I've been silent for some time as my flat is going through a revolution. It also affects and stops me from taking care of my blog to the extent I dream about.
Till later
Till later
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Diamond engagement
Hunting for a diamond engagement ring is a next step after a decision making process whether a man wants to wed or bed a woman.
"If a man proposes to you with a diamond ring the chances he wants to get divorce very quickly after honey moon decrease" says each reasonable mother to her daughter.
A diamond as the hardest gemstone in the world is a symbol of love - THE ONE LOVE. The diamond - a pure creation of nature - manifestates the most important features of love: being unbreakable and natural.
"Recently in Poland there is a growing trend to come back to a traditional purchase of a diamond ring for proporsals" says Mr Tomasz Sobczak - a Warsaw based diamond expert. The prices are much cheaper than in the West. A difference levels up tp 100% even" he adds.
Beautiful Polish women and a bargain of diamond rings.
Do you need more?????
Beethoven changed music reality, what will Masecki do????
"While playing I will try to pass on to the listeners what was happening in a head of Beethoven and that was so unusual for the time, this man revolutionized music" says Marcin Masecki before his first performance of classical music in a funky place - Chlodna 25.
The event is a must for whose who are not cliched."Interesting people that's who change world and they are not boring, that's why Beethoven" says this young musician - a cultural melting Potter. Marcin was born in Warsaw, when he was a child he moved to Columbia, a few years later landed in San Fransisco, next back to Poland, left it again for Boston where he studied for two years in Berklee College of Music. He also traveled toArgentina, he got married there and finally back to Poland for some time. "Soon we plan to move to London" confesses Marcin. He already managed to give some concerts all over Europe and in autumn he will perform in New York. To end up his culturally diverse environment his manager is a Japanese lady. "I was in the places where you meet a whole world" - adds modest Marcin.
As a way to show the respect to the audience the artist needs some preparation. In case of the last three Beethoven's sonatas it was a researching job. When Beethoven was 30 years old, he started to lose his hearing so he communicated with his writing. He left some notes and Marcin read many of them. " A few days before the concert I need to be a little bit like Beethoven, try to enter his mind" says Marcin. Thursday's recital is a challenge - " Beethoven is technically very difficult to perform, he didn't take into account the basic rules of physics" - explains Marcin. What will happen on 26th July at 20:00 onChlodna 25 - still a mystery - so come and find out.
The event is a must for whose who are not cliched."Interesting people that's who change world and they are not boring, that's why Beethoven" says this young musician - a cultural melting Potter. Marcin was born in Warsaw, when he was a child he moved to Columbia, a few years later landed in San Fransisco, next back to Poland, left it again for Boston where he studied for two years in Berklee College of Music. He also traveled toArgentina, he got married there and finally back to Poland for some time. "Soon we plan to move to London" confesses Marcin. He already managed to give some concerts all over Europe and in autumn he will perform in New York. To end up his culturally diverse environment his manager is a Japanese lady. "I was in the places where you meet a whole world" - adds modest Marcin.
As a way to show the respect to the audience the artist needs some preparation. In case of the last three Beethoven's sonatas it was a researching job. When Beethoven was 30 years old, he started to lose his hearing so he communicated with his writing. He left some notes and Marcin read many of them. " A few days before the concert I need to be a little bit like Beethoven, try to enter his mind" says Marcin. Thursday's recital is a challenge - " Beethoven is technically very difficult to perform, he didn't take into account the basic rules of physics" - explains Marcin. What will happen on 26th July at 20:00 onChlodna 25 - still a mystery - so come and find out.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
"Diamonds - the greatest value on the smallest surface"
a common sense says. " Diamonds are a girls best friend" Marlyn Monroe was singing. " Because of my sex and profession I am not crazy about diamonds, but it is true, they are the most precious gemstones" says Mr Stanislaw Krzystof Jacobson - a diamond expert from Gdansk. Sean Connery as James Bond knew that "Diamonds are forever". " A diamond is the most beautiful gemstone, it enjoys the eyes" says a Warsaw craftsman - Mr Andrzej Koprowski - who has been in the business since 1965.
The name “diamond” derives from the ancient Greek adamas and means invincible. The name covers the main feature of these gemstones - hardness. "Diamonds can be scratched only by other diamonds as they are so hard" says Mr Pawel Szcześniak a diamond expert from Warsaw. The diamonds are formed by the prolonged exposure of carbon bearing materials to high pressure and temperature. They are the hardest known naturally occurring material. "A diamond is the hardest thing in the world. There is no harder element" confirms Mr Szczesniak.
