Monthly Archives: November 2010

"Mystery of The Hope Diamond" or Smithsonian goes Hollywood!

The 45.52 carat Hope Diamond

by Richard W. Wise, G.G.

I just watched the Smithsonian Institution’s new program “Mystery Of The Hope Diamond.” It was presented on the Smithsonian Channel Saturday night but can also be viewed online. The presentation focused on two topics; the curse and the gem’s phosphorescence.

That the “curse” was a marketing ploy, invented by Pierre Cartier in 1910, to sell the diamond to Evelyn Walsh McLean has been well documented. According to the legend, the stone brought disaster to all who owned it. Jean Baptiste Tavernier, the man who brought the diamond from India was supposedly torn apart by wild dogs when in truth he died of old age in Moscow. That such a story would tempt the young socialite to defy the curse and purchase the stone, says a great deal about the reckless hubris of nouveau riche Americans of the Gilded Age. It does not answer the question as to why the Smithsonian spent so much time rehashing this discredited old saw.

It seems to me that more recent events, in particular, the discovery in 2007 of the lead replica of The French Blue, a 68 carat diamond owned by the French Crown, stolen in 1792 is far more significant. Subsequent computer modeling based on the replica established without doubt that the Hope had been cut from this purloined stone. That news was given about fifteen seconds and neither Francois Farge, the discoverer nor Scott Sucher, the modeler received a mention.

This was dictated, I am sure, by political considerations along with the rehashing of Richard Kurin’s totally undocumented thesis that the stolen diamond had been purchased by King George IV—a label found with the rediscovered lead model strongly suggests that the French Blue was in the possession of Henry Phillip Hope before it was recut. Oh well, if Hollywood, not to mention Pierre Cartier, has taught us anything it is that to win a mass audience, it is necessary to titillate and legends and curses no matter how far fetched, are far sexier than history.

The Mystery of The Hope Diamond was narrated by Kim Bassinger, who unfortunately did not appear. It featured some interesting antique footage of McLean along with excellent descriptions of the genesis of diamonds, some great footage of India and a very interesting description of the Hope’s phosphorescence. I particularly enjoyed the footage showing the fabrication of the Hope’s new setting by the Harry Winston Company. the Smithsonian’s curator, Dr. Jeff Post did a good job of explaining a number of technical points. It is available on the Smithsonian website and is altogether well worth spending an hour viewing.

The Making of a Masterpiece V

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An exceptional 32 carat Siberian amethyst custom cut by John Dyer

by Richard W. Wise, G.G.

In the old days an apprentice goldsmith was required to submit a finished work, sort o final exam and thesis in metal to prove his skills and worthiness to hold the title of master goldsmith. This work was known as a masterpiece.

Per usual at R. W. Wise, a client’s purchase of a particularly beautiful gemstone began the journey. The stone, a fairly large custom cut amethyst measuring 24 x 19mm, a tad large for a ring, practically begged to be made into a brooch. In consultation with our client, it was decided that it would be a combination piece that would be wearable as both a pendant and a brooch.

The client is particularly drawn to designs from The Art Nouveau Period (1890-1910). Le art nouveau, literally the new art, evolved from the Arts & Crafts Movement (1860-1880), really a philosophy as much as a movement that put great emphasis on naturalistic design, hand craftsmanship and the use of honest materials.

A 18k gold, plique a jour pendant by Art Nouveau master Lucien Gautrait. R. W. Wise Collection. Photo: Jeff Scovil

Art Nouveau jewelers retained the design concept but pulled out the stops when it came to use of materials. Drawing inspiration from ancient Celtic and Gothic designs, jewelry of this period are executed with naturalistic, often fantastical females and floral designs featuring asymmetrical whiplash like filigree. Art Nouveau designs are often quite intricate, made extensive use of enameling as well as exotic gemstones of all colors.

From Concept to Completion:

The Concept:

As with all custom design, the first step is the concept. The client supplied us with pictures of period designs. Master goldsmith Michael Corneau then reinterpreted the design ideas into a pendant/brooch that would frame the gemstone.

