Thieves stole jewellery worth more than £11,000 from a Perthshire home, police have said.

The house in Scone's Murrayshall Road was broken into between 12:00 on Sunday and 20:30 on Monday.

Among the items taken were a chrome Omega watch, a rose gold wedding band and a platinum diamond eternity ring.

Detectives warned there could be a link between this burglary and others in Comrie, Auchterarder, Madderty and Fortingall over the weekend.

They also want to trace a man seen in the area in the previous week offering home insulation.

He is described as being in his early 20s, between 5ft 8in and 6ft 2in tall, slim and with light coloured hair. He may have been wearing a yellow jacket.

Caller alert

A Tayside Police spokesman said: ''We would ask householders to be vigilant and keep an eye out for any suspicious activity or people in the area where they live. In particular, we would ask them to be alert to people arriving unannounced at their door, or at the door of neighbours.

''It is possible it could be bogus callers seeking out potential targets. If someone arrives at your door unannounced and is looking to gain access to your home, do not let them in.

''Ensure that doors are secure, even when at home and if you have a door chain – use it. Never let anyone in your home until you are certain of who they are, or who they claim to represent."

The force also told people to watch for unfamiliar vehicles and keep an eye out for elderly or vulnerable neighbours.

The spokesman added: "It is your community and it is residents that are most often best placed to spot when things appear out of the ordinary. If you suspect anything is untoward or suspicious, call the police.''

Exhibitors at the gem shows in Tucson, Ariz., last week reported steady demand and buoyant, though not blockbuster, sales of colored stones.

Doug Hucker, CEO of the American Gem Trade Association, the organizer of the main GemFair (which concluded Feb. 5), said that preliminary statistics show that attendance was “even or slightly up” from last year.

“We have done a lot better job at getting better buyers here,” he said. “There is a general feeling that things have turned around. You are seeing a lot of the better jewelers here ready to get back in the colored store business.”

Adam Gil, a principal with Jerry Gil & Co. in New York City, found people going for “either the most expensive or less expensive items.” But he added that customers are “not as resistant to prices as they have been in the past.” He found particularly strong demand for Paraiba tourmaline and fire opals.

Richard Greenwood, president of New York City’s A.F. Greenwood Co., said he had a good show. “We are not selling a lot of cheap things,” he said. “We are not making $200 sales—more the $2,000 sales. It’s still a little slow in the low- to mid-level range.”

Mukesh Gupta, owner of Raja Jewels in New York City, found “cautious buying, but at least people are buying come out of Christmas.… There has been decent activity.”

Kapil Seth, principal of New York City–based Malhotra, called the show “all right,” adding that he thought there were fewer Chinese buyers than usual. “Buyers are very choosy,” he said. “Deals are being closed if you have really fine stones.” He found demand strong for unheated blue sapphires and unheated rubies from Mozambique.

At the nearby Gem & Jewelry Exchange show, Kalim Korey, owner of New York City–based World Trading Services, described things as “quiet.”

“People are taking their time to buy,” he said. “They are looking for better goods, but it has to be at the right price.”

In the Design Center at the AGTA GemFair, Alishan Halebian, owner of Irvine, Calif.–based Alishan, said business at both the Centurion show, which took place Jan. 29–31 in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the Tucson fair was steady. “I think the stores who changed over the years and those that did promotions, especially online—anyone who kept up with change—did well,” he said. “Price point is a strong part of the sale. And yet, as long as the piece is different, it attracts the client.”

Halebian referred to a $13,500 tricolor gold Lotus Flower pendant with a citrine cut by Tom Munsteiner at its center, which he sold to a Chinese customer at AGTA for her personal collection. “The Chinese are going after design product and that’s where the growth is,” he said.

How many stones can say that they exhibit every color of the imagination? Just one and that is the versatile multi-colored tourmaline gemstone.

What is this stone of many colors?

It has the unique composition of aluminum boron silicate and mixed crystals. No two stones are alike and finding one with a single color is rare. Most are multi-colored and have pleochroismatic properties as well. This means that by changing the angle of the stone and the direction of the light the colors or shades change.

