Diamonds Across Time

Diamonds Across Time PDF Author: Usha R Balakrishnan
Publisher: World Diamond Museum Limited
ISBN: 9781838048402
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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Book Description
- Diamonds Across Time features ten essays by scholars in love with the stone - They present new discoveries, explore historic collections, investigate the trade in diamonds, explain the spectrum of colors, and, most important, discuss the human stories that underpin the adoration for diamonds - The book is illustrated with incredible photographs of rarely seen gems and jewels from closely held collections and reconstructions of historical diamonds, done with the help of state-of-the-art computer technology Diamonds tell stories that are captivating and timeless. On the one hand, they are just stones, pieces of pure carbon with optical properties that make them glitter and sparkle like stars. On the other, they are mystical entities hypnotically drawing the viewer into a time machine as it were, wherein a cinematic montage of their journey unfolds. Diamonds Across Time presents a sweeping overview of diamonds across time and space, featuring ten essays by world-renowned scholars in love the stone. Here, these authors present new discoveries; explore extraordinary collections; investigate histories, science, and trade; the nature of diamonds; legendary gems, jewelry collections, and great designers. Above all, they tell the human stories that underpin the adoration of diamonds. Diamonds Across Time is a richly illustrated publication with high-quality images of gems and jewels, archival documents, rare drawings, and fabulous photographs. The volume places diamonds in the context of the time in which they were discovered, and on the political, social, and cultural stage on which their histories were etched. In a rapidly changing world, diamonds are eternal. They were created by nature and grew in the womb of the earth. They tell stories, and they record history. With this book, diamonds will finally have their own storytellers. The book was compiled and edited by the World Diamond Museum's chief curator and world-renowned jewelry expert Dr. Usha R Balakrishnan. She and nine other distinguished authors wrote ten monographs written in the order in appearance: Introduction; The Nizam Diamond: Bala Koh-i-Noor, in the Sacred Trust of the Nizam of Hyderabad - Usha R. Balakrishnan; Diamonds of the French Crown Jewels: Between East and West - François Farges; A Concise History of Diamonds from Borneo - Derek J. Content; Indian Diamonds and the Portuguese Duriing the Rise of the Mughal Empire - Hugo Miguel Crespo; Two Large Diamonds from India - Jack Ogden; The Romanov Diamonds: History of Splendour - Stefano Papi; The Londonderry Jewels, 1819-1959 - Diana Scarisbrick; Dress to Impress in Southeast Asia - René Brus; Powerful Women, Important Diamonds - Ruth Peltason; One in Ten Thousand: The Unique World of Coloured Diamonds - John M. King.

Diamonds Across Time

Diamonds Across Time PDF Author: Usha R Balakrishnan
Publisher: World Diamond Museum Limited
ISBN: 9781838048402
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 432

Get Book Here

Book Description
- Diamonds Across Time features ten essays by scholars in love with the stone - They present new discoveries, explore historic collections, investigate the trade in diamonds, explain the spectrum of colors, and, most important, discuss the human stories that underpin the adoration for diamonds - The book is illustrated with incredible photographs of rarely seen gems and jewels from closely held collections and reconstructions of historical diamonds, done with the help of state-of-the-art computer technology Diamonds tell stories that are captivating and timeless. On the one hand, they are just stones, pieces of pure carbon with optical properties that make them glitter and sparkle like stars. On the other, they are mystical entities hypnotically drawing the viewer into a time machine as it were, wherein a cinematic montage of their journey unfolds. Diamonds Across Time presents a sweeping overview of diamonds across time and space, featuring ten essays by world-renowned scholars in love the stone. Here, these authors present new discoveries; explore extraordinary collections; investigate histories, science, and trade; the nature of diamonds; legendary gems, jewelry collections, and great designers. Above all, they tell the human stories that underpin the adoration of diamonds. Diamonds Across Time is a richly illustrated publication with high-quality images of gems and jewels, archival documents, rare drawings, and fabulous photographs. The volume places diamonds in the context of the time in which they were discovered, and on the political, social, and cultural stage on which their histories were etched. In a rapidly changing world, diamonds are eternal. They were created by nature and grew in the womb of the earth. They tell stories, and they record history. With this book, diamonds will finally have their own storytellers. The book was compiled and edited by the World Diamond Museum's chief curator and world-renowned jewelry expert Dr. Usha R Balakrishnan. She and nine other distinguished authors wrote ten monographs written in the order in appearance: Introduction; The Nizam Diamond: Bala Koh-i-Noor, in the Sacred Trust of the Nizam of Hyderabad - Usha R. Balakrishnan; Diamonds of the French Crown Jewels: Between East and West - François Farges; A Concise History of Diamonds from Borneo - Derek J. Content; Indian Diamonds and the Portuguese Duriing the Rise of the Mughal Empire - Hugo Miguel Crespo; Two Large Diamonds from India - Jack Ogden; The Romanov Diamonds: History of Splendour - Stefano Papi; The Londonderry Jewels, 1819-1959 - Diana Scarisbrick; Dress to Impress in Southeast Asia - René Brus; Powerful Women, Important Diamonds - Ruth Peltason; One in Ten Thousand: The Unique World of Coloured Diamonds - John M. King.

