It was really fascinating to see Robert Burden's series of large paintings honoring the action figures he worshipped as a child + in my view they were beautiful + I liked it!
Useful links:
www.robertburden.net
www.roqlarue.com
Friday, March 21, 2008
The Complete TurtleTrader
The Complete TurtleTrader: The Legend, the Lessons, the Results by Michael W. Covel is a fascinating and instructive book + it highlights the inner workings + the real world of trading.
Useful link:
www.michaelcovel.com
Useful link:
www.michaelcovel.com
The Koh-i-Nur
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
It is hard to understand today why the historic Mughal Cut Koh-i-Nur diamond was completely refashioned so soon after it was presented to Queen Victoria. The delivery to the queen took place on 3 July 1850 and the actual refashioning began on 17 July 1852; it took thirty-eight days. If V. Ball, in an appendix to his translation of Tavernier’s Travels in India, was correct in saying that when it arrived in London the gem ‘had been badly mutilated, after cutting, and that it cannot have been left in such an incomplete condition by the jeweler who cut it and polished it,’ this may explain why diamond cutters were consulted about possible ways of restoring the diamond. Ball also quotes James Tennant who, in a lecture entitled Gems and Precious Stones published in London in 1852, describes it as ‘exhibiting, when brought to England, two large cleavage planes, one of which had not even been polished, and had been distinctly produced by fracture.’ Tennant also mentions that it had a flaw near the summit. Quite clearly, the gem did not please the queen. Her advisers must have assured her that it could be refashioned into a splendid Brilliant ‘to develop to a wonderful degree its surpassing clearness, brilliancy and beauty’, to quote the Illustrated London News of 18 September 1852.
Augustus Hamling, writing in 1884, deeply regretted the recutting of the gem, which ‘injured its prestige, and reduced its value incomparably’. He adds: ‘in reality its appearance....was inferior to that of its glass models. It is spread...it is quite one third too large....it is now a badly shaped stone...not much better than common limpid quartz.’ Blakey, in The Diamond (1977) writes: ‘When they had finished, the Koh-i-Nur had been reduced (by 80ct) to a a 108.93 carat oval—and still lacked fire and brilliance. To what extent this was due to the inability of the Dutch cutter....is impossible to say, but no one was pleased with the result.’ Despite such criticisms, in 1853 it was mounted in a magnificent tiara for the queen and five years later she ordered a new regal circlet for the gem. In 1911 it was placed in the crown of Queen Mary. There it remained until 1937, when it was made the central ornament in a new coronation crown for Queen Elizabeth, consort of George VI.
In 1988 the stone was removed from its setting to ascertain its exact weight: 105.602 ct is the correct figure. Its measurements are 36 x 31.9mm. The total depth figure is only 13.04mm—i.e 40.87 per cent of the narrower width. It was further found that there are thirty two crown facets round the table plus eight correction facets, parts of which are on the girdle. There are twenty four pavilion facets plus eight stellar facets and the culet and a further nine correction facets.
The Koh-i-Nur is another plain Stellar Cut Brilliant, the culet facets having been applied in a misguided attempt to improve its light effects. Unfortunately, other aspects of its recutting from the original Mughal Cut were also bungled. It became too flat, and retained merely vitreous luster, a few extra carats of weight having been saved at the expense of its beauty. But even if more competent cutters than those provided by Coster’s had been able to transform this historic gem into an attractive modern cut, the world would still have lost one of the few surviving gems with an original Indian design.
