Saturday, March 08, 2008
Heard On The Street
The next bubble = the small unknowledged investors buy so the smart ones can sell = Explosion!
Underwater Inn
(via budgettravel) I found the world's first and only underwater inn Jules' Undersea Lodge really interesting + astonishingly beautiful. I liked the concept + I hope it's environment-friendly.
Useful link:
http://jul.com
Useful link:
http://jul.com
Friday, March 07, 2008
Manoel de Oliveira
Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira is a Portuguese film director + he is believed to be the oldest active film director in the world + he keeps a low profile, away from the spotlights + he has been honored at Cannes, Venice and Montréal film festivals + his movies are a magic combination of history/philosophy/theology with unique luster/voice/color and that otherness.
Useful links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manoel_de_Oliveira
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0210701/
Useful links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manoel_de_Oliveira
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0210701/
Gemological Conference
Gemworld International, Inc., along with the American Gem Trade Association Gemological Testing Center will be organizing their first joint gemological conference on September 13-14, 2008 in Chicago, U.S.A + Gemworld is the producer of the GemGuide and GemGuide Appraisal Software + AGTA Gemological Testing Center is an independent major colored gemstone laboratory in New York + the key theme of the conference is 'Integration of Information.'
Useful links:
www.worldofgemsconference.com
www.agta.org
www.gemguide.com
Useful links:
www.worldofgemsconference.com
www.agta.org
www.gemguide.com
The Victorian Age
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
The Art of Landseer, Leighton, Poynter, Alfred Stevens, Albert Moore, Orchardson, And G F Watts
1
Several of the artists already mentioned in this Outline—among them being Turner, Cotman, and David Cox—were alive and working when Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, but we are not in the habit of thinking of any of these as typical artists of the Victorian era. Even the Pre-Raphaelites, whose art, as described in the last chapter, shed so much luster on the Queen’s long reign, were a group apart from the general trend of the times, and none of these painters—with the one exception of Millais in his later years—showed in his art those peculiar characteristics which we are now inclined to label broadly as ‘Victorian.’
Just as in politics the reign of Victoria was distinguished, before all things, by the growth of Democracy, so painting during this reign approached more closely than it had ever done before to popular ideals. Under Queen Victoria English painting became a homely, easily understandable art, appealing to the people by clear representation of simple themes often founded on everyday life, and almost always tinged by a sentiment perceptible and congenial to the humblest intelligence. Subject was of paramount importance, every picture told a story, and the story was usually of a simple nature that required no erudition for its comprehension, one that all who ran could read.
Of a host of pictures of this description only a few can be mentioned here. The quintessence of Victorianism may be found in the paintings of William Powell Frith (1819-1909), whose ‘Derby Day’, now in the Tate Gallery, created a sensation in 1858, and whose ‘Railway Station,’ painted four years later, is a still more dramatic assemblage of the ‘all sorts and conditions of men’ who go to make the world. No knowledge of the Old Masters or of the technique of painting is needed to enjoy Frith’s ‘Railway Station’; everybody can recognize the bridal couple being ‘seen off’ by their friends, the boy who is going to school, the new recruit taking leave of his parents, and the criminal who is being arrested at the moment when he thought to escape. This picture is not only full of the incidents which may be seen at any railway station; it is full of the simple human emotions which all have experienced and all can understand.
Very much the same qualities—though the subjects are entirely different—can be found in the works of Sir Edwin Landseer, R.A (1802-1873), who was reputed to have been Queen Victoria’s favorite painter, and was certainly one of the most popular and most successful painters of his day. Edwin Henry Landseer was born in London and was one of a family of artists. He was the third son of John Landseer, A.R.A., a painter and engraver; his brother Charles Landseer (1799-1879) also became a successful painter of historical and animal pictures; and his eldest brother, Thomas Landseer, became an expert engraver, whose prints after his brother’s pictures materially contributed to the widespread fame and popularity which Edwin Landseer enjoyed. Animals specially appealed to the young artist, and some of his earliest studies were made in a menagerie at Exeter Exchange, where the Strant Palace Hotel now stands. The first distinction he received was a premium from the Society of Arts for his drawing of ‘A Horse for Hunting,’ and at the age of fourteen he was admitted as a student to the schools of the Royal Academy, where he had already made his debut as an exhibitor with a painting of ‘The Heads of a Poynter and Puppy.’
The Victorian Age (continued)
The Art of Landseer, Leighton, Poynter, Alfred Stevens, Albert Moore, Orchardson, And G F Watts
1
Several of the artists already mentioned in this Outline—among them being Turner, Cotman, and David Cox—were alive and working when Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, but we are not in the habit of thinking of any of these as typical artists of the Victorian era. Even the Pre-Raphaelites, whose art, as described in the last chapter, shed so much luster on the Queen’s long reign, were a group apart from the general trend of the times, and none of these painters—with the one exception of Millais in his later years—showed in his art those peculiar characteristics which we are now inclined to label broadly as ‘Victorian.’
Just as in politics the reign of Victoria was distinguished, before all things, by the growth of Democracy, so painting during this reign approached more closely than it had ever done before to popular ideals. Under Queen Victoria English painting became a homely, easily understandable art, appealing to the people by clear representation of simple themes often founded on everyday life, and almost always tinged by a sentiment perceptible and congenial to the humblest intelligence. Subject was of paramount importance, every picture told a story, and the story was usually of a simple nature that required no erudition for its comprehension, one that all who ran could read.