Because of its extraordinary physical properties, diamonds have been used symbolically since near the time of their first discovery, dated around 296 BCE. It is said the Greeks believed diamonds were tears of the gods, the Romans believed they were splinters of fallen stars. " Diamonds are not magic stones, above all it is promoted" states Mr Jacobson.
Leaving the occultist issue and supernatural powers of the diamonds open, nobody argues with the financial aspect of them. " In the long-term perspective the purchase of diamonds is a good investment because the physical features that define their value don't change with time" explains Mr Tomasz Sobczak - a diamond expert with a family tradition in the field. "Diamonds – are the most simple way to pass family property between generations without paying the required taxes" adds Mr Sobczak. "Diamonds are a luxury product but they are everywhere. They are not a delicacy anymore. You simply need to want them" says Mr Szczesniak. There is no doubt that diamonds are business. Diamonds which have been prepared as gemstones are sold on diamond exchanges called bourses. There are 24 registered diamond bourses. According to the authors of 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.
A key role in the diamond business is the estimation of a gemstone’s value. "In order to know the value of a diamond we need to evaluate the 4 C's" says Mr Sobczak. The first C stands for Carat - heaviness. The special diamond weight measures the mass of diamond - shows Mr Sobczak. " In Poland people buy engagement rings with diamonds between 0,15 - 0,20 carat" says Mr Szczesniak. The second C is Clarity. It is the measurement of the internal defects of a diamond called inclusions. The less inclusions a diamond has the better it is. "An inclusion can be black. It means that carbon atoms didn't transform properly" demonstrates Mr Szczesniak. The third C is Colour. A chemically pure and structurally perfect diamond is perfectly transparent with no hue or colour. The connoisseurs check the colour only in the case of white diamonds. They need to estimate their whiteness. They do their job by using a special set of the diamonds. It is either called a master colour set or a colour grading set. The experts gathered at GIA - Gemological Institute of America , the most important authority in gemology - mark the best whiteness of a diamond with a letter D. According to the RAL scale it is called River. The names derives from a diamonds' famous mine. The fourth C is a cut that is the art and science of creating a gem-quality diamond out of mined rough. When the 4 C's are evaluated, the experts use the Rapaport Diamond Report as a retail price baseline to calculate and next communicate the price of a diamond to customers. "It takes 40 minutes for a beginner to estimate the value of a diamond, it takes me 2 minutes, I have everything in my mind" states Mr Sobczak - the author of 13 books about these gemstones.
The diamond industry can be divided into two categories: one dealing with gem-grade diamonds and another with industrial-grade diamonds. It derives from a fact that only 5% of mined diamonds are suitable for use as gemstones, the rest - 95% - known as bort are destined for industrial use.
The chain of the gemstone diamond industry starts with mining. The next steps are wholesale trade and diamond cutting. They are worldwide and also exist in Poland yet only a few locations count as major players like New York, Antwerpen, London, Tel Aviv, Amsterdam and Surat.
Today the most known diamond deposits being actively mined are located in Africa, Canada, Siberia, Brazil and Australia. In some of the more politically unstable central African and west Africa an 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. In response to public concerns that their diamond purchases were contributing to war and human rights abuses in central Africa and west Africa, the diamond industry and diamond-trading nations introduced the Kimberely Process in 2002, which is aimed at ensuring that conflict diamonds do not become intermixed with the diamonds not controlled by such rebel groups. The Kimberley Process provides 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. Poland has already signed this Act.
The Kimberely Process isn't required in the case of synthetic diamonds as they are created by technological actions. Furthermore synthetic colourful diamonds enable consumers to be en vogue at reasonable price. Natural colourful diamonds are extremely expensive. Only Hollywood stars and the most well off can afford a bargain of a few million like Ben Affleck who proposed to Jennifer Lopez with an engagement ring with a natural pink diamond. The price of this simple ring is cosmic. In Poland there is one company that sells the synthetic diamonds imported from Belarus.
The Polish market of diamonds seems to be rather small. "People aren't rich"says Mr Marian Makieła - a Warsaw diamond expert who entered into the diamond business during a diplomatic stay in India. "I believe the market will increase as our society is getting richer and richer" he says. Things were completely different some time ago. "After the 2nd world war one could go to jail because of a diamond" says Mr Sobczak. " A diamond was tabu in Poland" adds Mr Jacobson. The first wind of a change was in 1989 with the collapse of an ancient regime. The market started to be open. Joining European Union has helped Poland to regulate the procedures and obtain financial help in order to create a national training system within Polish Gemological Association (Polskie Towarzystwo Gemmologiczne) and Association of Jewelry Experts (Stowarzyszenie Rzeczoznawcow Jubilerskich).