It is hard to understand today why the historic Mughal Cut Koh-i-Nur diamond was completely refashioned so soon after it was presented to Queen Victoria. The delivery to the queen took place on 3 July 1850 and the actual refashioning began on 17 July 1852; it took thirty-eight days. If V. Ball, in an appendix to his translation of Tavernier’s Travels in India, was correct in saying that when it arrived in London the gem ‘had been badly mutilated, after cutting, and that it cannot have been left in such an incomplete condition by the jeweler who cut it and polished it,’ this may explain why diamond cutters were consulted about possible ways of restoring the diamond. Ball also quotes James Tennant who, in a lecture entitled Gems and Precious Stones published in London in 1852, describes it as ‘exhibiting, when brought to England, two large cleavage planes, one of which had not even been polished, and had been distinctly produced by fracture.’ Tennant also mentions that it had a flaw near the summit. Quite clearly, the gem did not please the queen. Her advisers must have assured her that it could be refashioned into a splendid Brilliant ‘to develop to a wonderful degree its surpassing clearness, brilliancy and beauty’, to quote the Illustrated London News of 18 September 1852.
Augustus Hamling, writing in 1884, deeply regretted the recutting of the gem, which ‘injured its prestige, and reduced its value incomparably’. He adds: ‘in reality its appearance....was inferior to that of its glass models. It is spread...it is quite one third too large....it is now a badly shaped stone...not much better than common limpid quartz.’ Blakey, in The Diamond (1977) writes: ‘When they had finished, the Koh-i-Nur had been reduced (by 80ct) to a a 108.93 carat oval—and still lacked fire and brilliance. To what extent this was due to the inability of the Dutch cutter....is impossible to say, but no one was pleased with the result.’ Despite such criticisms, in 1853 it was mounted in a magnificent tiara for the queen and five years later she ordered a new regal circlet for the gem. In 1911 it was placed in the crown of Queen Mary. There it remained until 1937, when it was made the central ornament in a new coronation crown for Queen Elizabeth, consort of George VI.
In 1988 the stone was removed from its setting to ascertain its exact weight: 105.602 ct is the correct figure. Its measurements are 36 x 31.9mm. The total depth figure is only 13.04mm—i.e 40.87 per cent of the narrower width. It was further found that there are thirty two crown facets round the table plus eight correction facets, parts of which are on the girdle. There are twenty four pavilion facets plus eight stellar facets and the culet and a further nine correction facets.
The Koh-i-Nur is another plain Stellar Cut Brilliant, the culet facets having been applied in a misguided attempt to improve its light effects. Unfortunately, other aspects of its recutting from the original Mughal Cut were also bungled. It became too flat, and retained merely vitreous luster, a few extra carats of weight having been saved at the expense of its beauty. But even if more competent cutters than those provided by Coster’s had been able to transform this historic gem into an attractive modern cut, the world would still have lost one of the few surviving gems with an original Indian design.
The Romantic Movement In France
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
Though much influenced by Corot, who regarded him almost as a son, Charles Francois Daubigny (1817-78) evolved another distinct type of landscape and excelled in his poetic renderings of placid river scenes. His father was a journeyman painter of mediocre ability, and as a boy Daubigny painted decorations on clock-cases, glove-boxes, fans, and other articles of luxury. When he was seventeen he and a friend save up a little over fifty pounds with which they set out on foot for Italy, and there maintained themselves for nearly a year. Returning to Paris, Daubigny gave himself for a time to figure subjects, but about 1840 he turned definitely to landscape, which he discovered to be his true vocation. His favorite sketching-ground was near Valmondois on the Oise, where he had spent happy days in his childhood. Though his landscapes were exhibited regularly in the Salon from 1841 to 1847, Daubigny had a hard struggle during these years, but in 1848 he received a second medal for his five landscapes in the Salon, and thereafter the State began to buy his pictures for provincial museums and his sales generally improved.
