October 2009
Beginner
208 pages
3h 13m
English
“A MOMENT’S INSIGHT IS SOMETIMES WORTH A LIFE’S EXPERIENCE.”
—OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, POET
In July 1986, a rough diamond weighing 599 carats was discovered in South Africa. The enormous stone was named the Centenary Diamond, in honor of the hundredth anniversary of De Beers Consolidated Mines, which owned the mine where the stone was found. Because of the irregular shape of the rough stone, it was determined that only the most skilled craftsman would be able to reveal the diamond’s beauty without ruining it. The man chosen to cut the stone was Gabi Tolkowsky.
For one whole year, while the right tools and technical conditions were created to cut the diamond, Tolkowsky examined and evaluated it. Using ...