly, when lens cleaning is needed, a can of compressed air should be used first to blow off all lose dirt particles. Then a soft camel’s hair brush can be employed to lightly loosen any stubborn dust so that another dose of compressed air will blow it away. Oily or greasy smudges can be cleaned with either distilled water (easily produced by breathing on the lens surface) or any of the standard quick evaporating lens cleaners and a lint-free lens tissue. Never dry wipe a lens, as this will damage the coating and almost always guarantees a scratched surface. Dirty lenses produce fuzzy, blurred photomicrographs, making it virtually impossible to obtain a critical focus on the subject.
A clean photographic subject is almost as important as clean lenses on the microscope. Tiny dust particles appear as bright hot spots on the developed film, and oily smudges and fingerprints will distort the view of the gem’s inclusions. If the subject is very oily, a standard lens cleaner and lens tissue can be used to clean the surface. Normally, though, just wiping the stone off with a clean, lint free gem cloth is sufficient. Canned air, blower brush, and a fine point needle probe can be used to remove small dust particles that are attracted to the surface after the initial cleaning. A useful collection of items for the routine cleaning of microscope lenses and subjects should be kept close at hand.
Pyroelectric species such as tourmaline are often troublesome dust gatherers when they are slightly warmed by the micrcoscope illuminators commonly used. Therefore, a cool, fiber optic light source is recommended for the illumination fo such materials.
The time factor
Many gemologists rush their preparation for a photomicrograph, and a poor end product almost invariably results. The beginner in a hurry will end up with a far higher incidence of failure than of success. Speed will come only with experience. Whenever possible, as much time as is necessary should be invested to clean the subject thoroughly and adjust the lighting to adequately illuminate the desired features. A few extra moments taken in the initial set up will not only save film, but will also eliminate the necessity of a reshoot in most cases. It should be remembered that the number of mistakes made increases as the time spent decreases, so if you want good inclusion photomicrographs, be prepared to spend the time.
Controlling vibrations
Common vibration is often responsible for many a ruined photomicrograph. As exposure time and magnification increase, vibration problems also increase. The problem is how to isolate the photomicrographic unit from unavoidable room vibrations during the entire exposure cycle. Optical isolation benches and air floatation tables have been designed for this specific purpose, but their costs are prohibitive for most photomicrographers. Making your own vibration control stage is the logical alternative, and this is easily done.
Start with a hard, thick-surfaced, sturdy table as a primary base. Place a rubber cushion (such as a typewriter pad) on the table. Then put a ¼ to ½ inch thick steel plate. On this cushion, place a 1 to 3 inch thick granite (or similar rock) slab. Flat, pre-shaped, and finished rock slabs can be obtained from a local stone mason. The photomicrographic unit will rest on the rock slab. The rubber cushions effectively eliminate short, sharp vibrations while the table top, steel plate, and rock slab reduce rolling vibrations of longer wavelengths. This method eliminates vibrations for virtually all magnifications less than about 150x.
Even when an anti-vibration base is used, care must be taken to avoid touching the microscope itself, the table, or any miscellaneous equipment on the table during the actual exposure.
Exposure time
Long exposure times are one of the inclusions photomicrographer’s worst enemies because of the potential for color shifts in the film and vibration problems. The speed of the film used and the amount of light reaching the film dictate the length of exposure. In attempting to reduce exposure time, usually it is better to apply additional light to the subject than to use a faster film. In general, the higher the film speed is, the greater the graininess of the film will be. If the recorded image is to be enlarged, this should be considered. Also, as the film speed increases, the quality of the colors obtained decreases. There is an obvious difference in color saturation and richness between photographs taken with 50 ASA film and those taken with high speed 400 ASA film.
Illumination techniques
Darkfield illumination
Through the microscope, the routine observation and photography of inclusion in gem materials is greatly aided by the use of dark-field illumination. In the darkfield technique, the direct transmission of light from below through the inclusion host is blocked by a dark colored (preferably black), opaque light shield. The only light to reach the subject is indirect side light reflected from below around the sides of opaque light shield by a hemispherical or circular mirror-like reflector.
With this technique, only light that is scattered or reflected by the inclusions enters the microscope objectives and passes to the film plane. The inclusion subjects are seen very brightly against a dark background. Even tiny inclusions stand out in high relief, and a tremendous amount of detail may be photographed. Darkfield lighting is most applicable to the study of included crystals, some small fluid inclusions, healing fractures and cleavages.
For darkfield photomicrography, the subject must be very clean, since dust on the surface of the host readily stands out as tiny hot spots, while grease and finger smudges become highly visible surface swirls that tend to dim or fog the internal features.
Polarized light
Polarized light microscopy is often thought of as a mineralogist’s tool and has long been neglected by gemologists. Any gemological microscope with transmitted light capabilities can be easily converted, temporarily, to a polarizing microscope. Two polaroid plates are the only requirement. One Polaroid, called the polarizer, is placed over the transmitted light port under the gem subject. The other Polaroid, called the analyzer is placed over the gem subject in front of the microscope objective. Normally, the analyzer is rotated and polarizer remains fixed, but in this set-up both can be rotated. In routine examinations, unprotected plastic sheet polaroids with their fine scratches and slightly warped surfaces are adequate, but for photomicrography camera-type Polaroid filters of good optical quality are needed.
