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Music Friday: Awkward Teen Katy Perry Wants to Be ‘Pretty in Pearls,’ Not ‘One of the Boys’
by Tori Staniewicz on Jun 02 2017
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fun tunes with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. As part of our continuing tribute to June’s official birthstone, today’s selection from Katy Perry shines the spotlight on pearls. In the title track from her blockbuster 2008 album One of the Boys, Perry sings...
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Let’s Celebrate June’s Official Birthstone With a Close-Up Look at the Hope Pearl
by Tori Staniewicz on Jun 01 2017
Let’s celebrate June’s official birthstone with a close-up look at one of the most extraordinary natural pearls in the world. It stands two inches tall, weighs 450 carats and is the sibling of the world’s most famous blue diamond. Introducing the Hope Pearl. Back in the early part of the 19th century, a London banker...
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by Tori Staniewicz on May 31 2017
Back in 1990, a Murfreesboro, Ark., resident named Shirley Strawn became an instant celebrity when she struck it rich at the nearby Crater of Diamonds State Park — the only diamond site in the world where amateur prospectors get to keep what they find. Strawn discovered a 3.03-carat diamond in the East Drain section of the...
The post Amateur Prospector Finds 2.78-Carat Diamond in the Same Spot Where ‘Strawn-Wagner’ Was Discovered in 1990 appeared first on Diamond Designs | Orange, CT Jewelry Store.
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92-Carat Heart-Shaped ‘La Légende’ Diamond Sells for $15 Million, Sets New Auction Record
by Tori Staniewicz on May 30 2017
The 92.15-carat “La Légende” — billed as the largest D-flawless, heart-shaped diamond ever seen at auction — set a new record at Christie’s Geneva when it was scooped up by an anonymous buyer for $15 million. The previous record-holder was a 56-carat heart-shaped stone that was sold at Christie’s six years ago for $10.9 million. Described...
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by Tori Staniewicz on May 26 2017
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you awesome songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, we take a trip to the Land Down Under where country legend John Williamson sings about the untold riches lying beneath the vast, remote, inland territory known as the Australian Outback. In his 2002 song called “Sing...
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Brazilian Miners Unearth 600-Pound Emerald; Specimen Will Likely Go on Tour
by Tori Staniewicz on May 25 2017
An enormous emerald weighing more than 600 pounds and standing 4.3 feet tall was unearthed recently in Brazil’s northeastern state of Bahia. The specimen, which contains numerous emerald crystals embedded in host rock, was extracted from a depth of 656 feet at the Carnaiba mine. Credited with the amazing find are the miners of the...
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Texas Storm Chaser Combines His Two Loves in One Unforgettable Proposal Scene
by Tori Staniewicz on May 24 2017
A Texas storm chaser successfully combined the two loves of his life when he popped the question to his girlfriend with a tornado spinning perilously nearby. An amazing photo posted to his Facebook page on May 17 shows 25-year-old Alex Bartholomew on bended knee as he proposes to his girlfriend, Britney Fox Cayton. Sharing the romantic scene...
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$13 ‘Fake’ Gem Bought 30 Years Ago at a ‘Car Boot Sale’ Turns Out to Be 26-Carat Diamond Worth $448K
by Tori Staniewicz on May 23 2017
Thirty years ago, a woman from west London scooped up a showy ring for £10 ($13) at a car boot sale. Convinced that it was costume jewelry due to its inexpensive price, oversized center stone and filthy mounting, the woman cleaned it up and made it part of her day-to-day fashion wardrobe. (For Brits, a car boot...
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Two of Australia’s Finest Opals Head to Qatar for Three-Week Exhibition
by Tori Staniewicz on May 22 2017
Two of world’s finest opals — the Virgin Rainbow and the Fire of Australia — are jetting 7,000 miles from Adelaide to Doha to headline a three-week special exhibition at the Australian Embassy in Qatar. This will be the first time the gems have been seen outside of Australia. Valued at more than $1 million...
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Music Friday: In Exchange ‘For Your Love,’ The Yardbirds Will Bring Diamond Rings to Your Door
by Tori Staniewicz on May 19 2017
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you classic songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today’s featured track is “For Your Love” by the British-invasion band The Yardbirds. The 1965 hit, which features key “diamond” references, was the group’s biggest commercial success, but also triggered the departure of future...
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Apollo and Artemis Earrings Sell for $57.4 Million, Set Auction Record at Sotheby’s Geneva
by Tori Staniewicz on May 18 2017
A non-matching pair of fancy-color diamond earrings named after the twin deities Apollo and Artemis set an auction record at Sotheby’s Geneva yesterday when they sold for a combined $57.4 million. The pink and blue pear-shaped duo now hold the title of the most valuable pair of earrings ever sold at auction. Sotheby’s had promoted...
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Newlyweds Reunited With Wedding Rings 8 Days After Tornado Obliterates Their Home
by Tori Staniewicz on May 17 2017
Described as a “miracle that came out of tragedy,” Texas newlyweds Ariel and Justin Duke were reunited with Ariel’s engagement ring and wedding band eight days after a deadly tornado flattened their home and scattered debris for miles. Having learned of the couple’s plight on Facebook, amateur metal-detector enthusiast and Good Samaritan Nathan Wright meticulously scanned the...
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by Tori Staniewicz on May 16 2017
A 373.72-carat chip off the old block recently sold for $17.5 million at Lucara Diamond Corp.’s “Exceptional Stone Tender” in Botswana’s capital city of Gabarone. Immense by most standards, the rough gem is actually a broken shard from the second-largest diamond ever discovered — the 1,109-carat Lesedi la Rona. Discovered in 2015, that diamond is...
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Aussie Woman Wears Her Engagement Ring for 18 Months Without Realizing It
by Tori Staniewicz on May 15 2017
An Australian woman named Anna wore her engagement ring around her neck for 18 months without realizing it. Anna’s boyfriend, Terry, had given her a hand-carved necklace made out of Huon pine — a variety native to Tasmania — for their one-year anniversary in 2015. Little did she know that hidden in the center of...
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Music Friday: Ed Sheeran’s Grandpa Makes a Wedding Ring From Dental Gold in 2017’s ‘Nancy Mulligan’
by Tori Staniewicz on May 12 2017
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you awesome songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, the sensational Ed Sheeran sings about how his struggling grandfather made a wedding ring from dental gold in his 2017 hit, “Nancy Mulligan.” The song details the wartime love story of his grandparents...
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by Tori Staniewicz on May 11 2017
At first glance, these two gorgeous sapphires seem to be nearly identical. They both weigh approximately 10 carats and boast a comparable cut and hue. However, when offered for sale at Christie’s New York, one fetched $50,000, while the other commanded $305,000. Why the big difference? Christie’s jewelry specialist Jessica Peshall shed light on the seemingly subtle...
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Super-Dense ‘Diamond’ Planet Orbits a Pulsar 4,000 Light Years Away
by Tori Staniewicz on May 10 2017
Four thousand light years away in the constellation of Serpens, a priceless planet five times the size of our Earth races around a tiny neutron star in an orbit that takes barely 130 minutes. Comprised mainly of carbon and oxygen, the planet is so incredibly dense that astronomers believe that the carbon has taken on...
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$1.4 Million Solid Gold Darth Vader Mask Marks a 40-Year ‘Star Wars’ Milestone
by Tori Staniewicz on May 09 2017
Tokyo-based luxury jeweler Ginza Tanaka just unveiled a 33-pound, solid gold Darth Vader mask to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of the original Star Wars movie. Carrying a retail price of $1.4 million, the 24-karat gold mask has so many components that it took a crew of 10 goldsmiths three months to perfect the prototype. That...
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Half-Ton Stone Embedded With 170,000 Carats of Emeralds Steals the Show in Abu Dhabi
by Tori Staniewicz on May 08 2017
Standing nearly four feet tall and weighing more than a half ton, the world’s largest emerald-embedded stone attracted impressive crowds last week at the Abu Dhabi International Jewellery & Watch Show. The priceless stone, which is 45 inches tall and 29 inches wide, is embedded with 130 emerald crystals weighing about 170,000 carats. During the opening of...
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Music Friday: Kelly Clarkson Describes Herself as ‘A Diamond From Black Dust’ in 2012’s ‘Dark Side’
by Tori Staniewicz on May 05 2017
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you hit songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Kelly Clarkson reveals her vulnerable side and wonders out loud if her boyfriend can love her — despite her flaws — in her 2012 hit, “Dark Side.” In this soaring synth-pop ballad, songwriters...
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