Turquoise from Iran documentary of Patrick Voillot

[Music] in the land of great kings long before Islam people worshipped fire a symbol of their God Zarathustra guided them preaching duality between good and evil symbolized by the meeting in twilight of the moon and sun according to legend the glowing rays of the sunlight called tears of the Sun melt into the calm waters of a lake and turn into a blue gemstone tender and heavenly thus were born the most beautiful turquoise in the world and their birthplace was Persia [Music] the customer who bought this necklace with beautiful turquoise from Iran would like a matching piece for example ear clips or another object a brooch or a ring she can wear with it there's some turquoise for over a century the jeweler Bush home has always favored the paths of creation a gem is nothing without one who creates it what a jeweler offers a woman is a reflection of her own beauty the spirit that made her a unique woman [Music] but no now he must find beautiful turquoise from Iran Iran formerly Persia is now an Islamic Republic with a 95% Shiite population [Music] after several centuries of rule the monarchy of the Shah disappeared in 1978 after a revolution led by a religious leader a Latoya Khomeini shortly after the country suffered a bloody war against Iraq that the Iranians are still recovering from the elements do not spare them strong earthquakes shake the country the main source of export revenue is oil but cottage industries such as carpets pistachios and other crops feed the local shops and bazaars Iranians are avid consumers of jewelry and especially stones including those recommended by the Prophet Muhammad searches turquoise and carnelian [Music] [Music] [Music] all for you there hello do you have turquoise no but I have an address give them to me I want to take my friends in another part of the bazaar there is the gold bazaar right and left there are two stores that sell turquoise next to the Chaya mausoleum okay next to the mausoleum they sell turquoise then of course there's the village of turquoise the village of turquoise yes it has no special name that's what we call it and how do we get there you must take the road to Busan but now that I think of it I can still show you some the mines are located on the southern slope of the Koo a bean elude chain in a mountainous area that is off-limits the place of extraction of turquoise near the city of Nishapur is a closely guarded secret the village and the mine are closed to foreigners in the large cities of Iran the jewelers who sell turquoise have never been in the mines they have no information China the United States and other countries produced turquoise but the most valuable and most beautiful come from these mines it's name comes from the French Chandra chakras stone of Turkey because turquoise arrived in Europe from this country but in reality it was mined in Persia in Iran it is called firuze is also the name that was given to the nearest village and the mountain that produces these exceptional stones turquoise is located at a shallow depth upon entering the mine the blue veins appear on the walls what are from bad weather seeps in these fractured terrains on its journey it dissolves the copper layers it penetrates in the depths it warms on contact with hot magma lighter it goes back through the volcanic rocks enriched in aluminum and phosphorus the contacts between copper aluminum and phosphorus allows the formation of the turquoise deposits in the adjacent fractures this process is very slow and may take several million years turquoise is found in arid regions highly soluble in water it cannot survive in humid areas miners mark areas likely to provide beautiful turquoise with white chalk these operations take place under the gaze of the director of the mine appointed to the post for his seniority and his extensive knowledge of the premises another specialized team perforates the wall where requested in order to prepare the blasts indeed to reach the rock that contains the turquoise one must dig deep simple hammers are not enough to unearth the crevices filled with the Bluestone the use of dynamite is needed to reach the vein the safety instructions are followed scrupulously in this mine the last accident due to explosive dates back more than 30 years [Music] before each explosion the mine is evacuated [Music] the thick cloud of dust caused by the blast dissipates in a day once the tunnels are excavated the workmen descend to the bottom of the mine as soon as smoke and toxic gases are dissipated the companions begin to pick up the stones and then they sort them according to their size big first then medium and so on the stones are then sorted again in the open by other companions there are always three or four companions who work at the mine under the supervision of a foreman who is responsible for lighting and also guiding the distribution of rocks into different bags in fact he directs all operations it is strictly prohibited for miners or anyone else to pick turquoise in the mine for themselves a manager is there to watch here take this one it is rare to find large pieces of turquoise in fact the maximum thickness of a vein is about 20 millimeters due to lack of information many Western scholars believe that these mines are exhaustive this is not true but we are far from the time old miners talk about they say that the finest turquoise in