Each color has its own name and they range from colorless to black. Here are some of the more common colors:

Rubellite is a deep vibrant red color, but it must keep this color in any light. If it changes, it is more likely a pink tourmaline.

Indicolite covers shades of blues and blue greens. This variety is rarer than other colors. One of the most coveted and valuable blue green variety is known as a Paraiba tourmaline. It has a bright neon-like intensity that is blindingly beautiful.

Verdelite is a green variety. If the shade is an emerald-green then there is chrome present in the stone.

Multi-colored stones exhibit layers of colors that show well when sliced in half. A popular and unique stone is the watermelon tourmaline. It displays a pink center with a green outer band.

The science of tourmaline

An interesting characteristic of this multi-colored gemstone is that when heated, it acquires an electrical charge with positive and negative charges at opposite ends. This gives the stone a magnetic quality. The Dutch first discovered this and used the magnetized stones to clean ash residue from their pipes.

Today, the beauty industry is capitalizing on this magnetic ability by incorporating crushed bits of the stone in beauty creams. The claim is that they pull impurities out of the skin.

The name comes from Sri Lanka. The word tura mali roughly translates to mixed colored stone. Because of the magnetic properties, they are believed to have therapeutic effects on the body.

It is also a believed to enhance or bring out creativity, perhaps because of the wondrous multi-colored beauty they express. It is also said to enhance and strength bonds of love and friendship. Tourmaline jewelry is a great way to express your appreciation for the special people in your life.

Keeping the gemstones looking like new

It is easy to clean your tourmaline jewelry. Warm water and a gentle cleaner are all you need to return them to their lustrous color. If necessary, a toothbrush can be used on the stone and setting to get that hard to reach residue. Because some of the stones may be heat-treated or have resin fillers, do not use in a hot ultrasonic cleaner or steamer as the finish and color may be compromised.

This gemstone is quite durable with a 7.5 ranking on the Mohs scale of hardness. So, wearing a pink tourmaline ring or bracelet every day is okay.

This gemstone is truly unique and because of its array of colors, there is a special piece of jewelry out there for everyone.

Scott Tegeler has it easy.

His girlfriend loves cliché and generic Valentine’s Day gifts. He plans on taking her out to dinner somewhere, giving her flowers and a stuffed animal.

When asked if he views Valentine’s Day as an obligation or something he enjoys doing Tegeler answers: “It’s mostly an obligation. I enjoy seeing her happy, but the process of preparing to make her happy can be a pain.”

The fact is that the commercialization of Valentines is all about what marketers think women want.

On Valentine’s Day the average man will spend about $170 on his significant other while a woman will spend about $70, according to the National Retail Federation. That means men spend over double what women do.

But men also have it easy. Valentine’s Day ads featuring the top gifts of chocolate, jewelry, flowers, and cards are gifts men may not care much about receiving. Women are not given a script on what to give in return.

Flowers and candy don’t mean as much to the average man as it does to a woman. Jewelry commercials on TV are targeted towards men getting their other half the perfect gift. Ever seen a jewelry advertisement targeted towards women buying their man that something special.

Men’s choices are laid out for them. Superstores have a section dedicated to Valentine’s gifts, most of which are clearly for women.

But women’s choices aren’t as defined. Every February, articles pop up online like hercampus.com’s The 20 Cutest Things to Do With Your Boyfriend on Valentine’s Day. These stories feature ideas such as going ice skating, buying tickets to see a favorite sports team, or signing him up for a beer of the month club.

Mandy Grudzieski, a recent SHSU graduate, said her Valentine’s Day request has changed with full time employment.

“We usually don’t have money to do anything,” Grudzieski said. “But now since we have jobs, I kind of made him take me somewhere. We’re just going to a fancier restaurant.”

It’s not that men don’t care about this day of love. They just care in a different way. More often than not they just enjoy making their date happy.

