Les pierres précieuses de DAC

J'ai blogué mardi dernier au sujet de le Distribution aux Consommateurs. Que je trouvais assez étrange enfant, étant un magasin qui semblait sans inventaire. Mais j'aimais leurs catalogues, même s'il n'était pas aussi bien que celui de Sears (ou de La Baie?). Ce que j'aimais dans celui de DAC, c'était la page avec les peirres précieuses. Mon souvenir est vague, mais je crois qu'il y avait des émeraudes et des diamants. Je ne sais pas trop si on pouvait acheter les pierres seules ou si c'était pour des bijoux. Mais je me rappelle des pierres. Ou alors elles étaient des ornements pour des bagues. Nous oublions un peu ça aujourd'hui, quand on peut chercher et de l'information du bout des doigts avec l'internet, mais les catalogues des grands magasins nous faisaient parfois découvrir certaines choses. Les pierres précieuses de DAC, je les trouvais exotiques.

James Bond in/for July

I found this image on the official Facebook page of Ian Fleming.It is taken from Diamonds Are Forever. Not my favourite James Bond novel by far, more crime fiction than spy thriller, but it had its moments. And the movie was way, way worse. And I always enjoy a period piece crime or spy fiction novel in any case. Anyway, I am sharing the picture and the quote today for no better reason that it mentions late July and this is late July. If you want to read a novel this time of year, Diamonds Are Forever might be the right one for you.

The £60,000 diamond ring

 Sometimes, I check crime news just for kicks and one piece of news caught my attention recently. Two thieves got caught after stealing a ring worth £60,000 in a jewelery in Eastbourne, East Sussex. A single ring, worth so much. This is what shocks and fascinates me when I read such news. Not so much the crime as the motivation, the luxury object worth so much, yet often so small. Jewellery and diamonds (as well as other precious gems) fascinate me because they make for great MacGuffins. Every time I read a story of a burglary where diamonds are involved, I think there is a crime fiction story to be written. I know, sometimes I have a twisted mind.

Crime Diamonds

For today's post, I'm giving you a little bit of crime news that caught my attention: contraband luxury goods that were taken by French customs were auctioned off recently. Among them, of course, were diamonds. The uncut diamonds were estimated at around €30,000 to €40,000. Not exactly the biggest loot, but not cheap either. I sometimes check if diamonds are on the news, because I consider them a great MacGuffin, asI mentioned before. They were cliché back in the days, but they are seldom used today, at least from what I can tell as an avid reader of crime fiction. So I'd love to bring them back again. Every time I see something like this on the news, I think there must be a way to make a story about it.

Le mystère du bijoutier

 En relisant ce billet sur l'histoire du spaghetti tunisien (un grand moment sur Vraie Fiction, soit dit en passant), un ami m'a fait remarquer une chose: la mention d'un bijoutier du nom prédestiné de Pierre Laroche. Mon ami se rappelle de lui, il était en effet venu parler de pierres précieuses à l'école. Je ne pense pas avoir vu la présentation. Je me serais rappelé de son nom, d'une part, d'autant plus que les pierres précieuses exercent une certaine fascination sur moi depuis longtemps (parce que). Un bijoutier nommé Pierre Laroche aurait donc été à l'origine du spaghetti tunisien dans la région et aurait eu une carrière de bijoutier au Saguenay. Je me demande ce qu'il est advenu de lui et quelle a été son histoire. Tout ce que je sais du commentaire de Germain Bonneau, c'est que Monsieur Laroche aurait vécu en Tunisie un certain temps.

A diamond for cryptocurrency

Sometimes, just sometimes, I start thinking about diamonds. As I mentioned in this post from 2020, I think they make for great MacGuffins in crime fiction. Precious gemstones is one of these tropes that in my opinion never gets old. So yes, sometimesI think of diamonds and I then read about diamonds. So I thus recently learned that Sotheby's will accept for the first time cryptocurrency for the auction in Hong Kong of a 101.38-carat diamond that could be worth $15 millions. Now, I don't know much about cryptocurrency, but I don't really trust it. I read this and it was like Sotheby's is selling a $15 millions rock and they'll accept Monopoly money. Something of the romanticism attached to diamonds get lost. Nevertheless, I can imagine the potential for a solid crime story, especially given the volatile (in my view) aspect of cryptocurrency and the ever darker aspect of diamonds, the embodiment in stone of human greed and the cause of so many crimes and wars. It's easy to imagine something going wrong in that auction.

About a diamond

I wanted to share a bit of fashion and luxury news that got me thinking: Louis Vuitton has revealed in Paris a diamond as big as a tennis ball. Now I know nothing about fashion, luxury retails handbags and what have you, but a big diamond always fires up my imagination. I blogged recently about the concept of the MacGuffin. I know that it is now a ridiculously overused cliché, but I think this diamond, or a fictitious one based on this diamond, would make for one Hell of a MacGuffin in a crime fiction story.