Research Catalog
Clarity, cut, and culture : the many meanings of diamonds
- Title
- Clarity, cut, and culture : the many meanings of diamonds / Susan Falls.
- Author
- Falls, Susan
- Publication
- New York : New York University Press, [2014]
- Supplementary Content
- Cover image
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| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person. | Text | Use in library | JQE 14-133 | Schwarzman Building - Art & Architecture Room 300 |
Details
- Description
- xix, 217 pages : illustrations; 24 cm
- Summary
- "Images of diamonds appear everywhere in American culture. And everyone who has a diamond has a story to tell about it. Our stories about diamonds not only reveal what we do with these tiny stones, but also suggest how we create value, meaning, and identity through our interactions with material culture in general.Things become meaningful through our interactions with them, but how do people go about making meaning? What can we learn from an ethnography about the production of identity, creation of kinship, and use of diamonds in understanding selves and social relationships? By what means do people positioned within a globalized political-economy and a compelling universe of advertising interact locally with these tiny polished rocks?This book draws on 12 months of fieldwork with diamond consumers in New York City as well as an analysis of the iconic De Beers campaign that promised romance, status, and glamour to anyone who bought a diamond to show that this thematic pool is just one resource among many that diamond owners draw upon to engage with their own stones. The volume highlights the important roles that memory, context, and circumstance also play in shaping how people interpret and then use objects in making personal worlds. It shows that besides operating as subjects in an ad-burdened universe, consumers are highly creative, idiosyncratic, and theatrical agents"--
- Subjects
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-209) and index.
- Contents
- From rock to gem -- Valuing diamonds -- A diamond is forever -- Diamonds and emotions -- Diamonds and bling -- Diamonds and performance.
- Call Number
- JQE 14-133
- ISBN
- 9781479810666 (hardback)
- 1479810665 (hardback)
- 9781479879908 (paper)
- 1479879908 (paper)
- 9781479877430 (E-ISBN) (canceled/invalid)
- 9781479834396 (E-ISBN) (canceled/invalid)
- LCCN
- 2014000833
- OCLC
- 863200961
- Author
- Falls, Susan, author.
- Title
- Clarity, cut, and culture : the many meanings of diamonds / Susan Falls.
- Publisher
- New York : New York University Press, [2014]
- Type of Content
- text
- Type of Medium
- unmediated
- Type of Carrier
- volume
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-209) and index.
- Connect to:
- Research Call Number
- JQE 14-133