Relationship expert Jenni Trent Hughes said that although men and women’s roles have changed, being in love still rules the day.

“We may no longer be knights in shining amour or damsels in distress, but we still want and need romance – it is part of our emotional DNA,” Hughes said.

Even men who are skeptical of Valentine’s Day will buy their girlfriends or wives some sort of gift. Not just because they will be in the doghouse if they don’t, but because who doesn’t like making their significant other smile?

Samuel Keen, Grudzieski’s fiancé, isn’t a big fan of the day.

“I feel as though it’s a commercial holiday,” Keen said.

“But it makes Mandy happy to do something. I guess I view it as a good excuse to go out and do something nice for [her].”

Tegeler thinks that the little planning he does goes a long way.

“It’s not so bad if we do things right and our lady is tickled pink at the finished product of whatever we were going for,” Tegeler said.

So although as the commercialization gears the day towards making women happy, that doesn’t mean men don’t have their own reasons to get excited around Valentine’s Day.

Not all athletic careers are dotted with glitz and glamour; almost the opposite.

For every Cody Ross in the wrestling room, there are literally hundreds of others who incessantly toil in the shadows.

Springstead senior Sean “Buddha” Redman may never be considered Ross’ equal.

There’s a bit of separation when Ross captures four district championships, two regional titles and reaches four straight state finals — and wins the last three in a row.

In between, Ross competed in more matches (200) and pocketed more wins (186) than any other Hernando County grappler in nearly four decades of competition.

Yet, on Saturday night at the Jenkins Arena at The Lakeland Center, there was common ground — Redman joined Ross and his best friend John Dreggors, in the winner’s circle.

In the process, Redman, Ross and Dreggors garnered Hernando County’s 38th, 39th and 40th state titles.

Amazingly, SHS has accumulated a county-best 25 individual state gold medallions — including 13 crowns across the past three winters.

Dreggors, who missed the season’s first three tournaments due to a relative passing away, capped a magical 29-0 campaign at 285 pounds.

Though Dreggors solved previously unbeaten Olympic Heights senior Mike Kosoy (47-1 overall) via a 4-2 decision in overtime, it was not considered an upset.

Neither was Ross’ final match — a pinfall in 1:47 — over Fort Myers-Riverdale senior Miguel Rivera.

Ross’ final pin — his personal-best 28th of the season — was his 97th overall and left him second on the all-time Hernando County list to former teammate Richie Bliss (101).

According to Springstead coaches Eric Swensen and Sal Basile, though Dreggors and Ross each captured gold, the night belonged to Redman.

In wrestling circles, especially early in his prep career, Redman was looked at as the little train that couldn’t.

For two seasons, the 5-foot-6 Redman compiled 69 wins in 103 bouts. He was a district runner-up as a freshman and placed third as a sophomore.

Unfortunately for Eagles fans, in back-to-back regional appearances in 2009-10 Redman agonizingly fell in the final wrestleback round — each time coming within one point of reaching states.

Another red flag was hoisted as Redman never captured one individually bracketed tournament.

As a junior, Redman continued to work diligently in the room but struggled to make weight. He missed a couple of tournaments due to weight difficulties.

Buddha’s third varsity season, however, resulted in two IBT victories. He garnered gold at Kiwanis and followed with his first district championship at Springstead.

Afterward, Redman earned his first-ever trip to states with a solid third-place finish in the “Region of Doom” at Avon Park’s South Florida Community College.

In his initial visit to states, Redman dropped his first match in overtime to Palm Bay senior Dylan Barton, 4-2. That loss set the tone, as he quietly exited following a 1-2 stay.

This year, unlike in the past, Redman had no weight issues. He bumped up to 145 pounds from 125 and stayed there.

According to the Eagles coaching staff, that was a huge burden lifted from his plate.

Next, all the banging he had done against the likes of state champions Virgil Toms, Nick Soto and Cody Ross in practice began to pay dividends on Saturday nights.

Redman competed in nine IBTs this winter and placed in all nine.