Of a host of pictures of this description only a few can be mentioned here. The quintessence of Victorianism may be found in the paintings of William Powell Frith (1819-1909), whose ‘Derby Day’, now in the Tate Gallery, created a sensation in 1858, and whose ‘Railway Station,’ painted four years later, is a still more dramatic assemblage of the ‘all sorts and conditions of men’ who go to make the world. No knowledge of the Old Masters or of the technique of painting is needed to enjoy Frith’s ‘Railway Station’; everybody can recognize the bridal couple being ‘seen off’ by their friends, the boy who is going to school, the new recruit taking leave of his parents, and the criminal who is being arrested at the moment when he thought to escape. This picture is not only full of the incidents which may be seen at any railway station; it is full of the simple human emotions which all have experienced and all can understand.
Very much the same qualities—though the subjects are entirely different—can be found in the works of Sir Edwin Landseer, R.A (1802-1873), who was reputed to have been Queen Victoria’s favorite painter, and was certainly one of the most popular and most successful painters of his day. Edwin Henry Landseer was born in London and was one of a family of artists. He was the third son of John Landseer, A.R.A., a painter and engraver; his brother Charles Landseer (1799-1879) also became a successful painter of historical and animal pictures; and his eldest brother, Thomas Landseer, became an expert engraver, whose prints after his brother’s pictures materially contributed to the widespread fame and popularity which Edwin Landseer enjoyed. Animals specially appealed to the young artist, and some of his earliest studies were made in a menagerie at Exeter Exchange, where the Strant Palace Hotel now stands. The first distinction he received was a premium from the Society of Arts for his drawing of ‘A Horse for Hunting,’ and at the age of fourteen he was admitted as a student to the schools of the Royal Academy, where he had already made his debut as an exhibitor with a painting of ‘The Heads of a Poynter and Puppy.’
The Victorian Age (continued)
Smart Mobs
Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution by Howard Rheingold is a thought-provoking book + the amazing thing is it's really happening + this book is a must read.
Useful link:
www.smartmobs.com
Useful link:
www.smartmobs.com
Baroque Brilliants
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The earliest commercially fashioned Brilliants developed, very logically, from dodecahedral cuts and crystals, and therefore had rounded outlines. The term Baroque, which derives from the period in which such diamonds were first fashioned, has a wider relevance. Seventeenth-century taste created a sudden admiration of and demand for an entirely new arrangement of facets—numerous small ones round an octagonal table, all sparkling as if they were full of light rays, some white, others in all the colors of the rainbow. Exact symmetry was not important; instead, we find attractive minor irregularities in both the shape and the size of the different facets. Many people, including myself, infinitely prefer this type of cut to the rigidly symmetrical Brilliants produced today. These old cuts may allow some leakage of light, but they have distinct personalities and immese charm. This charm was totally lost in the Brilliants that were mass produced by the large cutting centers of the nineteenth century, when a competitive price was far more important than brilliance and fire.
The term Baroque, therefore, should not be restricted to early cuts, but should apply to any similarly fashioned Brilliant of whatever period, including the Brilliants for which the London cutters were so famous in the eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth centuries, producing such diamonds as the Regent and probably also the Dresden Green.
The earliest commercially fashioned Brilliants developed, very logically, from dodecahedral cuts and crystals, and therefore had rounded outlines. The term Baroque, which derives from the period in which such diamonds were first fashioned, has a wider relevance. Seventeenth-century taste created a sudden admiration of and demand for an entirely new arrangement of facets—numerous small ones round an octagonal table, all sparkling as if they were full of light rays, some white, others in all the colors of the rainbow. Exact symmetry was not important; instead, we find attractive minor irregularities in both the shape and the size of the different facets. Many people, including myself, infinitely prefer this type of cut to the rigidly symmetrical Brilliants produced today. These old cuts may allow some leakage of light, but they have distinct personalities and immese charm. This charm was totally lost in the Brilliants that were mass produced by the large cutting centers of the nineteenth century, when a competitive price was far more important than brilliance and fire.
The term Baroque, therefore, should not be restricted to early cuts, but should apply to any similarly fashioned Brilliant of whatever period, including the Brilliants for which the London cutters were so famous in the eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth centuries, producing such diamonds as the Regent and probably also the Dresden Green.
The New World
(via 5000 Years of Gems and Jewelry) Frances Rogers and Alice Beard writes:
Next we see the designers at work. They are seated at long tables, each man intent on some scheme of color and form which he is creating in pencil and water color. Full color is used on paper, which, being translucent, gives to the opaque white a brilliancy approaching that of light on polishied metal or stone. Gems are represented in color with meticulous exactness of size and placement.
The artist works out his design with due reference to the stock of stones on hand; yet, if his creative invention carries the design outside the limits of the stones in stock, he is not therefore obliged to dismiss his idea, because the gem he needs will be provided. Naturally, such freedom makes for the best creative work.
After the design is completed on paper, it is carried out in duplicate on a wax base; but in this case real gemstones are set in their places on the wax model in order to give an approximate representation of the finished piece. A customer having an invidivual piece of jewelry made to order can thus gain in advance quite an accurate idea of how the jewel will appear when carried to completion in metal and gems.
In this practice of making preliminary wax models we find one of those long continuities of custom that tie the present with the past. When Venice was at the peak of her magnificence Benvenuto Cellini, master of master-goldsmiths, followed the same custom. But Cellini, after making the design in wax, proceeded himself to work it out in its final form; whereas, in this day of specialists, the designer usually gives over his model to be wrought in metal by another specialist.
