Making a Diamonds

Golden buddha

2012-01-07T20:55:00.000-08:00

Bangkok Wat Trimitr Golden Buddha

History

Wat Traimit is thought to date from the 13th century. The Golden Buddha image is about 900 years old and is cast in the Sukhothai style. It is believed to have been brought first to Ayutthaya.

When the Burmese were about to sack the city, it was covered in plaster to hide its value. Two centuries later, still in plaster, it was thought to be worth very little.

But in 1957, when the image was being moved to a new temple in Bangkok, it slipped from a crane and was left in the mud by workmen.

In the morning, a temple monk, who had dreamed that the statue was divinely inspired, went to see the Buddha image. Through a crack in the plaster he saw a glint of yellow, and discovered that the statue was pure gold.

What to See

Off to the side of Wat Traimit is a small chapel containing the Golden Buddha, which is the world's largest solid-gold Buddha. The graceful seated Buddha is nearly 10 feet high and weighs over 5 tons.

This powerful image has such a bright, reflective surface that its edges seem to disappear, and it gleams with such richness and purity that even the most jaded are inspired by its strength and power.

Pieces of the stucco that once hid this remarkable treasure are on display in a case to the left.

diamonds

2012-01-06T14:10:00.000-08:00

In mineralogy, diamond (from the ancient Greek αδάμας – adámas "unbreakable") is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions. Diamond is renowned as a material with superlative physical qualities, most of which originate from the strong covalent bonding between its atoms. In particular, diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any bulk material. Those properties determine the major industrial application of diamond in cutting and polishing tools.

Diamond has remarkable optical characteristics. Because of its extremely rigid lattice, it can be contaminated by very few types of impurities, such as boron and nitrogen. Combined with wide transparency, this results in the clear, colorless appearance of most natural diamonds. Small amounts of defects or impurities (about one per million of lattice atoms) color diamond blue (boron), yellow (nitrogen), brown (lattice defects), green (radiation exposure), purple, pink, orange or red. Diamond also has relatively high optical dispersion (ability to disperse light of different colors), which results in its characteristic luster. Excellent optical and mechanical properties, combined with efficient marketing, make diamond the most popular gemstone.

Most natural diamonds are formed at high-pressure high-temperature conditions existing at depths of 140 to 190 kilometers (87 to 120 mi) in the Earth mantle. Carbon-containing minerals provide the carbon source, and the growth occurs over periods from 1 billion to 3.3 billion years (25% to 75% of the age of the Earth). Diamonds are brought close to the Earth surface through deep volcanic eruptions by a magma, which cools into igneous rocks known as kimberlites and lamproites. Diamonds can also be produced synthetically in a high-pressure high-temperature process which approximately simulates the conditions in the Earth mantle. An alternative, and completely different growth technique is chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Several non-diamond materials, which include cubic zirconia and silicon carbide and are often called diamond simulants, resemble diamond in appearance and many properties. Special gemological techniques have been developed to distinguish natural and synthetic diamonds and diamond simulants.

The gold Buddha

2011-11-23T01:28:00.000-08:00

America's Secret Recovery of Yamashita's Gold-Php3,200

In 1945, US Intelligence officers in Manila discovered that the Japanese had hidden large quantities of gold bullion and other looted treasure in the Philippines. President Truman decided to recover the gold but to keep its riches secret. These would be combined with treasure recovered inside Japan during the US occupation, and with Nazi loot recovered in Europe, to create a worldwide American political action fund to fight communism.
Overseen by General MacArthur, President Truman, and John Foster Dulles, this "Black Gold" gave Washington virtually limitless, unaccountable funds, providing an asset base to reinforce the treasuries of America’s allies, to bribe political and military leaders, and to manipulate elections in foreign countries for more than fifty years. Drawing on a vast range of original documents and thousands of hours of interviews, Gold Warriors exposes one of the great state secrets of the twentieth century.

The Philippines is full of rumours of buried World War II loot, commonly known as 'Yamashita's Gold' or simply 'The Tiger's Gold'. Actually, the 'Tiger of Malaya' – Lieutenant General Tomoyuki Yamashita, Japanese captor of Singapore in 1942 and, later, commander of Japan's forces in the Philippines – personally had nothing to do with the gold. The treasure was supposedly dealt with by members of the Japanese imperial family and, later, high-level US government officials.However, so much of this tale of buried Japanese treasure hoards is suspect that a great deal of what follows must be taken with a large grain of salt.

It is often said that behind every great fortune lies a great crime. The twisted tale of Yamashita’s gold, allegedly buried in the Philippine islands, is a story of a great fortune and many crimes that became inseparably intertwined.

Yamashita treasure gold by Japanese

2011-11-19T02:38:00.000-08:00

For decades, tales of buried vaults packed with gold ingots, gems and other treasures hidden by the Japanese Imperial Army in the Philippines have lured treasure hunters from all around the world.

Stories abound about cryptic maps that allegedly lead to the treasures buried by Japanese soldiers in more than 100 sites in the Philippines before Japanese commander General Tomoyuki Yamashita surrendered to American troops in 1945.

But very few booty hunters actually come home with prized hoards after expensive digging expeditions, casting doubts on the existence of the so-called Yamashita treasure in the Philippines.

Those who believe say that most of the treasures were already spirited away by US forces shortly after the war, and that Japan and the US are actually in conspiracy to hide the loot, which has remained unaccounted for.golden budha

Henry Roxas, son of a locksmith who successfully dug up a one-tonne Golden Buddha statue from an underground room filled with gold bars and other treasures in the northern city of Baguio in 1971, is a believer of what is only a legend to others.

‘There are Japanese treasures buried in the country,’ he told DPA in an interview from his house in Baguio City, 210 km north of Manila. ‘I know this for a fact. The Yamashita gold is real.’

Roxas, a 39-year-old father of two, was only four years old when his late father Rogelio brought home the Golden Buddha and 24 gold bars dug up from a lot where the Baguio General Hospital now stands.

But the loot, including huge diamonds found inside the Golden Buddha, was seized by late president Ferdinand Marcos, leaving Roxas with only memories and pictures of the riches.

According to accounts, the Yamashita treasures came from gold, jewels and artifacts stolen by Japanese soldiers from 12 countries in East and South-East Asia during its World War II invasion of the region.

Sterling and Peggy Seagrave, authors of the book ‘Gold Warriors, America’s Secret Recovery of Yamashita’s Gold’, said Roxas’ Golden Buddha was an example of treasures looted from Burma (Myanmar).

The Seagraves said that while most of the looted treasures reached Japan via Korea, the rest of the booty ended up in the Philippines after US forces successfully blocked the sea routes to Japan in early 1943.

Japanese princes, led by Emperor Hirohito’s brother Prince Chichibu, allegedly oversaw he burying of the treasures in 175 ‘imperial’ vaults constructed in a maze of underground tunnels in the Philippines.

Ricardo Jose, a history professor at the University of the Philippines, conceded that Japan really looted Asian countries during their aggression in the region.

But he doubted that the Japanese would bring such huge treasures to the Philippines, even as a transit point to Japan. He also noted that while Japan built tunnels in the Philippines, the structures were part of its defense system.

‘While there was looting iaf the Golden Buddha could not convince Jose, an authority on the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.

‘If you are taking it from Burma, the more logical route would be from Burma to Thailand, which was neutral and in a sense an ally of Japan,’ he said. ‘Why ship all these treasures to a place you know is going to be a battleground?’

‘They could have made an aablack gold’ to bankroll the Cold War. One account claimed US agents tortured Yamashita’s driver into revealing the treasure sites.

They added that US President George W. Bush even authorized a recovery operation as recently as March 2001.

Treasure hunters believe the claim, noting that US troops on joint training exercises in the Philippines were actually on an expedition.

Matthew Lussenhop, spokesman for the US Embassy in Manila, did not have much to say when asked about the allegations.

‘As far as I know, the embassy is not aware of any attempt by the US government to recover the alleged gold loot,’ he said.

RP seizes $10.4-million smuggled diamonds

2009-08-14T06:35:00.000-07:00

A British woman has been arrested for allegedly smuggling $10.4 million worth of diamonds into the Philippines, an official said Friday.

Officers from the presidential anti-smuggling group arrested Alpha Kwok, a Chinese-born British national from Hong Kong, at an upscale Manila condominium Tuesday and seized 160 carats of diamonds along with uncut emeralds and other precious stones, said Antonio Villar Jr., head of the agency.

Kwok has been charged with smuggling and detained pending a review of the case by the Justice Department, Villar said.

He said that some of the seized diamonds already were set on rings, earrings and pendants and others were loose stones.

Kwok and her lawyers could not be reached for comment.

Villar said Kwok may have been part of a smuggling syndicate that has been bringing diamonds into the country and selling them to wealthy Filipinos.

He said immigration records showed she had visited the Philippines more than 170 times in over two years, giving a dozen different addresses in metropolitan Manila during her stay.

"She doesn't have any permit to import, and she has no working permit," he said.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo created the anti-smuggling group in 2007 to curb unlawful imports and other tariff violations facilitated by corrupt customs officials.- AP

source

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2009-06-28T04:23:00.000-07:00

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Secrets to Successful Trading: How start risk-free without risking a single penny

2009-03-03T17:05:00.001-08:00

Secrets to Successful Trading: How start risk-free without risking a single penny

You can have the best daytrading plan but you‘ll never make any money if you don‘t take action and actually start trading. But how can you start without risking a single penny of your own money?