Blood, Sweat and Earth

Blood, Sweat and Earth PDF Author: Tijl Vanneste
Publisher: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 1789144353
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 433

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Book Description
A sweeping history of our enduring passion for diamonds—and the exploitative industry that fuels it. Blood, Sweat and Earth is a hard-hitting historical exposé of the diamond industry, focusing on the exploitation of workers and the environment, the monopolization of uncut diamonds, and how little this has changed over time. It describes the use of forced labor and political oppression by Indian sultans, Portuguese colonizers in Brazil, and Western industrialists in many parts of Africa—as well as the hoarding of diamonds to maintain high prices, from the English East India Company to De Beers. While recent discoveries of diamond deposits in Siberia, Canada, and Australia have brought an end to monopolization, the book shows that advances in the production of synthetic diamonds have not yet been able to eradicate the exploitation caused by the world’s unquenchable thirst for sparkle.

The World Until Yesterday

The World Until Yesterday PDF Author: Jared Diamond
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 1846148154
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 409

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Book Description
From the author of No.1 international bestseller Collapse, a mesmerizing portrait of the human past that offers profound lessons for how we can live today Visionary, prize-winning author Jared Diamond changed the way we think about the rise and fall of human civilizations with his previous international bestsellers Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse. Now he returns with another epic - and groundbreaking - journey into our rapidly receding past. In The World Until Yesterday, Diamond reveals how traditional societies around the world offer an extraordinary window onto how our ancestors lived for the majority of human history - until virtually yesterday, in evolutionary terms - and provide unique, often overlooked insights into human nature. Drawing extensively on his decades working in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, Diamond explores how tribal societies approach essential human problems, from childrearing to conflict resolution to health, and discovers we have much to learn from traditional ways of life. He unearths remarkable findings - from the reason why modern afflictions like diabetes, obesity and Alzheimer's are virtually non-existent in tribal societies to the surprising benefits of multilingualism. Panoramic in scope and thrillingly original, The World Until Yesterday provides an enthralling first-hand picture of the human past that also suggests profound lessons for how to live well today. Jared Diamond is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the seminal million-copy-bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel, which was named one of TIME's best non-fiction books of all time, and Collapse, a #1 international bestseller. A professor of geography at UCLA and noted polymath, Diamond's work has been influential in the fields of anthropology, biology, ornithology, ecology and history, among others.

Three of Diamonds

Three of Diamonds PDF Author: Anthony Horowitz
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101664053
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
What would Tim Diamond, the world's worst private detective, dowithout his quick-thinking brother Nick? The bumbling detective and his kid brother are at it again in these three hilarious, fast-paced mysteries. Whether it's finding out who flattened a philanthropist with a steamroller in The Blurred Man, outsmarting Parisian drug smugglers on a vacation gone miserably wrong in The French Confection, or catching the murderer behind a deadly class reunion in I Know What You Did Last Wednesday, there's never a dull moment with this crimesolving duo around. Find out if Nick can get to the bottom of these mysteries before Tim messes everything up, or worse, gets them both killed.