the world sprang like waterfalls from that mine at that time more than 2 tons of exceptional quality stones are said to have been found each stone is placed in a different bag according to its approximate value the miners work 7 hours per day under especially harsh conditions they stop only for a half hour to eat without leaving the tunnel 48 miners work in the mines six days a week for a salary of about 80 euros per month they all come from the nearby village first called fashon then pass on now everyone has forgotten these names it is called the village of turquoise [Music] [Music] still under the control of the foreman the bags containing the day's production forty to fifty kilos are sealed and then transported out of the mine [Music] the manager monitors them until the secure location where their to be stored [Music] take the bag and weigh it all right now put these two bags in in recent years the villagers have asked the government to regain the right to mine turquoise on their own behalf this request was granted they have formed a cooperative of 332 members who all live in the village of turquoise each villager can have only one chair per family member the day of the auction they can buy rough stones that they will have cut by one of the stone cutters in the village the sale of these stones will greatly improve their incomes today we started at 7 a.m. we we were responsible for sorting and preparing the stones for auction tomorrow Jewish Jewish charity Keesee kiss a Jewish wedding key but I forgot how much money Mossad buyers come from Mashhad from nature poor and other villages turquoise quality depends on where they were extracted but prices vary depending on size there are stones at 800,000 tomb on some are 1 million per kilo you'll see tomorrow you'll see tomorrow on Iran Omega the number for that so what is already asked them my name is Javed sedara I'm 26 and I work at the mind of our communities either house there waiting for now yeah I go to the bottom of the mine at about 7 a.m. with my coworkers how did Cordoba Sevilla everyone has a specific task there is one who picks the stones one who sorts them the detonator the person in charge of light they're all from the two villages and we all have shares in the mine the tourists a negative stuff my linear movie Michelle Michelle initial roster no no Aziz Ansari try a bit of roughing [Music] the turquoise that Javad gives the stonecutter in the village comes from the last auction he has them cut before selling them [Music] here look that's the last arrival from the mine look at this one this lot is much better yes it's not bad 15,000 - maan take it or leave it are you kidding no no come on give me give tell you're really tough how am I meant to earn a living come on hand over the money all right shake on it [Music] all right let's load the fateful day has come once a month the production of the mine is sold at auction buyers come from all over to buy turquoise that will feed a veritable industry in Nishapur and marche odd no foreigner is allowed to bid in this sale my name is Abbas Rami I am the director of the mine my ancestors and my father taught us that the mine had been discovered by a man named Shah dot with turquoise this Shaddaa built himself a paradise the mind had been exploited since then and supports all the villagers my ancestors would say that Shaddaa had eyes so bright they pierced the ground and located turquoise it's a legend of course [Music] the bags containing stones sorted by the village elders come out of their secure location and are weighed they each carry a lot number each bag is empty done to the floor of the mine in front of buyers so they can assess the quality of the stones before making their bids [Music] [Applause] the buyer should estimate the amount of turquoise that it's possible to extract from the Lots that are sold by weight including unusable bedrock the color also has a great influence on price [Music] the auction is open she said the chili she said the chili pot 646 46 45 745 750 750 mr. sali 750 once twice three times [Music] [Music] 650 650 awarded but I proposed 655 wait is there a taker for 655 is there a taker for 655 or not by the head of the Prophet I swear he exaggerates he exaggerated stop your religious bantering let's end this 655 good you take it for 655 yes I said I'd offered it [Music] these auctions are a source of conflict between buyers but when the incantation in the name of God forgiving and merciful is pronounced calm returns and we proceed to the next auction the bags are picked up and paid for with checks that are cashed 60 days later by the administration of the mines the largest buyers whisk turquoise Tunisia poor and Mashhad for centuries world travelers have crossed this road already in the 13th century the famous Venetian explorer Marco Polo passed through Iran in his book the book of the wonders of the world he describes the city of Nishapur near the turquoise mines four centuries later Giambattista Valli the famous broker for king louis xiv a great connoisseur of gems and shrewd observer noted in one of his books in persia turquoise is only found in two mines one of them the old rock is near a large town called Nisha poor for years the Persian King forbade anyone other than himself from extracting from the old mine Mashhad is the great holy city of Iran the city of the martyrdom of imam reza direct descendant of the