Modern Jeweler’s Consumer Guide to Colored Gemstones

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Earth Sciences, Mineralogy, Art & Architecture, General Art, Criticism
Cover of the book Modern Jeweler’s Consumer Guide to Colored Gemstones by David Federman, Springer US
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: David Federman ISBN: 9781468464887
Publisher: Springer US Publication: December 6, 2012
Imprint: Springer Language: English
Author: David Federman
ISBN: 9781468464887
Publisher: Springer US
Publication: December 6, 2012
Imprint: Springer
Language: English

Since early 1989, a gem dealer I've known for years has been calling me every few weeks to brief me on mounting mayhem in Colombia's lucrative emerald market. The troubling gist of these calls is always this: There is a full-fledged turf war going on between that South American country's bustling drug and gem trades for control of its emerald ex­ port business. According to this dealer and several others, anywhere from two to four thousand emerald industry people, mostly miners and deal­ ers, have been murdered since 1980. No doubt the gem sector, itself never gun shy, has retaliated in full and in kind. After all, the two groups have banded together in an intermittent alliance against a common enemy-Communist guerillas-with results the CIA would envy. I mention this bloodshed because of something the gem dealer once said to me: "I bet you never think of what a gem has to go through to get to a jewelry store:' He's right. I tend to think of colored stones as things of beauty, not objects of gruesome power struggles between mining kingpins and drug lords. Can you blame me, or anyone with insider knowledge, if a gem sheds any connection with its past once sculpted by a cutter into the glittering mar­ vel we see in a jeweler's showcase? Like Odysseus listening to the sirens' song, we become victims of an aesthetics-induced amnesia.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Since early 1989, a gem dealer I've known for years has been calling me every few weeks to brief me on mounting mayhem in Colombia's lucrative emerald market. The troubling gist of these calls is always this: There is a full-fledged turf war going on between that South American country's bustling drug and gem trades for control of its emerald ex­ port business. According to this dealer and several others, anywhere from two to four thousand emerald industry people, mostly miners and deal­ ers, have been murdered since 1980. No doubt the gem sector, itself never gun shy, has retaliated in full and in kind. After all, the two groups have banded together in an intermittent alliance against a common enemy-Communist guerillas-with results the CIA would envy. I mention this bloodshed because of something the gem dealer once said to me: "I bet you never think of what a gem has to go through to get to a jewelry store:' He's right. I tend to think of colored stones as things of beauty, not objects of gruesome power struggles between mining kingpins and drug lords. Can you blame me, or anyone with insider knowledge, if a gem sheds any connection with its past once sculpted by a cutter into the glittering mar­ vel we see in a jeweler's showcase? Like Odysseus listening to the sirens' song, we become victims of an aesthetics-induced amnesia.

More books from Springer US

Cover of the book Handbook of Service Science by David Federman
Cover of the book Recommender Systems Handbook by David Federman
Cover of the book Aphasia and Brain Organization by David Federman
Cover of the book Breast Epithelial Antigens by David Federman
Cover of the book Tobacco Smoking and Nicotine by David Federman
Cover of the book Behavior Theory and Philosophy by David Federman
Cover of the book Decision Making in Criminal Justice by David Federman
Cover of the book International Public Goods by David Federman
Cover of the book Constrained Deformation of Materials by David Federman
Cover of the book The Functioning Cytoplasm by David Federman
Cover of the book Community Health Advocacy by David Federman
Cover of the book Blood Cell Biochemistry by David Federman
Cover of the book Genetics and the Law by David Federman
Cover of the book Computational Models of the Auditory System by David Federman
Cover of the book Thyroid Cytopathology by David Federman
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy