Welcome to Music Friday when we often bring you throwback songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, we return to the early days of cable TV and celebrate the 40th anniversary of Spandau Ballet's James Bond-tinged pop anthem, "Gold."
In the song, the protagonist's former love interest embodies the properties of a precious metal that is not only rare and beautiful, but virtually indestructible.
Lead vocalist Tony Hadley sings, "Gold (Gold) / Always believe in your soul / You've got the power to know / You're indestructible / Always believe in, 'cos you are / Gold (Gold).
Songwriter and lead guitarist Gary Kemp had always been inspired by the soaring theme songs composed by John Barry for the Agent 007 series and was determined to compose one of his own. Kemp headed to his bedroom and knocked out "Gold."
"I used to get my brother Martin to come in when I was writing songs to give an opinion, muck about on his bass to see if I was going in the right direction," Kemp told The Mail in 2011. "He loved 'Gold' from the start so I knew that I was on to something."
It was 1983 when Spandau Ballet earned a coveted spot on the MTV playlist with a lavishly produced music video for "Gold," a 3:51 journey of international intrigue that paid homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Goldfinger (1964).
In the music video, shot in Andalusia, Spain, Hadley plays an adventurer who searches an exotic town for the missing pieces of a gold puzzle.
"Gold" was released as the fourth single from Spandau Ballet's third album, True. With support from the fledgling MTV network, "Gold" became an international hit, charting in nine countries.
The song caught the attention of the BBC, which made "Gold" the theme song for its coverage of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. In 1988, the band was invited to perform the song at the ceremony that saw Seoul pass the Olympic torch to the next host city, Barcelona. Even today, "Gold" continues to be a song associated with Olympic glory.
Formed in North London in 1979 by brothers Gary and Martin Kemp, Tony Hadley, Steve Norman, and John Keeble, Spandau Ballet enjoyed a run of new wave hits in the '80s and then a resurgence in 2009.
Please check out Spandau Ballet's official music video for "Gold." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along…
"Gold"
Written by Gary Kemp. Performed by Spandau Ballet.
Thank you for coming home
I'm sorry that the chairs are all worn
I left them here I could have sworn
These are my salad days
Slowly being eaten away
Just another play for today
Oh but I'm proud of you, but I'm proud of you
Nothing left to make me feel small
Luck has left me standing so tall
Gold (Gold)
Always believe in your soul
You've got the power to know
You're indestructible
Always believe in, 'cos you are
Gold (Gold)
Glad that you're bound to return
There's something I could have learned
You're indestructible, always believing
After the rush has gone
I hope you find a little more time
Remember we were partners in crime
It's only two years ago
The man with the suit and the face
You knew that he was there on the case
Now he's in love with you, he's in love with you
My love is like a high prison wall
But you could leave me standing so tall
Gold (Gold)
Always believe in your soul
You've got the power to know
You're indestructible
Always believe in, 'cos you are
Gold (Gold)
I'm glad that you're bound to return
Something I could have learned
You're indestructible, always believing
My love is like a high prison wall
But you could leave me standing so tall
Gold (Gold)
Always believe in your soul
You've got the power to know
You're indestructible
Always believe in, 'cos you are
Gold (Gold)
I'm glad that you're bound to return
Something I could have learned
You're indestructible, always believing
Credit: Photo by Peter.Wetter, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Legendary Brazilian soccer star Ronaldo popped the question to his model girlfriend Celina Locks last week with an eternally elegant four-prong princess-cut solitaire diamond ring.
Best known for his two World Cup victories and stellar playing career that earned him the nickname "O Fenômeno" (The Phenomenon), the now-retired striker delivered his marriage proposal during the couple's recent Caribbean getaway.
Locks, a 32-year-old fashion model and founder of Celina Locks Beauty, took to Instagram to show off the new ring and deliver a sweet message to her new fiancé.
"YES, I do!" she exclaimed, while punctuating the affirmation with two emojis — an infinity sign and an engagement ring.