Each country has its particular features, top experts etc. yet "there are no two identical diamonds. Each diamond is unique" says Mr Sobczak and perfectly sums up a phenomenon of the diamonds that in western cultures symbolize never - ending love.
A joke as a funny illustration to the article.
Friday afternoon, New York, Fifth Avenue, a couple enters the most luxurious jewelry shop on the street. The woman looks like a top model. One can see the relationship is at the first stage of picking -up. "Can you show me the most beautiful diamond ring" the man asks the shop assistant. "Yes, of course" - answers the shop assistant. The customer isn't satisfied so the shop assistant shows him the most expensive ring in the shop. " Try" says the man to the woman. She does. "Are you happy" asks the man. "Of course" says the woman and almost wants to jump on him. The activity of a payment arrives. " I have only a cheque" says the man. "So we have a problem" says the shop assistant. "Hmmm you know, just take my cheque and verify it, I'll come back on Monday" says the man and the couple leave the shop. Monday passed, Tuesday and Wednesday passed and the man didn't appear in the shop. On Thursday the shop assistant meets the man by accident on the street. " Why did you give me a false cheque, are you crazy???" asks the shop assistant. " Listen, you had a good weekend, I had a good weekend, everybody was happy so where's the problem??" asks the man.
The name “diamond” derives from the ancient Greek adamas and means invincible. The name covers the main feature of these gemstones - hardness. "Diamonds can be scratched only by other diamonds as they are so hard" says Mr Pawel Szcześniak a diamond expert from Warsaw. The diamonds are formed by the prolonged exposure of carbon bearing materials to high pressure and temperature. They are the hardest known naturally occurring material. "A diamond is the hardest thing in the world. There is no harder element" confirms Mr Szczesniak.
Because of its extraordinary physical properties, diamonds have been used symbolically since near the time of their first discovery, dated around 296 BCE. It is said the Greeks believed diamonds were tears of the gods, the Romans believed they were splinters of fallen stars. " Diamonds are not magic stones, above all it is promoted" states Mr Jacobson.
Leaving the occultist issue and supernatural powers of the diamonds open, nobody argues with the financial aspect of them. " In the long-term perspective the purchase of diamonds is a good investment because the physical features that define their value don't change with time" explains Mr Tomasz Sobczak - a diamond expert with a family tradition in the field. "Diamonds – are the most simple way to pass family property between generations without paying the required taxes" adds Mr Sobczak. "Diamonds are a luxury product but they are everywhere. They are not a delicacy anymore. You simply need to want them" says Mr Szczesniak. There is no doubt that diamonds are business. Diamonds which have been prepared as gemstones are sold on diamond exchanges called bourses. There are 24 registered diamond bourses. According to the authors of 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.
A key role in the diamond business is the estimation of a gemstone’s value. "In order to know the value of a diamond we need to evaluate the 4 C's" says Mr Sobczak. The first C stands for Carat - heaviness. The special diamond weight measures the mass of diamond - shows Mr Sobczak. " In Poland people buy engagement rings with diamonds between 0,15 - 0,20 carat" says Mr Szczesniak. The second C is Clarity. It is the measurement of the internal defects of a diamond called inclusions. The less inclusions a diamond has the better it is. "An inclusion can be black. It means that carbon atoms didn't transform properly" demonstrates Mr Szczesniak. The third C is Colour. A chemically pure and structurally perfect diamond is perfectly transparent with no hue or colour. The connoisseurs check the colour only in the case of white diamonds. They need to estimate their whiteness. They do their job by using a special set of the diamonds. It is either called a master colour set or a colour grading set. The experts gathered at GIA - Gemological Institute of America , the most important authority in gemology - mark the best whiteness of a diamond with a letter D. According to the RAL scale it is called River. The names derives from a diamonds' famous mine. The fourth C is a cut that is the art and science of creating a gem-quality diamond out of mined rough. When the 4 C's are evaluated, the experts use the Rapaport Diamond Report as a retail price baseline to calculate and next communicate the price of a diamond to customers. "It takes 40 minutes for a beginner to estimate the value of a diamond, it takes me 2 minutes, I have everything in my mind" states Mr Sobczak - the author of 13 books about these gemstones.
The diamond industry can be divided into two categories: one dealing with gem-grade diamonds and another with industrial-grade diamonds. It derives from a fact that only 5% of mined diamonds are suitable for use as gemstones, the rest - 95% - known as bort are destined for industrial use.
