Cosmetics And Gem Materials

(via The Journal of Gemmology, Vol. IX, No.8, October 1964) R Webster writes:

Chalcedony
The only case of possible attack by cosmetics on chalcedony was one referred to the writer some time ago, and for which, at the time, no decision was reached, particularly as the change seemed so fantastic. Here a lady’s signet ring, set (presumably) with a black onyx, was submitted for investigation. The story which came with the enquiry was that the black stone was originally red (cornelian or stained agate) and had turned black. The owner of the ring was said to be a hairdresser and it was questioned whether chemicals used for hair-treatment could have caused the change of color. No information was given as to the nature of the chemicals used, or the type of hair-dressing preparations used by this hair-dresser. The only question asked was whether such an occurrence had been encountered before. To the best of my knowledge it had not, or at least had not been reported, and the matter rested there.

However, intrigued by the effect which, presumably, had occurred with the stone in the lady’s ring, some experiments were carried out. A piece of cornelian, probably dyed agate, was immersed in a tube of 25% sodium sulphide and left for some time, after which it was removed and dried. No apparent effect was then noticed, but some time later, after the stone had lain on a shelf open to daylight, the stone was seen to have darkened, but admittedly did not turn black but to a very dark brown. The notion underlying this experiment was that as the color of cornelian was due to iron, the action of the sodium sulphide might produce the black ferrous sulphide (FeS).

To perform the second experiment a small piece was broken off from the blackened specimen and immersed in a 20-volume solution of hydrogen peroxide and left for twenty four hours. On the removal of the piece from the solution it was seen that it had returned to the original reddish color, that of cornelian. Another piece was broken off the darkened specimen and immersed in ordinary tap water in order to check whether the darkening was just surface deposit which could be washed off. No lightening took place even after three days immersion. Whether the hydrogen peroxide solution would return the color when other dyes were used is a matter for debate and further experiment.

To get further information the writer approached the technical staff of Golden Ltd, the makers and distributors of the hairdressing products of L’Oreal of Paris, who were good enough to submit specimens of cornelian to treatments with some of their products. These tests involved immersion in samples of Pastel and Progress cold-wave lotions, Ciloreal-skin-stain remover, and a number of basic chemicals used in the manufacturing of L’Oreal products, both for hair coloring and permanent waving. Tests were also carried out by the Golden technicians with a 10% sodium sulphide solution; and one stringent test was with a Pastel cold wave No.1 at a temperature of 75ºC for eight hours. On the return of the stones, in no single instance was any blackening of the stones noticed. Later, however, after the stones had been kept in a stone paper for a few months, two of the pieces did seem to have somewhat darkened in color, but they certainly had not turned black.

It is clear from the above that any change in the color of cornelian could only occur after prolonged treatment, as in the case of the hairdresser who could well be using cosmetic chemicals daily, and would anyway be of rare occurrence, and not an expensive item to replace, but it does illustrate what troubles can be encountered.

The objects of this article is to warn the jeweler that cosmetics, when incorrectly used, may have a deleterious effect on certain types of gem materials. This is no criticism of beauty preparations in themselves when they are used with common sense, but so often ladies are oblivious to the fact that they are wearing their jewelry when completing the final touches to their make-up; then the jeweler is challenged as to the resultant changes.

Idocrase (Vesuvianite)

Chemistry: Calcium aluminum silicate.
Crystal system: Tetragonal; Vesuvianite: well-developed square prisms capped with bipyramidal and often basal pinacoid; Californite: massive; Cyprine: massive.
Color: Vesuvianite: transparent, yellow to brown and greenish shades; Californite: transparent to opaque; massive green (mixture of idocrase and grossular garnet); Cyprine: very rare blue variety (Cu).
Hardness: 6 - 7
Cleavage: Indistinct; Fracture: sub-conchoidal.
Specific gravity: 3.35
Refractive index: 1.70 – 1.73 (changes from negative to positive with increasing R.I); 0.005
Luster: Vitreous.
Dispersion: Low
Dichroism: Indistinct.
Occurrence: Canada, Italy, Switzerland, Siberia; Californite: California, USA.

Notes
Vesuvianite cut for collectors; crystals similar to zircon, except zircon rarely shows the basal pinacoid; massive green Californite may look like nephrite jade; massive idocrase often mixed with hydrogrossular; may show rare earth spectrum, strong band at 461nm in the blue; transparent varieties faceted; Californite: cabochon and beads.

Cirque du Soleil

New Business Model: An excellent insight + a new definition for competition.