Perhaps just as impressively, he reached the finals in seven meets and won six times, highlighted by victories in his last three tourneys.

At one point, Redman pieced together a career-best 16-match winning streak, highlighted by 12 pins, until Jensen Beach’s talented senior Mike Hess halted Redman’s run in the fourth overtime of the Flagler Invitational finals, 2-1.

The following week at the rugged Tony Ippolito Memorial Tournament at Brandon, Redman walked in as the top seed. He pinned his first three opponents before he let his guard down against Bradenton-Manatee senior Brett Barber. Barber earned a two-point reversal in the final 10 seconds to stun Redman, 4-3.

That setback was significant. Redman wouldn’t lose again — completing his final 14 matches with 14 wins.

In the regional finals at St. Cloud, Redman solved his longtime nemesis, junior Chase Krutzy of Lake Gibson, 3-0, to earn his first regional title and, most importantly, a favorable draw at states.

At Lakeland, Redman completed a 4-0 tour by fittingly solving Hess in a rematch in the state finals, 5-2.

The Eagles record book will indicate Redman concluded his senior year with a personal-best 43-4 campaign. He’ll graduate ranked seventh all-time at SHS in wins (143), third in matches (189) and fourth lifetime in pins (94).

As Redman stood atop the podium in Polk County, his teammates and coaches complimented his sterling efforts.

Sophomore Jordan Rivera, a two-time Eagles state placer, singled out Redman.

“Of all our guys, including Cody (Ross), Buddha was the hardest-working guy in our room,” Rivera said. “I’m so happy he won; he deserves this.”

“Sean’s been my practice partner for most of the season,” pointed out Ross. “In our room, the coaches stayed on him the most. They’d yell a lot and then yell some more, but Sean never caved. Hands down, he was the hardest worker in the room.

“I love him as a teammate and a friend,” Ross said. “Of all our guys, I was so glad to see him win.”

“I’m proud of all the champs, but tonight was a storybook ending for Buddha,” Swensen said. “Here’s a kid who started coming to our little kids wrestling club from the beginning, and we’ve watched him grow.

“He’s a guy who started literally from the bottom and worked his way up,” recalled Swensen. “It didn’t matter how we pushed him, Buddha continued to work. Coach Sal (Basile) had a special relationship with Sean. It was a tremendous bond.”

“It was great to see the team win,” added Coach Basile. “But it was awesome to see Redman win.

“He’s total proof that hard work can get you to the top of the podium,” Basile added. “Redman was not the most gifted athlete or wrestler. I’ll admit I rode him hard, maybe harder than a lot of the others. He responded by being durable and hard-nosed this season. I thought down the stretch he dominated people. It was great to see.”

Winning “felt amazing,” Redman said with a smile. “All the hard work I’ve put in has all paid off. I came here with one goal — winning states — and I sure didn’t want to lose to Hess. After the first takedown, I broke him.”

Could Saturday night have ended any better?

“This is huge,” Redman said. “When you win at states and you’re a part of a team that wins back-to-back state championships, it’s something I know I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

By the Numbers: Springstead Sean Redman (2008-12)

- Compiled by TONY CASTRO

YEAR

W

L

PINS

TOTALS

143

46

94

$ Denotes state champion

* Denotes state qualifier

Privacy on Kerr Lake just got a little more private.Lots on sale now in Somerset Plantation, the first gated community on the 50,000-acre lake that straddles North Carolina and Virginia. Kerr Lake extends 39 miles up the Roanoke River, and it has more than 850 miles of shoreline. Built by the Army Corps of Engineers to provide flood control and hydroelectric power, the lake also attracts boaters, fishers and campers. “You can always find privacy on Kerr Lake,” said W.A. Currin, who, along with his business partner Tommy Hester, is developing Somerset Plantation under T & W Investments in Henderson.

