Diamonds and Family

Amsterdam - Day 5

Yesterday’s stress has come and gone. Today I’ll follow a lead from the Barsalou’s and visit the Coster Diamond Polishing Factory and, later, will be meeting Ashley and Marc for lunch.

I had a private tour arranged, which takes on a whole new meaning when you enter the room where 7 diamond artisans are at work polishing diamonds and setting gems, and it is ‘invaded’ by three tour groups of about 15 people each. I detected at least three different languages from exasperated tour guides trying to shepherd their ‘herd of cats.’ Finally all of them disappeared in a babbling chorus of cacophony and my hostess and I had the room to ourselves and she was able to show me the real artistry behind polishing a diamond. Sitting in an area away from the other artisans was a middle aged woman working on polishing a diamond. The process is a fascinating blend of craftsmanship and machines that are precise to within, I would guess, five or six decimals. On a large wheel loaded with diamond dust and oil, the craftsman sets the angle of the facet on the apparatus holding the diamond. Every few seconds she would lift the arm and examine the facet so determine its relationship to the other facets. When it was perfect, she would then change the angle and polish a new face. She was working on a diamond so small I couldn’t even see it in the pincers of the machine. All of the other four people polishing diamonds at their demonstration stations were polishing stones large enough to be easily seen. The marvelous thing? The polisher I was watching holds a Guinness World Record for polishing the smallest diamond ever cut. And she earned it 15 years ago!

Just as amazing was watching the craftsman size a ring. He first cut the ring and using a sizing too spread the ends apart. Then for a tiny piece of white gold he cut an even smaller piece which he began to file, and saw and file, saw and file until it fit perfectly. Then, after carefully putting the piece in place he took his soldering torch and, ever so carefully, melted it into place. Then he used polishing tools to make the joints invisible.

The other tour groups had disappeared out a side door, but now the really private part of my tour began. On the next two floors there were a multitude of incredibly beautiful pieces of jewelry in all price ranges, from hundred’s through the multi-million dollar range. They are truly jewelers to the world’s elite.

After my tour was finished, Arne, who was my driver again today, and I headed over to the World Press Exhibit to pick up Ashley, Andrea’s niece and her husband, Marc. In the most incredible story of timing, as soon as I had posted the itenary for my trip Ashley responded they would be laying over at Amsterdam on the 5th as they returned from their trip -- Dracula’s Castel to Hel. (How’s that for an interesting itenary?)

I hadn’t seen Ashley since she and her family came to Andrea’s funeral, and, now that Chris and Stephanie have moved back to Texas, opportunities see her and her family will be rare indeed.

Ashley had always been Andrea’s favorite. They are opposite sides of the same coin. As Ashley said, “Andrea was the one who made me realize I was really part of the family and not a Gypsy’s baby.” Andrea’s temperament gave Ashley permission to be herself in a family who was totally opposite. I think Ashley, who toured Alaska by herself in her early twenties (and continues to travel the world) represented for Andrea the peripatetic side of herself that was so different from the rest of Andrea’s family. She could never quite free herself enough to attain it fully, but it allowed her to be able to follow my vagabond ways.

It was great to catch up and share family stories.

The trip is coming to a close. I’m having difficulty finding words to describe the impact of the trip. It has been everything I hoped for and more.

To see the pictures of the day, click here.