Coming to one of the rooms where metal and gems are actually assembled we see each man working with a designer’s drawing or wax model set before him. For instance, one man, beginning with a flat sheet of platinum, is making a brooch according to design. With an incredibly fine saw he cuts the precious metal into minute ornamental units which are to be fastened together and built up, tier on tier. Finally it will be mounted with diamonds of the first water, and the draftsman’s work on paper will stand translated into an actual jewel to flash a million tiny rainbows at every movement of its wearer.
One department is given over entirely to work in gold and silver. At the moment of our observation, a bracelet—evidently a special order—is being made. It is about an inch and a half broad, an intricate and beautiful pattern of open scrollwork which on close inspection proves to be composed of letters. Taken together the letters spell ‘Peggy’. Such jewelry holds the charm of the personal touch—surely Peggy will love that bracelet.
After a glimpse of the department where men are at work making the handsome little jewel-cases in which a ring, or perhaps a necklace, will be delivered to the purchaser, we return to the main display rooms on the ground floor. Here the latest achievements of the modern jeweler are sheltered by almost invisible glass. We see brooches of diamonds forming flowers or cones; rich colorful sapphires, luxurious rubies and pearls set in the elusive gleam of platinum. But a description is no adequate substitute for visual experience. The frontpiece of this book shows some of Cartier’s jewels, but one must still imagine the flashing radiance of its diamonds and the vivid green of marvelous emeralds which no picuture, even in full color, could truly represent.
We have seen the latest products of the modern jeweler—all up-to-the minute yet made (in the main) by methods men have used for centuries past.
While watching the jewelry-makers at work one has felt transported back into a former era—an era before the days of mass-production, time-clock punching, and speed-at-any price. Instead, there exists an atmosphere in the ancient tradition. Pride of workmanship and the inherent compelling desire of the true craftsman to turn out the most skillful and beautiful of work, is still, as it was centuries ago, the dynamic power that moves the maker of fine jewelry. Many of the workers are middle-aged—there is no royal shortcut to the jeweler’s craft.
True, machines have recently been invented which mechanically produce facets at the correct angle on diamonds, but such wholesale methods are not used for the faceting of the more valuable stones. Here, at any rate, the machine has not replaced the master-craftsman.
In general, the changes of fashion have but little effect on the demand for first-rank stones. Their value tends to rise and fall according to general business conditions. During the period following the unhappy Wall Street collapse of 1929, the diamond industry suffered such a setback that most of the Kimberley mines of South Africa were closed by the Diamond Corporation. The supply so far exceeded the demand that only drastic steps could prevent the bottom falling out of the diamond market. Following World War II the price of diamonds soared dramatically and a stone of the first water more than doubled in value.
Next we see the designers at work. They are seated at long tables, each man intent on some scheme of color and form which he is creating in pencil and water color. Full color is used on paper, which, being translucent, gives to the opaque white a brilliancy approaching that of light on polishied metal or stone. Gems are represented in color with meticulous exactness of size and placement.
The artist works out his design with due reference to the stock of stones on hand; yet, if his creative invention carries the design outside the limits of the stones in stock, he is not therefore obliged to dismiss his idea, because the gem he needs will be provided. Naturally, such freedom makes for the best creative work.
After the design is completed on paper, it is carried out in duplicate on a wax base; but in this case real gemstones are set in their places on the wax model in order to give an approximate representation of the finished piece. A customer having an invidivual piece of jewelry made to order can thus gain in advance quite an accurate idea of how the jewel will appear when carried to completion in metal and gems.
In this practice of making preliminary wax models we find one of those long continuities of custom that tie the present with the past. When Venice was at the peak of her magnificence Benvenuto Cellini, master of master-goldsmiths, followed the same custom. But Cellini, after making the design in wax, proceeded himself to work it out in its final form; whereas, in this day of specialists, the designer usually gives over his model to be wrought in metal by another specialist.
Coming to one of the rooms where metal and gems are actually assembled we see each man working with a designer’s drawing or wax model set before him. For instance, one man, beginning with a flat sheet of platinum, is making a brooch according to design. With an incredibly fine saw he cuts the precious metal into minute ornamental units which are to be fastened together and built up, tier on tier. Finally it will be mounted with diamonds of the first water, and the draftsman’s work on paper will stand translated into an actual jewel to flash a million tiny rainbows at every movement of its wearer.
One department is given over entirely to work in gold and silver. At the moment of our observation, a bracelet—evidently a special order—is being made. It is about an inch and a half broad, an intricate and beautiful pattern of open scrollwork which on close inspection proves to be composed of letters. Taken together the letters spell ‘Peggy’. Such jewelry holds the charm of the personal touch—surely Peggy will love that bracelet.
After a glimpse of the department where men are at work making the handsome little jewel-cases in which a ring, or perhaps a necklace, will be delivered to the purchaser, we return to the main display rooms on the ground floor. Here the latest achievements of the modern jeweler are sheltered by almost invisible glass. We see brooches of diamonds forming flowers or cones; rich colorful sapphires, luxurious rubies and pearls set in the elusive gleam of platinum. But a description is no adequate substitute for visual experience. The frontpiece of this book shows some of Cartier’s jewels, but one must still imagine the flashing radiance of its diamonds and the vivid green of marvelous emeralds which no picuture, even in full color, could truly represent.
We have seen the latest products of the modern jeweler—all up-to-the minute yet made (in the main) by methods men have used for centuries past.
