Monthly Archives: November 2009

Gala Book Signing, The French Blue, at The Mount

The crowd assembled in Edith Wharton's parlor just before the reading. In the foreground, Hope and Bob Corneau, parents of R. W. Wise goldsmith, Michael Corneau

Knoshing at The Mount. The table was set in the manshion's beautifully restored dining room

The Dining Room at The Mount as it appears when the historical treasure is open to visitors.

Lenox, November 19th.

reading to an overflowing crowd gathered at The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Lenox summer cottage, actor George Bergen, dressed as the 17th Century adventurer and gem dealer Jean Baptiste Tavernier, Baron of Aubonne, read two chapters from my just published historical novel, The French Blue. The novel, five years in the writing, is a fictionalized version of the six voyages of Tavernier which culminated in the acquisition of the Great Blue Diamond that subsequently became the Hope Diamond.

The evening was, for me, a uniquely satisfying experience. Over the five years it took to write the novel, I read it over many times but, few authors get to sit in an audience and listen to their own work interpreted by a professional to an appreciative audience—I savored every moment. The reading, part of The Mount’s ongoing series of readings, was held in Wharton’s parlor. Wine was served in the grand hall and a tasty selection of hors d’oeuvres was offered in Edith’s beautifully restored dining room.

: Richard Wise with neighbors David and Marty Ekstrom

It was an unusually balmy November evening with temperatures in the 50s and The Mount was beautifully decorated for the event. The agenda including an introduction by Rebekah Wise, a reading of two chapters; The Diver and The Dinner Party by George Bergen and ended with a short Q&A with the author.

I would like to particularly thank Susan Wissler,The Mount’s executive director, who along with her staff, Sarah Kogan, Elaine Roberts, Ross & Nynske Jolly, Megan La Marre and Sam Tomashek, made the evening a memorable one.

The event was recorded by videographer Michael Sinopoli and we hope to have a video of Jean Baptiste Tavernier reading two chapters from the novel, posted on The French Blue website; www.thefrenchblue.com, in the near future (More images). Continue reading →

Jewelry Television, Richard's excellent adventure

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I arrived at the Knoxville headquarters of Jewelry Television (JTV) at 9:30am Tuesday. My new book The French Blue was scheduled to be debuted that evening and I had come to town for the kickoff . For those of you who have never heard of it, JTV is a 24 hour a day, 500 million dollar a year on-air TV gem and jewelry selling juggernaut. I am not sure what I expected, but I was certainly not prepared for what I saw.

JTV is doing pretty well but it was not immune from the economic slowdown, laying off about one third of its workforce since the economy hit the wall last November.

Adam Bedwell, the book and tool buyer, had made the arrangements and my visit began with a tour. Anyone who has an e.commerce website would be basically familiar with what goes on at JTV. The product arrives, is examined, inventoried, stored, photographed, described and generally made ready for sale. The difference is, at JTV the scale is best described as colossal.

We entered the warehouse. There were gemstones in bins, gemstones in bags and gemstones in well 50 gallon plastic cans all together in a room the size of a basketball court or maybe a football field.

I toured the media department. I have one digital camera, JTV has a bank of them with half a dozen photo technicians clicking away. They have built there own photo setups and some truly remarkable gizmos that show the gemstone or jewelry piece in all sorts of ways including one that they take particular pride in that shows aerial views.

They take quality control seriously at JTV. I met one woman who, using a 200x digital microscope examines every stone sold on air. Every stone? If true, this is truly remarkable given the incredible volume of gemstones that are sold by JTV. Stones that are cracked or chipped are photographed and sent back to suppliers.

The call center is located in a separate building of astonishing dimensions. This is the front line of JTV, when the phones start ringing. Spent some time signing books and talking with several of the representatives. I was impressed by the fact that many of the employees I spoke, phone reps, drivers, security personnel, went out of there way to praise the management of JTV and to tell me how much they enjoyed working for the company.

