How many rings do you wear ? and how costly are they ?? ….
Navrathna means ‘nine gems’. People
attach lot of significance to stones set in Gold ~ of course some wear very
costly diamonds. It is stated that in
Navratna ring, ruby is always at the center surrounded by diamond, pearl, red
coral, hessonite, sapphire, emerald. Beyoncé Giselle Knowles is a famous
American singer who has released many albums. Shawn Corey Carter better known as Jay Z reportedly presented
Loraine Schwartz 18 carat emerald cut flawless diamond set in platinum cost to
Beyonce and that reportedly is worth a
whopping $5 million.
Sometime
back, I had posted about the Margazhi season and the smog that envelops. Smog
is a type of air pollutant. The word "smog" was made as a portmanteau
of the words ‘smoke and fog’ to refer to smoky fog. About a century ago it was
known as pea soup fog, a familiar and serious problem in London from the 19th century to the mid 20th
century, caused by the burning of large amounts of coal within the city; this
smog contains soot particulates from smoke, sulfur dioxide and other
components. Modern smog is a type of air pollution derived from vehicular
emission from internal combustion engines and industrial fumes that react in
the atmosphere with sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine
with the primary emissions to form photochemical smog. Smog is a serious
problem in many cities and continues to harm human health.
Recently there were reports highlighting air pollution
in China, which according to
the U.S.
embassy index, had hit a dangerous particulate concentration of 497. Chinese
Premier Li Keqiang said pollution is a major problem and the government will
“‘declare war’’ on smog by removing high-emission cars from the road and
closing coal-fired furnaces. Pollution is ‘‘nature’s red-light warning against
the model of inefficient and blind development,’’ Li said in his work report at
the start of this year’s National People’s Congress in Beijing.
There was to be a “smog insurance” product too being introduced there.
In the melee, here is an opportunity to wear the smog ring and make
an eco-statement. Here are some excerpts
from a report in Daily Mail.
Fashionistas with a conscience can now make an eco-statement with their
jewels by buying a precious ring made from Beijing's densely polluted air.
Scientists will suck dirty air from China's capital city with a
revolutionary machine and compress it for around half a day to make the 'smog
stones'. Jewellers will then set the stone within a band made from a
high-quality locally sourced metal to make the smog ring. Profits will go
towards micro-financing the city's first smog-free parks. Each ring is made
from - and in turn removes from the atmosphere - 1 cubic kilometer of polluted
air. The rings are the first phase in the SMOG Project, the brainchild of
artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde. The Dutch designer, 35, is currently in Beijing having talks with
the mayor, urban planning and city executives to iron out fine details.
Roosegaarde told MailOnline that he wanted to show people that
they can be part of a solution. In his words. 'The rings may not be the
solution but they can bridge the gap between where we are now and where we need
to be.' Roosegaarde's background is rooted in creating social designs that
explore the relation between people, technology and space. Right now, he and
his team of experts are in the process of developing a safe, energy-friendly
installation - the world's largest - to capture the smog and create clean air.
It will use patented ion technology and a nano air purifier to create the
cleanest, smog-free space in Beijing.
A four-meter vacuum tower will use ionic filters to charge and remove smog
particles, blowing fresh air out. Continued press interest has inspired large
numbers of students, artists, designers and engineers to come forward with
ideas on smog reduction. Roosegaarde will collect 100-150 of these initiatives
for the second phase in The SMOG Project. He will use them to populate an
exhibition in Beijing,
showing 'what is possible when we co-create our environment'. The show is
planned for October 2015.
The aim is to build a number of smog-free parks in Beijing that harvest smog particles from the
environment. The Beijing
government recently launched a £133.5m project to have its city smog free
before 2017, and projects like these are leading the way. Interesting to say
the least !!
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
29th May 2014.
