Download or read book Diamonds Across Time written by Usha R Balakrishnan and published by World Diamond Museum Limited. This book was released on 2020 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: - 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.
Download or read book DIAMONDS English Edition written by and published by Marijan Dundek. This book was released on with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Blood Sweat and Earth written by Tijl Vanneste and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2021-12-21 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Precious Objects written by Alicia Oltuski and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-07-19 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the middle of New York City lies a neighborhood where all secrets are valuable, all assets are liquid, and all deals are sealed with a blessing rather than a contract. Welcome to the diamond district. Ninety percent of all diamonds that enter America pass through these few blocks, but the inner workings of this mysterious world are known only to the people who inhabit it. In Precious Objects, twenty-six-year-old journalist Alicia Oltuski, the daughter and granddaughter of diamond dealers, seamlessly blends family narrative with literary reportage to reveal the fascinating secrets of the diamond industry and its madcap characters: an Elvis-impersonating dealer, a duo of diamond-detective brothers, and her own eccentric father. With insight and drama, Oltuski limns her family’s diamond-paved move from communist Siberia to a displaced persons camp in post–World War II Germany to New York’s diamond district, exploring the connections among Jews and the industry, the gem and its lore, and the exotic citizens of this secluded world. Entertaining and illuminating, Precious Objects offers an insider’s look at the history, business, and society behind one of the world’s most coveted natural resources, providing an unforgettable backstage pass to an extraordinary and timeless show.
Download or read book The Heartless Stone written by Tom Zoellner and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2007-06-12 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An American Library Association Notable Book When he proposed to his girlfriend, Tom Zoellner gave what is expected of every American man--a diamond engagement ring. But when the relationship broke apart, he was left with a used diamond that began to haunt him. His obsession carried him around the globe; from the "blood diamond" rings of Africa; to the sweltering polishing factories of India; to mines above the Arctic Circle; to illegal diggings in Brazil; to the London headquarters of De Beers, the secretive global colossus that has dominated the industry for more than a century and permanently carved the phrase "A diamond is forever" on the psyche. An adventure story in the tradition of Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief, The Heartless Stone is a voyage into the cold heart of the world's most unyielding gem.
Download or read book Diamonds Take Forever written by Jessica Jiji and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-11-10 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hot for the rock . . . If her old-fashioned family had never left Morocco, Michelle Benamou would have been in big trouble, being almost thirty and nowhere near married. Luckily, in the hardy multicultural stew of New York City, she's been able to follow her other dreams, working her way up from broadcast news producer to on-air reporter. Still, there's something sparkly missing from the ring finger of her left hand. . . Michelle thinks maybe her sexy, ex-Marine boyfriend can provide it -- until Joe abruptly tells her adios. Her old friend Benny from the Bronx is an intriguing possibility -- but he's out in L.A. . . . and not quite divorced. It's tough for a sexy, very modern urban woman to follow the traditional calls of the marriage muezzins to matrimony -- especially when the rest of her life starts racing rapidly downhill. Suddenly in desperate need of an affordable new Manhattan apartment (an oxymoron), and quite possibly a new career (a catastrophe), Michelle's got other worries besides finding passionate love sealed with an "I do." But a diamond is just coal, after all, until it's forged by fire and time. And sometimes something precious, strong, dazzling, and enduring can turn up when you least expect it . . .