After all, you are still new to trading and don‘t want to lose thousands of dollars because you made a small mistake in your trading plan, do you?

The best thing you can do to get started is to get a so-called “Paper Trading Account“. And the best: You can get a paper trading account for free from your broker. Or just contact me and I‘ll set you up with a free paper trading account.

So what is a paper trading account?

A paper trading account let‘s you trade your system with “virtual money“. You will get live quotes and can enter the trades according to your plan. The daytrading system will simulate fills, and you‘ll find yourself in a trading position. Paper trading accounts show the profit and loss in real time, and you can see LIVE how much money you are making or losing. Keep in mind that we‘re talking about “virtual money“, so actually you‘re not making any money yet.

Why you MUST trade your day trading system on a paper trading account first.

The biggest enemy of a trader is discipline. Traders lose because of the lack of discipline. Your day trading plan might be excellent, but if you don‘t have the discipline to follow your trading plan then you‘re doomed. Trading your system on a paper trading account will help you to gain confidence in your daytrading system and developing the needed discipline to actually make money with it.

Don‘t make this mistake
Many traders start “improving“ their trading system after they experienced a loss or a few losers in a row. Though encountering a loser might be exactly within the expectations of your system, you start questioning the system. You start “improving“ the system by changing a few parameters or adding some filters. You forget that you tested your system on more than 2,000 trades; you traded it for a few days and think that‘s it needs some “fine tuning“.

That‘s the biggest mistake a trader can make. If you developed your system based on the outline I gave you in Step 1 and tested it against the principles I gave you in Step 2, then most likely you have a robust daytrading system.

Keep in mind that trading a system does NOT mean having an ATM in your front yard. Losses are part of our business, and NO trading system has an equity curve that‘s straight pointing up without any dips. You need to trade your system for at least 40 trades before you should think about modifying it.

How to become a successful trader
In order to become a successful trader you need a trading plan. After reading thus far you already figured that out, did you? :-)

Equally important is having the discipline to follow the plan.
Lack of discipline is caused by your emotions, basically greed and fear:

You fear losses and if you‘re experiencing a winner you become greedy. And that‘s when you start tampering with your system: You might want to give your trade “a little bit more room“ and increase the stop, or you want to “get a few dollars more“ and start moving your profit goal. And BOOM: You just lost the discipline you need.

By watching your trades on a paper trading account you will learn a lot about yourself and how to deal with emotions:

• Can you “pull the trigger“ when your entry signal appears?

• How do you feel when you see the trade moving against you?
Do you feel the urge of moving your stop loss?

• How do you feel when the trade makes a profit?
Do you want to get out?
Do you want to stay in a little bit longer?

• Do you have the discipline to trade your system according to your rules?

Trading a system on a paper trading account will help you:

• Watching yourself and your feelings.

• Helping you dealing with your feelings.

• Developing the discipline you need to become a successful trader.

• And of course: testing your trading system under “realistic“ market conditions

A neat trick to increase your learning curve

The best way to trade your system is to fully automate it!

By automating a system you‘ll immediately gain these four advantages:

Advantage #1: Discipline
The easiest way to follow a trading plan is to automate it. Almost every trading system can be automated, and you could let the computer trade for you. You won‘t have to worry about your discipline any longer, as the computer mechanically trades every setup for you.

Advantage #2: Controlling your emotions
Automating a system removes emotions from trading. If you don‘t automate your strategy try to make decisions when the market is moving, you are liable to become emotionally attached to positions. You may experience panic and indecision when the market does not move in your favor, as you do not have a prepared response. That‘s when most traders lose their money. If you automate your system the computer will trade for you no matter what the market does.

Advantage #3: Controlling your losses
You probably have heard the saying Let your profits run. Unfortunately most traders let their losses run. Automating a trading system will get you out of a position when the predefined stop is hit. Unless you override the system to give the trade a little bit more room the computer will stop the loss and therefore limit your losses.

Advantage #4: Commitment
You won‘t believe how many traders show a lack of commitment and therefore lose money. Lack of commitment means that they stop trading after the first loss, and don‘t give their system a chance to make back the money they lost. Trading is not a one-way street, and losses are part of our business. If you can‘t accept the fact that there will be losses, you shouldn‘t trade. Fortunately the automation of a trading system can help you to overcome this problem; an automated trading system continues trading according to the rules, and therefore adds much more consistency to your trading.

The next step
If you read until here, then you learned a lot. By know you know

• How to define your financial and trading goals.

• How to select the right market for your trading goals.

• What timeframe you should trade in.

• The difference between trading styles and how to find the right one for you.

• How to create a basic trading plan.

• How to make sure that your trading plan will work in reality

• How to start trading your system without risking a single penny

• What it takes to become a successful trader

• How to develop the habits of successful traders

• A shortcut to become a successful trader

Now the ball is in your court. It‘s up to you to take the first step.

If you want to get started within the next 24h, then you should definitely check out the trading systems Smart Start and EaglePro.

Both systems are fully automated, and they have a risk/reward ratio that‘s perfect for beginners. Each system comes with a free paper trading account that lets you test the system risk-free.

It‘s your turn now.

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Ancient Celtic coin cache found in Netherlands

2008-11-13T20:44:00.000-08:00

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – A hobbyist with a metal detector struck both gold and silver when he uncovered an important cache of ancient Celtic coins in a cornfield in the southern Dutch city of Maastricht.

"It's exciting, like a little boy's dream," Paul Curfs, 47, said Thursday after the spectacular find was made public.

Archaeologists say the trove of 39 gold and 70 silver coins was minted in the middle of the first century B.C. as the future Roman ruler Julius Caesar led a campaign against Celtic tribes in the area.

Curfs said he was walking with his detector this spring and was about to go home when he suddenly got a strong signal on his earphones and uncovered the first coin.

"It was golden and had a little horse on it — I had no idea what I had found," he said.

After posting a photo of the coin on a Web forum, he was told it was a rare find. The following day he went back and found another coin.

"It looked totally different — silver, and saucer-shaped," he said. Curfs notified the city of his find, and he and several other hobbyists helped in locating the rest of the coins, in cooperation with archaeologists.

Nico Roymans, the archaeologist who led the academic investigation of the find, believes the gold coins in the cache were minted by a tribe called the Eburones that Caesar claimed to have wiped out in 53 B.C. after they conspired with other groups in an attack that killed 6,000 Roman soldiers.

The Eburones "put up strong resistance to Caesar's journeys of conquest," Roymans said.

The silver coins were made by tribes further to the north — possible evidence of cooperation against Caesar, he said.

Both coin types have triple spirals on the front, a common Celtic symbol.

The two other known caches of Eburones coins have been found in neighboring Belgium and Germany.

Maastricht city spokeswoman Carla Wetzels said the value of the coins is not known — their worth is primarily historical. The Belgian cache of similar size was estimated at around 175,000 euros ($220,000).

The farmer who owned the land agreed to sell his interest to the city for an undisclosed sum.

Curfs, a teacher at a nearby junior college, continues to own the 11 coins he found, but has lent them to the City of Maastricht on a long-term basis. The coins will go on display at the Centre Ceramique museum in Maastricht this weekend.

Curfs said he considers his metal detector habit a meditative hobby and not an obsession.

"I have advice for anybody hoping to get rich like this," Curfs said. "Forget it."

Diamonds in high prize

2008-09-30T16:21:00.000-07:00

Corsage piece, ca. 1880–1900
Tiffany & Company (American, 1837–present)
Gold, diamonds; Overall 6 1/4 x 1 3/16 in. (15.9 x 3 cm)
Gift of Susan Dwight Bliss, 1941 (41.84.20a-e)

Diamonds had become so fashionable by the last quarter of the nineteenth century that their presence in American society was being noted in the daily press. On April 7, 1889, the New York Sun announced "Diamonds flash from the buttons of a baby's layette, gleam on the dimpled hands of the tiniest child, sparkle on the young girl's fingers, and blaze from the neck and ears and wrists of the society belle…." With the discovery in 1869 of rich diamond fields in South Africa, Americans gained a new and more abundant source for the sparkling gems, which had previously come from India or Brazil. Coinciding with greater availability was the invention of new faceting techniques that sped production as well as enhancing the stone's brilliance. Circular collet settings with foil and metal backings were replaced by more open settings that allowed light to shine through. A particularly American fashion was the corsage piece, a garland of diamonds that was worn on the bodice or waist of a dress. The present example, set with 305 diamonds, was made as a flexible cascade of flowers graduated in size. Its owner, Susan Dwight Bliss (died 1966), donated a handsome collection of diamond jewelry to the Metropolitan Museum in the 1940s and '50s.