‘On the Banks of the Oise’ is a beautiful and characteristic example of the art of Daubigny, and reveals that exquisite calm and repose which is a feature of many of his paintings, though occasionally he painted stormy scenes; for Daubigny was not limited in his subjects, but painted various aspects of Nature. He was one of the pioneers in the truer rendering of Nature’s own coloring, and his famous saying, ‘We never paint light enough,’ became a watchword to the younger generation of artists.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
Though much influenced by Corot, who regarded him almost as a son, Charles Francois Daubigny (1817-78) evolved another distinct type of landscape and excelled in his poetic renderings of placid river scenes. His father was a journeyman painter of mediocre ability, and as a boy Daubigny painted decorations on clock-cases, glove-boxes, fans, and other articles of luxury. When he was seventeen he and a friend save up a little over fifty pounds with which they set out on foot for Italy, and there maintained themselves for nearly a year. Returning to Paris, Daubigny gave himself for a time to figure subjects, but about 1840 he turned definitely to landscape, which he discovered to be his true vocation. His favorite sketching-ground was near Valmondois on the Oise, where he had spent happy days in his childhood. Though his landscapes were exhibited regularly in the Salon from 1841 to 1847, Daubigny had a hard struggle during these years, but in 1848 he received a second medal for his five landscapes in the Salon, and thereafter the State began to buy his pictures for provincial museums and his sales generally improved.
‘On the Banks of the Oise’ is a beautiful and characteristic example of the art of Daubigny, and reveals that exquisite calm and repose which is a feature of many of his paintings, though occasionally he painted stormy scenes; for Daubigny was not limited in his subjects, but painted various aspects of Nature. He was one of the pioneers in the truer rendering of Nature’s own coloring, and his famous saying, ‘We never paint light enough,’ became a watchword to the younger generation of artists.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
Random Thoughts
When you’re green, you’re growing. When you’re ripe, you rot. Are you green and growing or ripe and rotting?
- Ray Kroc
- Ray Kroc
Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem is an Academy Award winning Spanish actor + his performance as the antagonist Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, who will decide a victim’s fate on the flip of a coin was so vivid, it was brilliant + I think the Coen brothers did the right thing--Javier Bardem was the best choice to play the ruthless killer.
Useful links:
www.javier-bardem.net
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javier_Bardem
Useful links:
www.javier-bardem.net
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javier_Bardem
World Without Wires
I was intrigued by the innovative products designed by the beautiful minds @ Konarka Technologies + in my view they were brilliant + I hope someday the technology is modified and portable, becomes applicable in gem identification and treatment detection at an affordable cost.
Useful link:
www.konarka.com
Useful link:
www.konarka.com
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Diamond Divas
A spectacular exhibition opens at the Diamond Museum of the Province of Antwerp on April 11, 2008, called Diamond Divas, featuring a selection of stunning jewelry items worn by royals, stars of stage and screen and high society.
Don't miss it!
Useful links:
www.diamonddivas.be
www.antwerpen.be
www.antwerpdiamondbank.com
www.roularta.be
www.standaard.be
www.abnamro.com
Don't miss it!
Useful links:
www.diamonddivas.be
www.antwerpen.be
www.antwerpdiamondbank.com
www.roularta.be
www.standaard.be
www.abnamro.com
Scan And Solve Technology
According to Prof Vadim Shapiro, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, understanding structural properties of historical and cultural artefacts through computer simulations is often crucial to their preservation + the 'scan and solve' technology promises to transform the simulation into a simple and fully automated process that can be applied routinely + in the medical field, the technique could be used on scans of living bones in patients + using models of bones' response to stress, treatment regimens could be planned to minimise potential for fracture, especially in patients that do not fit the norm due to deformity or injury.
I wonder if this technology could be applicable in colored stone/diamond treatments + manufacturing of synthetic gemstones + if there are modified version at an affordable cost, I see what's coming!
Useful links:
www.nsf.gov
http://sal-cnc.me.wisc.edu
http://www.news.wisc.edu/14921
I wonder if this technology could be applicable in colored stone/diamond treatments + manufacturing of synthetic gemstones + if there are modified version at an affordable cost, I see what's coming!
Useful links:
www.nsf.gov
http://sal-cnc.me.wisc.edu
http://www.news.wisc.edu/14921
History Of Treatments And Creation Of Synthetic Diamonds
(via Antwerp Facets, Jan 2007) Landmark dates in the history of treatments and creation of synthetic diamonds.