On a separate line, she added in Portuguese, "Te amo, para sempre," which means "I love you, forever."
The 46-year-old Ronaldo responded to the post by writing, "Love you" followed by four red heart emojis.
Locks claims 411,000 followers on Instagram. Ronaldo boasts 29.6 million.
Described as modern and edgy, the princess-cut is technically a "square modified brilliant" and rates as the second-most-popular-shape used in engagement rings, just behind the classic round cut, according to brides.com.
"You'll get a more modern and geometrical look while still boasting a ton of brilliance," explained the publication's editors in their recent review of popular diamond shapes.
Ronaldo and Locks have been dating since February of 2015 and have yet to announce a wedding date.
Ronaldo, who is currently the majority owner of Real Valladolid CF, a Spanish soccer team in the premier LaLiga division, is said to have a net worth of about $160 million.
He shouldn't be confused with 37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, who captains the Portugal national team and now plays for Al Nassr in the Saudi Professional League. He is currently one of the best soccer players in the world and has a net worth of $490 million, according to Forbes.
In March of 2021, Locks teased her Instagram followers with a long post about how she was entering a new phase of her life and how she had “immense happiness” inside of her. Readers speculated that she might be expecting a child. In fact, she was hinting about the launch of a new perfume.
Credits: Images via Instagram / celinalocks; Instagram.com / ronaldo.
The Perth Mint is celebrating the Chinese Year of the Rabbit with a limited-edition, silver proof coin featuring the image of the Chinese zodiac animal rendered in a colorful mosaic of pure Australian opal.
Irregular slivers of high-grade opal are meticulously arranged to fill out the shape of the rabbit, which stands out against a circular black background. Because each coin requires so many individual pieces of opal, and because each sliver displays a unique "play of color," no two coins will look exactly the same.
The Chinese Year of the Rabbit officially starts on January 22, and collectors are already having a hard time securing one of the coveted coins from the limited mintage of 5,000.
"It’s one of our most popular silver numismatic releases of the year,” said Neil Vance, Perth Mint's General Manager for Minted Products.
The coin’s outer ring displays an oriental border pattern along with stylized depictions of snapdragons, said to be lucky flowers for those born in the Year of the Rabbit, the fourth animal of the ancient lunar calendar. The outer ring also includes the inscription “YEAR OF THE RABBIT,” the Chinese character for “Rabbit,” the year 2023, the coin’s weight and purity, and The Perth Mint’s traditional “P” mintmark.
Designed by Natasha Muhl, the Aussie coin measures 36.6mm in diameter, which is slightly smaller than a US silver dollar.
The one-ounce, legal tender, 99.99% pure, silver coin is the seventh release in the Australian Opal Lunar Series — a series that launched with an opal rooster design in 2017 and was followed up with opal-adorned Chinese zodiac offerings in 2018 (dog), 2019 (pig), 2020 (rat), 2021 (ox) and 2022 (tiger).
Those born in the Year of the Rabbit are said to be intelligent, creative, vigilant and compassionate.
The obverse of the tiger coin features the Jody Clark effigy of Her Majesty the late Queen Elizabeth II, the weight and fineness, the “1 DOLLAR” denomination, “AUSTRALIA,” and the Queen’s name.
Accompanied by a numbered certificate of authenticity, the collectible is housed in a classic display case with a clear lid that comes in an illustrated shipper.
The Perth Mint frequently pays tribute to themes that are truly Australian. From 2012 through 2014, for example, the mint promoted the Australian Opal Series of five coins depicting native animals, including the koala, wombat, kangaroo, pygmy possum and Tasmanian devil — all rendered in opal.
Vance confirmed that the gems used in the Opal Lunar Series come from the famous mining town of Coober Pedy, which produces more than 80% of the world’s opal supply and more precious opal than anywhere else.
Credits: Images courtesy of The Perth Mint.
During the coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey on May 6, the 74-year-old royal will be wearing the St Edward’s Crown, a lavish headpiece glistening with 444 gemstones set in 22-karat yellow gold.