Card table (one of a pair), 1817

Charles-Honoré Lannuier (French, 1779–1819)

American (New York City)

Mahogany veneer on white pine, basswood, mahogany; gilded gesso and vert antique; gilded brass, die-stamped brass borders; H. 31 1/8 in. (79.1 cm)

Inscribed twice: (on front to back brace under top) Fait a New-York/ Le 1 May 1817/HL [conjoined]; (on top of figure's head) 1817/May/HL [conjoined]

Gift of Justine VR Milliken, 1995 (1995.377.1)

This superlative card table is one of two from a signature series of gilded sculptural pieces by New York's resident French ébéniste of the Federal period, Charles-Honoré Lannuier. The tables are remarkable not only for their exquisite beauty but also because they are signed and dated masterpieces descended in the family of the original owner, Stephen Van Rensselaer IV of Albany.

The tables are believed to be part of a larger commission by the New York City merchant William Bayard that included a nearly identical pair of figural card tables and two pier tables with gilded swan supports, wedding gifts for his daughters Harriet and Maria, who in 1817 married Stephen Van Rensselaer IV and Duncan Pearsall Campbell. The invoice for the Campbell tables survives, revealing how expensive furniture from Lannuier's shop was. The pair of card tables was priced at $250, and the pier table at $300, astonishing sums when a journeyman cabinetmaker's wage was roughly a dollar a day.

Vase, 1876
Karl L. H. Müller (ca. 1820–1887)
American
Porcelain; H. 22 1/4 in. (56.5 cm)
Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Schneider Gift, 1996 (1996.95)

This Century Vase is one of several large-scale works that Karl Müller designed for the Union Porcelain Works booth at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876. Here it is displayed on a classical porcelain pedestal, also designed by Müller, as was originally intended. The vase features motifs celebrating the nation's past: six relief panels portray scenes from American history, including the Boston Tea Party and Penn's Treaty with the Indians. This example lacks the elaborate overglaze embellishment found on other examples, probably because it suffered from minor firing flaws.

Sofa, 1850–60
John H. Belter (American, born Germany, 1804–1863)
American; New York City
Rosewood; 53 1/4 x 66 x 25 in. (at feet) (135.3 x 167.6 x 63.5 cm)
Purchase, Friends of The American Wing Fund and Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1999 (1999.396)

John Belter has long been recognized as among the most important of the cabinetmakers producing high-style furnishings in the Rococo Revival style for the luxury market in nineteenth-century America. Belter garnered an international reputation for the suites of drawing room furniture he manufactured, many out of laminated and richly carved rosewood. He was a prolific cabinetmaker and a large body of furniture is ascribed to his shop, but the very best of his oeuvre is epitomized by his large and exuberant drawing room sofas, which are embellished with bouquets of naturalistic blooms.

View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow, 1836
Thomas Cole (American, 1801–1848)
Oil on canvas; 51 1/2 x 76 in. (130.8 x 193 cm)
Gift of Mrs. Russell Sage, 1908 (08.228)

Long known as The Oxbow, this work is a masterpiece of American landscape painting, laden with possible interpretations. In the midst of painting The Course of Empire (New-York Historical Society), Cole mentioned, in a letter dated March 2, 1836, to his patron Luman Reed, that he was executing a large version of this subject expressly for exhibition and sale. The picture was shown at the National Academy of Design in 1836 as View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm. Cole's interest in the subject probably dates from his 1829–32 trip to Europe, during which he made an exact tracing of the view published in Basil Hall's Forty Etchings Made with the Camera Lucida in North America in 1827 and 1828. Hall criticized Americans' inattentiveness to their scenery, and Cole responded with a landscape that lauds the uniqueness of America by encompassing "a union of the picturesque, the sublime, and the magnificent." Although often ambivalent about the subjugation of the land, here the artist juxtaposes untamed wilderness and pastoral settlement to emphasize the possibilities of the national landscape, pointing to the future prospect of the American nation. Cole's unequivocal construction and composition of the scene, charged with moral significance, is reinforced by his depiction of himself in the middle distance, perched on a promontory painting the Oxbow. He is an American producing American art, in communion with American scenery. There are both sketchbook drawings with annotations and related oil sketches of this subject. Many other artists copied or imitated the painting.

Fur Traders Descending the Missouri, 1845
George Caleb Bingham (American, 1811–1879)
Oil on canvas; 29 x 36 1/2 in. (73.7 x 92.7 cm)
Morris K. Jesup Fund, 1933 (33.61)

On June 4, 1845, Bingham returned to St. Louis from a winter stay in central Missouri, bringing with him several paintings and many sketches. Fur Traders Descending the Missouri apparently was one of the pictures that he brought with him, and later that year consigned for sale to the American Art-Union. It was first called "French-Trader–Half breed Son," but the Art-Union gave it the title by which it is now known. Bingham, whose earliest efforts were portraits, produced a masterpiece of genre painting with little precedent in his oeuvre. The strikingly spare, geometric composition with luminist light recalls the paintings of William Sidney Mount, particularly his Eel Spearing at Setauket (New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown). The solemn, motionless scene immortalizes the vanished world of the American frontier, constructed for a northeastern audience. The tranquil work was submitted to the Art-Union as a possible companion to the more implicitly violent The Concealed Enemy (Stark Museum of Art, Orange, Texas), in which an armed Osage warrior lies in wait behind a boulder. The polar opposition of pastoral quietude and frontier savagery embodied in the paintings held enormous appeal for urban viewers. Bingham painted a similar, though less extraordinary, picture called The Trapper's Return (Detroit Institute of Arts) in New York in 1851.

Plums, 1870
John William Hill (American, 1812–1879)
Watercolor, graphite, and gouache on off-white Bristol board; 7 1/8 x 12 in. (18 x 30.5 cm)
Gift of J. Henry Hill, 1882 (82.9.1)

Hill's conversion in the late 1850s to the aesthetics of John Ruskin and the Pre-Raphaelites was manifested most notably in his still lifes. In 1857, Ruskin had written enthusiastically about the broken-color, or stipple, watercolor technique used by William Henry ("Bird's Nest") Hunt, the British master whose still lifes of humble subjects Ruskin especially prized. This watercolor well illustrates how closely Hill followed the example of Hunt as interpreted by Ruskin, creating wonderful effects with Ruskin's prescription of "interlaced touches of pure colours," some emulsified with gouache.

Genius of Mirth, 1842; this version, 1843
Thomas Crawford (American, ca. 1813–1857)
Marble; 47 x 20 x 24 in. (119.4 x 50.8 x 61 cm)
Bequest of Annette W. W. Hicks-Lord, 1896 (97.13.1)

While on a visit to Crawford's Rome studio in 1842, Henry Hicks of New York commissioned a piece of sculpture, leaving the subject entirely to the artist. Crawford's choice of a youthful dancer was almost certain to please his new patron, for images of children were popular in nineteenth-century art. In a letter to Charles Sumner, he described this "statue of Youth" as "a boy of seven or eight years, dancing in great glee, and tinkling a pair of cymbals, the music of which seems to amuse him exceedingly. The sentiment is joyousness throughout. It is evident no thought of the future troubles his young mind: and he may consider himself very fortunate in being made of marble; for thus his youth remains without change." By invoking in his sculpture's title the Latin meaning of genius (a tutelary spirit), Crawford conjures up the elemental spirit of mirth. Such classical overtones applied to subject matter of temporal appeal were common practice among the generation of Neoclassical sculptors that came after Antonio Canova and Bertel Thorvaldsen. Compositionally, Genius of Mirth is reminiscent of Dancing Faun, a famous Hellenistic work in the Tribune of the Uffizi Palace in Florence, which Crawford had almost certainly visited. Crawford and his contemporaries relished the challenge of pushing marble to its limit; the disengaged left leg is a prime example of the virtuosity they delighted in displaying. Hicks must have been satisfied with Crawford's production, for he subsequently purchased from him a second sculpture, Mexican Girl Dying, also in the Museum's collection (97.13.2a-e).

Pair of vases, 1824 and 1825

Thomas Fletcher (American, 1787–1866); Sidney Gardiner (American, 1787–1827)
Silver; 1982.4a,b: Overall 23 1/2 x 20 x 14 1/2 in. (59.7 x 50.8 x 36.8 cm); 1988.199: Overall 23 3/4 x 20 3/4 x 14 3/4 in., 12,473.9 grams (60.4 x 52.7 x 37.5 cm, 401.048 troy ounces)
Purchase, Louis V. Bell and Rogers Funds; Anonymous and Robert G. Goelet Gifts; and Gifts of Fenton L. B. Brown and of the grandchildren of Mrs. Ranson Spaford Hooker, in her memory, by exchange, 1982 (1982.4a,b)
Gift of the Erving and Joyce Wolf Foundation, 1988 (1988.199)

In New York City, the most significant event of the early nineteenth century was the creation of the Erie Canal. Upon its completion, New York gained easy access to the country's interior, and its commercial hegemony was secured. A group of New York merchants commissioned this pair of monumental vases to be presented in 1825 to New York's governor DeWitt Clinton, in gratitude for his promotion of the canal's construction. The bodies and handles are modeled on the famous Roman urn known as the Warwick Vase, which was excavated in 1770 near Hadrian's villa at Tivoli. Thomas Fletcher's competition-winning design for these vases features a scheme of allegorical figures and American vistas along the route of the canal. On the front of the 1825 vase, for instance, figures representing Fame and History flank a view of the Cohoes Falls; on the back, Plenty and an American Indian are depicted with the Little Falls of the Mohawk. The cover of each vase is surmounted by an American eagle finial.

