Diamonds is the leading guide of its kind to learning about these precious gems & understanding the main factors that determine their value & quality. Whether coming to diamonds for the first time or already knowledgeable in the field every reader will find something of interest & value in its pages. A unique feature of the book is the chapter dedicated to natural colour diamonds with descriptions & illustrations of every colour group. While colour diamonds are an increasingly important part of the diamond trade there is little information about them in the popular literature & their full treatment here has received much praise from readers. The story of diamonds is told from their humble origins in the form of carbon the most basic element of life through their many transformations by the forces of nature & the human hand on their way to becoming beautiful gems. The book is equally informative about the recent history of diamonds & the forces re-shaping the industry today including the global shifts in centres of production & distribution the implementing of international ethical standards within the trade & the emerging roles of China India & Russia as major players in the diamond market. In expanding the books international reach through its translation into six languages the author aims to promote the highest standards of good practice in the diamond industry to a wider audience. Diamonds is designed with equal attention to the text written in clear & jargon-free language & the images which show diamonds in their full range of cuts shapes & colours along with some of the worlds most stunning contemporary & historic diamonds. ...

The prize was great -- not just land but the riches it held in the form of diamonds & gold. What became a country called South Africa was until 1910 a vast & untamed land where great fortunes could be made (and lost); where great battles were fought (and lost); & where great men had their reputations forged or dashed or sometimes both. Martin Merediths follow-up to his magisterial The State of Africa is an equally epic new history of the making of South Africa. Covering the extraordinarily eventful four decades leading up to the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910 it covers some of the most iconic tales of imperial history. The Zulus at Rorkes Drift; the Jameson Raid; the diamond & gold rushes at Kimberley & Witwatersrand; the Boer wars; the titanic struggle between the arch-imperialist Cecil Rhodes & his Boer rival Paul Kruger -- DIAMONDS GOLD & WAR brings all of these & more together in a stunningly coherent & compelling narrative. History somehow just isnt as colourful any more. ...

Join the wonderfully weird Otherhand family & their faithful guardian Edgar the raven & discover the dark secrets of Castle Otherh&. In the sixth of the Raven Mysteries all manner of disaster descends on Castle Otherhand; weirdness abounds the family are on the verge of being thrown out of their own home & theres still no sign of the fabled treasure of the Otherh&. Worse still theres no sign of Edgar either. So will it be diamonds or doom for the Otherhands? ...

What does an It girl do if she loses all her money? Sophie Chesterton is a girl about town
- she knows all the right people goes
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' The twentieth century looked out at him from the piece of newsprint & bared its teeth in a sneer' From the diamond mines of Sierra Leone to the jewellers of Hatton Garden from race track to casino... Bond must infiltrate & destroy the criminal network of the Spangled Mob in Fleming's fourth 007 adventure. ...

One of the worlds best-known biographers Andrew Morton is a leading authority on modern celebrity & one of the finest investigative writers of our age. His ground-breaking & controversial biography Diana: Her True Story" changed the publics perception of the British monarchy & became an instant bestseller. The original book was met with torrents of abuse from the British Establishment & the media. No one at that time would believe that in fact Diana had secretly collaborated with Andrew Morton in the writing of the book until 1997 when its re-publication in the wake of her death showed beyond any doubt that she had in fact done so. Working with Morton on the book Diana exposed life inside the royal family & shook the Establishment to its foundations. Sadly however the new life Diana had hoped for was tragically cut short. " Diana: Her True Story
- In Her Own Words" allowed her to give her own account of life as a royal. The Princess memory lives on as does the public & press interest in her. This world bestseller bears testimony to Dianas life finally allowing her to have her say. It is the closest we will ever come to her autobiography."
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Dubbed the British Marilyn Monroe or the British Bridget Bardot Diana Dors finally proclaimed Id rather be known as the hurricane in mink. The actress was best known for her lavish lifestyle; she was a blonde bombshell with a penchant for flashy cars opulent mansions glitzy garb & jet-setting living. Diana Dors rise to fame started with being a GI favourite during the war. However she was keen to ditch her goody-goody image & announced that she wanted to be like Errol Flynn. It worked she became a huge star working with the likes of Joan Crawford & famously starred in Yield to the Night the movie that contributed to the abolition of the death penalty. But despite the glamour her affairs sex parties & OTT lifestyle including an illicit affair with Rod Steiger left her branded as a scarlet woman unwanted by the Studios. Undeterred the indomitable Dors simply worked tirelessly to establish for herself a successful career in cabaret. Her life was didnt always smell of roses: her first husband cheated on her stole from her beat her & finally died of syphilis. Another lover who she considered faithful two-timed her with Rock Hudson. She finally found love with husband number three who killed himself 5 months after her death. This is the amazing story of an actress who loved life & lived it to the full told with compassion & vigour. ...

Dianas passion is a rather strange one for a lady
- she loves to hunt while dressed as a man! With her lustrous black hair & enormous
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As an editor curator & wit Diana Vreeland made a lasting mark & remains an icon for generations of fashion lovers. During her fifty-year reign as the Empress of Fashion" she launched Twiggy advised Jackie O & coined some of fashions most eloquent proverbs such as the bikini is the biggest thing since the atom bomb. She aimed to instruct where possible to delight to give pleasure to bring to the reader what interests her. In this book the first full-length biography of Vreeland Amanda Mackenzie Stuart portrays a visionary: a fearless innovator who inspired designers models photographers & artists & who reinvented the way we think about style & where we go to think about it." ...

Master beader Diane Fitzgerald teaches her award-winning techniques for creating gorgeous geometric jewelery. More than twenty truly stunning projects all using peyote stitch come in a variety of flat & dimensional shapes from triangles teardrops & pentagons to tetrahedrons cubes & diamonds. Projects include: jeweled necklace; Tuareg pendant; & Berber earrings & sealed locket. Sleek contemporary & breathtaking these bead woven pieces are perfect for the intermediate crafter
- but with such clear & detailed instructions even beginners will be able to give them a try!
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