- 1910: Coating, Irradiation
- 1950: Irradiation + Annealing
- 1950s: Synthetics (developmental)
- 1980: HPHT (high pressure high temperature) synthetics, Annealing (black)
- 1999: HPHT (high pressure high temperature) treatment
- 2001: CVD (chemical vapor deposition) synthetics
- 2004: HPHT (high pressure high temperature) + Irradiation + Annealing
Useful link:
www.wtocd.be
- 1910: Coating, Irradiation
- 1950: Irradiation + Annealing
- 1950s: Synthetics (developmental)
- 1980: HPHT (high pressure high temperature) synthetics, Annealing (black)
- 1999: HPHT (high pressure high temperature) treatment
- 2001: CVD (chemical vapor deposition) synthetics
- 2004: HPHT (high pressure high temperature) + Irradiation + Annealing
Useful link:
www.wtocd.be
Games In Economic Development
Games in economic development by Bruce Wydick writes on the origin of game theory + how unique patterns of human interactions could cause cyclical poverty/prosperity + it's an interesting book.
Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group
Here is what the AIDG web site describes what it is they do:
The Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) works to provide rural villages in developing countries with affordable and environmentally sound technologies...Through a combination of business incubation, education, training, and outreach, the AIDG helps individuals and communities gain access to technology that will improve their lives. Our model provides a novel approach to sustainable development by empowering people with the physical tools and practical knowledge to solve infrastructure problems in their own communities.
I'm really impressed + what's important is they are designing technologies appropriate to local needs and conditions + I think the concept of grassroots design (s) does make sense.
Useful links:
www.aidg.org
http://apptechdesign.org
The Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) works to provide rural villages in developing countries with affordable and environmentally sound technologies...Through a combination of business incubation, education, training, and outreach, the AIDG helps individuals and communities gain access to technology that will improve their lives. Our model provides a novel approach to sustainable development by empowering people with the physical tools and practical knowledge to solve infrastructure problems in their own communities.
I'm really impressed + what's important is they are designing technologies appropriate to local needs and conditions + I think the concept of grassroots design (s) does make sense.
Useful links:
www.aidg.org
http://apptechdesign.org
Plain Stellar Cuts
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
Originally the de Guise Brilliant was a Table Cut. In the 1740s it was refashioned into a Stellar Cut Brilliant identical to the so-called Brazilian Cut. This term was originally used in the trade to describe diamonds fashioned in the eighteenth century from Brazilian rough as opposed to the modern round cuts produced from South African rough. However, few, if any, of these diamonds had short, pentagonal culet facets of this sort. In the case of the de Guise, it was simply that, after the small facets had already been applied, the culet was enlarged for some reason and consequently the inner ends of the originally slim culet facets were removed. However, a Stellar Cut, no matter what the size of its culet, should no more be called Brazilian.
When, in 1888, the de Guise was put up for sale with the rest of the French Crown Jewels, its past history was ignored and the entry in the catalogue described it simply as ‘un gros brilliant carré étendu, 29 7/16 ct.’ Tiffany’s of New York acquired it for a mere 155,000 francs.
I have examined three Stellar Cut Brilliants in Dresden. It is almost circular in shape and extremely well made. It compares favorably, in fact, with the best London cuts of the early eighteenth century. With its slight but pleasing lack of rigid symmetry, one could describe it as an excellent Baroque Cut. The only rather interesting factor is that the stone was fashioned with present-day ideal proportions! The second Stellar Cut in the Treasury is unusual in that its eight culet faces, looked at through the table, appear to be doubled, thus possibly increasing the brilliance of the gem. The stone weighs 9 13/16 ct. The smallest of the three stones weighs 6¼ ct and is the only Stellar Cut I have ever come across with a pear-shaped outline. It is flat, but nevertheless very attractive.