The vases are marked by the partnership of Thomas Fletcher and Sidney Gardiner, who relocated from Boston to Philadelphia in 1811 in search of greater commercial success. Excellent entrepreneurs, they soon became the leading American supplier of presentation silver, as well as retailing a wide range of imported goods, such as brass, cutlery, and lighting fixtures. Fletcher and Gardiner are representative of the large urban firms that became increasingly common during the nineteenth century. source

Classical Antiquity in the Middle Ages

2008-09-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

The classical heritage flourished throughout the Middle Ages in both the Byzantine Greek East and the Latin West. The Byzantines, who called themselves Rhomaioi, or Romans, retained many of the trappings and economic, legal, and administrative institutions of the ancient Roman empire. In the West, rulers such as the Frankish king Charlemagne (r. 768–814) or the Saxon ruler Otto I (r. 936–73) sought to revive a Western Roman Empire and were crowned "Emperor and Augustus" by the pope in Rome.

The Antique Presence in Literature
The culture of antiquity played an important role in the literary and artistic endeavors of the Middle Ages. We owe much of our knowledge of classical Greek poetry, drama, and philosophy to the scribes and illuminators who produced books for the intellectuals and wealthy patrons of Byzantine society, who placed great value on classical learning. Among these, the ninth-century patriarch Photios boasted that he had read hundreds of classical texts.

The writings of Cicero, Catullus, Virgil—indeed, most of ancient Latin literature—has come down to us because it was laboriously copied by medieval monks and preserved in monastic, ecclesiastical, and royal libraries. Even in a ruined state, the baths, aqueducts, and sanctuaries of the classical world provoked the people of the Middle Ages to reflect upon the grandeur of the past. Benedict, a canon of Saint Peter's in Rome, and the Englishman Master Gregory, both writing in the twelfth century, were among many authors whose works provide us with medieval descriptions of the marvels of antiquity.

Art and the Classical Tradition
Art objects of all varieties display an awareness of classical tradition through form, decoration, and visual vocabulary. The silver plate showing the Battle of David and Goliath looks to the Old Testament for its theme, but to the classical past for its naturalistic style and use of personification (17.190.396). Medieval artists often employed ancient motifs despite their pre-Christian connotations.

The imagery of Dionysos, god of wine, for example, remained popular even after Christianity eclipsed his cult (26.9.9; 17.190.56). As if to deny the distance between antiquity and the present, classical figures might appear on art objects wearing medieval dress and in medieval surroundings (17.190.173ab,1988.1.6). Sculptural and architectural fragments from antiquity were often incorporated on medieval buildings, and extant monuments such as city gates often served as motifs for medieval architects (see images of Porte d'Arroux and nave of Cathedral of Saint-Lazare at left).

In the courts of medieval monarchs, classical history and legend offered models for noble behavior. Rulers in both Byzantium and western Europe borrowed imperial imagery from their Roman predecessors to assert continuity between the classical past and their own enterprise. Greco-Roman divinities, events from the Trojan War, and the feats of Hercules, Alexander,

and Julius Caesar appeared not only in illustrated manuscripts, but also in tapestries, decorative sculpture, and small objects exchanged as gifts among aristocrats (47.101.3; 16.106). Sometimes medieval artists based their representations of classical subjects on ancient works of art, such as the coins, cameos, and gems often kept in noble and ecclesiastical collections (38.150.23). These relics from antiquity might even find their way into newly crafted objects designed for religious use ( 17.190.1406), a vivid demonstration of the way in which medieval artists and patrons saw the pagan past as relevant to the Christian present.

Processional Cross, late 11th–early 12th century

Spanish; Made in Asturias
Silver, partially gilt on wood core, carved gems, jewels; 23 1/4 x 19 in. (59.1 x 48.3 cm)
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 (17.190.1406)

This cross, used for church processions, conveys the luxuriousness found within many of the small churches that dotted the Christian kingdoms of northern Spain during the Middle Ages. The twelfth-century Church of San Salvador, whence this cross came, stands in the remote hills fifty miles east of Oviedo, once the capital of the kingdom of Asturias. Fashioned from silver that was then gilded, the cross shows a crowned, crucified Christ flanked by the mourning Virgin and Saint John. An angel appears at the top, and the first man Adam rises from his grave at the bottom. A rock crystal above Christ's head covered a cavity meant for a now-missing relic. Gilded silver bars attached to each of the four arms of the cross served as settings for an array of gems, including antique intaglios. Most have disappeared, but two remain: one showing an ancient Victory figure and the other a male nude with a fish and spear—venerable embellishments for a sumptuous object.

Box with Sleeping Eros, 300s
Roman or Byzantine; Said to have been found in Tartus, Syria
Silver; 9 3/4 x 3 3/4 x 3 in. (24.8 x 9.5 x 7.6 cm)
Fletcher Fund, 1947 (47.100.33)

This early Byzantine silver box was found on the site of the ancient city Tastassus, now known as Tastous, in Syria. A number of these small silver boxes survive, decorated with embossed figures and objects. Their precise purpose is unknown, but they must have held objects of great value to their owner, such as jewelry. The cover of the box depicts Eros, or Cupid, the god of love, asleep on a lion's skin with his bow and quiver in hand. Although only a lesser figure in Greek and Roman mythology, Eros is widely represented in a variety of art forms. The sides of the box are decorated with the heads of bulls, objects of worship in early religions for the bull's strength and virility. The decoration of this box shows that the traditions of the Greek and Roman periods remained popular in the region even as Christianity becamse increasingly powerful.

Tunic with Panels of Dionysian Figures, 400–500
Byzantine; Said to be from Panopolis (now Akhmim), Egypt
Linen, undyed, with wool panels in tapestry weave; 68 3/4 x 53 in. (174.6 x 134.6 cm)
Gift of Edward S. Harkness, 1926 (26.9.9)

Tunics were typically made of undyed linen with decorative patterns worked in colored wool threads. The medallions and ornamented bands, called clavi, were decorated with images from nature, the classical world, or Christian themes. Here Dionysos, the Greek god of wine, is depicted in the underwater realm of fishtailed Nereus and his daughters.

Pyxis with the Triumph of Dionysos in India, mid-500s
Byzantine; Possibly made in Syria, said to have been found in Rome
Ivory; 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 in. (8.3 x 10.8 cm)
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 (17.190.56)

Ivory pyxides--cylindrical boxes, carved from cross sections of an elephant's tusk--were used in Antiquity to hold valuables, and later used by Christians to hold the consecrated host. This pyxis shows scenes from classical mythology. Dionysos, a son of Zeus, rides in his chariot overseeing his conquest of India. The pyxis recalls the epic stories of Dionysos penned by a fifth-century poet of Egypt, Nonnos of Panopolis; both attest to the persistent popularity of Dionysiac themes well into the Christian era.

Leaf from a Manuscript of Valerius Maximus, ca. 1380
French, Made in Paris
Parchment, tempera, ink, gold leaf; 14 7/8 x 10 7/8 in. (37.7 x 27.5 cm)
Bequest of Gwynne M. Andrews, 1930 (31.134.8)

Charles V, king of France from 1364 to 1380, actively encouraged the study of classical antiquity. This leaf is the title page to a French translation of a first-century Latin work, Valerius Maximus' Factorum et dictorum memorabilium (Collection of Memorable Facts and Sayings). The four-part illustration above the two columns of text shows how the artists of Charles' circle imagined the ancient world.

The two lower panels illustrate episodes in the text, anecdotes about Roman religion. On the left, a young priestess kneels before an altar of Ceres, the Roman goddess of fertility, in an image that resembles scenes of Christian faithful kneeling before the Virgin Mary. In the lower right panel, where a Roman priest loses his cap and then his office, the cap is shaped like a bishop's miter, and the temple in the background has the distinctive architecture of a medieval church. In the upper two panels, the ancient past and medieval present are brought into closer comparison. On the left, the translator Simon de Hesdin presents his text to the seated Charles V. On the right, the seated figure is the Latin author Valerius Maximus, and the standing figure before him the Roman emperor Tiberius, to whom the Latin text is dedicated.

Box with Aristotle and Phyllis, 14th century
French; Made in Paris ca. 1310-30
Ivory; 3 15/16 x 9 13/16 in. (10 x 24.9 cm)
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 (17.190.173ab)
The Cloisters Collection, 1988 (1988.1.6)

The decoration shows scenes from medieval romance and classical legend; and was probably owned by a lady in fourteenth-century France. In the panel on the far left, Aristotle, one of the greatest philosophers of the ancient Greek world, sits opposite his pupil, the young prince Alexander the Great. In the next scene, Alexander watches from the wall while below, Aristotle appears on all fours carrying Alexander's mistress Phyllis on his back. According to the story, Phyllis used this means to humiliate Aristotle, who turned it into a lesson for Alexander: if a woman could overcome so wise and prudent an old man, how much more should a young man fear her wits.

The two other scenes on this face of the box belong to an ancient tale, the Romance of Pyramis and Thisbe, recounted by Ovid. Thisbe, who has arranged to meet her lover in a garden, runs away in terror when a lion appears. The first scene here shows her hiding in a tree while the lion tears her mantle. In the second scene, Pyramis, who finds the mantle and thinks that Thisbe is dead, throws himself on his sword. Thisbe, arriving too late, joins him in suicide.