Blood from a Stone

Blood from a Stone PDF Author: Richard Hammer
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0765386038
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
The search for the Life Diamonds--the subject of the compelling documentary produced by the History Channel. They were known as Life Diamonds--rough uncut diamonds of high quality bought by Jews in Eastern Europe to use as passports to safety. After 1939 and the Nazi blitzkrieg, after the extermination camps began belching black smoke into the skies and the railroad station at Auschwitz II-Birkenau became the busiest train station in the world, they became Death Diamonds. Blood from a Stone is the amazing story of forty of those diamonds, of their journey across continents and oceans, from the mines of South Africa to the diamond centers in Antwerp and Amsterdam, to the Jews of Eastern Europe, to the Death Camps. . . and to the two American soldiers who liberated them from the SS, finally, and buried them in a forest in Alsace on the border between France and Germany. It is the story of the curse believed to lie over the fabulous wealth of these stones, bringing death and disaster to all who touched them. It is the story of Yaron Svoray, who spent more than a decade in search of one small foxhole somewhere in a thousand square miles of forest...and of his unbelievable success. Blood from a Stone is a unique story, a story unlike any to come out of World War II. Blood from a Stone will more than over a dozen exclusive photos from the two-hour History Channel documentary.

Once Upon a Diamond

Once Upon a Diamond PDF Author: Prince Dimitri
Publisher: Rizzoli Publications
ISBN: 0847866912
Category : Design
Languages : en
Pages : 390

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Book Description
A remarkable history of jewelry told through the beguiling stories of the royal families of Italy, Greece, Belgium, Russia, and Yugoslavia. Renowned jewelry designer Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia recounts the enthralling exploits of his beloved family members and describes their extraordinary jewelry collections. Among the many royals whose stories are richly illustrated in this volume are his paternal grandparents Prince Regent Paul and Princess Olga of Yugoslavia; Grand Duke Vladimir and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia; his great-grandparents Prince Nicolas and Princess Helen of Greece as well as his maternal grandparents King Umberto II and Queen Marie-José of Italy. The exquisite photography and family albums of Grand Duchess Elena of Russia (later Princess of Greece and Prince Dimitri's great-grandmother) present remarkable never-before-seen images of prerevolutionary life of the Russian imperial family, their court, and their many European royal family members and friends. This luxurious tome also includes exclusive and previously unpublished designs by Prince Dimitri, which juxtapose uncommon materials and color in imaginative yet timeless forms.

Coal to Diamonds: A Memoir

Coal to Diamonds: A Memoir PDF Author: Beth Ditto
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0385529740
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 149

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Book Description
A raw and surprisingly beautiful coming-of-age memoir, Coal to Diamonds tells the story of Mary Beth Ditto, a girl from rural Arkansas who found her voice. Born and raised in Judsonia, Arkansas—a place where indoor plumbing was a luxury, squirrel was a meal, and sex ed was taught during senior year in high school (long after many girls had gotten pregnant and dropped out) Beth Ditto stood out. Beth was a fat, pro-choice, sexually confused choir nerd with a great voice, an eighties perm, and a Kool Aid dye job. Her single mother worked overtime, which meant Beth and her five siblings were often left to fend for themselves. Beth spent much of her childhood as a transient, shuttling between relatives, caring for a sickly, volatile aunt she nonetheless loved, looking after sisters, brothers, and cousins, and trying to steer clear of her mother’s bad boyfriends. Her punk education began in high school under the tutelage of a group of teens—her second family—who embraced their outsider status and introduced her to safety-pinned clothing, mail-order tapes, queer and fat-positive zines, and any shred of counterculture they could smuggle into Arkansas. With their help, Beth survived high school, a tragic family scandal, and a mental breakdown, and then she got the hell out of Judsonia. She decamped to Olympia, Washington, a late-1990s paradise for Riot Grrrls and punks, and began to cultivate her glamorous, queer, fat, femme image. On a whim—with longtime friends Nathan, a guitarist and musical savant in a polyester suit, and Kathy, a quiet intellectual turned drummer—she formed the band Gossip. She gave up trying to remake her singing voice into the ethereal wisp she thought it should be and instead embraced its full, soulful potential. Gossip gave her that chance, and the raw power of her voice won her and Gossip the attention they deserved. Marked with the frankness, humor, and defiance that have made her an international icon, Beth Ditto’s unapologetic, startlingly direct, and poetic memoir is a hypnotic and inspiring account of a woman coming into her own.

