Shiny Gems

A few weeks ago, Wolfie and I went to the local toy shop. Not to buy anything, just to see what there was available, see if we could find as a present idea for the next birthday, or just the next special celebration. Every time we stop, I get a few pictures, as a reminder for the future. And this is one of the things that caught Wolfie's attention: a bag of "shiny gems". I can see rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds. All in plastic. They'd make for great MacGuffins in some of our games, especially our Secret War Game. And for props at D&Dr. But the nicest thing about these shiny gems is that, unlike real ones, they're quite cheap.

Precious Stones

Something the simplest and most primitive things can make a little boy happy, when he is inquisitive. Since he received this issue of Aquila, and maybe before that, Wolfie has been fascinated by rocks. Gems especially: diamonds, emeralds, rubies, etc. But also semi-precious stones, such as jade, and other stones of lesser value, like quartz. Anyway, we visited a friend on Easter. She had chocolates for Wolfie, but also gave him a bag full of crystals. She is a bit into New Age, so she has loads of crystals she keeps in a drawer and plenty to spare. So Wolfie is now the happy owner of a loot of crystals. He was more grateful towards these stones than the chocolates he received, and that's saying something. In fact, he finds the stones more interesting than many of his toys.

About Diamonds

Who said that local magazines were only about coffee shops, church sales and makeup. They can have quite interesting articles on hot topics. In this specific case, hot ice. I mean of course diamonds. So anyway, in February's editionof Round & About, they talk about diamonds. The excuse is Valentine's Day, nevertheless I learned a few things about mined and synthetic diamonds. Well, about diamonds in general. It's quite fascinating really. Anyway, did you ever buy diamonds? I think I only ever did it when I bought my wife her engagement ring.

Aquila on gemstones

I know I said it before, but I am saying it again: Wolfie receives the best mail. So, yes, he received this month's of Aquila Magazine (tagline: "Big ideas for inquisitive kids") issue and I have been wanting to blog about it for a while now. And this November's Aquila is all about geology. There is a whole section about gemstones, which is pretty cool. He's already been through it more than once, so I can now pick it up and read it myself. Wolfie might not become a geologist, but he loves learning about diamonds, rubies and emeralds, not to mention gold and other metals. So this issue was a winner. Again.

Cambriolage au Louvre

Je laisse mes chroniques habituelles le temps d'un billet afin de bloguer sur une nouvelle criminelle qui me fascine un peu: je parle bien entendu du vol de bijoux au Louvre. Au moment où j'écris ces lignes, l'enquête suit encore son cours et personne n'a été appréhendé. Quand même, c'est le genre de crime que l'on croit bon pour les polars. Je crois que ce sera la source d'inspiration pour nombre d'entre eux. Enfin bref, je sais que c'est pas drôle ce qui arrive, que c'est même catastrophique, mais ça ne m'empêche pas d'être fasciné par la nouvelle.

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.