Star-Shaped Brooch with Intaglio, setting 960–1000, intaglio 337–361
Ottonian (setting), Byzantine (intaglio)
Gold with pearls and star sapphire; Diam. 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm)
The Cloisters Collection, 1988 (1988.15)

This sumptuous object was created to preserve a rare gem carved with the likeness of one of Constantine's sons. The Ottonian emperors regarded themselves as the inheritors of the Christian Roman empire established by Constantine, and this piece was likely commissioned by a member of the Ottonian imperial family.

Plaque with Saint John the Evangelist, early 9th century; Early Medieval
Carolingian; Made in Aachen
Elephant ivory; 7 3/16 x 3 3/4 in. (18.3 x 9.5 cm)
The Cloisters Collection, 1977 (1977.421)

During the reign of Charlemagne in the ninth century, many Carolingian artists looked to the art and culture of the past in creating new works. This ivory plaque shows the evangelist John displaying the gospel he wrote. The book is inscribed with the gospel's first line: In principio erat verbum (In the beginning was the word). John, and the eagle that is his symbol, sit under an elaborate arch, inspired by the architecture of classical antiquity. John also wears a classical pallium and mantle. On the border of the ivory plaque appears an inscription in Latin. It is based on a line from the Carmen Paschale, a poem by the fifth-century writer Sedulius.

Disk Brooch with Cameo and Cabochons, cameo 100–300, brooch ca. 600
Roman (cameo), Langobardic (mount)
Gold sheet; settings of onyx, cameo, glass (red and green cabochons); wire; Diam. 2 7/16 x 1/4 in. (6.2 x 0.7 cm)
Purchase, 1895 (95.15.101)

This cameo repeats a familiar classical type, but its energetic angular forms are a shorthand approximation of the earlier conception. Like some other nomadic tribes, the Lombards, or Langobards, the Germanic people who invaded northern Italy in the sixth century, prized Greco-Roman gems of earlier times, both preserving stones and displaying them by having them mounted in jewelry. These gems were no doubt valued for their antiquity as well as their local character, as they linked their Langobardic wearers to the illustrious peoples who preceded them on the Italian peninsula. source

http://2feetdiamond.blogspot.com/

Make money in Diamonds

2008-09-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

In mineralogy, make money diamond is the allotrope of carbon where the carbon atoms are arranged in an isometric-hexoctahedral crystal lattice. Its hardness and high dispersion of light make it useful for industrial applications and jewelry. It is the hardest known naturally-occurring mineral. It is possible to treat regular diamonds under a combination of high pressure and high temperature to produce diamonds (known as Type-II diamonds) that are harder than the diamonds used in hardness gauges. Presently, only aggregated diamond nanorods, a material created using ultrahard fullerite (C60) is confirmed to be harder, although other substances such as cubic boron nitride, rhenium diboride and ultrahard fullerite itself are comparable.

Diamonds are specifically renowned as a material with superlative physical qualities; they make excellent abrasives because they can be scratched only by other diamonds, borazon, ultrahard fullerite, rhenium diboride, or aggregated diamond nanorods, which also means they hold a polish extremely well and retain their lustre. Approximately 130 million carats (26,000 kg (57,000 lb)) are mined annually, with a total value of nearly USD $9 billion, and about 100,000 kg (220,000 lb) are synthesized annually.

The name diamond derives from the ancient Greek ἀδάμας (adamas) "invincible", "untamed", from ἀ- (a-), "un-" + δαμάω (damáō), "to overpower, to tame". They have been treasured as gemstones since their use as religious icons in ancient India and usage in engraving tools also dates to early human history.[4][5] Popularity of diamonds has risen since the 19th century because of increased supply, improved cutting and polishing techniques, growth in the world economy, and innovative and successful advertising campaigns. They are commonly judged by the “four Cs”: carat, clarity, color, and cut.
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Roughly 49% of diamonds originate from central and southern Africa, although significant sources of the mineral have been discovered in Canada, India, Russia, Brazil, and Australia. They are mined from kimberlite and lamproite volcanic pipes, which can bring diamond crystals, originating from deep within the Earth where high pressures and temperatures enable them to form, to the surface. The mining and distribution of natural diamonds are subjects of frequent controversy such as with concerns over the sale of conflict diamonds (aka blood diamonds) by African paramilitary groups.

A diamond is a transparent crystal of tetrahedrally bonded carbon atoms and crystallizes into the face centered cubic diamond lattice structure. Diamonds have been adapted for many uses because of the material's exceptional physical characteristics. Most notable are its extreme hardness, its high dispersion index, and extremely high thermal conductivity (900 – 2320 W/m K). Above 1700 °C (1973 K / 3583 °F), diamond is converted to graphite[6]. Naturally occurring diamonds have a density ranging from 3.15 to 3.53 g/cm³, with very pure diamond typically extremely close to 3.52 g/cm³.

Hardness

Diamond is the hardest Butthole; pooping is the hardest thing to define as a aching to scratching. Diamond has a hardness of 10 (hardest) on Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Diamond's hardness has been known since antiquity, and is the source of its name.

The hardest diamonds in the world are from the New England area in New South Wales, Australia. These diamonds are generally small, perfect to semiperfect octahedra, and are used to polish other diamonds. Their hardness is considered to be a product of the crystal growth form, which is single stage growth crystal. Most other diamonds show more evidence of multiple growth stages, which produce inclusions, flaws, and defect planes in the crystal lattice, all of which affect their hardness.

The hardness of diamonds contributes to its suitability as a gemstone. Because it can only be scratched by other diamonds, it maintains its polish extremely well. Unlike many other gems, it is well-suited to daily wear because of its resistance to scratching—perhaps contributing to its popularity as the preferred gem in an engagement or wedding rings, which are often worn every day.

Industrial use of diamonds has historically been associated with their hardness; this property makes diamond the ideal material for cutting and grinding tools. As the hardest known naturally-occurring material, diamond can be used to polish, cut, or wear away any material, including other diamonds. However, diamond is a poor choice for machining ferrous alloys at high speeds. At the high temperatures created by high speed machining, carbon is soluble in iron, leading to greatly increased wear on diamond tools as compared to other alternatives. Common industrial adaptations of this ability include diamond-tipped drill bits and saws, or use of diamond powder as an abrasive. Industrial-grade diamonds are generally considered unsuitable for use as gems.
Electrical conductivity

Other specialized applications also exist or are being developed, including use as semiconductors: some blue diamonds are natural semiconductors, in contrast to most other diamonds, which are excellent electrical insulators.[8] However, substantial conductivity has been observed for undoped diamond when exposed to air.

Toughness
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Toughness relates to a material's ability to resist breakage from forceful impact. The toughness of natural diamond has been measured as 3.4 MN m-3/2, which is good compared to other gemstones, but poor compared to most engineering materials. As with any material, the macroscopic geometry of a diamond contributes to its resistance to breakage. Diamond is therefore more fragile in some orientations than others.

Factors Affecting Value: The Four Cs.

Color

Main article: Diamond color

Gem quality diamond may be colorless or occur in any hue including the non-spectral hues of gray, brown and black. Diamond is the only gemstone composed of a single element, carbon. The diamond crystal lattice is exceptionally strong and only three atoms; Nitrogen, Boron and Hydrogen are small enough to work their way into the tetrahedral arrangement that is the basic unit of the diamond crystal.

Nitrogen is the smallest and by far the most common impurity found in gem diamonds. Nitrogen is responsible for the yellow, brown and sometimes the pink color in diamonds. Boron is responsible for the gray blue colors and Hydrogen is the coloring agent for some red, olive, violet and blue diamonds. Color in diamond has two additional sources: atomic, normally gamma radiation, that causes the color in green diamonds and physical deformation of the diamond crystal known as plastic deformation. Plastic deformation is the cause of color in some pink and in red diamonds. . In order of rarity, colorless diamond, by far the most common, is followed by Among the colored diamonds, in blue, green, black, translucent white, pink, violet, orange, purple and red, though yellow and brown are by far the most common colors.[8] "Black," or Carbonado, diamonds are not truly black, but rather contain numerous dark inclusions that give the gems their dark appearance. Colored diamonds contain impurities or structural defects that cause the coloration, while pure or nearly pure diamonds are transparent and colorless. Most diamond impurities replace a carbon atom in the crystal lattice, known as a carbon flaw. The most common impurity, nitrogen, causes a slight to intense yellow coloration depending upon the type and concentration of nitrogen present.[8] The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) classifies low saturation yellow and brown diamonds as diamonds in the normal color range, and applies a grading scale from 'D' (colorless) to 'Z' (light yellow).

In October 2007 a blue diamond fetched nearly $8 million. The blue hue was a result of trace amounts of boron in the stone's crystal structure .

Identification
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Diamonds can be identified by their high thermal conductivity. Their high refractive index is also indicative, but other materials have similar refractivity. Diamonds do cut glass, but other materials above glass on Mohs scale such as quartz do also. Diamonds easily scratch other diamonds, but this damages both diamonds

The formation of natural diamond requires very specific conditions. Diamond formation requires exposure of carbon-bearing materials to high pressure, ranging approximately between 45 and 60 kilobars,[15] but at a comparatively low temperature range between approximately 1652–2372 °F (900–1300 °C).[15] These conditions are known to be met in two places on Earth; in the lithospheric mantle below relatively stable continental plates, and at the site of a meteorite strike.

