De Beers Dandelion Diamond

(via Rob Bates) I liked the De Beers' Dandelion Diamond commercial (here) + the Spotrunner presentation + the DPS info @ dps.org

Demoralization, Resentment, Anxiety, Stress

Amei Wallach writes about the growth of museum (s) + the corporatization + the creation of the Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) for ethical/professional policies + other viewpoints @ http://artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1241

Tortoise Shell vs. Imitations

For thousands of years Tortoise shell has been associated with jewelry and personal items such as combs, eyeglass frames and art objects. They were popular with both the ancient Greeks and wealthy Romans. Many types of tortoise shell objects have been used for furniture inlays, eyeglass frames, decorative boxes, rings, bracelets, and earrings. In Japan, tortoise shell crafting or bekko, has been an important industry since at least the 17th century, centered in Nagasaki. Bekko objects such as hair ornaments are still being created today from stockpiled material. The source material comes from two species of sea turtles: the hawksbill and the rare green turtle. The shell tend to show attractive patterns from light to dark brown patches and other desirable shades. The popularity of tortoise shell from 18th through 20th century caused these animals almost to extinction leading to a near-worldwide ban in the 1970s + international trade in tortoise shell products.

Common imitations include plastic, phenol formaldehyde resin (bakelite), polyester resins (PET and polyurethane) among many others. Sometimes the identification could be a challenge for various reasons. For instance plastics and horn can imitate blond tortoise shell quite easily and the differences in luminescence may not be always diagnostic. Plastic (s) could be altered via change (s) in its chemical compositions, polymerization or the applications of dyes. Identifications may not be always that easy. Since tortoise shell and their imitations are fashioned into ornamental materials, standard tests beyond UV luminescence and hotpoint may not always be possible. It’s catch-22. According to experts, Tortoise shell and its imitations can be identified with standard (microscope, refractive index, specific gravity, UV fluorescence, etc) + analytical (photoluminescence spectroscopy, transmission infrared spectroscopy, specular reflectance infrared spectroscope, vis-nir spectroscope, raman spectroscopy), gemological tests.

Alaskan Amber

Here is an interesting story on amber. The Inuit people in Alaska is known to have collected amber from northern beach gravels between Harrison Bay and Smith Bay on the Artic Ocean
because with (geologic) time and erosion the fossil resin may have been exposed, loosened and tumbled by rivers or washed out to sea + since amber floats in seawater, again with time the currents may have deposited amber chunks along the Alaskan coast in a random fashion. The locals, according to John Sinkankas, who is an expert on North American gemstones, referred to the amber as auma, meaning live coal. From a gemological perspective the amber specimens from the region showed familiar inclusions such as gas bubbles, network of fissures due to stress, tree debris, mosquito, spiders, beetles, ants, and bees.

The Weather Channel

Good Books/Business Models: (via Emergic) The Weather Channel: The Improbable Rise of a Media Phenomenon is written by its founder Frank Batten. Here is a fascinating story of a channel + concept almost no one expected to succeed. I enjoyed reading it.

Here is what the description of The Weather Channel: The Improbable Rise of a Media Phenomenon says (via Amazon.com):
Twenty years ago, who'd have believed that millions of viewers would follow the twists and turns of storms developing across the globe with the rapt attention once reserved for thriller movies? That a single television channel could simultaneously inform and entertain us, enrich our lives and, at times, help save them?

This is the remarkable story of The Weather Channel, a cable network that succeeded when almost all the experts predicted it would fail. Told by one of the key figures in the network's success, former Chairman and CEO Frank Batten, this is at once a deeply personal account of high-stakes entrepreneurship and a fascinating case study of a media business both experiencing and driving major change.

There are colorful personalities-from the on-camera meteorologists to the whiz kids recruited to help build the company's core technology. There are adventures and dramas-from the glitch-filled national launch that was saved by luck and a mysterious stranger to The Weather Channel's near-death experience as its owner, Landmark Communications, was poised to lose its entire $31 million investment in the network. There are unexpected plot twists, risky ventures, failures, and victories.

