5 ms·

The Curse of the Bahia Emerald

19 points by Thevet 10y ago

RichardHeart 10y ago
Sounds like the sacred Loc-Nar http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/Loc-Nar http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/Loc-Nar
- sammydavis 10y ago
  Man, I sure loved _Heavy_Metal_ when I was a teenager. Sex, drugs, rock and roll, fed all my nerdy escapist fantasies. And you know that first scene, when the scientist comes out of the space shuttle in a corvette and flys down to the ground? That's what I wanted to be when I grew up.
sbierwagen 10y ago
The article never includes a good photo of the rock, irritatingly. Here's two: http://www.trbimg.com/img-5568f702/turbine/la-me-ln-bahia-emerald-ownership-decision-20150529 http://www.trbimg.com/img-5568f702/turbine/la-me-ln-bahia-em... http://media-channel.nationalgeographic.com/media/uploads/photos/content/video/2013/01/28/ngc-11686_354.jpg http://media-channel.nationalgeographic.com/media/uploads/ph... Note that it looks to be more than half matrix, with the remainder being actual gemstone.
- fhood 10y ago
  Wow, they were right when they claimed it wasn't very attractive in the article.
- beautifulfreak 10y ago
  A more flattering image: http://bhcourier.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/bahia-emerald-360x360.jpg http://bhcourier.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/bahia-emeral...
Dragonai 10y ago
The design of this article is absolutely fantastic.
brianbreslin 10y ago
How could any gem that size even low quality be worth "a couple hundred bucks"? Or rather, how can the range in value be so insanely large?
- simtel20 10y ago
  I am not an expert, but I have bought a couple of small emeralds (in Bahia, Brazil) as a tourist. Part of the spiel that the seller had regarding why emeralds were special was that it is tricky to cut the gem without causing unwanted breaks. See https://naturalemerald.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/durability-in-emeralds/ https://naturalemerald.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/durability-i... for some info. Also, like many other gems, the price of a gem varies wildly with its clarity, etc. So the worst case scenario,I suppose, is that it could be that the stone is only worth its weight as rock dust. But generally I agree with you that it seems unlikely, and it's probably just hyperbole.
  - samirillian 10y ago
    I seem to remember a passage in the Count of Monte Cristo where the Count has large emeralds turned into little boxes. I remember thinking at the time that it seemed extremely wasteful (and out of character for a guy who so shrewdly managed his affairs). Now it makes more sense.
    - db48x 10y ago
      That character was all about extravagance. He presents Danglars with not one but two letters of unlimited credit, then withdraws 5 million franks to pay for his immediate needs.
- theobon 10y ago
  During import it was intentionally undervalued to avoid customs. This provided the journalistic license to provide the massive price discrepancy. "On the packing slip he wrote “rocha: rochedo—rock” and listed the value at $100."

19 points by Thevet 10y ago

RichardHeart 10y ago

Sounds like the sacred Loc-Nar http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/Loc-Nar http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/Loc-Nar

sammydavis 10y ago
Man, I sure loved _Heavy_Metal_ when I was a teenager. Sex, drugs, rock and roll, fed all my nerdy escapist fantasies. And you know that first scene, when the scientist comes out of the space shuttle in a corvette and flys down to the ground? That's what I wanted to be when I grew up.

sbierwagen 10y ago

The article never includes a good photo of the rock, irritatingly. Here's two: http://www.trbimg.com/img-5568f702/turbine/la-me-ln-bahia-emerald-ownership-decision-20150529 http://www.trbimg.com/img-5568f702/turbine/la-me-ln-bahia-em... http://media-channel.nationalgeographic.com/media/uploads/photos/content/video/2013/01/28/ngc-11686_354.jpg http://media-channel.nationalgeographic.com/media/uploads/ph... Note that it looks to be more than half matrix, with the remainder being actual gemstone.

fhood 10y ago
Wow, they were right when they claimed it wasn't very attractive in the article.
beautifulfreak 10y ago
A more flattering image: http://bhcourier.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/bahia-emerald-360x360.jpg http://bhcourier.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/bahia-emeral...

Dragonai 10y ago

The design of this article is absolutely fantastic.

brianbreslin 10y ago

How could any gem that size even low quality be worth "a couple hundred bucks"? Or rather, how can the range in value be so insanely large?

simtel20 10y ago
I am not an expert, but I have bought a couple of small emeralds (in Bahia, Brazil) as a tourist. Part of the spiel that the seller had regarding why emeralds were special was that it is tricky to cut the gem without causing unwanted breaks. See https://naturalemerald.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/durability-in-emeralds/ https://naturalemerald.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/durability-i... for some info. Also, like many other gems, the price of a gem varies wildly with its clarity, etc. So the worst case scenario,I suppose, is that it could be that the stone is only worth its weight as rock dust. But generally I agree with you that it seems unlikely, and it's probably just hyperbole.
- samirillian 10y ago
  I seem to remember a passage in the Count of Monte Cristo where the Count has large emeralds turned into little boxes. I remember thinking at the time that it seemed extremely wasteful (and out of character for a guy who so shrewdly managed his affairs). Now it makes more sense.
  - db48x 10y ago
    That character was all about extravagance. He presents Danglars with not one but two letters of unlimited credit, then withdraws 5 million franks to pay for his immediate needs.
theobon 10y ago
During import it was intentionally undervalued to avoid customs. This provided the journalistic license to provide the massive price discrepancy. "On the packing slip he wrote “rocha: rochedo—rock” and listed the value at $100."