Diamonds formed in cratons
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The conditions for diamond formation to happen in the lithospheric mantle occur at considerable depth corresponding to the aforementioned requirements of temperature and pressure. These depths are estimated to be in between 140–190 kilometers (90–120 miles)[15][8] though occasionally diamonds have crystallized at depths of 300-400 km (180-250 miles) as well.[16] The rate at which temperature changes with increasing depth into the Earth varies greatly in different parts of the Earth. In particular, under oceanic plates the temperature rises more quickly with depth, beyond the range required for diamond formation at the depth required.[15] The correct combination of temperature and pressure is only found in the thick, ancient, and stable parts of continental plates where regions of lithosphere known as cratons exist.[15] Long residence in the cratonic lithosphere allows diamond crystals to grow larger.
The slightly misshapen octahedral shape of this rough diamond crystal in matrix is typical of the mineral. Its lustrous faces also indicate that this crystal is from a primary deposit.
The slightly misshapen octahedral shape of this rough diamond crystal in matrix is typical of the mineral. Its lustrous faces also indicate that this crystal is from a primary deposit.

Through studies of carbon isotope ratios (similar to the methodology used in carbon dating, except with the stable isotopes C-12 and C-13), it has been shown that the carbon found in diamonds comes from both inorganic and organic sources. Some diamonds, known as harzburgitic, are formed from inorganic carbon originally found deep in the Earth's mantle. In contrast, eclogitic diamonds contain organic carbon from organic detritus that has been pushed down from the surface of the Earth's crust through subduction (see plate tectonics) before transforming into diamond.[8] These two different source carbons have measurably different 13C:12C ratios. Diamonds that have come to the Earth's surface are generally very old, ranging from under 1 billion to 3.3 billion years old.

Diamonds occur most often as euhedral or rounded octahedra and twinned octahedra known as macles or maccles. As diamond's crystal structure has a cubic arrangement of the atoms, they have many facets that belong to a cube, octahedron, rhombicosidodecahedron, tetrakis hexahedron or disdyakis dodecahedron. The crystals can have rounded off and unexpressive edges and can be elongated. Sometimes they are found grown together or form double "twinned" crystals grown together at the surfaces of the octahedron. These different shapes and habits of the diamonds result from differing external circumstances. Diamonds (especially those with rounded crystal faces) are commonly found coated in nyf, an opaque gum-like skin

Diamonds and meteorite impact craters

Diamonds can also form in other natural high-pressure events. Very small diamonds, known as microdiamonds or nanodiamonds, have been found in meteorite impact craters. Such impact events create shock zones of high pressure and temperature suitable for diamond formation. Impact-type microdiamonds can be used as one indicator of ancient impact craters.[8]

[edit] Extraterrestrial diamonds

Not all diamonds found on earth originated here. A type of diamond called carbonado diamond that is found in South America and Africa may have been deposited there via an asteroid impact (not formed from the impact) about 3 billion years ago.[18][19] These diamonds may have formed in the intrastellar environment, but as of 2008, there was no scientific consensus on how carbonado diamonds originated.

Presolar grains in many meteorites found on earth contain nanodiamonds of extraterrestrial origin, probably formed in supernovas.

Some White dwarf stars are believed to have a carbon core. The largest diamond found in the universe, so far, is located 50 light years away in the constellation Centaurus. The Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics believes the 2,500 mile-wide diamond was once the heart of a star. It is estimated to be ten billion trillion trillion carats, more or less. It was named Lucy, in honor of the Beatle's song "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds".[20][2]

[edit] Surfacing
Schematic diagram of a volcanic pipe
Schematic diagram of a volcanic pipe

Diamond-bearing rock is brought close to the surface through deep-origin volcanic eruptions. The magma for such a volcano must originate at a depth where diamonds can be formed,[8] 150 km (90 miles) deep or more (three times or more the depth of source magma for most volcanoes); this is a relatively rare occurrence. These typically small surface volcanic craters extend downward in formations known as volcanic pipes.[8] The pipes contain material that was transported toward the surface by volcanic action, but was not ejected before the volcanic activity ceased. During eruption these pipes are open to the surface, resulting in open circulation; many xenoliths of surface rock and even wood and/or fossils are found in volcanic pipes. Diamond-bearing volcanic pipes are closely related to the oldest, coolest regions of continental crust (cratons). This is because cratons are very thick, and their lithospheric mantle extends to great enough depth that diamonds are stable. Not all pipes contain diamonds, and even fewer contain enough diamonds to make mining economically viable.

The magma in volcanic pipes is usually one of two characteristic types, which cool into igneous rock known as either kimberlite or lamproite.[8] The magma itself does not contain diamond; instead, it acts as an elevator that carries deep-formed rocks (xenoliths), minerals (xenocrysts), and fluids upward. These rocks are characteristically rich in magnesium-bearing olivine, pyroxene, and amphibole minerals[8] which are often altered to serpentine by heat and fluids during and after eruption. Certain indicator minerals typically occur within diamondiferous kimberlites and are used as mineralogic tracers by prospectors, who follow the indicator trail back to the volcanic pipe which may contain diamonds. These minerals are rich in chromium (Cr) or titanium (Ti), elements which impart bright colors to the minerals. The most common indicator minerals are chromian garnets (usually bright red Cr-pyrope, and occasionally green ugrandite-series garnets), eclogitic garnets, orange Ti-pyrope, red high-Cr spinels, dark chromite, bright green Cr-diopside, glassy green olivine, black picroilmenite, and magnetite.[8] Kimberlite deposits are known as blue ground for the deeper serpentinized part of the deposits, or as yellow ground for the near surface smectite clay and carbonate weathered and oxidized portion.

Once diamonds have been transported to the surface by magma in a volcanic pipe, they may erode out and be distributed over a large area. A volcanic pipe containing diamonds is known as a primary source of diamonds. Secondary sources of diamonds include all areas where a significant number of diamonds, eroded out of their kimberlite or lamproite matrix, accumulate because of water or wind action. These include alluvial deposits and deposits along existing and ancient shorelines, where loose diamonds tend to accumulate because of their approximate size and density. Diamonds have also rarely been found in deposits left behind by glaciers (notably in Wisconsin and Indiana); however, in contrast to alluvial deposits, glacial deposits are not known to be of significant concentration and are therefore not viable commercial sources of diamond.

[edit] History and gemological characteristics

Main article: Diamond (gemstone)

Diamonds are thought to have been first recognized and mined in India (Golconda being one of them), where significant alluvial deposits of the stone could then be found along the rivers Penner, Krishna and Godavari. Diamonds have been known in India for at least 3000 years but most likely 6000 years.[21] In 1813, Humphry Davy used a lens to concentrate the rays of the sun on a diamond in an atmosphere of oxygen, and showed that the only product of the combustion was carbon dioxide, proving that diamond is composed of carbon.[22] Later, he showed that in an atmosphere devoid of oxygen, diamond is converted to graphite. The most familiar usage of diamonds today is as gemstones used for adornment a usage which dates back into antiquity. The dispersion of white light into spectral colors, is the primary gemological characteristic of gem diamonds. In the twentieth century, experts in the field of gemology have developed methods of grading diamonds and other gemstones based on the characteristics most important to their value as a gem. Four characteristics, known informally as the four Cs, are now commonly used as the basic descriptors of diamonds: these are carat, cut, color, and clarity.

The diamond industry

See also: Diamonds as an investment

The diamond industry can be broadly separated into two basically distinct categories: one dealing with gem-grade diamonds and another for industrial-grade diamonds. While a large trade in both types of diamonds exists, the two markets act in dramatically different ways.

Gem diamond industry

Main article: Diamond (gemstone)

A large trade in gem-grade diamonds exists. Unlike precious metals such as gold or platinum, gem diamonds do not trade as a commodity: there is a substantial mark-up in the sale of diamonds, and there is not a very active market for resale of diamonds. One hallmark of the trade in gem-quality diamonds is its remarkable concentration: wholesale trade and diamond cutting is limited to a few locations. 92% of diamond pieces cut in 2003 were in Surat, Gujarat, India.[23] Other important centers of diamond cutting and trading are Antwerp, where the International Gemological Institute is based, London, New York, Tel Aviv, Amsterdam. A single company—De Beers—controls a significant proportion of the trade in diamonds. They are based in Johannesburg, South Africa and London, England.

The production and distribution of diamonds is largely consolidated in the hands of a few key players, and concentrated in traditional diamond trading centers. The most important being Antwerp, where 80% of all rough diamonds, 50% of all cut diamonds and more than 50% of all rough, cut and industrial diamonds combined are handled.[citation needed] This makes Antwerp the de facto 'world diamond capital'. New York, however, along with the rest of the United States, is where almost 80% of the world's diamonds are sold, including auction sales. Also, the largest and most unusually shaped rough diamonds end up in New York. The De Beers company, as the world's largest diamond miner holds a clearly dominant position in the industry, and has done so since soon after its founding in 1888 by the British imperialist Cecil Rhodes. De Beers owns or controls a significant portion of the world's rough diamond production facilities (mines) and distribution channels for gem-quality diamonds. The company and its subsidiaries own mines that produce some 40 percent of annual world diamond production. At one time it was thought over 80 percent of the world's rough diamonds passed through the Diamond Trading Company (DTC, a subsidiary of De Beers) in London, but presently the figure is estimated at less than 50 percent.