Considered the centerpiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, the crown dates back to the 17th century and was, ironically, fabricated for King Charles II in 1661.
The St Edward’s Crown has seen little use during its 362-year-old history and has spent most of its time in the Tower of London. In fact, only six monarchs have chosen to wear the St Edward's Crown on their coronations: Charles II (1661), James II (1685), William III (1689), George V (1911), George VI (1937) and Elizabeth II (1953).
Others have opted for other royal crowns that better suited their tastes and comfort levels. Queen Victoria (1838) and Edward VII (1902), for example, decided to forego the honor of using the St Edward's Crown because of its weight and opted for the lighter Imperial State Crown.
Measuring 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) tall and weighing 2.23 kilograms (4.9 pounds), the St Edward's Crown is set with a colorful selection of 444 gems, including 345 aquamarines, 37 white topazes, 27 tourmalines, 12 rubies, 7 amethysts, 6 sapphires, 2 jargoons (colorless zircon), 1 garnet, 1 spinel and 1 carbuncle (red almandine). (This tally adds to 439 and the identity of the remaining six are unclear.) The crown has a velvet cap with an ermine band.
King Charles III will wear the St Edward's Crown at the moment of coronation and is likely to switch to the Imperial State Crown during the service.
In a press release, Buckingham Palace announced that the St Edward’s Crown had been removed from the Jewel House at the Tower of London to allow for resizing ahead of the coronation.
The current version of the St Edward’s Crown replaced a 13th century crown that had been melted down in 1649 when Parliament abolished the monarchy during the English Civil War. The monarchy was restored in 1660 under the leadership of Charles II.
The 1661 design was not an exact replica of the medieval design, but it mimicked the original in that it features four fleurs-de-lis alternating with four crosses pattée, which support two dipped arches.
Credits: Photos courtesy of Buckingham Palace.
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fun songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. In today’s installment, Meghan Trainor shows off her gold-and-diamond “MTRAIN” necklace in the viral video for her 2016 hit single, “Me Too.”
In this song about self-love, body image and empowerment, Trainor sings, “What’s that icy thing hangin’ ’round my neck? / That’s gold, show me some respect.”
Viewed a staggering 714 million times, the official video includes an extreme closeup of Trainor’s necklace, with MTRAIN spelled out in raised gold letters on a framed plaque adorned with two bezel-set diamonds.
Trainor, the 2016 Grammy Award winner for Best New Artist, co-wrote “Me Too” with Jason Derulo and three other collaborators. It was released as the second single from her studio album, Thank You, and quickly ascended to #13 on US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song sold three million copies in the US and charted in 15 other countries.
Interestingly, the official video for the song was released on May 9 and quickly pulled by Trainor the same day after the artist learned that her image was digitally manipulated, apparently to make her waist look thinner.
On Snapchat, Trainor commented, “My waist is not that teeny. I didn’t approve that video and it went out for the world, so I’m embarrassed.”
One day later, a new, unaltered version of the video was released.
Trainer famously referenced Photoshop editing in her mega-hit “All About That Bass” when she sang, “I see the magazines working that Photoshop, we know that ain’t real, come on now make it stop.”
The 29-year-old Trainor rose to fame after releasing Title in 2015. That chart-topping album produced three Top-10 singles and sold more than a million copies in the US alone. Trainor is one of only 21 female artists to have her debut single peak at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Please check out Trainor’s official video of “Me Too.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along.
“Me Too”
Written by Meghan Trainor, Eric Frederic, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Jason Derulo and Peter Svensson. Performed by Meghan Trainor.
Who’s that sexy thing I see over there?
That’s me, standin’ in the mirror
What’s that icy thing hangin’ ’round my neck?
That’s gold, show me some respect
I thank God every day
That I woke up feelin’ this way
And I can’t help lovin’ myself
And I don’t need nobody else, nuh uh
If I was you, I’d wanna be me too
I’d wanna be me too
I’d wanna be me too
If I was you, I’d wanna be me too
I’d wanna be me too
I’d wanna be me too
I walk in like a dime piece
I go straight to V.I.P.