Diamonds and Scoundrels

Diamonds and Scoundrels PDF Author: Adrienne Rubin
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 163152514X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
When Adrienne Rubin enters into the jewelry business in 1970s Los Angeles, she is a maverick in a world dominated by men. She soon meets a young hotshot salesman who doesn’t seem to struggle at all, and when he asks her to be his partner, she is excited to join him. She doesn’t know him well, but she does know his father, and she believes he is as trustworthy as the day is long . . . Diamonds and Scoundrels shows us how a woman in a man’s world, with tenacity and sheer determination, can earn respect and obtain a true sense of accomplishment. Following Rubin’s experiences in the jewelry industry through the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s—with the ups and downs, good guys and bad—this is a tale of personal growth, of how to overcome challenges with courage and resilience. It’s a story for the woman today who, in addition to a rich family life, seeks a self-realized, fulfilling path toward a life well lived.

Graff

Graff PDF Author: Vivienne Becker
Publisher: Rizzoli Publications
ISBN: 0847844811
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
A look into the exclusive world of Graff, the British-owned luxury purveyor of unique jewels, one-of-a-kind statement pieces, and the most famous diamonds in the world. The House of Graff is synonymous with the pinnacle of luxurious, sophisticated style, the exclusive glamour and exquisite craftsmanship of its creations a singular complement to the world-famous gemstones that have passed through its master craftsmen's hands. Laurence Graff's gift of releasing the hidden beauty within gems of unprecedented size and brilliance has led to Graff being renowned as home to "the most fabulous jewels in the world." Spotlighted are famed stones such as the 603-carat Lesotho Promise, which Graff daringly cut into a necklace of 26 perfect stones; the largest square Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond in the world, the 118.08-carat Delaire Sunrise; and the largest D Flawless round diamond in the world, the Graff Constellation, at 102.79 carats. This volume showcases the best of the House of Graff--the most dramatic, the most mesmerizing, and the most exceptional jewels in the world. Included is the story of the creation of Graff, portrayed through archival photos and the words of founder Laurence Graff.

Diamonds in the Water

Diamonds in the Water PDF Author: Daniel McCrimons MD
Publisher: Balboa Press
ISBN: 1504389093
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 331

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Book Description
Diamonds in the Water explores the life of Windsor Langford Waterbury III, born in 1901 into a wealthy and privileged New York family and trained to become an empathetic and worldly respected physician. Early on, he is guided and directed by dear family members and close friends who instill a revered ethical standard in him. He was taught to use his hands as well as his mind to gain an appreciation for the sufferings of others, the value of hard work, and the distinct philanthropic use of money. By all accounts, his life appears perfect. As the story unfolds, the reader will come to realize that Dr. Waterbury’s life is anything but unblemished. He faces many challenges, including malicious manipulation, life-threatening illness, great love loss, and the unexpected and delayed revelation of a family secret about his highly regarded and influential grandfather. This secret offers curiosity and intrigue; it also precipitates the scrutinizing review of Dr. Waterbury’s life as he shares his grandfather’s memoirs with close family and friends. Throughout the novel, the author created characters who effortlessly encounter and interact with actual historical figures and events, who observe the emergence of scientific and technological discoveries, and whose lives are affected by the economic and social conditions of the time and place. Although the characters represent the full spectrum of fundamental personality expression, there will be a remarkably distinguished few who promote a better life experience for others. Like the world’s rarest, most precious diamonds, these distinct spiritually bound participants are resilient, unalterable, and priceless. And like the ongoing river waters seeking entry to the vast oceans, they individually continue their journey despite the obstacles and unpredictable turns; they are willing to move over, under, or around them to follow their path to its destination, shimmering and connected to life’s true forces.