Journal

加热，还是未加热：蓝宝石的一线之差

一颗宝石经过火焰，看起来几乎没有变化。还是那抹蓝。还是那份光泽。那为什么价格会差出好几倍？先说结论。市面上大多数蓝宝石——大约九成——都经过加热处理，用以改善颜色和净度。加热稳定、永久，也是行业内被广泛接受的做法。未加热的蓝宝石，则是那些不需要帮助的石头。它们从地下诞生时，已经完整。加热处理并不是新鲜事。宝石匠人用了几个世纪的时间，让浑浊的颜色变得清透，让沉闷的色调变得明亮。做得规范的加热，...

Heated vs. Unheated Sapphire: What the Difference Really Means

A stone can pass through fireand come out looking almost the same.Same blue.Same shine.So why does one cost so much more than the other?Here is the short answer.Most sapphires in the market — rough...

为什么人们会觉得蓝宝石很美？ / Why Do We Find Sapphires Beautiful?

为什么人们会觉得蓝宝石很美？ 当然，真正的问题，并不只是蓝宝石。 一朵花很美。一片星空很美。一段音乐很美。一个人的善良，也会让我们觉得很美。 它们如此不同。为什么，却都会唤起一种相似的感受？我们为什么知道，什么是美？ 两千四百年前，柏拉图提出了一个大胆的想法。他说，世界上所有美的事物，都只是分享了同一种美。真正存在的，不是某一朵花。不是某一颗宝石。而是：Beauty Itself——美本...

Natural Gemstones: Why They Can't Be Replaced by Lab-Grown

I've been thinking about a question.Why are people willing to spend hours,standing in the Louvre,just to see one painting —the Mona Lisa?Today's technologycan already reproduce a painting almost id...

天然宝石，为什么无法被培育取代？

最近一直在想一个问题。为什么人们愿意花几个小时，站在卢浮宫，只为了看一幅《蒙娜丽莎》？今天的技术，已经可以复制出几乎一模一样的画。尺寸一样。颜色一样。甚至连笔触都可以高度还原。复制品当然很美。但它永远不会成为真正的《蒙娜丽莎》。为什么？我发现，真正无法复制的，不是画面。而是起源（Origin）。《蒙娜丽莎》诞生于五百多年前，出自达·芬奇之手。它走过了历史，经历了时间，最终来到今天。复制品拥有...

The Useless Use of Jewelry

What is jewelry for?It cannot feed you.It cannot cure illness.It cannot make you more productive.It solves almost none of life's real problems.If we measure everything by “usefulness,”jewelry, from...

珠宝的无用之用

珠宝有什么用？它不能让人吃饱。不能治病。不能提高工作效率。也不能解决生活里的大多数问题。如果只用「有用」来衡量，珠宝似乎从一开始，就没有存在的必要。可是，人类却从未停止创造珠宝。五千多年前，美索不达米亚人把黄金和黄金佩戴在身上。古埃及人把珠宝带入墓葬，希望生命跨越死亡。古希腊人把神话雕刻成首饰，希望勇气、智慧与爱能够陪伴自己。古罗马人用珠宝表达身份与荣耀。直到今天，人们依然在婚礼、生日、纪念...

Ancient Greece: Why Did the Gods Begin to Look Human?

What Changed, When the Gods Became HumanIf Ancient Egyptian jewelrypursued eternity,Ancient Greek jewelrybegan to tell a different story.What it means to be human.In Egypt, the Gods Stood AboveIn A...

What We Mean by Presence

The word used most.Defined least."Presence."Quiet, but it governsnearly every decision we make.Presence Is Not the Same as StatementA statement piece —noticed first. Understood second, if at all.Pr...

The Five Spaces: A Framework, Not Just a Theme

Where This Framework BeganFor a long time,I thought life was made of many separate parts —emotion, mind, body, nature, universe.I tried to understand each one separately,like organizing drawers.But...