Prophet this is the first shrine in the country and is annually visited by at least 12 million followers the Iranians are particularly fond of turquoise jewelry trade in this city is thriving Ali Reza has set up a cutting Factory on the outskirts of Mashhad having brought his spoils from the mine he is eager to see the result of the cutting one must first rough hew the stone with the diamond saw the cutter cuts the uninteresting parts known as gang or matrix this operation is always done in the presence of water to avoid overheating of the saw and overheating of the stone [Music] after giving a preliminary shape to the cut stones are assigned to the polisher he gives them a definite shape turquoise is a gem that is cut in cabochon it is a rounded shape without facets it is used for different reasons firstly to protect them from where indeed the hardness of turquoise is 5 to 6 which is relatively low compared to other gemstones such as diamonds 10 sapphires 9 and emeralds 8 this size also protects it from shock as it is fragile turquoise is an opaque stone faceting is unnecessary because light cannot penetrate to better hold the stone during polishing it is glued to a stake the last step performed by the artisan is the mirror polish [Music] the turquoise carved by ali reza are not the best quality they're called matrix veins from the rock traversed the gem Ali sells these stones to jewelry manufacturers in the bazaar of Mossad Oh each setting is made manually based on the chosen stones the metal used for these rings meant for men is silver [Music] jewelers in the bazaar used one of the oldest techniques hammering which because it is malleable changes the shape of the metal without losing any of its weight then they practice a different technique called the tooth using songs chisels which propel metal filings which lead to a loss of material the ladder allows you to customize each ring with patterns [Music] [Music] [Music] the rings are welded with a thin sheet of metal called spangled placed between the two parties to be connected this sheet melts under the heat of the flame and forms the weld [Applause] [Music] some merchants have purchased smaller qualities of stones at the auction but of an exceptional quality as is the case with the as Don his specialty is turquoise for the great Iranian jewelers look a bit at what I brought you tell me what you can get out of it the best quality to fool was once cut by master cutters the sorting was done extremely carefully turquoise is more beautiful when the color is a deep uniform blue they're small before we really had better quality here's one that has a good size here's one that has a good size turquoise is porous it absorbs water easily the artisan must trim it with great skill the techniques were developed thousands of years ago these stones were once cut with a bow polisher the only ingredients used were sand from Tripoli and water to be sold each of these gems is crimped onto a copper mount intended only for presentation they are made one by one by hand yellow and red boxes are also characteristics of quality stones sellers believe that these colors highlight them best this one's better this one less so this one has more worth these are all natural stones they're stones from America others from NASA pour from dumb rain from Koch there are natural stones and synthetic stones synthetic stones are artificially colored you can accentuate the colors for rank [Music] a few years ago mine production of turquoise in Iran fell sharply dealers asked to meet the high demand of their customers ordered them from other producing countries principally the United States and China [Music] hello do you have some turquoise uncut American yes show me here American uncut do you have cut stones yes the turquoise from these countries especially the United States are much more porous and less hardened than those from Iran it is necessary to treat them so that they retain a good appearance over time silica paraffin and plastic gels are injected which are often artificially colored because the blue is often too pale [Music] one can notice areas where the dye is concentrated it is easy to detect these additions because the color is too intense [Music] turquoise is not a mere object of pageantry for Iranians it is intimately linked with religion the Prophet advised his followers to wear it bismillah has a monitor in the name of God the Almighty and merciful as imam sadiq alayhis-salam rebel yet should ask according to imam sadiq it was decreed that every man who wears a turquoise stone will not know insecurity turquoise will also provide many benefits to his health it will fortify his heart and strengthen his eyesight [Music] it is particularly men who wear turquoise silver rings because gold is forbidden whole sectors of the bazaars of Iran's major cities are reserved for the sale of these jewels [Music] hello what is the origin of these stones these are mashhad stones they're mainly used to make rings for men for the rings for women we two stones that are simpler and smaller for men we select Shikari turquoise and which do you recommend I think you should choose one of these two models give me a price indication fifteen thousand two month don't you find that a bit expensive no because I present stones of an exceptional quality in your opinion what's best without a doubt this one how much is that ninety five thousand tomorrow