Download or read book Blood from a Stone written by Richard Hammer and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2015-06-23 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book LSD and the Mind of the Universe written by Christopher M. Bache and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-11-26 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A professor of religious studies meticulously documents his insights from 73 high-dose LSD sessions conducted over the course of 20 years • Chronicles, with unprecedented rigor, the author’s systematic journey into a unified field of consciousness that underlies all physical existence • Makes a powerful case for the value of psychedelically induced spiritual experience and discusses the challenge of integrating these experiences into everyday life • Shows how psychedelic experience can take you beyond self-transformation into collective transformation and help birth the future of humanity On November 24, 1979, Christopher M. Bache took the first step on what would become a life-changing journey. Drawing from his training as a philosopher of religion, Bache set out to explore his mind and the mind of the universe as deeply and systematically as possible--with the help of the psychedelic drug LSD. Following protocols established by Stanislav Grof, Bache’s 73 high-dose LSD sessions over the course of 20 years drew him into a deepening communion with cosmic consciousness. Journey alongside professor Bache as he touches the living intelligence of our universe--an intelligence that both embraced and crushed him--and demonstrates how direct experience of the divine can change your perspective on core issues in philosophy and religion. Chronicling his 73 sessions, the author reveals the spiral of death and rebirth that took him through the collective unconscious into the creative intelligence of the universe. Making a powerful case for the value of psychedelically induced spiritual experience, Bache shares his immersion in the fierce love and creative intent of the unified field of consciousness that underlies all physical existence. He describes the incalculable value of embracing the pain and suffering he encountered in his sessions and the challenges he faced integrating his experiences into his everyday life. His journey documents a shift from individual consciousness to collective consciousness, from archetypal reality to Divine Oneness and the Diamond Luminosity that lies outside cyclic existence. Pushing the boundaries of theory and practice, the author shows how psychedelic experience can take you beyond self-transformation into collective transformation, beyond the present into the future, revealing spirit and matter in perfect balance.
Download or read book Coal to Diamonds A Memoir written by Beth Ditto and published by Random House. This book was released on 2012-10-09 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Acres of Diamonds written by Russell H. Conwell and published by . This book was released on 1915 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Russell H. Conwell Founder Of Temple University Philadelphia.
Download or read book The World Until Yesterday written by Jared Diamond and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2013-01-10 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Number and Time written by Marie-Louise Von Franz and published by Northwestern University Press. This book was released on 1974 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: C. G. Jung's work in his later years suggested that the seemingly divergent sciences of psychology and modern physics might, in fact, be approaching a unified world model in which the dualism of matter and psyche would be resolved. Jung believed that the natural integers are the archetypal patterns that regulate the unitary realm of psyche and matter, and that number serves as a special instrument for man's becoming conscious of this unity. Writen in a clear style and replete with illustrations which help make the mathematical ideas visible, Number and Time is a piece of original scholarship which introduces a view of how "mind" connects with "matter" at the most fundamental level.
Download or read book Flawless Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History written by Scott Andrew Selby and published by Sterling Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Tells the story with the gripping pace of a true-crime 'Ocean's Eleven.'" The New York Post • "Like a diamond, this true-life caper is clear, colorful, and brilliant." Publishers Weekly ★Starred Review★ The Antwerp Diamond Center was one of the most secure buildings in the world. With hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of diamonds stored in its subterranean vault, it had to be. Located in the heart of Belgium's ultra-secure Antwerp Diamond District, it benefited from two police stations, armed patrols, extensive video surveillance, and vehicle barriers securing an area where 80 percent of the world's diamonds traded hands. But on February 15, 2003, a band of skilled Italian thieves — fronted by the charming Leonardo Notarbartolo, who spent over two years clandestinely casing the building — subverted every one of the Diamond Center's defenses and made off with a record amount of loot. Experts estimate they got away with nearly half a billion dollars in diamonds, cash and other valuables. They'd pulled off the biggest heist in history--everybody loves diamonds and they now had more than any thief before them. The robbers did it with stealth