I am a huge fan of Bruce Hornsby + his music is a magic-blend of jazz, pop, classical, bluegrass, rock, vaudeville, at times uncategorizable, but the refined musicality puts you in a hypnotic trance.
Useful link:
www.brucehornsby.com
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Jewelry Enterprise Software
Octahedron Pty Ltd, is an interesting web-based point-of-sale and business management software company.
Useful link:
www.octahedron.com.au
Useful link:
www.octahedron.com.au
Auctioned 'Rembrandt' Fetches £2m
(via BBC) A painting given a reserve of £1,500 sold for more than £2m at auction after bidders became convinced it was a Rembrandt self portrait. The work had hung on the wall of a house in Cirencester for several years before being sold in the town.
Philip Allwood - from Moore, Allen and Innocent - said he thought the portrait might be a Rembrandt but its owner said it had been checked and was not. But bidders who drove the price up to £2m were convinced otherwise, he added.
Mr Allwood said he had to make sure the painting was not misdescribed in the auction room's catalogue.
"When I first saw it I said it looked very much like a Rembrandt and was assured by the client it had been checked out years ago and it wasn't," said.
Deciding to do some more research on the painting, Mr Allwood spoke to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Experts there assured him that, while it was of the period of Rembrandt, it was "probably not" painted by him.
He said the auction house was not sure so was very careful not to misdescribe the painting in the catalogue.
"But on the day of the auction both the winner and under bidder seemed convinced it was genuine," Mr Allwood added. "The buyer who wishes to remain anonymous seemed very relaxed spending that sort of money."
When I read this story I said to myself, we are living in interesting times. At times I come across gemstones, top quality rubies (Burma, Vietnam, Tajikistan, Madagascar), sapphires (Kashmir, Burma, Sri Lanka, Madagascar), emeralds (Colombia, Brazil, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Zambia, Madagascar), and now Paraiba tourmalines (Brazil, Nigeria, Mozambique) bought and sold like paintings. Miners have one story, dealers have another story, gem testing laboratories have their own version + buyers think the stones come from a well-known source because they liked it, and pay high prices. Sometimes it is hard to teach gemstone pricing because (a) there is no business logic (b) once you like the stone, if you have the money, you pay, feel relaxed and want to remain anonymous.
Philip Allwood - from Moore, Allen and Innocent - said he thought the portrait might be a Rembrandt but its owner said it had been checked and was not. But bidders who drove the price up to £2m were convinced otherwise, he added.
Mr Allwood said he had to make sure the painting was not misdescribed in the auction room's catalogue.
"When I first saw it I said it looked very much like a Rembrandt and was assured by the client it had been checked out years ago and it wasn't," said.
Deciding to do some more research on the painting, Mr Allwood spoke to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Experts there assured him that, while it was of the period of Rembrandt, it was "probably not" painted by him.
He said the auction house was not sure so was very careful not to misdescribe the painting in the catalogue.
"But on the day of the auction both the winner and under bidder seemed convinced it was genuine," Mr Allwood added. "The buyer who wishes to remain anonymous seemed very relaxed spending that sort of money."
When I read this story I said to myself, we are living in interesting times. At times I come across gemstones, top quality rubies (Burma, Vietnam, Tajikistan, Madagascar), sapphires (Kashmir, Burma, Sri Lanka, Madagascar), emeralds (Colombia, Brazil, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Zambia, Madagascar), and now Paraiba tourmalines (Brazil, Nigeria, Mozambique) bought and sold like paintings. Miners have one story, dealers have another story, gem testing laboratories have their own version + buyers think the stones come from a well-known source because they liked it, and pay high prices. Sometimes it is hard to teach gemstone pricing because (a) there is no business logic (b) once you like the stone, if you have the money, you pay, feel relaxed and want to remain anonymous.
Lost & Found
Ann Landi writes about Sculptor Lee Bontecou's art works + other viewpoints @ http://artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1399
Clean Diamond Trade Act
(via Wikipedia) Clean Diamond Trade Act, established in 2003, is a United States law designed to stop the trade of diamonds that fund violent civil conflicts in many African countries. The law implemented U.S. participation in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for trade in rough diamonds.