give me a discount and I'll become a regular and loyal customer it's really a remarkable stone and I can assure you that you're making a good deal can you guarantee its authenticity of course do you want it cleaned is it a good size for you yes it's perfect but I would like an additional discount and I promise you I will become a very loyal customer do you want me to polish it yes please come on be nice and give me another little discount you see me ahead man you owe me to polish it yes please where are sir bring this ring up to the workshop thank you very much you can count on my becoming a lifelong customer what she did I ever told anyone I'm sending a stone to clean Reza do your job carefully don't go too fast it must be perfect and send it back to me when it's finished slowly slowly [Music] [Music] [Music] believers have the right to wear the sacred stone during the prayer only one other stone shares this privilege agate [Music] in Iran women also enjoy turquoise the reasons are different from those of men but they do not use it only for the aesthetics of its deep soft blue for all time it's been considered in these regions that turquoise Ward's off the evil eye very often women so turquoise into the clothing of grandchildren to protect them ancient writings tell that turquoise brings good health and success it was said that after a battle no one had ever seen turquoise on a fallen soldier other powers are attributed to it as well it is said to change color depending on the purity of air and weather [Music] it has long been used as a pigment in blue paint [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] this gemstone has great importance in traditional medicine the famous our botanist even L Betar wrote in the middle of the 12th century that they cared for the bites of scorpions and snakes by administering a potion made of turquoise [Music] Sholem devil my name is Jamal hurry I'm trading in precious stones especially turquoise as far back as I can remember my father my grandfather have all had this job in the 1940s and 50s turquoise from Iran had a fabulous place on international markets and our family had specialized in this magnificent stone quarry if it wasn't as I hope do you bad then the market got a little pack [Music] turquoise is unfashionable now I've always been fascinated by this gem turquoise is a lucky stone cat I'm in love with its color on a professional level I've done much promote this stone in my defense and that if you say that is a lot to me okay there is no scientific data on turquoise only experience counts Venetia poor turquoise has a feature that we are alone in the world - no Sanjay finish Abu jahil at a hospital cazness a tomorrow generations it's true that Iranian jewelers quickly recognized the source of their turquoise one of their secrets is the underside of the stone where the stone cutter always leaves a bit of bedrock whose color is very different depending on which mine it is from throughout history civilizations of the Far East have turned their gaze to the heavens and admired the blue sky turquoise is it symbol in central Mesopotamia Neolithic man was already making necklaces and bracelets out of turquoise in the 6th millennium BC the centuries pass and man continues to use this sky colored stone [Music] the Empire of Darius the great a community king of Persia in the 6th century BC stretched from India to the Danube also encompassing Egypt he created Persepolis where each year he received the offerings of the 30 countries he had conquered no less than 370 tons of silver jewelry and goods from the four corners of his empire from that time archaeologists have unearthed a princely tomb near Susa in which were found necklaces and bracelets made of turquoise in present-day Afghanistan near the town of cbourgin archaeologists have unearthed a treasure belonging to the Empire of Bactria full of gold jewelry set with turquoise dating back a century BC the stones used probably came from the mines of Nishapur near the Afghan border the history of Persia was a succession of glories and defeats which enabled it to accumulate and lose some incredible treasures four century this country was ruled by kings Shahs some years before the reign of the Shah of Iran Shah Mohammad Riza crowned his last wife Farah diba in great pomp during the ceremony sovereigns were exceptional jewels the Shahs crown emblem of the Pallavi dynasty had been made for his father reza shah made of gold and silver the crown was covered with nearly 4,000 precious stones that were predominantly diamonds [Music] the crown of Farah diba was specially created by jeweler Van Cleef for her coronation [Music] formerly the shah's did not wear crowns only a crest adorned their head covering it was set with the finest and biggest gems emeralds rubies sapphires and diamonds [Music] the showers of the Khazar dynasty and especially fat elisha changed the tradition with the kyani crown persia there is the father of the Shah named Mohammad Reza who decides to overthrow the dynasty in place called the Kjar he takes a Russian Regiment in Caucasian and with this regiment he overthrows the dynasty he's the head of the state and obviously finds himself facing the English why against the English because there is a strong smell of oil and in particular on the side of Mosul so there's fighting with the British war is good but at the heart of war is money so in these