Performance

Peter Schjeldahl writes about Chris Burden + his conceptual art + his interpretation of art as a free spot in society, where you can do anything—anything + other viewpoints @ http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/artworld/2007/05/14/070514craw_artworld_schjeldahl

BHP Billiton To Market The Satellite Pipe Mine Production

Chaim Even-Zohar writes about Satellite Pipe Mine + European Diamonds Plc + the government of Lesotho + complex marketing system (s) + other viewpoints @ http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.asp?TextSearch=&KeyMatch=0&id=25199

Can You Identify This Stone?

(via The Canadian Gemmologist, Vol.III, No.4, Spring, 1982) . Usually I am green or greenish blue, sometimes yellow, and all too often white or grayish. They call me Bonamite sometimes when I am greenish blue. Not many gemstones have zinc in them, but I do. My R.I is 1.62 – 1.85, and I am heavier than garnet. What am I?
Answer: Smithsonite

Ruby / Sapphire Fakes

When you are visiting gem mines or markets in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia, South America and North America, you might encounter the following stones. Gem dealers, jewelers and gemologist (s) may or may not be able to recognize the 'intruders' or 'tell-tale' signs of the fakes due to 'momentary autism', lack of knowledge or even over confidence.

I.
- Heat treated, tumbled Verneuil synthetic ruby
- Heat treated and/or ‘quench-crackled’, tumbled Verneuil synthetic ruby.
- Heat treated and/or ‘quench-crackled’, tumbled, oiled or waxed Verneuil synthetic ruby.
- Heat treated and/or ‘quench-crackled’, blue dye impregnated, tumbled Verneuil synthetic ruby.
- Heat treated tumbled Verneuil synthetic ruby with fillings + with/without colored wax.
- Heat treated, tumbled Verneuil synthetic filled with fused particles of blue sapphire.
- Heat treated, tumbled Verneuil synthetic ruby that has modified opening (s) filled with fused particles of blue sapphire.
- Natural pink sapphires rough coated with dark red nail polish.

***** May Look Like Natural Ruby Rough

II.
- Heat treated, fashioned, tumbled Verneuil synthetic ruby.
- Heat treated, fashioned, tumbled, partly blue painted Verneuil synthetic ruby.
- Heat treated and/or ‘quench-crackled’, fashioned, tumbled Verneuil synthetic ruby.
- A composite crystal containing fragments of Verneuil synthetic ruby.

***** May Look Like Ruby Crystals

III.
- Heat treated and/or ‘quench-crackled’ Verneuil synthetic ruby.

***** May Look Like Faceted Ruby

IV.
- Heat treated and/or ‘quench-crackled’ Verneuil synthetic sapphire.

***** May Look Like Faceted Sapphire

Sugilite

Chemistry: Sodium potassium ferric silicate
Crystal system: Hexagonal; massive.
Color: Opaque; light to dark violet to reddish purple (Mg); color-change (blue purple: daylight; reddish purple: incandescent light).
Hardness: 6 – 6.5
Cleavage: Fracture: granular
Specific gravity: 2.74 mean; varies.
Refractive index: 1.607 – 1.610 (1.61 mean); Uniaxial negative.
Luster: Vitreous to waxy.
Dispersion:-
Dichroism: -
Occurrence: Vein infillings intergrown with other minerals; South Africa, Nambia.

Notes
Discovered in 1976; trade names include Royal Lavulite, Royal Azel; ornamental bead, cabochon, carvings; mineralogical name: manganaoan sugilite; constants may vary due to the presence of other manganese minerals; spectrum: broad absorption at 620 and 480nm, 4 sharp bands in blue and violet.

Feeding Your Brain: New Benefits Found In Chocolate

Julie Steenhuysen writes about the effects on the brain of flavanols, an ingredient found in cocoa + other viewpoints @ http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN1836014620070218

I think it's time that chocolates are prescribed for jewelers, gemologist, lab gemologists, diamond + colored stone dealers / graders, artists + consumers, before meal (s), at least three times a day, for better blood flow to the brain when they are at work + the experts believe that chocolates could also hold promise for treating some vascular impairments. It would be an educational experieince to test diamond/colored stone (s) grade (s) before/after chocolate medication, and see if the grade (s) are consistent. If there are overlaps, you be the judge. Just do it.

Can You Identify This Stone?

(via The Canadian Gemmologist, Vol.III, No.4, Spring, 1982) My color is caused by copper and I am considered idiochromatic. If you put acid on me, I fizz like a shaken bottle of cola. Monoclinic in structure, with an R.I somewhere between 1.65 – 1.90, I am used for jewelry and for carving. What am I?
Answer: Malachite

The End Of Poverty

Good Books: (via Emergic) Jeffrey Sachs's book The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time is an almost-true revelation of today's state of the world. A good book for tomorrow's entrepreneurs.

The Amazon review provides an introduction:
Celebrated economist Jeffrey Sachs has a plan to eliminate extreme poverty around the world by 2025. If you think that is too ambitious or wildly unrealistic, you need to read this book. His focus is on the one billion poorest individuals around the world who are caught in a poverty trap of disease, physical isolation, environmental stress, political instability, and lack of access to capital, technology, medicine, and education. The goal is to help these people reach the first rung on the ladder of economic development so they can rise above mere subsistence level and achieve some control over their economic futures and their lives. To do this, Sachs proposes nine specific steps, which he explains in great detail in The End of Poverty. Though his plan certainly requires the help of rich nations, the financial assistance Sachs calls for is surprisingly modest--more than is now provided, but within the bounds of what has been promised in the past. For the U.S., for instance, it would mean raising foreign aid from just 0.14 percent of GNP to 0.7 percent. Sachs does not view such help as a handout but rather an investment in global economic growth that will add to the security of all nations. In presenting his argument, he offers a comprehensive education on global economics, including why globalization should be embraced rather than fought, why international institutions such as the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank need to play a strong role in this effort, and the reasons why extreme poverty exists in the midst of great wealth. He also shatters some persistent myths about poor people and shows how developing nations can do more to help themselves.