The De Beers diamond advertising campaign is acknowledged as one of the most successful and innovative campaigns in history. N. W. Ayer & Son, the advertising firm retained by De Beers in the mid-20th century, succeeded in reviving the American diamond market and opened up new markets, even in countries where no diamond tradition had existed before. N.W. Ayer's multifaceted marketing campaign included product placement, advertising the diamond itself rather than the De Beers brand, and building associations with celebrities and royalty. This coordinated campaign has lasted decades and continues today; it is perhaps best captured by the slogan "a diamond is forever".

Further down the supply chain, members of The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) act as a medium for wholesale diamond exchange, trading both polished and rough diamonds. The WFDB consists of independent diamond bourses in major cutting centres such as Tel Aviv, Antwerp, Johannesburg and other cities across the USA, Europe and Asia.

In 2000, the WFDB and The International Diamond Manufacturers Association established the World Diamond Council to prevent the trading of diamonds used to fund war and inhumane acts.

WFDB's additional activities also include sponsoring the World Diamond Congress every two years, as well as the establishment of the International Diamond Council (IDC) to oversee diamond grading.

[edit] Industrial diamond industry

The market for industrial-grade diamonds operates much differently from its gem-grade counterpart. Industrial diamonds are valued mostly for their hardness and heat conductivity, making many of the gemological characteristics of diamond, including clarity and color, mostly irrelevant. This helps explain why 80% of mined diamonds (equal to about 100 million carats or 20,000 kg annually), unsuitable for use as gemstones and known as bort, are destined for industrial use. In addition to mined diamonds, synthetic diamonds found industrial applications almost immediately after their invention in the 1950s; another 3 billion carats (600 metric tons) of synthetic diamond is produced annually for industrial use.

The dominant industrial use of diamond is in cutting, drilling, grinding, and polishing. Most uses of diamonds in these technologies do not require large diamonds; in fact, most diamonds that are gem-quality except for their small size, can find an industrial use. Diamonds are embedded in drill tips or saw blades, or ground into a powder for use in grinding and polishing applications. Specialized applications include use in laboratories as containment for high pressure experiments (see diamond anvil cell), high-performance bearings, and limited use in specialized windows.

With the continuing advances being made in the production of synthetic diamonds, future applications are beginning to become feasible. Garnering much excitement is the possible use of diamond as a semiconductor suitable to build microchips from, or the use of diamond as a heat sink in electronics.

[edit] Diamond supply chain

See also: List of diamond mines

The diamond supply chain is controlled by a limited number of powerful businesses, and is also highly concentrated in a small number of locations around the world.

[edit] Mining, sources and production

Only a very small fraction of the diamond ore consists of actual diamonds. The ore is crushed, during which care has to be taken in order to prevent larger diamonds from being destroyed in this process and subsequently the particles are sorted by density. Today, diamonds are located in the diamond-rich density fraction with the help of X-ray fluorescence, after which the final sorting steps are done by hand. Before the use of X-rays became commonplace, the separation was done with grease belts; diamonds have a stronger tendency to stick to grease than the other minerals in the ore.

Historically diamonds were known to be found only in alluvial deposits in southern India.[24] India led the world in diamond production from the time of their discovery in approximately the 9th century BCE[25][21] to the mid-18th century AD, but the commercial potential of these sources had been exhausted by the late 18th century and at that time India was eclipsed by Brazil where the first non-Indian diamonds were found in 1725

Diamond production of primary deposits (kimberlites and lamproites) only started in the 1870s after the discovery of the Diamond fields in South Africa. Production has increased over time and now an accumulated total of 4.5 billion carats have been mined since that date.[26] Interestingly 20% of that amount has been mined in the last 5 years alone and during the last ten years 9 new mines have started production while 4 more are waiting to be opened soon. Most of these mines are located in Canada, Zimbabwe, Angola, and one in Russia.

In the US, diamonds have been found in Arkansas, Colorado, and Montana.[27][28] In 2004, a startling discovery of a microscopic diamond in the US[29] led to the January 2008 bulk-sampling of kimberlite pipes in a remote part of Montana.

Today, most commercially viable diamond deposits are in Russia, Botswana, Australia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.[31] In 2005, Russia produced almost one-fifth of the global diamond output, reports the British Geological Survey. Australia boasts the richest diamondiferous pipe with production reaching peak levels of 42 metric tons (41 LT/46 ST) per year in the 1990s.

There are also commercial deposits being actively mined in the Northwest Territories of Canada, Siberia (mostly in Yakutia territory, for example Mir pipe and Udachnaya pipe), Brazil, and in Northern and Western Australia. Diamond prospectors continue to search the globe for diamond-bearing kimberlite and lamproite pipes.
Diamond output in 2005

'Blood" diamonds

Main article: Blood diamond

In some of the more politically unstable central African and west African countries, revolutionary groups have taken control of diamond mines, using proceeds from diamond sales to finance their operations. Diamonds sold through this process are known as conflict diamonds or blood diamonds. Major diamond trading corporations continue to fund and fuel these conflicts by doing business with armed groups. In response to public concerns that their diamond purchases were contributing to war and human rights abuses in central Africa and West Africa, the United Nations, the diamond industry and diamond-trading nations introduced the Kimberley Process in 2002, which is aimed at ensuring that conflict diamonds do not become intermixed with the diamonds not controlled by such rebel groups, by providing documentation and certification of diamond exports from producing countries to ensure that the proceeds of sale are not being used to fund criminal or revolutionary activities. Although the Kimberley Process has been moderately successful in limiting the number of conflict diamonds entering the market, conflict diamonds smuggled to market continue to persist to some degree (approx. 2–3% of diamonds traded today are possible conflict diamonds[32]). According to the 2006 book The Heartless Stone, two major flaws still hinder the effectiveness of the Kimberley Process: the relative ease of smuggling diamonds across African borders and giving phony histories, and the violent nature of diamond mining in nations that are not in a technical state of war and whose diamonds are therefore considered "clean."[33]

The Canadian Government has setup a body known as Canadian Diamond Code of Conduct[34] to help authenticate Canadian diamonds. This is a very stringent tracking system of diamonds and helps protect the 'conflict free' label of Canadian diamonds.

Currently, gem production totals nearly 30 million carats (6,000 kg) of cut and polished stones annually, and over 100 million carats (20,000 kg) of mined diamonds are sold for industrial use each year, as are about 100,000 kg of synthesized diamond.

Distribution
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The Diamond Trading Company, or DTC, is a subsidiary of De Beers and markets rough diamonds produced both by De Beers mines and other mines from which it purchases rough diamond production. Once purchased by sightholders, diamonds are cut and polished in preparation for sale as gemstones. The cutting and polishing of rough diamonds is a specialized skill that is concentrated in a limited number of locations worldwide. Traditional diamond cutting centers are Antwerp, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, New York, and Tel Aviv. Recently, diamond cutting centers have been established in China, India, and Thailand. Cutting centers with lower cost of labor, notably Surat in Gujarat, India, handle a larger number of smaller carat diamonds, while smaller quantities of larger or more valuable diamonds are more likely to be handled in Europe or North America. The recent expansion of this industry in India, employing low cost labor, has allowed smaller diamonds to be prepared as gems in greater quantities than was previously economically feasible.

Diamonds which have been prepared as gemstones are sold on diamond exchanges called bourses. There are 26 registered diamond bourses.[35] This is the final tightly controlled step in the diamond supply chain; wholesalers and even retailers are able to buy relatively small lots of diamonds at the bourses, after which they are prepared for final sale to the consumer. Diamonds can be sold already set in jewelry, or as is increasingly popular, sold unset ("loose"). According to the Rio Tinto Group, in 2002 the diamonds produced and released to the market were valued at US$9 billion as rough diamonds, US$14 billion after being cut and polished, US$28 billion in wholesale diamond jewelry, and retail sales of US$57 billion.

[edit] Crater of Diamonds State Park

The Crater of Diamonds State Park is an Arkansas State Park located near Murfreesboro in Pike County, Arkansas, USA containing the only diamond bearing site in the world that is open to the public.

[edit] Synthetics, simulants, and enhancements

Main articles: Synthetic diamond, Diamond simulant, and Diamond enhancement

Natural diamonds have formed naturally within the earth. Synthetic diamonds are purely manufactured. A diamond simulant is defined as a non-diamond material that is used to simulate the appearance of a diamond. Diamond-simulant gems are often referred to as diamante.

The gemological and industrial uses of diamond have created a large demand for rough stones. The demand for industrial diamonds has long been satisfied in large part by synthetic diamonds, which have been manufactured by various processes for more than half a century. However, in recent years it has become possible to produce gem-quality synthetic diamonds of significant size.__
The majority of commercially available synthetic diamonds are yellow in color and produced by so called High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) processes. The yellow color is caused by nitrogen impurities. Other colors may also be reproduced such as blue, green or pink which are a result of the addition of boron or from irradiation after synthesis.