While watching the jewelry-makers at work one has felt transported back into a former era—an era before the days of mass-production, time-clock punching, and speed-at-any price. Instead, there exists an atmosphere in the ancient tradition. Pride of workmanship and the inherent compelling desire of the true craftsman to turn out the most skillful and beautiful of work, is still, as it was centuries ago, the dynamic power that moves the maker of fine jewelry. Many of the workers are middle-aged—there is no royal shortcut to the jeweler’s craft.
True, machines have recently been invented which mechanically produce facets at the correct angle on diamonds, but such wholesale methods are not used for the faceting of the more valuable stones. Here, at any rate, the machine has not replaced the master-craftsman.
In general, the changes of fashion have but little effect on the demand for first-rank stones. Their value tends to rise and fall according to general business conditions. During the period following the unhappy Wall Street collapse of 1929, the diamond industry suffered such a setback that most of the Kimberley mines of South Africa were closed by the Diamond Corporation. The supply so far exceeded the demand that only drastic steps could prevent the bottom falling out of the diamond market. Following World War II the price of diamonds soared dramatically and a stone of the first water more than doubled in value.
The Brilliant Cut
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The meaning of the word Brilliant has changed over the years. Today the term is restricted to the modern, round, Brilliant Cut diamond with a table and thirty two other facets in the crown, a culet and twenty four facets in the pavilion. Back in 1564 the name began in France to replace the term Mirroring. At first it was used adjectivally but from 1608 it occurred occasionally as a noun, though not then indicating any specific type of faceting. In the Crown inventory of 1691, drawn up for Louis XIV, it was used exclusively for Brilliant Cuts—except for three separate examples of other cuts with exceptional light effects, which were also described as Brilliants.
The 1691 inventory is particularly reliable because it was compiled with great care and accuracy by professionals. The various cuts were described by Louis Alvarez, a famous diamond expert, and by Pierre Montarsis, the leading Paris jeweler. The entries were also checked and supplemented in great detail by the king himself, assisted by his secretary and Minister of Finance, Pontchartrain. Two examples are of interest. The French blue diamond is described as ‘à facettes à la mode des deux côtés, coeur court à 8 pans’. The description of the stone having eight main facets is strange when we know that the symmetry was sevenfold; they must have included the table. The fact that the gem was Stellar Cut is not mentioned. The first diamond of an agraffe is described thus: ‘Fort, haut de forme, carré, à la monde, grande étendue, 42⅝ ct.’ In later inventories all these diamonds are described simply as Brilliants. By the beginning of the eighteenth century the Brilliant Cut was well established, but the term itself still embraced other cuts, including not only all the modified Brilliant Cuts but also Sancy’s and Briolettes.
The true history of the Brilliant Cut is far more interesting than the stories which simply attribute its creation to various inventors. The earliest Brilliants were fashioned from several obsolete diamond cuts such as Burgundian Point Cuts, Pointed Star Cuts and Tailles en Seize, all of which were once developed from dodecahedral rough. The squarish shapes, which appeared later, were either fashioned from octahedron or, at least to begin with, were recuts of old High Table Cuts.
The old cuts no longer appealed. People wanted diamonds that would sparkle in the candlelight at the now fashionable night parties. A new pavilion-based cut was needed to complement the flat-bottomed Rose Cuts, whose popularity grew rapidly in the second half of the seventeenth century. And it was essential to make the best use of crystals that were well developed.
The creators of the initial ‘round’ Brilliant met with no real problems in designing its faceting. After having applied a table, surviving diamonds served as models; the Sancy Cuts for the crown part and the Pointed Star Cut for the pavilion. Thus, starting from any available round Point Cut with its apex first removed, they arrived easily at a prototype of a Brilliant Cut. If the basis for the experiment was a Pointed Star Cut, which is likely, the facetings alone called for a retouch.
The meaning of the word Brilliant has changed over the years. Today the term is restricted to the modern, round, Brilliant Cut diamond with a table and thirty two other facets in the crown, a culet and twenty four facets in the pavilion. Back in 1564 the name began in France to replace the term Mirroring. At first it was used adjectivally but from 1608 it occurred occasionally as a noun, though not then indicating any specific type of faceting. In the Crown inventory of 1691, drawn up for Louis XIV, it was used exclusively for Brilliant Cuts—except for three separate examples of other cuts with exceptional light effects, which were also described as Brilliants.
The 1691 inventory is particularly reliable because it was compiled with great care and accuracy by professionals. The various cuts were described by Louis Alvarez, a famous diamond expert, and by Pierre Montarsis, the leading Paris jeweler. The entries were also checked and supplemented in great detail by the king himself, assisted by his secretary and Minister of Finance, Pontchartrain. Two examples are of interest. The French blue diamond is described as ‘à facettes à la mode des deux côtés, coeur court à 8 pans’. The description of the stone having eight main facets is strange when we know that the symmetry was sevenfold; they must have included the table. The fact that the gem was Stellar Cut is not mentioned. The first diamond of an agraffe is described thus: ‘Fort, haut de forme, carré, à la monde, grande étendue, 42⅝ ct.’ In later inventories all these diamonds are described simply as Brilliants. By the beginning of the eighteenth century the Brilliant Cut was well established, but the term itself still embraced other cuts, including not only all the modified Brilliant Cuts but also Sancy’s and Briolettes.