[PDF] Public Law 108–19 108th Congress An Act
[PDF] Public Law 108–19 108th Congress An Act
The Natural Diamond Point
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The natural Diamond Point (naif or pointe non faite in early French inventories) is an octahedral crystal with natural faces. The term has been in use at least since the middle of the twelfth century: it can be applied to any natural diamond crystal which, when set, shows a sharp apex or point, but the term is restricted to the natural octahedron. Since this is one of the three fixed forms in the isometric (cubic) crystal system, in theory it always displays exactly similar triangular faces, with fixed angles between the faces and fixed height proportions.
However, perfect symmetry with smooth, shining faces is hardly ever found in diamond crystals. They often have a natural bipyramidal form (either regular or with curved faces and edges) but are more often distorted because of unequal face development. In fact the octahedron frequently occurs in combination with one or both of the other fixed forms—the dodecahedron and the cube. It is also found combined with one or more of the four non-fixed isometric forms. Though absolute perfection is rare in a natural crystal it can, of course, be achieved by cleaving off irregular sections.
The natural Diamond Point was highly valued in ancient India and therefore hardly ever officially exported to the western world—there are, for instance, no pointed diamonds in the illustrations of the stones brought back to France by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier in the seventeenth century. But when it did finally reach Europe, the ‘point’ became a popular symbol and was used for all sorts of purposes, such as interior decoration and the facing of building.
In a natural diamond octahedron, the angle of inclination of the crystal faces at the girdle plane is 54º 44’ 8.3’’, usually rounded up to 53¾º. The sides of each triangular face will meet at a point forming an angle of 70º 31’ 43.4’’ (70½ º). By checking these figures it is possible to verify that a pyramidal shape is a true crystal and not a fashioned bipyramid, in which the angles differ from those of the natural crystal.
Most early Diamond Points were later fashioned into Tables, and later still into Brilliants. Regrettably, very few have survived in their original shape, and those that do are either foiled or their settings filled with dirt so that their beauty is no longer apparent. They are known, however, from museum collections, portraits and descriptions in wills and inventories.
The natural Diamond Point (naif or pointe non faite in early French inventories) is an octahedral crystal with natural faces. The term has been in use at least since the middle of the twelfth century: it can be applied to any natural diamond crystal which, when set, shows a sharp apex or point, but the term is restricted to the natural octahedron. Since this is one of the three fixed forms in the isometric (cubic) crystal system, in theory it always displays exactly similar triangular faces, with fixed angles between the faces and fixed height proportions.
However, perfect symmetry with smooth, shining faces is hardly ever found in diamond crystals. They often have a natural bipyramidal form (either regular or with curved faces and edges) but are more often distorted because of unequal face development. In fact the octahedron frequently occurs in combination with one or both of the other fixed forms—the dodecahedron and the cube. It is also found combined with one or more of the four non-fixed isometric forms. Though absolute perfection is rare in a natural crystal it can, of course, be achieved by cleaving off irregular sections.
The natural Diamond Point was highly valued in ancient India and therefore hardly ever officially exported to the western world—there are, for instance, no pointed diamonds in the illustrations of the stones brought back to France by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier in the seventeenth century. But when it did finally reach Europe, the ‘point’ became a popular symbol and was used for all sorts of purposes, such as interior decoration and the facing of building.
In a natural diamond octahedron, the angle of inclination of the crystal faces at the girdle plane is 54º 44’ 8.3’’, usually rounded up to 53¾º. The sides of each triangular face will meet at a point forming an angle of 70º 31’ 43.4’’ (70½ º). By checking these figures it is possible to verify that a pyramidal shape is a true crystal and not a fashioned bipyramid, in which the angles differ from those of the natural crystal.
Most early Diamond Points were later fashioned into Tables, and later still into Brilliants. Regrettably, very few have survived in their original shape, and those that do are either foiled or their settings filled with dirt so that their beauty is no longer apparent. They are known, however, from museum collections, portraits and descriptions in wills and inventories.
Consilience
I like Edward O. Wilson's Consilience, concept because the convergence of sciences, art and humanities = interaction of countless humans = the business of new discovery/opportunities.
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