Batten's engrossing narrative reveals for the first time how The Weather Channel works its magic-and the technological, meteorological, and business innovations that have made it all possible. He takes us behind the scenes as his unique network evolved from struggling start-up to media powerhouse, from editorial cartoon fodder to vital public service.

Along the way, he shares hard-won business lessons on breaking from convention and taking educated risks; bringing a great idea to market; strengthening a brand; leveraging disruptive technologies; managing through failure; preserving a spirit of risk-taking through periods of intense growth; and more.

An absorbing tale of success against the odds, this book will appeal to entrepreneurs in all industries, as well as to the millions of fans of The Weather Channel.

Here is a review about the book (via Amazon.com):
In 1982, Frank Batten flipped a switch and began what he called "a weather forecast that will never end." There's probably no better emblem of niche media than the Weather Channel and its super-specialized field of interest. After 20 years of mapping high-pressure fronts and covering hurricanes, however, "We have built one of the strongest brands anywhere in the media business," writes Batten, former chairman and CEO. Most of The Weather Channel concentrates on all the problems Batten and his media company experienced in the early 1980s when they hatched their idea for all-weather programming and struggled to get it on the air. "I'm sure that we tried to do too much, too fast," says Batten, who nevertheless endorses the too-much, too-fast approach: "I'm convinced that if we hadn't acted as aggressively as we did--if we hadn't spent the money, rushed down the road, and pushed ourselves and our partners ... The Weather Channel may never have been." Batten concludes by discussing the future of weather predictions (they're going to get a lot better, he thinks) and offering unconventional advice to aspiring media tycoons (don't offer stock options to employees). This book will appeal to aficionados of isobars and other weather events, as well as readers interested in how to start a thriving business.
- John Miller

The Timorous Beasties

(via The Guardian) Stuart Jeffries writes about the Timorous Beasties + their wall paper designs + other viewpoints @ http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/design/story/0,,2008228,00.html

Useful links:
Dominic Lutyens on the subversive designs of the Timorous Beasties
Timorous Beasties website
Download your free Timorous Beasties wallpaper

A Work In Progress

Melinda Henneberger writes about Leonardo da Vinci's techniques + the character + his paintings + experts interpretation (s) on his work of art + other viewpoints @ http://artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1240

How To Sell More Diamonds

One of the interesting thing that I have noticed during my travel (s) in Southeast Asia and South Asia is the way jewelry retailers display their products. Diamonds are still the bread and butter of the industry. Sometimes what is missing is an attractive display. A good window display is like the human face. It should be simple, attractive and memorable. Naturally the store (s) must have an attractive window in order to turn passersby into customers. It's shocking to notice that only a very few stores display their products to fit the lifestyle and spending power of the people in the area. To me most window displays look like dog displays. There is lack of creativity and imagination. Most jewelry store's window display (s) are packed with old and new designs in a hurry to make money. You need to have an eagle-eye and zen-like patience to identify the designs you like. Today no one has the patience or time to look, decide and buy. We have morphed into a pack of rats running in all directions to make a living. And most jewelers don't understand what consumers want. Most jewelers believe that customers will just walk in and buy. A big mistake.

There are many ways to attract passersby into customers. According to Diamond Promotion Service experts jewelers should think first and act by doing the right thing:
- Display colorful posters.
- Use different accessories to capture a mood.
- sophisticated for a traditional display (works of art, fabrics, antiques)
- unusual for a more original display (boxes, toys)
- Take care in arranging your display.
- select one special piece of jewelry and give it emphasis by surrounding it with less important pieces.
-arrange the jewelry: in curved lines to suggest feminity / in converging lines to suggest infinity / in broken lines to suggest movement / in vertical lines to suggest elegance.

I think it makes sense. Today I see more people with low attention span (s) than before. This phenomenon could be due to our life-style. I think it would be refreshing if the jewelers change window display (s) periodically to attract/retain customers. I also believe the same concept should work in the colored stone industry. At times I notice that there is chemical mis-match between colored stone and diamond jewelry retailers. Either they don't understand color (s) or they don't have the product knowledge or they just don't know how to sell.

How To Sell More Diamonds (continued)