The true history of the Brilliant Cut is far more interesting than the stories which simply attribute its creation to various inventors. The earliest Brilliants were fashioned from several obsolete diamond cuts such as Burgundian Point Cuts, Pointed Star Cuts and Tailles en Seize, all of which were once developed from dodecahedral rough. The squarish shapes, which appeared later, were either fashioned from octahedron or, at least to begin with, were recuts of old High Table Cuts.
The old cuts no longer appealed. People wanted diamonds that would sparkle in the candlelight at the now fashionable night parties. A new pavilion-based cut was needed to complement the flat-bottomed Rose Cuts, whose popularity grew rapidly in the second half of the seventeenth century. And it was essential to make the best use of crystals that were well developed.
The creators of the initial ‘round’ Brilliant met with no real problems in designing its faceting. After having applied a table, surviving diamonds served as models; the Sancy Cuts for the crown part and the Pointed Star Cut for the pavilion. Thus, starting from any available round Point Cut with its apex first removed, they arrived easily at a prototype of a Brilliant Cut. If the basis for the experiment was a Pointed Star Cut, which is likely, the facetings alone called for a retouch.
Green Travel
The book Green Travel: The World's Best Eco-Lodges & Earth-Friendly Hotels by Fodor's is an excellent source of information on green travel experiences around the world + it's a must read.
A Great Bargain Or A Big Rip-Off
The article A Great Bargain Or Big Rip-Off @ http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1906.cfm was really educational + insightful because in my view there were valuable lessons for the gem and jewelry sector.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Spam Art Concept
Alex Dragulascu
www.sq.ro
I liked the way Alex Dragulascu morphed spams into some sort of an art format + they looked beautiful.
www.sq.ro
I liked the way Alex Dragulascu morphed spams into some sort of an art format + they looked beautiful.
The Virtual Community
The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier by Howard Rheingold is an important book on issues surrounding the world online communities + I think it's a must read.
Useful link:
www.rheingold.com
Useful link:
www.rheingold.com
A New Pearl Center In Zhuji, China
China Pearls and Jewelry City has announced the grand opening of pearls & jewelry exhibition center in Zhuji, China, on April 18, 2008 + the facilities and services include a center for manufacturing + processing and trading pearls + jewelry / accessories/equipment + 5,000 shops / booths + a year-round platform for exhibition/ display / trade + warehouse / logistics facilities + import and export / banking / insurance services + a five-star hotel /restaurants /entertainment / residential facilities + an international jewelry appraisal and training center.
Useful links:
www.cpjcity.com
www.zj.gov.cn
Useful links:
www.cpjcity.com
www.zj.gov.cn
The New World
(via 5000 Years of Gems and Jewelry) Frances Rogers and Alice Beard writes:
3. The Modern Jeweler
‘Beauty unadorned?’
Why shouldn’t it be adorned? Even the perfect rose will at times enhance its beauty by wearing a jewel in the form of a flashing dewdrop—and no one pulls a long face of reproof. It may be argued with truth that the dewdrop is always in good taste, while our jewelry is at time sadly lacking in that respect. Nevertheless, fashions of today are sufficiently varied to offer an exceptionally wide choice. The year 1939 brought an influx of so-called ‘costume jewelry’. Heavy and gorgeous in its imitation gold and synthetic gems, such jewelry is not expected to fool anybody as to the authenticity of its materials, but is worn as an accessory to some special gown, much as half a century ago we trimmed our dresses with colored glass beads woven into decorative bands called passementerie. Passementerie was discarded with the gown it ornamented and so will be the costume jewelry of the moment; yet worn with discretion this barbaric style can be extremely effective.
It is to Paris we look for the latest word in styles, yet America is also creating her own styles and rivaling even French technique in the (sometimes arduous) task of making us pleasing to the eye. At any rate, when Paris and New York combine forces in that particular field, you have something hard to beat in any land.
At the corner of Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street, New York City, stands Cartier, Inc. First established in Paris about 1840, Cartier’s was soon after to be found in London also, and by 1900 in New York City as well. At Cartier’s Fifth Avenue, may be seen the latest word in twentieth-century jewels, from tiaras, fit for royalty, to tiny golden bangles, fashioned according to the fleeting craze of the moment. Here, it would not be in the least difficult to spend several fortunes (if you happened to have them) without turning around. On the other hand you will also find a display of distinctive examples of the jeweler’s art, priced well within the limits of a modest pocketbook.
Viewed from the street, one gets the effect of a shop, select and conservatively small. But that reticent exterior is a doorway into two six-story buildings whose upper floors are all humming with the varied activities of skilled artisans and designers, for much of Cartier’s jewelry is made on the spot.
As one example of cosmopolitan development of the jeweler’s craft, let us go backstage where the public as a rule does not venture, and watch at close range some of the steps in the making of fine jewelry of today. An elevator takes us to the top of the building, and we enter a room dedicated to the appraisal of precious stones. One’s first impression is lack of all color, a room in black and gray, arranged for the special purpose of giving the best possible conditions for seeing. Daylight, the cold north light most desired by the painter, who must clearly differentiate his colors, falls on tables covered with black felt. Here the expert may examine the precious stone under consideration without any disturbing intrusion of other colors. As a rule, the layman does not fully realize how the eye reacts to a juxtaposition of two or more different colors—each one of which may appear to have undergone a change when seen by itself. The colorless room, however, takes care of that difficulty and allows a single gem to be seen at its true color-value, or else in its true relation to a differently colored stone.