The JTV offices are setup on an open plan in a series of cubicles. The layout is egalitarian. If you didn’t know who was who, it would have been impossible to tell. No one, it seems, rates a fancy private office.

Finally the time arrived. After makeup and a meeting with the show’s hosts Mandy and Tommy, I went on the air. The company is very proud of their state-of-the-art TV studio and I must say I was impressed. JTV had bought 2,000 paperback special editons together with 500 hardcovers. Adam was hoping for 300 sales, but none of us was quite prepared for what happened. The segments are about 15 minutes each. By the end of the first segment we had sold over 200 copies. “I think we are going to sell out”, said Adam, and he was right. By the end of segment two, one hour later we had sold 495, we topped 500 as we left the studio along with 15 special editions. The best book introduction in two years.

Custom Design, Why Bother?

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Recently I had a spirited discussion with a client about custom design. She was interested in buying a fine stone, but really could not see any value in a handmade setting. I grew up in a generation that valued the work of the hand. When we first opened our business in 1978, we basically worked as custom goldsmiths. We made an awful lot of wedding rings for clients interested in having a unique symbol of their unique relationship.

Today, use the words “handmade original” and the client’s eyes glaze over. Nobody cares, its really all about name brands and low prices. “If it isn’t Cartier how can I get it cheaper?” There is also some confusion about the words, custom design, some people think that it is synonymous with handmade, which it is not.

Why Is Handmade Better Made?

Good question. Why would I rather have a badly handmade ring in preference to a well made production piece? The answer is, I wouldn’t. However, assuming a fine craftsman and a well crafted mass-produced piece, whats the diff?

The art is in the process. You buy a fine sapphire and you want a three stone ring. When a craftsman makes a piece of jewelry the process itself is part of the creative effort. As any craftsperson will tell you, during the making process the piece begins to speak to you in many subtle ways.

Consider the center stone. Enhancement is part of the jeweler’s art and the crafting of the actual setting is very important. I have seen gems made more brilliant or deadened by the setting. A goldsmith can build a setting that will make the color deeper or lighter or increase or decrease its brilliance and scintillation. If you have a $10,000 stone, spending an extra $500 to make it look like a $15,000 stone makes a certain amount of sense. Recently we reset a 7 3/4 carat Burma sapphire. The stone was valued in the six figures. The setting actually made the already rich blue hue, even richer.

Computer Aided Custom Design:

The Lotus. One of our signature settings. Much more graceful than the standard four prong head, the Lotus can be shaped to correct any light leakage from the pavilion of the gemstone and improve the hue/saturation and tone and actually increase the brilliance and scintillation of some gems.

Can a computer do custom design? Certainly, but it rarely does. A Computer Aided Design CAD program is only as good as the person manipulating it and that person is rarely a designer or master craftsman. Just as an image drawn with a pencil and one painted with a brush looks different, a CAD design even when created by a talented designer, always bears the signature of the machine

Most “custom design” offered by commercial jewelers differs little from the process of selecting parts from a catalog, a center setting from column A, a shank from column B. The difference is the parts are stored in a CAD library—a few mouse clicks and you have it—out pops a wax. Commercial jewelers have embraced this technology, it saves having it in inventory.

Enhancement is part of the jeweler’s art. The Lotus Setting pictured above is a good case in point. This is one of our signature settings. It can be shaped and proportioned to correct light leakage from the pavilion (bottom) of the gemstone. Properly engineered (shaped and angled) the lotus can enhance the color (hue, saturation and tone) of a gem and/or pump up the brillance and scintillation of the gem. In the sapphire ring at the top of this post you can see a square lotus that looks quite different from the drawing. Can a lotus be made by machine? Yes, but without the subtle engineering that requires the hand and eye of a master, it’s just another pretty face.

Custom handmade pieces are the creme de la creme of fine jewelry. Art is a process that speaks to the maker. Computer Aided Design (CAD) may technically fit the definition of custom but it rarely more than construction by catalog and it will never replace the eye and the hand of a fine artist/craftsman.