Nevertheless, Hester said he and Currin saw a need for a gated, private community on the lake. “We’ve been buying everything we could find on the lake.” Currin said. The partners – with 18 years’ experience developing and selling property at the lake – have fond memories of the lake. Hester learned to water-ski there, and Currin fished it. “It’s just such a fantastic lake,” said Currin, who has lived at several locations on Kerr Lake.The 51-lot development project took a lot of patience and a little luck.

“It’s taken us 2 1/2 years to put this together,” Hester said. They bought two pieces of land, and the result is a development with 7,500 feet of lakefront property. “It’s a lot of lakefront for 100 acres of land,” Hester said, “We were at the right place at the right time.” Lots range from 0.7 acres to nearly 5 acres and cost $50,000 to $150,000. Boat dock permits are available for the 44 lakefront lots, Hester said, and the development also will have a community dock. Docks are only allowed on 31 percent of the lake’s shoreline. The Corps limits the amount of development to preserve the aesthetic qualities of the lake, said Michael Womack, chief ranger of shorelines for the Army Corps of Engineers. “We like to think it’s the the best place in the state,” Womack said. Located in the Nutbush area of Kerr Lake, Somerset Plantation sits across the lake from Steele Creek Marina, where people can rent a slip to keep their boats. “If you really wanted to, you could jump off your dock and and swim to your boat,” Hester said. Restrictive covenants require stick-built houses that are a minimum of 1,550 square feet, and Hester expects that some people will build their second home or retire there.

Prim Development will build several homes, and Currin’s Real Estate, which is selling the lots, already has received 12 “reservations” from people for lots they want to purchase once the site work is completed. “My one word is perfect.’ ” said Benny Finch, director of economic development for Vance County. Hester also serves as a Vance County commissioner, and he sees this development as part of the county’s big picture. “Vance County’s got a lot of things to offer that people haven’t thought about.” he said. For example, the development is 10 miles from Maria Parham Hospital, which is undergoing a $48 million expansion. In March, 2003, the first permanent MRI unit in this part of the state came online at the hospital. Another major development planned for the county is a library, which will be built at a cost of $6.2 million as part of the Embassy Cultural Center in downtown Henderson. The Embassy Cultural Center will house not only the library but also a performing arts theater A gallery holding a variety of permanent displays will connect the library and theater. For each lot that sells, Currin and Hester will donate $500 to the library fund. Once all the lots sell, the donation will come to $25,000. “My partner and I feel that education is one key that will help to turn the corner for Vance County, because we’ve lost so many jobs (in) tobacco and textiles,” Hester said. “We need to refocus.”

See more information.

Watervliet– After a recent string of break-ins some local Indian-American families say thieves are targeting their homes for gold jewelry. These families say they are living in fear. Many of the victims did not want to be identified but one woman is speaking out. She says she does not want this to happen to other families.

“When I leave from work I say all kinds of prayers that nothing else is stolen from the house.”

This victim returned from work last Monday to find her Watervliet home ransacked.

“Most of the things they took were from the master bedroom and it took me a few minutes to realize that only the gold was missing.”

“They had at least 5-10 ounces of gold which is a big amount today, easily $10,000-$20,000″ says Vishvesh Obla.

“Three generations of antique jewelry that I was planning to hand over to my daughter.”

Colonie detectives who are now investigating this case say they’ve heard of similar break-ins downstate.

 ”We are aware that not only in this area but further south in the state, New Jersey, Connecticut. They’re also having similar burglaries where other Indian or Asian families are being targeted for jewelry in their residences” says Lt. Robert Winn, Colonie Police Department.

In most of the cases thieves forced their way in through back doors during the day.

Local police say they don’t know if these break-ins are connected to the other cases in New Jersey and Connecticut but they’re working with those agencies.

The production cycle has it’s own set of components and processes. One important component of the production chain is wholesale. Wholesale simply refers to the concept of bulk purchase and sale. While there are many sources that can tell you about wholesalers in a particular business, wholesale directories make for the best option. These directories feature an alphabetical listing of various wholesalers in a particular segment. So whenever looking for a wholesaler these directories is the ultimate thing to look up to.

