The Design of Gold Jewellery Stimulation and Promotion by the World Gold Council

Abstract

As with any work of art or industrial product, good design of jewellery is essential if it is to appeal to its owner. In the field of gold jewellery, the World Gold Council is playing a leading role and its efforts are here reviewed by commenting on the taste in British and Continental design of gold jewellery. Consumer preference, whether organic, symbolic or elementary jewellery is preferred, and the growth of the market are here discussed.     

Gold,its Alloys and their Uses in Dentistry

Abstract

The historical and contemporary role of gold as a restorative material in dentistry is reviewed. The fabrication of fixed restorations by precision casting is described. The various applications and the resulting medical and technical requirements are discussed. Different gold alloy types are presented and described with reference to their composition, mechanical and physical properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. Techniques new to dentistry such as powder metallurgy, electroforming and the use of pure gold direct filling are also discussed.     

Jewellery Production

Abstract

Today's hand made gold jewellery includes the most costly and most beautiful items available. Master craftsmen are found in many countries and their jewellery follows a centuries old tradition. In more recent times, to supply increasing demand, gold jewellery has also been machine made, for example gold chains, particularly in Italy. Here these two basic aspects of jewellery production are reviewed: gold craftsmanship, casting, alloys for jewellery, electroforming, chain production and findings are all discussed.     

中国古代金饰文化板块论

古代金饰记载缺佚,其发展状况实难廓清。经耙梳发掘出土金饰,不难发现金饰晚出,始于夏商,承传至清。各地金饰功能不同,其工艺、形式、风格异彩纷呈,独具一格而又互有联系、取长补短。从宏观层面以板块概全4000余年金饰文化的运动规律,先后出现了北方草原游牧部落金饰文化、黄河长江流域粟稻农作华夏族群金饰文化、西南高原红土带农牧群落金饰文化、中原帝王金饰文化等四大金饰文化板块,始终处于互为碰撞、交流、整合、承传、创新的运动过程之中,创造了金丝片、锤鍱、錾刻至焊金粟珠、编丝、掐丝、累丝、镶嵌以及错金银等金细工艺。这四大板块是由于环境、气候、产业、食物链的多样性等物质的、文化的客观条件决定的,同时又促成其局部范围金饰文化亚板块的形成与发展。4000余年的中国古代金饰文化发展变化无不受其板块运动的制约和推动。     

Globalization,Recession and the Internationalization of Industrial Districts: Experiences from the Italian Gold Jewellery Industry

Abstract

Globalization and the recent recession crisis are significantly challenging Italian industrial districts (IDs), leading to deep transformations in their internationalization, innovation and organization strategies. With our empirical focus on a single industry (gold jewellery) and a specific country (Italy) and through the theoretical lenses of the global value chain (GVC) approach, the evidence in this article sheds light on the differences in how three IDs within Italy's gold jewellery sector (Valenza Po, Arezzo and Vicenza) compete in the global arena. Our comparative analysis reveals striking differences among these districts with regard to their upstream and downstream internationalization strategies in response to two industry shocks: increasing global competition in the early 2000s and the world economic recession of 2008–2009. Our explanation for the varied gold jewellery district responses to these two global crises involves both internal and external factors: (1) structural differences between the three IDs; (2) distinct business strategies; and (3) how these districts are linked to the gold jewellery GVC.     

The Birmingham Jewellery Quarter: A Marshallian Industrial District

The paper presents the findings of a study on the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter at its zenith from 1880 to 1920. Drawing on a unique database covering four decades and secondary data, it has been possible to map out the organization of production, the degree of firms' specializations, and extent of production and social networking within the Quarter. Such evidence seems to suggest that the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter was a Marshallian industrial district at the turn of the nineteenth century.     

Early Medieval Jet-like Jewellery in Ireland: Production,Distribution and Consumption

JET-LIKE JEWELLERY, encompassing polished black stone arm-rings, bangles and bracelets, has not been subject to detailed study in Ireland for over 50 years. This paper refocuses attention on the archaeological evidence for the indigenous production of this type of jewellery in early medieval Ireland, with the aims of exploring its distribution and consumption, and its relevance to networks of social control and economic expansion. Using geospatial and stratigraphic interrogation of the archaeological record, and contemporary comparison with recent studies from Scotland, this article demonstrates a hitherto unrecognised level of complexity and diversity in the handling of this ubiquitous luxury item. Regional specialised production centres and separate distribution centres are identified, and while a focus on indigenous sources is apparent, this is not exclusive. Degrees of cooperation and exclusivity are suggested for ecclesiastical and secular social hierarchies.     

The Uses of Neoliberalism

Abstract: The term “neoliberalism” has come to be used in a wide variety of partly overlapping and partly contradictory ways. This essay seeks to clarify some of the analytical and political work that the term does in its different usages. It then goes on to suggest that making an analytical distinction between neoliberal “arts of government” and the class‐based ideological “project” of neoliberalism can allow us to identify some surprising (and perhaps hopeful) new forms of politics that illustrate how fundamentally polyvalent neoliberal mechanisms of government can be. A range of empirical examples are discussed, mostly coming from my recent work on social policy and anti‐poverty politics in southern Africa.     

Recent Uses of Quantification in German History

Abstract

Peter H. Merkl, Political Violence Under the Swastika: 581 Early Nazis. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. 1975. Pp. xiv, 735. $32.50 clothbound; $10.00 paperbound.     

The Narrative Uses of Evidence

When scientific evidence is used in policy controversies, it is always embedded in narrative stories. The Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) is an empirical framework used to study the role of narratives in public policy. While the NPF has considered the relationship between evidence and narratives from different angles, it has not used a consistent approach in examining how evidence is embedded in narratives. This article develops a categorization of narrative uses of evidence. A narrative use of evidence is defined by the different roles that evidence plays in the plot of a narrative depending on which narrative element is addressed by a given piece of evidence. To distinguish different narrative uses of evidence, the article examines how competing coalitions use the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) study in Swiss direct‐democratic campaigns on school policy. Quantitative and qualitative content analyses of newspaper articles and governmental documents show how evidence may relate to all main narrative elements and may play different roles in the plot of a narrative. The findings demonstrate significant differences in the narrative uses of PISA between coalitions related to the story types and narrative strategies that each coalition uses. Finally, the implications for future NPF research are discussed.     

Visigothic Jewellery: A Technical Study of Glass Used as Gems in Belt Buckles from a Spanish Necropolis

In this work, we studied coloured and colourless glass used as gems in Visigothic buckles possibly originating from the necropolises of Torredonjimeno, Duraton or Castilltierra in Spain. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy‐dispersive analysis (EDS) and observations made with an optical microscope in reflected and transmission mode were performed in order to establish the composition, origin of the colour and decay process of these glass pieces. The chemical analysis of ancient glass can provide relevant information regarding the manufacturing approach used during a specific period. The results revealed the presence of various transition metal elements used as chromophore elements, as well as some metallic backing foils used to improve the colour of pieces of almost colourless glass.     

中世纪英国地产托管制起源研究述评

地产托管制(uses)是中世纪英国盛极一时的地产处置手段。关于其起源,早期法学家提出了"罗马法说"、"日耳曼习惯说",但事实证明,这两种说法皆不能成立。之后,英国法律史大家梅特兰提出的"英国本土说"虽有其合理性,但论证并不充分。根据新近掌握的史料,笔者发现,uses的确如梅特兰所说源于英国本土的ad opus习惯,但中间却经历了从opus到os、oes、oeps,再到use,最后到uses的复杂演变过程。