The chain of the gemstone diamond industry starts with mining. The next steps are wholesale trade and diamond cutting. They are worldwide and also exist in Poland yet only a few locations count as major players like New York, Antwerpen, London, Tel Aviv, Amsterdam and Surat.
Today the most known diamond deposits being actively mined are located in Africa, Canada, Siberia, Brazil and Australia. In some of the more politically unstable central African and west Africa an 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. In response to public concerns that their diamond purchases were contributing to war and human rights abuses in central Africa and west Africa, the diamond industry and diamond-trading nations introduced the Kimberely Process in 2002, which is aimed at ensuring that conflict diamonds do not become intermixed with the diamonds not controlled by such rebel groups. The Kimberley Process provides 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. Poland has already signed this Act.
The Kimberely Process isn't required in the case of synthetic diamonds as they are created by technological actions. Furthermore synthetic colourful diamonds enable consumers to be en vogue at reasonable price. Natural colourful diamonds are extremely expensive. Only Hollywood stars and the most well off can afford a bargain of a few million like Ben Affleck who proposed to Jennifer Lopez with an engagement ring with a natural pink diamond. The price of this simple ring is cosmic. In Poland there is one company that sells the synthetic diamonds imported from Belarus.
The Polish market of diamonds seems to be rather small. "People aren't rich"says Mr Marian Makieła - a Warsaw diamond expert who entered into the diamond business during a diplomatic stay in India. "I believe the market will increase as our society is getting richer and richer" he says. Things were completely different some time ago. "After the 2nd world war one could go to jail because of a diamond" says Mr Sobczak. " A diamond was tabu in Poland" adds Mr Jacobson. The first wind of a change was in 1989 with the collapse of an ancient regime. The market started to be open. Joining European Union has helped Poland to regulate the procedures and obtain financial help in order to create a national training system within Polish Gemological Association (Polskie Towarzystwo Gemmologiczne) and Association of Jewelry Experts (Stowarzyszenie Rzeczoznawcow Jubilerskich).
Each country has its particular features, top experts etc. yet "there are no two identical diamonds. Each diamond is unique" says Mr Sobczak and perfectly sums up a phenomenon of the diamonds that in western cultures symbolize never - ending love.
A joke as a funny illustration to the article.
Friday afternoon, New York, Fifth Avenue, a couple enters the most luxurious jewelry shop on the street. The woman looks like a top model. One can see the relationship is at the first stage of picking -up. "Can you show me the most beautiful diamond ring" the man asks the shop assistant. "Yes, of course" - answers the shop assistant. The customer isn't satisfied so the shop assistant shows him the most expensive ring in the shop. " Try" says the man to the woman. She does. "Are you happy" asks the man. "Of course" says the woman and almost wants to jump on him. The activity of a payment arrives. " I have only a cheque" says the man. "So we have a problem" says the shop assistant. "Hmmm you know, just take my cheque and verify it, I'll come back on Monday" says the man and the couple leave the shop. Monday passed, Tuesday and Wednesday passed and the man didn't appear in the shop. On Thursday the shop assistant meets the man by accident on the street. " Why did you give me a false cheque, are you crazy???" asks the shop assistant. " Listen, you had a good weekend, I had a good weekend, everybody was happy so where's the problem??" asks the man.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Diamonds - my love
Diamonds are a girls best friend. Perhaps some of you know this is a song, performed by Marlyn Monroe, Nicole Kidnam, Frank Sinatra and many other singers . The song is written by T-Bone Burnett.
Have you ever asked yourself what is all about these diamonds that some people write songs about them, other people sing them and all of them seem to be very passionate about them. Why people are crazy about them? Why the diamonds are so magic and wicked?
Me, I asked myself this question. It was when my friend told me that he was bored waiting at the airport and he bought two diamonds. Afterwards he has studied the history of diamonds its structures and other complicated issues he managed to pass a special exam and got the certificate of being an expert of the diamonds.
For sure diamonds is a great business. Do you know that there are 21 I repeat 21 stock exchange markets of the diamonds. There are 1 500 companies dealing with diamonds. These companies employ 30 000 people. There is a capital of that business and it is not New York and not it even Warsaw although I bet Polish people would love to have Warsaw for the capital of the diamonds, it is Antwerpen. The most famous diamond was insured for 100 mio of USD.
Is it the whole truth about diamonds??? No, diamonds is also art with its particular technique in this case is a cut. I would like to tell you about one a very famous diamonds artist whose name sounds Polish but is not Polish - Marcel Tolkovsky. He invented the ideal cut. Apart from this one there 350 registered cuts. One of a famous cutters said that cutting a diamond is like a composing music, it never gets boring. Within the art of diamonds there are four holly C that play a vital role: Carat, Colour, Clarity and above mentioned Cut.