Next we go to a strong room in which great safes hold trays of precious and semi-precious stones, some dressed, some still in the rough. Many of the latter completely hide their potential magnificence and look like dull and shapeless pebbles, yet one or another of these unimpressive little stones may represent cash in four figures. But before their value becomes evident to the public the sleeping beauty in each stone must be awakened by the hum of the lapidary’s wheel.
As we approach the next room we can hear the humming obbligato of wheels, puncutated by little whining solos as a ruby or sapphire is pressed against a whirling ‘lap’. There are many machines, and the lapidaries sit at long tables, each man with his rapidly revolving wheel before him. The stone to be cut is embedded in a bit of wax,of a special kind, and stuck fast to the end of a small stick. Near the wheel is an upright rest, called a ‘jamb-peg’. It is notched at intervals and serves as a brace for the upper end of the stick while the gem is being pressed firmly, at any desired angle, against the lap. Other than this simple contrivance, the lapidary depends generally on nothing but his eye and his long-trained judgment for the exact placement of a facet.
In rooms where loose gems are handled, the floor is covered with a wooden grill. If a stone chances to fall on the floor it is likely to lodge in a crevice, safe from passing feet until it is recovered. Few gems are ever lost, however, for every worker checks and rechecks his supply, and risk is further removed by a man who carefully examines every scrap of waste paper before throwing it into the discard.
The New World (continued)
3. The Modern Jeweler
‘Beauty unadorned?’
Why shouldn’t it be adorned? Even the perfect rose will at times enhance its beauty by wearing a jewel in the form of a flashing dewdrop—and no one pulls a long face of reproof. It may be argued with truth that the dewdrop is always in good taste, while our jewelry is at time sadly lacking in that respect. Nevertheless, fashions of today are sufficiently varied to offer an exceptionally wide choice. The year 1939 brought an influx of so-called ‘costume jewelry’. Heavy and gorgeous in its imitation gold and synthetic gems, such jewelry is not expected to fool anybody as to the authenticity of its materials, but is worn as an accessory to some special gown, much as half a century ago we trimmed our dresses with colored glass beads woven into decorative bands called passementerie. Passementerie was discarded with the gown it ornamented and so will be the costume jewelry of the moment; yet worn with discretion this barbaric style can be extremely effective.
It is to Paris we look for the latest word in styles, yet America is also creating her own styles and rivaling even French technique in the (sometimes arduous) task of making us pleasing to the eye. At any rate, when Paris and New York combine forces in that particular field, you have something hard to beat in any land.
At the corner of Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street, New York City, stands Cartier, Inc. First established in Paris about 1840, Cartier’s was soon after to be found in London also, and by 1900 in New York City as well. At Cartier’s Fifth Avenue, may be seen the latest word in twentieth-century jewels, from tiaras, fit for royalty, to tiny golden bangles, fashioned according to the fleeting craze of the moment. Here, it would not be in the least difficult to spend several fortunes (if you happened to have them) without turning around. On the other hand you will also find a display of distinctive examples of the jeweler’s art, priced well within the limits of a modest pocketbook.
Viewed from the street, one gets the effect of a shop, select and conservatively small. But that reticent exterior is a doorway into two six-story buildings whose upper floors are all humming with the varied activities of skilled artisans and designers, for much of Cartier’s jewelry is made on the spot.
As one example of cosmopolitan development of the jeweler’s craft, let us go backstage where the public as a rule does not venture, and watch at close range some of the steps in the making of fine jewelry of today. An elevator takes us to the top of the building, and we enter a room dedicated to the appraisal of precious stones. One’s first impression is lack of all color, a room in black and gray, arranged for the special purpose of giving the best possible conditions for seeing. Daylight, the cold north light most desired by the painter, who must clearly differentiate his colors, falls on tables covered with black felt. Here the expert may examine the precious stone under consideration without any disturbing intrusion of other colors. As a rule, the layman does not fully realize how the eye reacts to a juxtaposition of two or more different colors—each one of which may appear to have undergone a change when seen by itself. The colorless room, however, takes care of that difficulty and allows a single gem to be seen at its true color-value, or else in its true relation to a differently colored stone.
Next we go to a strong room in which great safes hold trays of precious and semi-precious stones, some dressed, some still in the rough. Many of the latter completely hide their potential magnificence and look like dull and shapeless pebbles, yet one or another of these unimpressive little stones may represent cash in four figures. But before their value becomes evident to the public the sleeping beauty in each stone must be awakened by the hum of the lapidary’s wheel.
As we approach the next room we can hear the humming obbligato of wheels, puncutated by little whining solos as a ruby or sapphire is pressed against a whirling ‘lap’. There are many machines, and the lapidaries sit at long tables, each man with his rapidly revolving wheel before him. The stone to be cut is embedded in a bit of wax,of a special kind, and stuck fast to the end of a small stick. Near the wheel is an upright rest, called a ‘jamb-peg’. It is notched at intervals and serves as a brace for the upper end of the stick while the gem is being pressed firmly, at any desired angle, against the lap. Other than this simple contrivance, the lapidary depends generally on nothing but his eye and his long-trained judgment for the exact placement of a facet.
In rooms where loose gems are handled, the floor is covered with a wooden grill. If a stone chances to fall on the floor it is likely to lodge in a crevice, safe from passing feet until it is recovered. Few gems are ever lost, however, for every worker checks and rechecks his supply, and risk is further removed by a man who carefully examines every scrap of waste paper before throwing it into the discard.