A wholesale directory not just features the name of wholesalers but also provides you with additional information. Vital stats such as the address, contact number, fax number and email address are also provided. At times these directories also mention the website URL of the wholesaler which proves to be of great help in case one needs additional information. With these directories offering all the information on wholesalers, they serve as the ultimate knowledge bank for wholesale business.

Every item has its own wholesalers. The wholesalers for shoes would be different from the wholesalers of apparel or electronics. Since the wholesalers for each item are different, there is a separate directory for each item. While the wholesale directory for shoes would feature only wholesalers selling shoes, a directory for apparel would only mention names that deal in the same. Thus when you are looking for wholesale directories, you must be clear about the product in question.

Looking for wholesale directories is as simple as child’s play. You can find several of these directories on the Internet. Type wholesale directory into any search engine and you shall have ample results within the fraction of a second. While most of these wholesale directories are free, there are some that might charge you a nominal amount to get hold of the requisite information.

While browsing through wholesale directories you shall find countless names. But you should not blindfolded go in for any particular one just because it is featured in the directory. Make sure that you do your research fairly well before you zero in on any particular one. Try to gather as much information as you can before you start dealing with a particular wholesaler.

Getting yourself listed in a wholesale directory is a great idea for any wholesaler. This is because most business looks for wholesalers via these directories. Having your name featured in such directories could well mean enhancing your business opportunities. In a way these directories serve as a link between wholesalers and retailers.

All in all, these wholesale directories serve as a great knowledge bank. They give you all the information that you would need about wholesalers. So the next time you are looking for a wholesaler, these directories are your ultimate source.

Perched on Lake Union in Seattle, Washington, this 1,200 sq ft home by Stanwood-based Northwest Architects was designed for an elderly couple that loves being on the water. Did your eyes almost fool you? The architects designed the outside so that it looks like it’s actually floating on a vast body of water!

The use of wood on the outside also makes the house look traditional but peek inside and you’ll notice a more contemporary feel. With features such as a roll up window that provides access straight onto the lake from the living room and a putting green on the roof of the house, living on the water was never so comfortable!

Design Northwest Architect’s websitevia [HomeDSGN]

Once upon a time I was a classics scholar, so most everything I’ve got in terms of compos mentis (mastery of mind, I mean) comes from my preteen struggles with conjugation and declension of Latin verbs and nouns and the Herculean labors that came in my co-ed years, when I was determined to read Plato in the original attaboy lingo. I breezed through Virgil’s Aeneid then slogged through the Symposium and a little bit of Lucian. So satisfying did I find the arcane process of interlinear translation that I thought I’d be doing it into old age. Turns out, people will pay you to work as a journalist but the demand for Greek and Latin scholars has been on the wane since before Cleopatra was dipping pearls into wine. Having very little workaday usage, my translation skills have withered considerably. I still remember what eureka and callipygous mean, as well as phrases like caveat emptor, e pluribus unum, et cetera. But I can’t speak Greek anymore and I read Latin worse than a Roman schoolboy.

And yet however dead those languages may be to me now, a lot of etymological stuff stuck with me. The word for the dark circular opening in the center of my iris, for instance, is pupil, which comes from the Latin word pupilla, which is the diminutive of pupa, which means “little doll” or “puppet,” and refers to the tiny image of myself that I see reflected in the eyes of another. “The Look of Love: Eye Miniatures from the Skier Collection,” which opened Feb. 7, at the Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA), includes more than a hundred steady gazes coming out eyes of every size and color, but the reflections of the viewer are more subtle. Evidently the world’s first major exhibition of lover’s eye jewelry, “The Look” is an array of miniature masterpieces: tiny intricate paintings on bracelets, brooches, lockets and rings, ivory lozenges and pendants circled by pearls, each one depicting an open eye. They are tokens of affection, mementos of mourning, bijoux presented in friendship and ardor — and each has a story. Look long enough and you begin to see yourself in them all.

