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.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
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.
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