conditions he says to himself I need money Minister of Finance I need money your majesty the coffers are empty under these conditions get me alone Majesty I quite agree but in order to have a loan it has to be leant against something how do the French do it they have the bullion of the Bank of France and us nothing what do you mean no treasure yes there's the cash our treasure called the treasure of the Shah of Iran but it's a bit of a mess everything's broken the beads are hanging every which way and we never counted what it's worth have it counted by the man who calls himself the Minister of Finance by whom I have your man mr. Louie Bhushan we can find the trace of the treasure of Persia around the fifth century over the course of several invasions Mongols Indian rulers alluded the Treasury nadir Shah king of Turkmen Persia decided to take it back first diplomatically but his envoy's were murdered exasperated in 1739 he organized a military campaign against the Mughal emperor Mohammad Shah he invaded India and entered Delhi with his golden sword in hand in remembrance of this great victory the scimitar was called the Conqueror sword and set with 1869 diamonds victorious nadir recovered the treasure in which there were extraordinary objects most importantly he coveted two stones that were very famous at the time two huge diamonds the Darian or the ocean of light a pink 182 carat diamond which is still in the Treasury and Kohinoor the mountain of light which was said at the time with its 186 carats that its price was equivalent to a day of spending worldwide it is now on the crown of England he brought back only 10% of the Persian treasure the rest was lost and stolen during the return Nader was assassinated some years later by his own captains and the treasure fell into the hands of Argo Mohammed nicknamed the castrated Khan who founded the kadjar dynasty they remained in power for a century and a half [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] the second Kjar ruler fat alicia an avid lover of jewelry and precious objects had the throne of nadir constructed and covered in twenty six thousand seven hundred and thirty three precious stones his descendant awed Dean Sean Nasser was more interested in art than politics while the Russians took control of the north of the country and the English of the south he had incredible pieces made such as the globe of gems made by Persian jewelers out of 34 kilos of gold inlaid with 50 1366 precious stones for a weight of around four kilos the Caesar emeralds continents or rubies and sapphires and Iran and the equator are diamonds [Music] in there extravagances the princes and kings of Persia did not forget the Bluestone emblem of their country their jewelers created objects of great refinement such as the hookah set with turquoise and rubies its uniqueness lies in the great care taken in choosing the stones they are all in the same tones and of the most beautiful color in 1958 the Iranian ambassador to France called on mr. Louie Busha wolf and said here you suggested to the Shah in 1928 that he opened a museum well His Majesty has decided to make a museum from the treasure of the Shah somebody I did see they the fair and it's your responsibility oh no no said mr. Luscombe look I'm a jeweler I'm not a manufacturer of sir you are hereditary keeper of the treasure of the Shah only you have a right to touch this jewelry all others are beheaded only you sir wait I forgot to tell you Casta blush and unlimited funds huh that changes everything said Bush hope what is ironic is that we did not set up the museum in Teheran but in France in a huge building that was the annex of general stores in ponte we made the entire museum except of course the jewelry that had remained in Teheran we even made the device that would cause a 6-ton door to fall in one second if a single glass pane was touched and we disassembled the museum in France there were 300 tons of cast steel and gold with precious stones glass electronics it was transferred to Tehran via Marseilles we sent 40 workers over there for eight months to set up the museum in Tehran we found the treasure in the pithy state we had left it and mr. Buchwald sent sixteen jewelers who have refurbished it all with aplomb they have remade the swords egrets and all those things reconstituted the entire museum totally done in 1962 I don't quite remember the date the Shah inaugurated the treasure of the Shah in Tehran unfortunately we Bush home had been dead for a year and it was his son who attended the inauguration saying this my father has just written his last Persian letter [Music] [Music] [Music] Persia became Iran Zoroastrianism gave way to Islam but here turquoise remains forever a symbol may be that of the paradise of Sadat where everyone wants his place [Music] you

Channel: Voillot Patrick

Views: 414,607

Rating: 4.7919025 out of 5

Keywords: documentary, gemmologist, gemstone, precious stones, gemmology, Patrick Voillot, pierre précieuse, pierres précieuses, jewelry, stone, movie, tv, frenchtv, jeweler, prices, million dollars, expedition, mine, mining, Place Vendôme, Iranians, turquoises, turquoise, Afghanistan, Nishapur, Firuze, Persian, miners, artisanal, Mashad, bazaars, silver, rings, Muslim, treasury, Melli Bank’s, Tehran, Shah of Iran, Boucheron

Id: dD4O4E4p-Ao

Length: 51min 56sec (3116 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 14 2019