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Diamond Exhibition: The diamond shape is appropriate to this diamond-cutting city and one of its standard sights is the technique of cutting the sparklers. Visitors are shown the establishment of I. J. Asscher, at 127 Tolstraat, where the Culinan Diamond, largest ever found, was cut. It originally weighed 3024 carats, a pound and a half. In an Amsterdam Diamond Exhibition I once saw the other extreme, a cut diamond of 0.24 milligrams weight, %33 of a carat. Through a microscope I could see that it had been cut with the usual 58 facets! This feat was performed by A. van Moppes & Zoon of Amsterdam.
Of all natural gems diamond has the highest index of refraction. Its ability to disperse white light gives the diamond its special fire, or flashes of spectral colour and characteristic brilliance.
The colours of diamonds are generally due to a lattice defect in the crystal and rarely to trace elements. Most other gemstones are coloured by metal oxides that are either impurities or components.
This exhibition draws on his archive of 40,000 negatives in the RIBA British Architectural Library Photographs Collection.
The exhibition will take place between 10 March - 22 April 2006. |
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