2018年CRI New museum dedicated to diamonds opens

 

Antwerp's famous diamond district has a new gem¹.

The DIVA museum, which is dedicated² to promoting the city's famous diamond trade, has now opened.

The Belgian port city of Antwerp has been the centre of the world diamond trade for more than 500 years.

Around 80 percent of the world's rough stones and 50 percent of cut stones come through the city.

To honor Antwerp's history with diamonds, a new museum named DIVA has been opened.

The museum showcases Antwerp's history with diamonds dating back to the 16th century.

It includes a series of historic items, as well as demonstrations³ and interactive⁴ displays.

Romy Cockx is a curator at the museum.

"Well they can see really old diamond jewelry⁵ from the 16th century where diamonds were not worked yet. So they are pointed⁶ diamonds. You can see how these cuts evolve throughout the centuries. You can see really well made jewellery from all over the world and really, showpieces," says Cockx.

Visitors to DIVA are given an interactive tutorial on how luxury items are crafted using both old and current methods.

Inside a vault⁷, visitors are also taught how to tell fake stones and silver from the authentic⁸ items.

Curator Romy Cockx says their goal is to create an interactive experience.

"Putting them together gives us the opportunity to also show visitors the context of these objects and it makes the story more elaborate and it gives this story the DIVA touch, because every room has its own atmosphere and we really want to create a scenography and really give people this experience of luxury and beautiful objects and they can come here and dream with the objects," says Cockx.

Among the displays is an exotic diamond encrusted snake bracelet⁹ created 1860 in France, as well as diamond encrusted boots and a tiara fit for a princess.

While diamonds form naturally, new technology now allows for diamonds to be grown in a laboratory.

In a lab in London, a diamond can be cultured in just a matter of days.

Professor Oliver Williams with Cardiff University makes diamond sheeting for research into semi-conductors.

However, the same process can also be used to grow gems¹⁰.

Purer than a natural stone, Williams says once the lab-grown stones are cut and polished, they have all the sparkle of a regular diamond.

"It's actually man beating nature. We're perfecting it and doing it better than nature. So for me there's an emotional thing to that to, because it's an enormous accomplishment¹¹ to grow a material that traditionally has been very difficult to grow," says Williams.

A jeweler in London's Hatton Garden district has begun retailing¹² lab grown diamonds alongside natural stones.

Around 10 percent of the stones being retailed¹³ by the jeweler are being grown in a lab.

1 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

2 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

3 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

4 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

5 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

8 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

9 bracelet   

n.手镯，臂镯

参考例句：

• The jeweler charges lots of money to set diamonds in a bracelet.珠宝匠要很多钱才肯把钻石镶在手镯上。
• She left her gold bracelet as a pledge.她留下她的金手镯作抵押品。

10 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

11 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

12 retailing   

n.零售业v.零售(retail的现在分词)

参考例句：

• career opportunities in retailing 零售业的职业机会
• He is fond of retailing the news. 他喜欢传播消息。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 retailed   

vt.零售（retail的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• She retailed the neighbours' activities with relish. 她饶有兴趣地对邻居们的活动说三道四。
• The industrial secrets were retailed to a rival concern. 工业秘密被泄露给一家对立的公司。 来自《简明英汉词典》