The confluence of events that trigger my thoughts are often marked by odd coincidences. Kathy wanted to do a presentation (at one of our staff meetings) about the development of a course in Jewelry/Decorative Arts History being offered in Boston. The “inspiration” for the course came out of an observation, by many involved in the design of jewelry, that contemporary students of jewelry design tend to be just that, contemporary. As their work inevitably draws on techniques with a history of use going back more than 3,000 years, this seemed short sighted; hence the course. I got involved when she asked me to define the difference between the decorative arts and jewelry. My mouth open and closed a few times, but nothing intelligible came out; so I repaired to my trusty (more or less) computer. Wikipedia offered this definition, “ornamental and functional works in ceramic, wood, glass, metal or textile” – to which I would add stone. The crux of the difference, as jewelry is and has been made out of all of these materials, lies entirely in the substance of “function”. A work of decorative art must do something, anything, from serving as a structural column, a match holder (more than a century ago Faberge made a few animal caricature sandstone sculptures that served to hold matches and also offered a striking surface) to covering walls (Salvador Dali is reputed to have done at least one of these). A piece of jewelry doesn’t have to do anything “practical”, nor indeed must it be artful; its function is emotional. (more…)

Many want to look at diamonds as if they are cold, hard cash, a misguided view illustrated by Stanley Mark Rifkin’s 1978 caper at Security Pacific National Bank (then in Los Angeles and now defunct). Stan had been running his own computer consulting firm out of his three bedroom San Fernando Valley apartment; and one of his clients was a company that serviced Security Pacific’s computers. He became involved with Security Pacific directly when he was brought in to develop back-up security for their wire transfers. Lord knows they had security problems, but they were not so much technical as human. Though only bank officers were authorized to order wire transfers through the bank’s wire room and only a few responsible officers were given an authorization code that, for added security, changed daily; the execution of the bank’s security procedures was faulty. The wire room’s clerks found it inconvenient to memorize each day’s security code, so they habitually wrote it out on a piece of paper and posted it where all of the clerks in the room might see it. As Stan strolled through the bank he could not help seeing it either; and that seems to have ignited a little larcenous flame in his heart. It was immediately clear to him that with only a little creativity and and some real “brass” he could electronically transfer some of the bank’s cash into an account. (more…)

I put $5 into the slot machine, pushed the button and the machine’s screen told me I was a winner – with a lucky spin coming! I pushed another button and the machine said I’d won $129. My wife said, “You’re so lucky!”; and as we were on our way to our room after a long day, I prudently cashed out, basking in her admiration of my presumed virtue. As we had just spent a ton of money, I could only hope that she is prescient. No, we had not just placed a whopper bet on the Cubs to win the 2008 World Series, we were in Las Vegas for our annual visit to four jewelry shows and one gem show, the first beginning on the Tuesday following Memorial Day and all concentrated within a little more than a week’s time. In a word, we were out shopping for our fall line. In a spotty economy, we thought it wise to stick with firms we regularly (and successfully) do business with; so our first stop was at the Couture show (by invitation only) and Hearts On Fire. They’re so smart and fashion conscious! Among their new offerings are some clever pendants, some killer earrings and a couple of new men’s rings that even a conservative stick-in-the-mud like me might wear. (more…)