The finished sketch. The empty center is precisely the size of the gemstone. At the upper left the designer holds a narrow piece of shaped 18k gold wire the first section of the piece. Photo: Amy Judd

Execution:

Once the sketch is approved, we move on to execute the design. In this case the construction involved a large number of individually shaped elements.

The following images illustrate the construction process:

A series of tiny shapes, cut out, filed and fitted, then laser welded. Photo: Amy Judd

Soldering the elements. Photo: Amy Judd

Working with the flexible shaft tool, shaping and smoothing. Photo: Amy Judd

The finished Piece:

18k Art Nouveau style brooch with 32 carat Deep Siberian amethyst. Photo: Robert Weldon

Boldly Going Where No Lab Rat Has Gone Before

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Boldly going where No Lab-rat has gone before.

by Richard W. Wise, G.G.

Gemological Laboratories are under increasing pressure to add quality grading to their traditional role of determining origin and treatment of gemstones. One laboratory, AGL had been doing this for several years. However, recently under the aegis of the Lab Harmonizing Committee several of the leading labs have decided to aggressively go where no lab has gone before into the world of marketing. Gem Labs have entered the nomenclature business and into a firestorm of controversy .

The question of nomenclature is often more about tradition than science. You can study internal inclusions and make a determination about treatments and point out what specific anomalies led to your conclusions but how do you decide what to name a gem? The recent flap over Mozambique cuprian tourmaline that I covered in an earlier post is an excellent example. http://gemwiseblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archive.html

Traditionally we name a gemstone based on species and variety but what happens in the case of a gem that is of the species corundum but derives its name strictly from a mix of colors? What gem am I thinking of? I’ll give you a hint; padparadscha sapphire.

In my book Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur’s Guide To Precious Gemstones, www.secretsofthegemtrade.com, following the late great GIA gemologist Richard Liddicoat, I define padparadscha as a light to medium tone of pinkish orange to orangey pink. Up until recently, labs have avoided the issue by simply calling the colors; “pinkish orange” and so forth.

A consortium of gem labs under the title: The Laboratory Manual Harmonization Committee (LMHC) met in Milan and has drawn up a standardized definition of padparadscha. The LMHC consists of seven of the world’s major laboratories (AGTA Gem Testing Center, CISGEM (Milan), GAAJ (Japan), GIA (USA), Gemological Institute of Thailand, Gübelin Gem Lab (Switzerland) and SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute (Switzerland). Some of these labs, excluding for the moment GIA-GTL, have begun to call and consumers have begun to demand a lab certificate that uses the term padparadscha to describe the stone. The question is, where is this definition coming from and is this the beginning of a brave new world wherein laboratory gemologists begin to dictate to dealers and connoisseurs?

“Well”, I can hear you say, “somebody’s got to cut through all the confusion.” and I agree. But, be careful what you wish for. Leaving aside the question of how this definition was arrived at, like it or not, once established the criteria determined by the labs will become the accepted definition. Are we ready for this and what in the training of a gemologist prepares them for this role? I received my Graduate Gemologist diploma some years back and I can tell that what a neophyte Graduate Gemologist doesn’t know about quality in gemstones would fill many volumes. A newly minted G.G. is little more than an apprentice scientist. Oh sure, he learns the GIA diamond grading system but…

According to Richard Hughes well known author and gemologist with the AGTA gem laboratory which makes him one of the most prominent lab-rats, laboratories have no business making such calls. He was particularly upset by the fact that the LMHC did not include a representative from Sri Lanka at the meetings where the decision was made (I mean where does the term come from?). Hughes also had problems with the adoption of a printed color chart developed by Franck Notari (GIA Geneva). Hughes makes the point that the definition of padparadscha is fuzzy at best and he feels that the insistence on hard a fast definitions is not appropriate. As proof of this assertion, Hughes did an analysis and discovered that the magnificent 20.84 carat padparadscha (pictured above left) that sold last year at Christies falls outside the parameters as defined by the chart adopted by the LMHC.

Stay tuned…