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Grey book cover of 'Diamonds Across Time, Facets of Mankind' featuring a large yellow sapphire to center. Published by World Diamond Museum.
Grey book cover of 'Diamonds Across Time, Facets of Mankind' featuring a large yellow sapphire to center. Published by World Diamond Museum.
Grey book cover of 'Diamonds Across Time, Facets of Mankind' featuring a large yellow sapphire to center. Published by World Diamond Museum.
Grey book cover of 'Diamonds Across Time, Facets of Mankind' featuring a large yellow sapphire to center. Published by World Diamond Museum.
Grey book cover of 'Diamonds Across Time, Facets of Mankind' featuring a large yellow sapphire to center. Published by World Diamond Museum.
Grey book cover of 'Diamonds Across Time, Facets of Mankind' featuring a large yellow sapphire to center. Published by World Diamond Museum.
Grey book cover of 'Diamonds Across Time, Facets of Mankind' featuring a large yellow sapphire to center. Published by World Diamond Museum.
Grey book cover of 'Diamonds Across Time, Facets of Mankind' featuring a large yellow sapphire to center. Published by World Diamond Museum.

Diamonds Across Time

Facets of Mankind

Edited by Usha R Balakrishnan

$125.00

  • Diamonds Across Time features ten essays by scholars in love with the stone
  • They present new discoveries, explore historic collections, investigate the trade in diamonds, explain the spectrum of colors, and, most important, discuss the human stories that underpin the adoration for diamonds
  • The book is illustrated with incredible photographs of rarely seen gems and jewels from closely held collections and reconstructions of historical diamonds, done with the help of state-of-the-art computer technology
Full Description

Diamonds tell stories that are captivating and timeless. On the one hand, they are just stones, pieces of pure carbon with optical properties that make them glitter and sparkle like stars.  On the other, they are mystical entities hypnotically drawing the viewer into a time machine as it were, wherein a cinematic montage of their journey unfolds. Diamonds Across Time presents a sweeping overview of diamonds across time and space, featuring ten essays by world-renowned scholars in love the stone. Here, these authors present new discoveries; explore extraordinary collections; investigate histories, science, and trade; the nature of diamonds; legendary gems, jewelry collections, and great designers. Above all, they tell the human stories that underpin the adoration of diamonds.

Diamonds Across Time is a richly illustrated publication with high-quality images of gems and jewels, archival documents, rare drawings, and fabulous photographs. The volume places diamonds in the context of the time in which they were discovered, and on the political, social, and cultural stage on which their histories were etched. In a rapidly changing world, diamonds are eternal. They were created by nature and grew in the womb of the earth. They tell stories, and they record history. With this book, diamonds will finally have their own storytellers.

The book was compiled and edited by the World Diamond Museum’s chief curator and world-renowned jewelry expert Dr. Usha R Balakrishnan. She and nine other distinguished authors wrote ten monographs written in the order in appearance: Introduction;  The Nizam Diamond: Bala Koh-i-Noor, in the Sacred Trust of the Nizam of Hyderabad – Usha R. Balakrishnan;  Diamonds of the French Crown Jewels: Between East and West – François Farges;  A Concise History of Diamonds from Borneo – Derek J. Content;  Indian Diamonds and the Portuguese Duriing the Rise of the Mughal Empire – Hugo Miguel Crespo;  Two Large Diamonds from India – Jack Ogden;  The Romanov Diamonds: History of Splendour – Stefano Papi;  The Londonderry Jewels, 1819-1959 – Diana Scarisbrick;  Dress to Impress in Southeast Asia – René Brus;  Powerful Women, Important Diamonds – Ruth Peltason;  One in Ten Thousand: The Unique World of Coloured Diamonds – John M. King.

About the Author
Dr. Usha R Balakrishnan is a jewelry history, curator and cultural capital consultant based in Mumbai.  She is a highly regarded independent scholar of Indian art and culture and the pre-eminent historian of Indian jewelry. She is the Chief Curator of the World Diamond Museum.
Look Inside
Specifications
Publisher
World Diamond Museum
ISBN
9781838048402
Published
15th Jan 2021
Binding
Hardback
Territory
USA & Canada
Size
9.61 in x 12.56 in
Pages
432 Pages
Illustrations
270 color, 39 b&w
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