April 2017 Newsletter

Hello there,
This month we share our love for April's birthstone, diamonds...
The next Sydney Fair is just around the corner, and will be held from 25-28 May 2017, at the Royal Hall of Industries at Moore Park. We will be emailing a complimentary day pass in early May, and look forward to seeing you at the Fair, where there will be an amazing display of antiques, 20th century and modern, jewellery and furniture, the biggest antiques fair in Sydney since 2003. If you have any friends who are interested in attending the fair, please send their name and email to store@antiques-art-design and we can send out a complimentary invitation. For more information on the Sydney Fair, please click on the following link: http://www.thesydneyfair.com.au

On the 5th of April Sotheby’s Hong Kong auctioned the Pink Star diamond for a record $94.3 million. Weighing in at 59.60 carats it took a billion plus years to form, two years to cut and five minutes to sell – to a local jewellery company Chow Tai Fook, whose chairman renamed it the CTF Pink Star in memory of his dad. 

By a happy co-incidence diamond is the April birthstone (the origin of birthstones is believed to date back to the breastplate of Aaron which contained twelve gemstones representing the twelve tribes of Israel). Before geologists spoiled the fun by discovering that diamonds are formed under the earth, the ancients believed they were made by lightning, (varya in Sanskrit, the weapon of choice for Indra, King of the Godsand), and were thought to bring courage. They were also a symbol of everlasting love, famously expressed in the De Beers slogan “diamonds are forever” which made them the must-have accessory for modern brides-to-be. The more celebrated the couple the more fabulous the “rock”, if Elizabeth Taylor referred to the 29 carat emerald cut diamond given to her by Mike Todd as an “ice skating rink” the 69 carat stone she received from Burton must have invoked images of glaciers.

Before the Summer Bay and Ramsey Street there was a block of flats in Paddington, "Number 96". The show premiered in 1972 and was an overnight sensation - the audience had never seen anything like it with its combination of sex, comedy and drama and characters that included a gay couple (when it was still illegal), migrants, hippies, troubled teens, a pantyhose murderer, lady bowlers and a Town Clerk. not to mention Satanists. 

Millions tuned in five nights a week for their “fix” - as Phillip Adams commented at the time “many viewers are more involved in Number 96 than they are in their own community”. A fan of the show since he was a child, one of the few who were allowed to stay up and watch it, oral historian and author Nigel Giles spent fifteen years tracking down and interviewing writers, directors, crew and actors to tell the story of how the show was made. The result is an honest, entertaining and poignant behind the scenes look at “Australian TV’s most notorious address”. 
 

Lorna Lesley
 

The Last Word…
 

cromniomancy
divination by onions
...it'll all end in tears

For a further explanation please go to the following link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromniomancy