Laurence Graff quotes
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“Whatever nature gives us, we explore & we build on.”
-- Laurence Graff -
“The Graff Hallucination is a sculptural masterpiece; a celebration of the miracle of coloured diamonds. For many years I have thought about creating a truly remarkable watch that illustrates our all-consuming passion for diamonds. The Hallucination has made my diamond dream a reality.”
-- Laurence Graff -
“When there's an opportunity, some people pass it by. I've been lucky enough to recognise opportunities and every day, in my business, there's an opportunity somewhere - to buy, expand, design.”
-- Laurence GraffSource : "British businessman". Interview with Godfrey Barker, Evening Standard's ES Magazine, December 17, 2007.
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“I always believed, right from the beginning, if you're going to do something, do it the best. If you're going to work, you want to enjoy it-make a product that you really enjoy selling or owning.”
-- Laurence GraffSource : Source: www.interviewmagazine.com
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“It's the rough diamond that dictates what you can get out of a diamond. You can't say, "I'm going to make this," or, "I'm going to make that." It's nature. Whatever nature gives us, we explore and we build on. We can't create something that is not in the stone, so we take away as many imperfections as we can. Sometimes, you can't take them all away. But mostly, our cut, our polish, the life we put into the stones, the beauty that we bring out is exceptional.”
-- Laurence GraffSource : Source: www.interviewmagazine.com
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“Your eye becomes more mature. What you don't see the first time, you keep looking, and eventually you'll see it. And when you are confident with what your eye sees, you know you've got to have it.”
-- Laurence GraffSource : Source: www.interviewmagazine.com
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“I think a lot of people are involved in art because of the fashion of art and the conversation. It gives them a certain sophistication, something to speak about. But art is, if it's conceptual, really about understanding the concept. And if it's beautiful, it's about seeing the beauty. It's gone much further than that now. There's too much commercialism attached to art. If the market cracks one day big-time, you'll frighten so many people away who will never come back. Because they don't really feel for art. People who buy art should want it because they love it, they want to enjoy it.”
-- Laurence GraffSource : Source: www.interviewmagazine.com
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“I can't draw. I can't paint. But what I can do is tell somebody else what to do. I'm a creator. I can tell an artist what to do. I can be behind the artist. I have the eye, so I can move things around. I can put stones together. I can match them.”
-- Laurence GraffSource : Source: www.interviewmagazine.com
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“Don't try to buy art as an investment. Buy something you really love because you're going to have to look at it again tomorrow. And an investment can go up or down. Buy something you really adore, you really like, and you want to live with. And if you decide some years later you don't want to live with it anymore, sell it. Get out.”
-- Laurence GraffSource : Source: www.interviewmagazine.com
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“Unfortunately, some of the young talants are becoming fashionable. And anything that's fashionable can become unfashionable. So one has to watch that. And it's very easy today because there are so many events - art fairs, gallery openings, etcetera. In fact, that's another thing that concerns me, the quantity of gallery openings. In my office in London, I get back after a week, and I have 30 invitations. It's too much.”
-- Laurence GraffSource : Source: www.interviewmagazine.com
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“Art is like an avalanche being poured down your throat. You know it's going to crack, eventually it's going to go out of fashion. I wish there was much less happening. I wish there were fewer art dealers. I wish there were fewer auctions. I wish there were just two auctions a year.”
-- Laurence GraffSource : Source: www.interviewmagazine.com
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“I went to an auction in the late '70s and bought a small Renoir. People said, "Why did you buy a Renoir that size?" I said, "I can put it in the safe with my diamonds." And that was a true story. I bought it to put it in the safe.”
-- Laurence GraffSource : Source: www.interviewmagazine.com
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“I went to a job and sat down as a proper apprentice, learning how to make jewelry. It involved a lot of remodeling and repairing. It was a bad time in England in those days and people didn't have much money - they would repair a ring rather than buy a new one. They would thicken up the gold. I learned all the ways to make something look new again.”
-- Laurence GraffSource : Source: www.interviewmagazine.com
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“Collecting contemporary art I started with some of the younger artists. Although, having a son who's an artist, I was hesitant-I think he was a little anxious when I bought another young man's work. But it might have encouraged him in the long run.”
-- Laurence GraffSource : Source: www.interviewmagazine.com
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“I was always a little bit of a collector and a hoarder. And whenever I got involved in anything, whatever it was - even when I was a kid and I collected cigarette cards - I really got into it and had the most. So when it came to paintings, once I got the bug, I always wanted to buy something. But I really knew nothing about art.”
-- Laurence GraffSource : Source: www.interviewmagazine.com
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“I'm attracted to the work of younger artists, and it's affordable compared to mature art, so you can take a chance much easier on a younger artist. I can't say that I've found an artist who I think is going to be the next Bacon or Warhol. You shouldn't have to do that really. You go forward, and you find something new.”
-- Laurence GraffSource : Source: www.interviewmagazine.com
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