Louise Bourgeois

(via The Guardian) Louise Bourgeois is 95 and still making art + her total internal reflections @ http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/visualart/story/0,,2184670,00.html

Ex-Abs

Deidre Stein Greben writes about artists switching camps, from abstraction to representation or vice versa + total internal reflections of artists + other viewpoints @ http://artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1634

Gold Hallmarking In India

Finally the Indian government has decided to act. From New Year (2008) it will become mandatory for gold to be embossed with Bureau of Indian Standards' hallmarking + the measure (the percentage of impurity in the yellow metal is 11-39 per cent) not just protects the public, but also boosts export of jewelry. The experts estimate that India consumes on an average 800 tonnes of gold each year. We shall wait and see how the standardization across the industry is going to work.

The Man Who Listens To Horses

Good Books: I am not an expert on horses, but a friend of mine asked me to read about Monty Roberts. There is so much more to Monty's story that I find applicable to the gem and jewelry markets, and to life. The book is called, The Man Who Listens to Horses. It's a must read.

De Beers’ Supply Structure

It's amazing to see in less than a decade, the diamond industry evolving from a single-channel supply industry into a multi-channel supply industry + De Beers’ century long dominance of the diamond market and its fall – from 90 percent of the rough diamond supply to about 40 percent + the diamond market impact + the new players and market-driven concepts.

The Fourth Antwerp Diamond Conference to be held on October 15 - 16, 2007 will bring together key players including Gareth Penny, managing director of De Beers; Varda Shine, managing director of the Diamond Trading Company; Sergey Vybornov, president of Alrosa; Jean-Marc Lieberherr, general manager of Rio Tinto Diamonds; Chris Ryder, marketing director of BHP Billiton Diamonds + representatives from middle-tier diamond mining companies. As usual there will be a lot of talk + interesting discussions + a grand reception.

Import Ban On Burmese Gemstones

Jewelers of America (JA) represents 11,000 member stores in the US. They are asking the U.S. Congress to amend the Burmese Freedom & Democracy Act of 2003, which bans the importation of products from Burma, so that it includes gemstones mined in that country. JA wants effective democratic reforms in Burma. They also want to make sure the sourcing of gemstones are done the right way. Even though the US may be perceived as the largest consumer market for gems and jewelry, I think the industry as whole should take a common stand and find innovative/practical/realistic ways to enforce compliance rules and regulations. No one has ever come up with a brilliant plan/ideas to do so instead it's hard talk with no results. Only an educated consumer (s) could make the big difference. If they stop buying, then there is no business for Burmese stones. It's Catch-22. Many businesses will go under. What's Plan B? What are the alternatives?

Ben Franklin On Humility

(via Dailyspeculations/Charles Pennington) From the Autobiography of Ben Franklin:
'I added humility to my list, giving an extensive meaning to the word. I cannot boast of much success in acquiring the reality of this virtue, but I had a good deal with regard to the appearance of it. I made it a rule to forbear all direct contradiction to the sentiments of others, and all positive assertion of my own. I even forbid myself, agreeably to the old laws of our Junto, the use of every word or expression in the language that imported a fix'd opinion, such as certainly, undoubtedly, etc., and I adopted, instead of them, I conceive, I apprehend, or I imagine a thing to be so or so; or it so appears to me at present. When another asserted something that I thought an error, I deny'd myself the pleasure of contradicting him abruptly, and of showing immediately some absurdity in his proposition; and in answering I began by observing that in certain cases or circumstances his opinion would be right, but in the present case there appear'd or seem'd to me some difference, etc. I soon found the advantage of this change in my manner; the conversations I engag'd in went on more pleasantly. The modest way in which I propos'd my opinions procur'd them a readier reception and less contradiction; I had less mortification when I was found to be in the wrong, and I more easily prevail'd with others to give up their mistakes and join with me when I happened to be in the right.'

I liked this one.

Memories Of My Life

Good Books: (via Dailyspeculations) I enjoyed reading Memories of My Life by Francis Galton. As Victor Niederhoffer rightly put it 'Memories of My Life' has a freshness and decency of spirit, and is an illustration of how amazing and creative the human mind can be + it has insights into most scholarly fields, and advice and examples of living a good life on almost every page. I liked this one.

The collected published works by Galton are available at Galton.org
Google allows you to download the book for free.