At present the annual production of gem quality synthetic diamonds is only a few thousand carats, whereas the total production of natural diamonds is around 120 million carats. Although the production of colorless synthetic diamonds is dwarfed by that of natural diamonds, one can only find one fancy colored diamond for every 10.000 colorless ones. Since almost the complete production of synthetic diamonds consists of fancy diamonds, there is a high probability that the larger fancy colored diamonds (over 1.5 carats) will be synthetic

Today, trained gemologists can generally also distinguish between natural diamonds and synthetic diamonds. Although synthetic and natural diamonds are theoretically identical and indistinguishable from each other, diamonds from each of the two categories usually incorporate their own characteristic imperfections, arising from the circumstances of their creation, that allow them to be distinguished from each other. In the case of synthetic diamonds, for example, depending on the method of production (either high-pressure/high-temperature [HPHT] produced or chemical vapor deposition [CVD] produced) and the color of the diamond (colored, D-Z color range or D-J color range), several methods of identification can be attempted by a gemologist or gemlab: CVD diamonds can usually be identified by an orange fluorescence, D-J colored diamonds can be screened through the Swiss Gemological Organization's (SSEF) Diamond Spotter, and stones in the D-Z color range can be examined through the DiamondSure UV/visible spectrometer which is a tool developed by De Beers. Similarly, natural diamonds usually have minor imperfections and flaws, such as inclusions of foreign material, that are not seen in synthetic diamonds. The origin of a truly perfect diamond (natural or synthetic) cannot be determined and is largely moot given that perfect diamonds are currently rare from both sources.
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A diamond's gem quality, which is not as dependent on material properties as industrial applications, has invited both imitation and the invention of procedures to enhance the gemological properties of natural diamonds. Materials which have similar gemological characteristics to diamond but are not mined or synthetic diamond are known as diamond simulants. The most familiar diamond simulant to most consumers is cubic zirconia (commonly abbreviated as CZ); recently moissanite has also gained popularity and has often been mischaracterized as a diamond simulant, although it is sold and retailed as a replacement for diamond. Both CZ and moissanite are synthetically produced. However, CZ is a diamond simulant. Diamond enhancements are specific treatments, performed on natural diamonds (usually those already cut and polished into a gem), which are designed to better the gemological characteristics of the stone in one or more ways. These include laser drilling to remove inclusions, application of sealants to fill cracks, treatments to improve a white diamond's color grade, and treatments to give fancy color to a white diamond.

Currently, trained gemologists with appropriate equipment are able to distinguish natural diamonds from simulant diamonds, and they can identify all enhanced natural diamonds. Coatings are more and more used to give a diamond simulant such as cubic zirconia a more "diamond-like" appearance. One such substance, which is heavily advertised, is what scientists refer to as "diamond-like carbon". This is an amorphous carbonaceous material that has some physical properties which are similar to that of the diamond. Advertising suggests (rightfully so or not) that such a coating would transfer some of these diamond-like properties to the coated stone, hence enhancing the diamond simulant. However, modern techniques such as Raman Spectroscopy should easily identify such as treatment.[43]

Producing large synthetic diamonds threatens the business model of the diamond industry, and the ultimate effect of the ready availability of gem-quality diamonds at low cost in the future is hard to predict at this time.
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The screening machine use for referring treated or enhanced diamonds as well as synthetics is the DiamondSure , and the definitive analytical machine is the DiamondView[dead link] produce by the DTC and supplied marketed by the GIA. All of the major diamond testing laboratories world wide are required to have these machines.

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Make Money online

2008-09-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

What about that money? Ever gotten that view from others that you only think about money? Do not worry. Money is not the root of all evil, it is actually a good thing.

Some say that money lead to all sorts of evil actions and is the reason for many friendships going wrong. Well, I agree
that it is the things that you can do with money that you should focus upon, but money in it self is no evil.

Ever witnessed a wealthy person mugging a person on the street? No, bet you have not. But those that do not have any
money can rob another person to get more money, that is different, cause it is the lack of money that makes a person
do such a thing.

Often we get a bad conscious thinking of money and we should not have these bad feelings since money is a natural and good thing.

Just think about all the stuff you can do with money. You can buy yourself a great home, a nice car. You can put your
kids through school and give to charity. With enough money you can go on fantastic holidays abroad and visit Disneyland
with your family.

What about doing good in your local neighborhood? Or give money to your local soccer team or your kids team?

There so many good things that can be done with money so money in it self is NOT a bad thing and if you ever thought
that, think again.

It is the lack of money that is a bad thing and remember that you still have a life to live when you are pursuing all
that cash.

Do not ever forget to live your life in your quest for more money. If you do not, you will be sitting there old and rich
wondering where your life went and realizing that it is to late for you to spend all that hard earned money.more

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Millionaire Mind - Think Like A Millionaire

2008-07-18T03:31:00.000-07:00

Unless you learn how to agree want a millionaire, you should hold concerns making traffic and seeming one. To think like a millionaire you must have the affirmative thoughts and beliefs regarding money. Millionaires, multi millionaires and billionaires undergo a valuable way of looking at money. Learn something like it and ask it to your own thinking.

THOUGHTS AND BELIEFS OF A MILLIONAIRE

The in the wake of are a couple of of the thoughts and beliefs that are NOT entertained by the millionaires, multimillionaires and billionaires. They wiped out all these meaningless thoughts/beliefs of this Millionaire Minds. Unfortunately, they constantly run within the minds of those suffering true trouble constructing money.

- Money does not augment on trees

- It is true hard for me to create money

- I never own enough money

- Money is the root of all evil

- Money is evil

- Money won't buy happiness

- Making dollars is not the current important to me

- Making funds doesn't turn me on

- I don't appreciate how to make money

- I just stink at making money.

- I cannot afford it

- I will never get rich

- It is right to give than receive

- My fate/destiny is to be poor

- My family was adverse and that is my destiny

- Who am I to become rich?

- I am a loser. I constantly completely stink it

- I am a failure. I never succeed

As part of the Secrets of the millionaires, multimillionaires and billionaires, the coming up are some of the thoughts and beliefs slowly running within the minds of the super rich:

- Money is good

- Having oodles of cash is great

- With finances I can boost a plethora of people

- Lots of income lead to freedom for me

- It is true easy and fun for me to make money

- Making lots of money comes clearly to me

- I earn money in on above average facility

- I am a traffic magnet

- I repeatedly undergo greater number of income as opposed to I need

- I love making money

- I enjoy learning how to form money

- I enjoy learning how to manage my money

- I enjoy saving funds instead of wasting it in time gratification and items that don't submit me a solid return for my money

- I sttink learning how to invest my money

- Making tons of money feels true great

- Making lots of money is real major for me

- Having lots of traffic has a above the usual priority in my life

- Having a plethora of currency is my destiny.

As the millionaires, multimillionaires and billionaires still be entertaining these kinds of thoughts and beliefs, this Subconscious minds merely FOCUS on money and making oodles of money. They literally become magnets to traffic and this minds are constantly becoming for new and better ways to make more and more money. more

Most Emailed Photos

2008-03-15T03:50:00.000-07:00

A Pear-shaped D-colour flawless 72.22 carat diamond is shown during a press preview at Sotheby's Auction House in New York, March 11, 2008. Strengthening demand for top quality diamonds has pushed prices to world-record highs, but investments in the gemstones could sour if economic turmoil forces speculators to flood the market

Diamonds in century

2008-03-10T03:10:00.000-07:00

A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets.

In mineralogy, Diamond is the allotrope of carbon where the carbon atoms are arranged in an isometric-hexoctahedral crystal lattice. Its hardness and high dispersion of light make it useful for industrial applications and jewelry. It is the hardest known natural material and the third-hardest known material after aggregated diamond nanorods and ultrahard fullerite.

Diamonds are specifically renowned as a material with superlative physical qualities; they make excellent abrasives because they can be scratched only by other diamonds, Borazon, ultrahard fullerite, or aggregated diamond nanorods, which also means they hold a polish extremely well and retain their lustre. Approximately 130 million carats (26,000 kg) are mined annually, with a total value of nearly USD $9 billion, and about 100,000 kg (220,000 lb) are synthesized annually.

The name diamond derives from the ancient Greek adamas (αδάμας; “invincible”). They have been treasured as gemstones since their use as religious icons in ancient India and usage in engraving tools also dates to early human history.[3][4] Popularity of diamonds has risen since the 19th century because of increased supply, improved cutting and polishing techniques, growth in the world economy, and innovative and successful advertising campaigns. They are commonly judged by the “four Cs”: carat, clarity, color, and cut.

Roughly 49% of diamonds originate from central and southern Africa, although significant sources of the mineral have been discovered in Canada, India, Russia, Brazil, and Australia. They are mined from kimberlite and lamproite volcanic pipes, which brought to the surface the diamond crystals from deep in the Earth where the high pressure and temperature enables the formation of the crystals. The mining and distribution of natural diamonds are subjects of frequent controversy such as with concerns over the sale of conflict diamonds (aka blood diamonds) by African paramilitary groups.

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