The New World (continued)
The Pre-Raphaelites
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
3
Meanwhile Rossetti had been treading another path, forsaking the naturalism of Holman Hunt, but avoiding the anecdotal triviality that tempted Millais; his pictures became more and more dream-like in their imaginative aloofness from life. The popularity that Millais courted was shunned by Rossetti, who, relying on the patronage of Ruskin and other admirers, ceased to exhibit his pictures except in his own studio.
In 1857 Rossetti went to Oxford with the intention of executing wall-paintings in the Debating Hall of the Union Society, and there he gathered round him a brilliant band of pupils, chief among whom were two undergraduates from Exeter College, William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones (1833-98) Unfortunately the English climate is fatal to true fresco painting, but though the Oxford decorations rapidly perished, and today are hardly visible, they remain historic as marking the starting-point of a new phase of Pre-Raphaelitism, in which the naturalist element was lost and its place taken by a more deliberately decorative and romantic medievalism. Of this new school Rossetti was as definitely the leader and inspirer as Holman Hunt had been of the original Brotherhood, and though for many years the pictures produced by Rossetti and his followers continued to be commonly described as ‘Pre-Raphaelite,’ it is now clear that their productions really had little to do with the original Pre-Raphaelitism, but formed part of what became known later as the ‘Aesthetic Movement.’
In 1862 Eleanor Siddal, who for ten years had been Rossetti’s model and constant inspiration, died, and at first the bereaved husband was so prostrated with grief that he was totally unfitted for work. But two years later he recommenced painting in oils, and reached the highest point in his ‘Lady Lilith’ of 1864, and ‘The Beloved,’ painted in 1865-6. Though nominally a subject from the Song of Solomon, this voluptuous presentation of feminine beauty, which for sheer loveliness rivals a Botticelli, is far removed from the simple and comparatively stern Bibilical paintings of the artist’s youth. The subject is clothed in the garb of medievalism, enveloped in the romance of fairy-tale, and heightened by a brilliance of color unsurpassed in the painter’s work.
Rossetti’s pictorial work may be divided into three periods, each of which is dominated by an ideal of womanhood derived from a living woman; in the first period she is his sister Christina, in the second his wife Eleanor Siddal, and the inspiration of the third was Mrs William Morris. Of the many pictures she inspired one of the most beautiful is ‘The Day-dream’ in the Ionides Collection at South Kensington, but though he painted her in many characters, he never painted Mrs Morris as Dante’s Beatrice. That character was sacred to his wife, and it was in memory of her that be began to paint in 1863—though it was not finished till much later—the ‘Beata Beatrix,’ now in the Tate Gallery. The picture, according to Rossetti, ‘is not intended at all to represent death, but to render it under the semblance of a trance, in which Beatrice, seated at a balcony overlooking the city (Florence), is suddenly rapt from earth to heaven.’
Rossetti died at Birchington in 1882, but his ideals were faithfully carried on by the most celebrated of his pupils, Edward Burne-Jones, who had been intended for the Church, but after meeting Rossetti at Oxford felt he must be a painter. One great difference between their pictures lay in their different ideals of womanhood, for while the women of Rossetti were full-blooded and passionate, those of Burne-Jones were of so refined a spirituality that to many people they appear anaemic.Otherwise the paintings of Burne-Jones are as remote from naturalism as the later works of Rossetti; he also gives us dream pictures of an imaginary medievalism; and while Rossetti, as became his Italian descent, found his ideal in the Florence of Dante’s time, the Welshman Burne-Jones fittingly found his in the legendary court of King Arthur. Both, however, were inspired by the same feeling for chivalry and romance, and the distance that had been traveled from Holman Hunt’s naturalism may be traced in the famous confession of Burne-Jones that he longed to paint ‘the light that never was on sea or land.’
In 1884 he exhibited one of his best known and most popular works, ‘King Cophetua and the Beggar-Maid,’ at the Grosvenor Gallery, and two years later, at the age of fifty thrree, he was tardily elected A.R.A, but he was never much in sympathy with the Academy, seldom exhibited there, and in 1893, five years before he died, he resigned his Associateship.
In addition to his pictures and water colors, Burne-Jones designed a number of tapestries and stained-glass windows for his lifelong friend William Morris, whose unbounded artistic energy found more congenial occupation in reviving crafts than in practising painting. In Morris the medievalism of Rossetti found a furiously eager and thoroughgoing exponent, and though many of his ideas were unpractical, his inauguration of the Arts and Crafts Society was one of the most fruitful art movements of the Victorian era, and to him more than to any other man we owe not only the revival of tapestry and stained glass but a great improvement on fine printing, in furniture, pottery, wall papers, and interior decoration generally.
Holman Hunt, the eldest of the Pre-Raphaelites, survived them all, and after painting a series of sacred pictures unique in English art for their religious fervor and geographical exactitude, he died in September 1910 at the great age of eighty three.
3
Meanwhile Rossetti had been treading another path, forsaking the naturalism of Holman Hunt, but avoiding the anecdotal triviality that tempted Millais; his pictures became more and more dream-like in their imaginative aloofness from life. The popularity that Millais courted was shunned by Rossetti, who, relying on the patronage of Ruskin and other admirers, ceased to exhibit his pictures except in his own studio.