and smarts; no one was hurt or even threatened during what was quickly labeled the largest diamond heist in history. The bandits — members of a group of professional thieves known as "The School of Turin" — used cunning in lieu of violence, successfully evading security cameras, thwarting an array of electronic sensors, and penetrating a vault protected by a double-locked foot-thick steel door. Even when the police zeroed in on who committed the crime, how it was done remained a mystery, like something out of a heist movie or TV show. Flawless is a fast-paced global scavenger hunt uncovering the truth behind the daring Valentine's Day weekend heist. Tracking clues, sources, and documents throughout Europe — from seedy cafés in Turin, Italy to sleek diamond offices in Antwerp, Belgium — authors Scott Selby and Greg Campbell retrace Notarbartolo's careful discovery of the building's security flaws. They recreate the heist and its aftermath — detailing how the thieves brilliantly neutralized each element of the security protecting the Diamond Center's vault while inviting the readers into the secretive world of diamonds and diamond dealing. The result is a thrilling ride through the better-than-fiction heist of the century. "Fans of caper books and movies will be in seventh heaven." Booklist ★Starred Review★
Download or read book Diamonds written by Renee Newman and published by Firefly Books. This book was released on 2021-10 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The beauty and sparkle and mystique of diamonds is unmatched by that of any other gem in the world. Since early times, diamonds have been treasured as good luck charms, remarkable tools and status symbols and have been worn, collected and presented as lavish gifts. Today, diamonds remain among the most sought-after gemstones and continue to hold their value through good times and bad. In Diamonds, author Renée Newman, a graduate gemologist and author of many trade-level handbooks on gemstones, invites the reader on a journey into the fascinating world of diamonds. This lavishly illustrated guide -- which features hundreds of photos, maps and diagrams -- covers everything from mining, cutting and evaluating diamonds to the romantic histories of some of the world's most valuable stones. Diamonds includes chapters on: What a diamond is -- its significance from antiquity to the present day and what it represents from different perspectives The process and history of mining diamonds -- the locations (both modern and historical) as well as the techniques used to mine diamonds The evolution of diamond cutting -- how a diamond is processed and what are the key cuts and shapes to know Diamond jewelry through the ages -- how diamonds have been used in jewelry from pre-Georgian times to today Evaluating and pricing diamonds -- how diamonds are priced based on their many value factors, such as color, carat weight, cut, clarity, and so on Man-made diamonds The remarkable benefits of diamonds. As beautiful as they are precious and as useful as they are decorative, diamonds continue to fascinate and allure. Diamonds will be a welcome guide for anyone who has felt the romance and power of these fascinating gems. It will also be a useful resource for professionals in the jewelry trade.
Download or read book Once Upon a Diamond written by Prince Dimitri and published by Rizzoli Publications. This book was released on 2020-09-08 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Diplomacy and Diamonds written by Joanne King Herring and published by Center Street. This book was released on 2011-10-19 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: She's been dirt poor; she's been filthy rich. Rich was more fun. She married three times, divorced twice, found her true love, and lost him to cancer. At twenty-one, she was told she would soon die. She lived. Doctors said she'd never be able to have children. She had 'em. She's bargained with God, dictators, and Democrats. She's partied with princes, presidents, premiers, Barbara Walters, Anwar Sadat, Margaret Thatcher, Tom Hanks, and Francisco Franco . . . though not all at the same time. She captivated powerful men with her feminine charm, and then persuaded them toward unlikely political alliances through her formidable intelligence. She waltzed with Prince Philip in Buckingham Palace, dressed in men's clothes and smuggled herself in a barrel across the Pakistani border, threw a Roman-themed party so extravagant it was featured in Life magazine, and survived a Soviet gunship attack in the mountains of Afghanistan. Joanne Herring, the Houston socialite portrayed by Julia Roberts in the film Charlie Wilson's War, is far more colorful, funny, and likable than any screenwriter could have guessed. The former Texas television anchor is known for her improbable fight with the mujahideen against the former Soviet Union. But her full story-with all its God, guns, and Gucci glory-has never been told. Born in the man's world of Texas in a time when women had limited choices, Joanne Herring blazed a trail with allies as unlikely as Charlie Wilson, Pierre Cardin, and President Ronald Reagan . . . and in so doing forged new paths for women in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and America.
Download or read book The Diamond Empire written by K'wan and published by St. Martin's Griffin. This book was released on 2017-10-10 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Diamonds and Pearl each try to claw their way to the top of the New York street scene, and back to each other.