“The Look of Love” runs through Sunday, June 10. Dr. Graham C. Boettcher, the William C. Hulsey Curator of American Art at the BMA, organized the exhibit with the participation of the collectors, Dr. David and Mrs. Nan Skier of Birmingham. Featuring 103 pieces, the Skier collection is considered to the largest of its kind, as only 1,000 lover’s eye miniatures are thought to be in existence worldwide. The BMA exhibit includes 98 decorative and functional objects — jewelry, watch keys, toothpick cases, even a tri-fold wallet — each of which features a hand-painted eye miniature. Admission to the exhibit is free. On Saturday, Feb. 25, the BMA will host “Trinket or Treasure,” a day of jewelry appraisal featuring Gloria Lieberman, vice president of Skinner Auctions of Boston. Lieberman will conduct appraisals from 10 a.m.-noon and again from 1-4 p.m. and deliver a public lecture at noon. Participants will pay a fee of $25 for up to two objects and $20 for each additional object.

For Your Eyes Only

The history of lover’s eyes is brief and political and starts with a story of forbidden love. In 1784, the 21-year-old Prince of Wales (later George IV) fell for a Catholic widow named Mrs. Maria Fitzherbert. The pairing was problematic for a couple of reasons — her Catholicism and his age. Under the Royal Marriage Act, the prince couldn’t marry before age 25 without his father’s consent and King George III wasn’t about to let the royal heir wed a bead-rattler. Besides, Mrs. Fitzherbert kept turning the prince down. She finally accepted his proposal after he staged a suicide attempt but their engagement lasted less than 48 hours before she fled to the European continent, hoping that her absence might mitigate his ardor. Of course, it went the other way. On Nov. 3, 1785, the Prince wrote to Mrs. Fitzherbert with a second proposal of marriage, but instead of sending an engagement ring, he sent her a miniature he’d had commissioned from the artist Richard Cosway — a picture of his own eye.

“P.S. I send you a Parcel… and I send you at the same time an Eye,” the prince wrote. “If you have not totally forgotten the whole countenance, I think the likeness will strike you.”

The peculiar gesture evidently achieved its desired effect. Mrs. Fitzherbert returned to England in time to marry the prince in a secret ceremony on Dec. 15, 1785. Not long after the wedding, she commissioned Cosway to paint a miniature of her eye to give as a gift to the prince, and thus began the practice of exchanging eye portraits. For the next few decades, having your eye on someone had a whole new meaning.

Not quite 250 years later, David and Nan Skier (pronounced SKY-er) were standing in front of Edith Weber’s booth at the Cyclorama Antiques Show in Boston when they caught their first glimpse of a lover’s eye. The couple shared a background in art, as both had studied it at Syracuse University, and were already collectors, with some notable holdings of paintings from the Ashcan School of early 20th century America. But that first lover’s eye they saw — a brown left eye atop a rose gold ring and encircled by diamonds, pearls and blue enamel — held special appeal. David is an eye surgeon. Nan’s background in art has long since been bolstered by an interest in social history. Here were many of their divergent interests converging in a work of art small enough to be hidden in the palm of one’s hand or a pocket.

“We couldn’t have anticipated that the purchase of this ring would begin decades of discovery, seeking out these rarities which are at once works of art, precious jewels and fragments of history,” Nan writes in the preface to the exhibition catalogue.

When I met her at the BMA last week, during the fast-paced final hours of the exhibition’s installation, that first ring was the first thing Nan wanted me to see.

“It was the first,” she said, “and it may still be the most beautiful.”

Exquisite View

The ring is on display in one of 12 bespoke cases, custom-made with Regency-period detail by the BMA’s full-time exhibition designer Terry Beckham and his supporting staff. To create groupings for each case, Boettcher worked closely with the Skiers to identify a few themes in the collection — “Tokens of Love,” “Mementos of Loss” and “Identities Revealed.” The latter is based on the four pieces for which the names of the subjects are actually known. Laura Wallace, a friend of the Skiers and a BMA docent, did extensive genealogical research on the people whose names were known and her findings are included in the display as well as the exhibition catalogue.