In 1857 Rossetti went to Oxford with the intention of executing wall-paintings in the Debating Hall of the Union Society, and there he gathered round him a brilliant band of pupils, chief among whom were two undergraduates from Exeter College, William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones (1833-98) Unfortunately the English climate is fatal to true fresco painting, but though the Oxford decorations rapidly perished, and today are hardly visible, they remain historic as marking the starting-point of a new phase of Pre-Raphaelitism, in which the naturalist element was lost and its place taken by a more deliberately decorative and romantic medievalism. Of this new school Rossetti was as definitely the leader and inspirer as Holman Hunt had been of the original Brotherhood, and though for many years the pictures produced by Rossetti and his followers continued to be commonly described as ‘Pre-Raphaelite,’ it is now clear that their productions really had little to do with the original Pre-Raphaelitism, but formed part of what became known later as the ‘Aesthetic Movement.’
In 1862 Eleanor Siddal, who for ten years had been Rossetti’s model and constant inspiration, died, and at first the bereaved husband was so prostrated with grief that he was totally unfitted for work. But two years later he recommenced painting in oils, and reached the highest point in his ‘Lady Lilith’ of 1864, and ‘The Beloved,’ painted in 1865-6. Though nominally a subject from the Song of Solomon, this voluptuous presentation of feminine beauty, which for sheer loveliness rivals a Botticelli, is far removed from the simple and comparatively stern Bibilical paintings of the artist’s youth. The subject is clothed in the garb of medievalism, enveloped in the romance of fairy-tale, and heightened by a brilliance of color unsurpassed in the painter’s work.
Rossetti’s pictorial work may be divided into three periods, each of which is dominated by an ideal of womanhood derived from a living woman; in the first period she is his sister Christina, in the second his wife Eleanor Siddal, and the inspiration of the third was Mrs William Morris. Of the many pictures she inspired one of the most beautiful is ‘The Day-dream’ in the Ionides Collection at South Kensington, but though he painted her in many characters, he never painted Mrs Morris as Dante’s Beatrice. That character was sacred to his wife, and it was in memory of her that be began to paint in 1863—though it was not finished till much later—the ‘Beata Beatrix,’ now in the Tate Gallery. The picture, according to Rossetti, ‘is not intended at all to represent death, but to render it under the semblance of a trance, in which Beatrice, seated at a balcony overlooking the city (Florence), is suddenly rapt from earth to heaven.’
Rossetti died at Birchington in 1882, but his ideals were faithfully carried on by the most celebrated of his pupils, Edward Burne-Jones, who had been intended for the Church, but after meeting Rossetti at Oxford felt he must be a painter. One great difference between their pictures lay in their different ideals of womanhood, for while the women of Rossetti were full-blooded and passionate, those of Burne-Jones were of so refined a spirituality that to many people they appear anaemic.Otherwise the paintings of Burne-Jones are as remote from naturalism as the later works of Rossetti; he also gives us dream pictures of an imaginary medievalism; and while Rossetti, as became his Italian descent, found his ideal in the Florence of Dante’s time, the Welshman Burne-Jones fittingly found his in the legendary court of King Arthur. Both, however, were inspired by the same feeling for chivalry and romance, and the distance that had been traveled from Holman Hunt’s naturalism may be traced in the famous confession of Burne-Jones that he longed to paint ‘the light that never was on sea or land.’
In 1884 he exhibited one of his best known and most popular works, ‘King Cophetua and the Beggar-Maid,’ at the Grosvenor Gallery, and two years later, at the age of fifty thrree, he was tardily elected A.R.A, but he was never much in sympathy with the Academy, seldom exhibited there, and in 1893, five years before he died, he resigned his Associateship.
In addition to his pictures and water colors, Burne-Jones designed a number of tapestries and stained-glass windows for his lifelong friend William Morris, whose unbounded artistic energy found more congenial occupation in reviving crafts than in practising painting. In Morris the medievalism of Rossetti found a furiously eager and thoroughgoing exponent, and though many of his ideas were unpractical, his inauguration of the Arts and Crafts Society was one of the most fruitful art movements of the Victorian era, and to him more than to any other man we owe not only the revival of tapestry and stained glass but a great improvement on fine printing, in furniture, pottery, wall papers, and interior decoration generally.
Holman Hunt, the eldest of the Pre-Raphaelites, survived them all, and after painting a series of sacred pictures unique in English art for their religious fervor and geographical exactitude, he died in September 1910 at the great age of eighty three.
Freemium Business Model
I found the freemium business model @
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemium_business_model interesting + insightful + I really liked the concept.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemium_business_model interesting + insightful + I really liked the concept.
Nigerian Gem Deposits
Nigeria produces commercially important colored stones such as corundum (ruby + sapphire) + beryl (emerald + green beryl + aquamarine) + tourmaline (various colors) + topaz + garnet (spessartine), but most gem deposits are small-scale operations and irregular and often sold to dealers from East/West Africa/Europeans/Asians/North Americans + marketing channels are inefficient and disruptive + gemological knowledge is almost nonexistent + the local gem cutting industry needs a major facelift.
In my view the country has the potential if there are proper mining infrastructures + less corruption (difficult to get rid off) + improved security + proper gemological training at all levels + less bureaucracy.
Gem sales at Ibadan + Jos are good starts, but the government need to do more so that foreigners feel comfortable when buying gemstones through proper but reliable channels.
In my view the country has the potential if there are proper mining infrastructures + less corruption (difficult to get rid off) + improved security + proper gemological training at all levels + less bureaucracy.
Gem sales at Ibadan + Jos are good starts, but the government need to do more so that foreigners feel comfortable when buying gemstones through proper but reliable channels.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Random Thoughts
When one has reached maturity in the art, one will have a formless form. It is like ice dissolving in water. When one has no form, one can be all forms; when one has no style, he can fit in with any style.
- Bruce Lee
- Bruce Lee
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