Is it the whole truth of the diamonds??? No, diamonds is pure chemistry and in details carbon and carbon atoms that are captured in a certain crystal layer. A colour of diamonds is a game between carbon atoms and nitrogen ones. The key issue is a replacement and absorption. When I have heard that Ben Afleck bought for Jennifer Lopez a ring with a pink diamond, I asked my friend why pink is pink I got a long email with all the details, I know now diamonds are chemistry. So we have business, art chemistry is it all that make diamonds so special. I was convinced that it is to little so I kept on searching. Socio-culture aspects of the diamonds are quite heavy in a metaphorical way. Diamonds means richness, luxury, prestige. A diamond is a symbol of being posh. All these characteristics are very superficial. It has no link to magic and being unique.
So why the hell diamonds are so special???? Why the hell they sing the songs about them??? Why the hell these ones who have them have show off them.
Finally I found the answer!
The diamond is a symbol of the love – this one the most important and the most true. A diamond the hardest stone in the world, a pure creation of nature shows the most important characteristics of love – that on one hand it is unbreakable and on the other that it is natural. Gabi Tolkovsky a son of great Marcel Tolkowsky that I have mentioned before says that his favourite form to cut of a diamond is a heart. At the same time it is the most difficult one. Now I know why the diamonds are a girls best friend.
Have you ever asked yourself what is all about these diamonds that some people write songs about them, other people sing them and all of them seem to be very passionate about them. Why people are crazy about them? Why the diamonds are so magic and wicked?
Me, I asked myself this question. It was when my friend told me that he was bored waiting at the airport and he bought two diamonds. Afterwards he has studied the history of diamonds its structures and other complicated issues he managed to pass a special exam and got the certificate of being an expert of the diamonds.
For sure diamonds is a great business. Do you know that there are 21 I repeat 21 stock exchange markets of the diamonds. There are 1 500 companies dealing with diamonds. These companies employ 30 000 people. There is a capital of that business and it is not New York and not it even Warsaw although I bet Polish people would love to have Warsaw for the capital of the diamonds, it is Antwerpen. The most famous diamond was insured for 100 mio of USD.
Is it the whole truth about diamonds??? No, diamonds is also art with its particular technique in this case is a cut. I would like to tell you about one a very famous diamonds artist whose name sounds Polish but is not Polish - Marcel Tolkovsky. He invented the ideal cut. Apart from this one there 350 registered cuts. One of a famous cutters said that cutting a diamond is like a composing music, it never gets boring. Within the art of diamonds there are four holly C that play a vital role: Carat, Colour, Clarity and above mentioned Cut.
Is it the whole truth of the diamonds??? No, diamonds is pure chemistry and in details carbon and carbon atoms that are captured in a certain crystal layer. A colour of diamonds is a game between carbon atoms and nitrogen ones. The key issue is a replacement and absorption. When I have heard that Ben Afleck bought for Jennifer Lopez a ring with a pink diamond, I asked my friend why pink is pink I got a long email with all the details, I know now diamonds are chemistry. So we have business, art chemistry is it all that make diamonds so special. I was convinced that it is to little so I kept on searching. Socio-culture aspects of the diamonds are quite heavy in a metaphorical way. Diamonds means richness, luxury, prestige. A diamond is a symbol of being posh. All these characteristics are very superficial. It has no link to magic and being unique.
So why the hell diamonds are so special???? Why the hell they sing the songs about them??? Why the hell these ones who have them have show off them.
Finally I found the answer!
The diamond is a symbol of the love – this one the most important and the most true. A diamond the hardest stone in the world, a pure creation of nature shows the most important characteristics of love – that on one hand it is unbreakable and on the other that it is natural. Gabi Tolkovsky a son of great Marcel Tolkowsky that I have mentioned before says that his favourite form to cut of a diamond is a heart. At the same time it is the most difficult one. Now I know why the diamonds are a girls best friend.
Why a blog???
I've created my own blog as I want my writing needs to be met.
I also would like to receive feedback on my speeches and articles as with time perhaps will convert my hobby - journalism - into a profession.
I hope net surfers will enjoy what I wrote. In addition would like them to share their opinions with me.
I also would like to receive feedback on my speeches and articles as with time perhaps will convert my hobby - journalism - into a profession.
I hope net surfers will enjoy what I wrote. In addition would like them to share their opinions with me.
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