(via emergic) An excerpt from the book, Blue Ocean Strategy, in Fast Company:

A one time accordion player, stilt-walker and fire-eater, Guy Laliberte is now CEO of one of Canada's largest cultural exports, Cirque du Soleil (http://www.cirquedusoleil.com). Created in 1984 by a group of street performers, Cirque's productions have been seen by almost 40 million people in 90 cities around the world. In less than 20 years Cirque du Soleil has achieved a revenue level that took Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey's Circus - the global champion of the circus industry - more than one hundred years to attain.

What makes this all the more remarkable is that this rapid growth was not achieved in an attractive industry. It was in a declining industry in which traditional strategic analysis pointed to limited potential for growth. Supplier power on the part of star performers was strong. So was buyer power? From the perspective of competition-based strategy, then, the circus industry appeared unattractive.

Another compelling aspect of Cirque du Soleil's success is that it did not win by taking customers from the already shrinking demand for the circus industry, which historically catered to children. Cirque du Soleil did not compete with Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey's Circus to make this happen. Instead it created uncontested new market space that made the competition irrelevant. It appealed to a whole new group of customers - adults and corporate clients prepared to pay a price that is several times as expensive as traditional circuses for their unprecedented entertainment experience. Significantly, one of the first Cirque productions was titled "We Reinvent the Circus".

Cirque du Soleil succeeded because it realized that to win in the future, companies must stop competing with each other. The only way to beat the competition is to stop trying to beat the competition.

In a brief article in Fast Company, Renee Mauborgne, the co-author of Blue Ocean Strategy, says companies can do what Cirque du Soleil did by following certain guidelines.

- Water, water, everywhere.

- You don't have to compete in a red ocean of bloody competition. Even exhausted industries -- like the circus can be reinvented.

- Don't swim with the school.

- Quit benchmarking the competition or setting your strategic agenda in the context of theirs.

- Find new ponds to fish.

- Don't assume your current customers have the insights you need to rethink your strategy. Look to non-customers instead.

- Cut bait on costs.

- Put as much emphasis on what you can eliminate as on what you can create.

The Private Life Of Henry VIII.

Memorable quote (s) from the movie:

King Henry VIII (Charles Laughton): Diplomacy? Diplomacy, my foot! I'm an Englishman -- I can't say one thing and mean another. What I can do is to build ships, ships, and then more ships!

Thomas Cromwell (Franklin Dyall): You mean, double the fleet?

King Henry VIII (Charles Laughton): Treble it. Fortify Dover. Rule the sea.

Thomas Cromwell (Charles Laughton): To do this will cost us money, sire.

King Henry VIII (Charles Laughton): To leave it undone will cost us England.

Biopics Mix Shticks, Kitsch

Peter Plagens writes about movie makers love to dramatise the lives of famous artists + the boom in sub-genre (s) + other viewpoints @ http://artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=2167

A Singapore Jeweler’s Nightmare Scenario

Chaim Even-Zohar writes about David Rasif & Partners, a law firm in Singapore, the police, the diamond market + other viewpoints @ http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.aspTextSearch=&KeyMatch=0&id=25869

Cosmetics And Gem Materials

(via The Journal of Gemmology, Vol. IX, No.8, October 1964) R Webster writes:

Turquoise and jade
Most turquoise has been treated in some way to improve the color and substances used for this treatment may be affected when cosmetic preparations get on to the surface of the stone. Even good colored non-treated turquoise may be affected by certain cosmetics. Robert Crowningshield refers to a case in which turquoise had discolored, apparently from the effects of cosmetics. There has been no report that jades have been affected by beauty preparations, but as jadeite can be dyed, deleterious effects could conceivably occur with this material.

Cosmetics And Gem Materials (continued)

Hypersthene

Chemistry: Form of Enstatite, with increased iron content, usually opaque.
Crystal system: Orthorhombic; rarely short prismatic crystals; lamellar masses common.
Color: Opaque; gem varieties dark brown with coppery iridescence; hypersthene enstatite: transparent brown.
Hardness: 5 - 6
Cleavage: Good: in 1 direction.
Specific gravity: 3.4 – 3.5
Refractive index: 1.6 – 1.79; 1.673 – 1.731; Biaxial negative (optic sign changes along the series); 0.014
Luster: Vitreous, pearly or silky.
Dispersion: Low
Dichroism: Pinkish to greenish.
Occurrence: Igneous and metamorphic, also from meteorites; Norway, Greenland, Germany, USA, Mexico.

Notes
Also called ferrohypersthene; varieties include bronzite; spectral line at 506nm and 547nm; cabochon, slab.