Elliott C. Back: Internet & Technology

I bought a Seiko Men’s SKA201 Arctura Kinetic Watch from Amazon for ~$150 more than 5 years ago. It’s a great watch and lasted decently, but recently it’s worn down and no longer charges up when you wear it on your wrist.

So, I googled around and ending up sending my watch to a company in Denton, Texas called BestFix Watch Company, Inc.. The watch came back shiny, looking new, ticking, and charging up again–I don’t know if there are other good repair places out their, but this shop was really worth it.

(No, this is not an ad!)

Did you know that the Hope Diamond, for the first time since it joined the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in 1958, is displayed unset? That’s right, the world-famous gigantic, 46 carat deep-blue grey diamond, is finally on display in its natural beauty. Sitting on a rotating pedestal inside a cylinder of 3-inch bulletproof glass, you can find it next to the main exhibit in the National Gem Collection.

Close up of the Hope Diamond

The rotating pedestal

Another angle of the gem, different facets

From the other side, again!

The platinum setting, composed of 16 white pear-shaped and cushion-cut diamonds, and a chain of forty-five diamonds. The Hope will return to its traditional setting in late 2010.

For more information about the long history of the Hope Diamond, check out the wikipedia article. Its origins, shrouded in theft and mystery, are a fascinating read! If you liked this post, leave a comment, and perhaps I’ll post photos of the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond, also on display in the Smithsonian.

After some trouble with buying rings at Kay I recounted that I found a better ring for a better price at Zales. Problem solved, right? I thought so too, especially since they promised a maximum of 10 business days to delivery on their invoice:

Item: 18028191
Description: 1/2 CT. T.W. Diamond Five Stone Band in 14K White Gold (G-H/VS1-VS2), One Color, 4.0
Quantity Ordered: 1 @ $599.00
Shipping Method: FedEx Express Saver
Delivery Message: SPECIAL ORDER ITEM: Please allow up to 5-10 business days for delivery.

10 business days from August 29th is this Monday, December 14th. Worried because the item hadn’t yet shipped, I called Zales to ask them when it would ship. What they told me was that, in spite of the 2-weeks lead time on their email, their supplier would actually take four weeks to ship the item. So, I cancelled the item, and went uptown to the NYC diamond district where I picked out a ring with better characteristics, and watched it get sized and polished on the spot.