In color and variety, the world of polarized light microscopy can be both startling and beautiful, especially if one is using this technique for the first time. Internal strain around included crystals, crystal-intergrowth induced strain, and twinning all become visible under polarized light. Included crystals of very low relief, if doubly refractive, will stand out readily when polarized light is used and optic figures in gems can be located and photographed. If the polarizer is removed, the photographer can easily capture an inclusion in a strongly birefringent gem, such as peridot or zircon, by rotating the analyzer and clearing the otherwise strongly doubled image.
In polarized light photomicrography, light levels are usually low and exposure times are correspondingly long, if vibrations are controlled, though, the photographic results can be quite spectacular.
Transmitted light
Transmitted light is produced by removing the darkfield light shield and allowing the passage of light from directly below the gem, through the gem itself, upward into the microscope system. A great deal of detail normally seen with dark field illumination is lost in transmitted light. Darkly colored or opaque included crystals and fine growth features are virtually washed out. Large fluid inclusions, however, are very easily examined in transmitted light. Details in these fluid chambers that were invisible under darkfield conditions stand out readily in a beam of transmitted light. Color zoning is also easily observed and photographed.
When transmitted light is used, exposure times are at their shortest. Small dust particles on the surface of the host gem are no problem, since the quantity of direct bright light washing around them tends to cancel their ability to interfere with light transmission.
Oblique illumination
Between the 0º angle of horizontal lighting and the 90º angle of vertical illumination lies a range of angles that is known as the arc of oblique illumination.
Oblique illumination is seldom used in gemology except in the examination of opaque materials, when it is applied to transparent gems, however, the results can be both beautiful and fascinating. Behaving like thin films, fractures and ultra-thin liquid fingerprints spring to life, decorated by vibrant interference colors. Interfaces surrounding included crystals show details of growth on the crystals that otherwise elude observation. Reflecting facets return the oblique light rays to the observer’s eye, seemingly magnifying their intensity and the richness of color.
A variety of lighting sources can be used for oblique illumination. One of the most efficient is a fiber optic illuminator. Oblique illumination may also be used in combination with other methods of illumination, such as darkfield or polarized lighting, to add color highlights and additional light where needed, thus revealing more detail, adding desirable reflections, and reducing the exposure time required.
Ultraviolet illumination
The use of ultraviolet light in photomicrography and inclusion research is somewhat limited. If the host gem material, such as quartz or fluorite, is transparent to ultraviolet wavelengths, then certain included organic fluids and fluorescing solids will be seen to glow under the influence of the ultraviolet illumination. The low light levels of ultraviolet photomicrography often require excessively long exposure times, so slight vibrations in the equipment may become a problem.
Why not immersion?
Immersion techniques have their place in gemology; but not, at least in this writer’s opinion, in photomicrography. A general rule of thumb is the more lenses and other optically dense media that lie between the film plane and the subject, the lower the image quality will be. The common immersion liquids are dense, poisonous organic compounds that are typically colored. They generally are difficult to work with and sensitive to the bright lights that are needed for inclusion photography. Their colors tend to darken after only short exposure to these lights. In addition, they must be filtered continually to remove the microscopic dust particles that readily contaminate them. If they are not filtered, the suspended dirt will appear through the microscope as a milkiness composed of hundreds, or even thousands, of floaters in continuous motion, some in focus and some just out. The convection currents in these dense liquids are often seen as heat wave like swirls that can distort a photographed image, especially if the exposure time is long.
Although, to the beginner, facet reflections are often very irritating and seemingly uncontrollable, with experience and photomicrographer will find that these reflections can become welcome sources of additional lighting and can add both color and desirable highlights to photomicrographs. It is important to work with the light by manipulating both the gem being photographed and the source (s) of illumination. The use of immersion to control facet reflections, although somewhat tempting to the novice, only adds an additional thickness of optically dense material between the subject and the film, thus reducing the quality of the image.
Photographing scratched gems and rough crystals
Occasionally a gem is encountered with unique internal patterns that beg to be photographed, but the surface of the stone is so badly scratched that obtaining a clear image is virtually impossible. In such situations, a modified immersion technique can work very effectively. This technique employs a small droplet of an index of refraction liquid, such as a Cargille liquid, with a refractive index very close to that of the gem being photographed. The droplet is placed on the scratched stone and, as it wets the gem’s surface, all of the abrasions seen to disappear, effectively eliminating the image obstructions and allowing a clear view of the gem’s interior.
This technique has several advantages over total immersion. The liquid layer is very thin, so the effects of liquid color and density currents on image quality are negated. So little liquid is used that clean-up is very easy, and the strong odors that are so prevalent during total immersion are practically nonexistent. In addition, back reflecting facets can still be used to highlight the inclusion. This method is especially useful on soft, easily scratched gem materials such as amber.
This technique is also very helpful when studying the interiors of natural crystals through their rough crystal faces or waterworn surfaces. And it can be a tremendous aid in locating optic figures in anisotropic gemstones without having to resort to total immersion.
Conclusion
Inclusion photomicrography is a gemological skill that is well worth mastering. The knowledge necessary to obtain high quality photomicrographs goes far beyond the mere mechanics of the marriage of microscope to camera, and into the nature and very origins of the inclusions themselves.
Photomicrography adds yet another dimension to gemological microscopy and further aids the gemologist in recording and identifying stones and in appreciating the complex nature and striking beauty of inclusions in gems.
The Beauty Of Numbers
(via Vinna Mara Magalhaes)
1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 + 10 = 1111111111
1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 + 10 = 1111111111
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