Originally the de Guise Brilliant was a Table Cut. In the 1740s it was refashioned into a Stellar Cut Brilliant identical to the so-called Brazilian Cut. This term was originally used in the trade to describe diamonds fashioned in the eighteenth century from Brazilian rough as opposed to the modern round cuts produced from South African rough. However, few, if any, of these diamonds had short, pentagonal culet facets of this sort. In the case of the de Guise, it was simply that, after the small facets had already been applied, the culet was enlarged for some reason and consequently the inner ends of the originally slim culet facets were removed. However, a Stellar Cut, no matter what the size of its culet, should no more be called Brazilian.
When, in 1888, the de Guise was put up for sale with the rest of the French Crown Jewels, its past history was ignored and the entry in the catalogue described it simply as ‘un gros brilliant carré étendu, 29 7/16 ct.’ Tiffany’s of New York acquired it for a mere 155,000 francs.
I have examined three Stellar Cut Brilliants in Dresden. It is almost circular in shape and extremely well made. It compares favorably, in fact, with the best London cuts of the early eighteenth century. With its slight but pleasing lack of rigid symmetry, one could describe it as an excellent Baroque Cut. The only rather interesting factor is that the stone was fashioned with present-day ideal proportions! The second Stellar Cut in the Treasury is unusual in that its eight culet faces, looked at through the table, appear to be doubled, thus possibly increasing the brilliance of the gem. The stone weighs 9 13/16 ct. The smallest of the three stones weighs 6¼ ct and is the only Stellar Cut I have ever come across with a pear-shaped outline. It is flat, but nevertheless very attractive.
The Romantic Movement In France
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
Friendship and admiration for Rousseau had a great effect on the life of Virgilio Narcisse Diaz de la Pena (1808-76), commonly known as Diaz. This painter was born at Bordeaux, whither his father, a political refugee, had fled from Spain, and after his death, which occurred soon afterwards, Mme Diaz removed to Sèvres, where she supported her young family by giving lessons in Spanish and Italian. When he was fifteen years old he was apprenticed to learn china painting, but he soon tired of working at the factory, and spent all his spare time in painting romantic Eastern scenes from his imagination. About 1830, while still earning his living by painting on porcelain, Diaz met Rousseau in Paris, and this acquaintance ripened into a lifelong friendship. Taught by Rousseau how to use pure and brilliant colors so that his pictures glowed like jewels, the pictures of Diaz appealed to the public by their subjects and were soon sought after. At first Diaz painted nymphs and bathers, mythological subjects and oriental scenes, the last so brilliant in color that it is difficult to believe Diaz never saw the Orient and never traveled farther than a few hundred miles from Paris.
Though he had little to complain about on his own account, Diaz shared the fortunes of his friend Rousseau, and accompanied him to Barbizon in 1837. There he gave his mind almost entirely to landscape, and made a new reputation by his brilliant forest pictures with light glancing on the tree stems.
Like Diaz and Dupré, the famous cattle painter Troyton (1810-65) began as a painter on porcelain. His father, who had been employed at the Sèvres Porcelain Factory, died early, and while quite young boys Troyon and his brother earned a living by painting on china at the manufactory, and in their spare time sketched from Nature in the surrounding country. It was not till he was thirty-two that Constant Troyon was able to leave Sèvres and commence his studies in Paris, and for some years his progress was hampered by the somewhat niggling style of painting he had acquired from the habit of decorating porcelain, but devoting himself especially to the painting of animals he gradually acquired strength and breadth, though he was nearly forty before he gained the power that has since made him famous. When he did find himself, however, the success of Troyon was immediate. He was speedily recognized by his contemporaries as the greatest animal painter since Cuyp and Paul Potter, and the demand for his work was so great that Troyon sometimes employed other painters to put in backgrounds and accessories. Troyon excelled in showing living beasts in their natural surroundings, and the landscapes in his cattle pictures are not mere ‘back-cloths’ but genuine studies which interpret with sincerity the weather, the time of day, and the season of the year. His most famous masterpiece is his great painting ‘Oxen going to Work’ in the Louvre, in which the superb rendering of the animals is equalled by the splendor with which the artist has rendered the full glory of the early morning landscape.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
Friendship and admiration for Rousseau had a great effect on the life of Virgilio Narcisse Diaz de la Pena (1808-76), commonly known as Diaz. This painter was born at Bordeaux, whither his father, a political refugee, had fled from Spain, and after his death, which occurred soon afterwards, Mme Diaz removed to Sèvres, where she supported her young family by giving lessons in Spanish and Italian. When he was fifteen years old he was apprenticed to learn china painting, but he soon tired of working at the factory, and spent all his spare time in painting romantic Eastern scenes from his imagination. About 1830, while still earning his living by painting on porcelain, Diaz met Rousseau in Paris, and this acquaintance ripened into a lifelong friendship. Taught by Rousseau how to use pure and brilliant colors so that his pictures glowed like jewels, the pictures of Diaz appealed to the public by their subjects and were soon sought after. At first Diaz painted nymphs and bathers, mythological subjects and oriental scenes, the last so brilliant in color that it is difficult to believe Diaz never saw the Orient and never traveled farther than a few hundred miles from Paris.