While the gallery walls have been painted a rich amethyst color, the single greatest challenge of displaying the eyes was getting the lighting right (and that brings me back to my meditation on the pupil — it varies in size to regulate the amount of light that reaches the retina). Remember that all of these eyes are tiny — miniature watercolor paintings on ivory or paper, surrounded by pearls and other gemstones no bigger than human tears. Many of the eyes are surrounded by what Boettcher calls “an ethereal haze” — wispy and foggy blue-grey clouds meant to represent the afterlife. Arranging the array involved illuminating every eye and bridling the shadows. The final exhibition is the result of a meticulous three-and-a-half year curatorial process in which professionals and volunteers from every department of the museum participated.

“Because these things are so small, you could actually fit them all in one case, but a display like that wouldn’t do the individual objects any justice,” says curator Graham Boettcher.

“The Look of Love” will mark the first time the BMA has integrated iPad technology into an exhibition. Nearly two dozen iPads will be available for visitors (with a photo ID) to check out as they enter the exhibit and a “Look of Love” app will soon be available for download from Apple’s online store. The app, which was designed in-house at the BMA, corresponds exactly to the exhibition.

“I think it’s a very elegant app that invites close study,” Nan says. “It allows you to zoom in and see every brushstroke.

Reading Pleasure

As resplendent as “The Look of Love” is, the exhibition catalogue represents a unique achievement in showcasing the interrelatedness of the arts. In addition to full-color photographs of the entire collection, scholarly essays by Boettcher and portrait miniature expert Elle Shushan, the hardcover publication includes five fictional vignettes by the novelist and biographer Jo Manning, each of which is inspired by a different eye miniature. (By permission of the author and publisher, one of those vignettes appears in its entirety on page 31 of this week’s print edition of Weld.) Boettcher and the Spiers commissioned the stories especially for the catalogue. As far as any of them know, the publication represents the first time a fiction writer has been formally invited to collaborate in an exhibition.

“Because of our interest in the 18th century, my husband had gotten me a copy of her book My Lady Scandalous, which is about an 18th century courtesan,” Nan explains.

That book included a photograph of a lover’s eye, with an inscription that read, “From the collection of the author.” As it turned out, that single piece was the collection, but it was enough to forge a friendship between Manning and the Skiers, which eventually led to the author’s participation in creating the catalogue.

Manning’s stories include period pieces as well as contemporary settings and characters: she alternates between historical fiction and present-day diction, keeping each piece ekphrastic. (There’s that Greek sneaking out again: “Ek” means “out” and “phrasis” means “speak,” and the verb “ekphrazein” means “to proclaim or name an inanimate object.” Anytime anybody tries to artfully tell the story of a piece of art, that’s an ekphrastic enterprise.)

“Her stories are so inventive, so representative of the numerous possible narratives each eye possesses,” Nan says.

For the Skiers, originating and creating the exhibit and catalogue has doubled and redoubled the meaning of the whole collection as well as of each piece.

“For the BMA to originate an exhibition, to originate a catalog and scholarly publications, that’s incredibly meaningful,” Nan says. “Of course, this collection means quite a lot to us personally but it means even more to be a part of putting the Birmingham Museum of Art on the map in this way.

“We knew these were fragments of history and pieces of jewelry, but Graham has taught us to look at them as miniature works of art,” she adds.

Furthermore, Nan says, they are vivid evidence of human existence.

“You realize how poignant these stories are,” she says, “how every eye in the collection represents a person.”

I suppose it’s the welcome weight of all those stories that makes me recommend the exhibition. When you look into those eyes, I don’t know what you’ll see there. It won’t be a reflection of your tiny puppet self, but it might be love, whatever that looks like.

“The Look of Love: Eye Miniatures from the Skier Collection” opened on Tuesday, Feb. 7, and runs through Sunday, June 10. Admission to the exhibit is free. For more details, call (205) 254-2565 or visit artsbma.org.