Though he had little to complain about on his own account, Diaz shared the fortunes of his friend Rousseau, and accompanied him to Barbizon in 1837. There he gave his mind almost entirely to landscape, and made a new reputation by his brilliant forest pictures with light glancing on the tree stems.
Like Diaz and Dupré, the famous cattle painter Troyton (1810-65) began as a painter on porcelain. His father, who had been employed at the Sèvres Porcelain Factory, died early, and while quite young boys Troyon and his brother earned a living by painting on china at the manufactory, and in their spare time sketched from Nature in the surrounding country. It was not till he was thirty-two that Constant Troyon was able to leave Sèvres and commence his studies in Paris, and for some years his progress was hampered by the somewhat niggling style of painting he had acquired from the habit of decorating porcelain, but devoting himself especially to the painting of animals he gradually acquired strength and breadth, though he was nearly forty before he gained the power that has since made him famous. When he did find himself, however, the success of Troyon was immediate. He was speedily recognized by his contemporaries as the greatest animal painter since Cuyp and Paul Potter, and the demand for his work was so great that Troyon sometimes employed other painters to put in backgrounds and accessories. Troyon excelled in showing living beasts in their natural surroundings, and the landscapes in his cattle pictures are not mere ‘back-cloths’ but genuine studies which interpret with sincerity the weather, the time of day, and the season of the year. His most famous masterpiece is his great painting ‘Oxen going to Work’ in the Louvre, in which the superb rendering of the animals is equalled by the splendor with which the artist has rendered the full glory of the early morning landscape.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
The Brelli
I really liked the Brelli bio-degradable umbrella design + I think it's absolutely unique and beautiful!
Useful link:
www.thebrelli.com
Useful link:
www.thebrelli.com
A Wooden Buddha Sculpture
It has been reported that a newly discovered wooden Buddha, 26-inch sculpture of Dainichi Nyorai, the supreme Buddha, believed to be the work of Unkei, one of the great carvers of the early Kamakura period of the 1190s, has set a new world auction record for Japanese art when it was sold for $14,377,000 @ Christie's to Mitsukoshi Co Ltd.
Shocking price!
Useful links:
www.christies.com
www.mitsukoshi.co.jp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unkei
Shocking price!
Useful links:
www.christies.com
www.mitsukoshi.co.jp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unkei
Amber Fossils
I found the article on Amber fossils from Australia via http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/2006/1796778.htm educational + insightful.
Useful links:
www.unsw.edu.au
www.rivsoc.org.au
www.austmus.gov.au
Useful links:
www.unsw.edu.au
www.rivsoc.org.au
www.austmus.gov.au
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
DTC Botswana
DTC Botswana, a joint venture (50:50) between the world's biggest mining company, De Beers + the government of Botswana, has opened the largest and most advanced rough diamond sorting facility in the world + I believe the venture will become a unique business model in building a sustainable downstream diamond industry in Botswana.
Useful links:
www.debswana.com
www.debeersgroup.com
Useful links:
www.debswana.com
www.debeersgroup.com
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