I never pay for my drinks
My entourage behind me
My life’s a movie, Tom Cruise
So bless me, baby, achoo
And even if they tried to
They can’t do it like I do
I thank God every day
That I woke up feelin’ this way
And I can’t help lovin’ myself
And I don’t need nobody else, nuh uh
If I was you, I’d wanna be me too
I’d wanna be me too
I’d wanna be me too
If I was you, I’d wanna be me too
I’d wanna be me too
I’d wanna be me too
(Turn the bass up)
Turn the bass up
(Turn the bass up)
Let’s go!
I thank God every day
That I woke up feelin’ this way
And I can’t help lovin’ myself
And I don’t need nobody else, nuh uh
If I was you, I’d wanna be me too
I’d wanna be me too
I’d wanna be me too
If I was you, I’d wanna be me too
I’d wanna be me too
I’d wanna be me too
If I was you, I’d wanna be me too
I’d wanna be me too
I’d wanna be me too
If I was you, I’d wanna be me too
I’d wanna be me too
I’d wanna be me too
Credits: Screen captures via Youtube / Meghan Trainor.
In his new tell-all book, Spare, Prince Harry bursts the bubble on the popular myth that he inherited his late mother Princess Diana's iconic sapphire and diamond engagement ring, but then selflessly offered it to his older brother, Prince William, to use for his proposal to Kate Middleton in 2010.
According to the original account — attributed to Diana’s former butler, Paul Burrell — after Diana died tragically in 1997, her sons, then 15 and 12, were given an opportunity to select a keepsake from their mom’s possessions. Prince William picked a Cartier watch that his mom received on her 21st birthday and Harry got the sapphire engagement ring.
Burrell went on the explain that Diana’s ring was in Harry’s possession for 12 years, but when William broke the news to his brother that he was about to propose to his long-time girlfriend, Kate, the younger brother said, “Wouldn’t it be fitting if she had mummy’s ring? Then one day that ring will be sat on the throne of England.”
In his newly released memoir, the Duke of Sussex calls the story "nonsense."
In fact, it was William, not Harry, who had asked for the sapphire ring after their mom's passing. Harry did not object to his brother's request, and since he did not possess the ring, the sweet, noble scene described by Burrell could not have occurred.
Harry explained that the first time he got wind of his brother's engagement was when Buckingham Palace made the formal announcement in November of 2010. The brothers had traveled to Lesotho during the summer of 2010, but William did not mention at that time that he planned to propose.
This is not the first time Princess Diana's engagement ring has been cloaked in controversy. In 1981, the then-20-year-old Lady Diana shocked some members of the British royal family when she picked her engagement ring from the Garrard catalog.
In Diana’s eyes, the 18-karat white gold ring set with a 12-carat oval Ceylon sapphire surrounded by a halo of 14 round white diamonds was perfect. She loved it so much that she didn’t request any modifications or customizations.
Naysayers claimed that the ring was sub-standard because it was a stock item. They called it a “commoner’s ring” because any non-royal with a $60,000 budget could have purchased the exact piece.
Credits: Prince Harry photo by DoD News, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Princess Diana photo by John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA (Archived link), CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Engagement ring replica by Ann Porteus from Tasmania, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry in 2013 by Carfax2, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Cher's four million Twitter followers and countless fans are still waiting breathlessly for the "Believe" songstress to confirm or deny engagement rumors tied to the pear-shaped diamond she received from boyfriend Alexander 'A.E.' Edwards on Christmas Day.
Cher fueled the speculation when she took to Twitter to show off what the 36-year-old music executive put under her tree.
"THERE R NO WORDS, ALEXANDER, A.E.," she wrote alongside a photo of a black ring box holding a massive, sparkly pear-shaped diamond set on diamond band in white metal.
The 76-year-old diva quickly followed up with a duplicate shot of the ring and a replacement caption that coyly focused on her boyfriend's manicure: "I posted this cause his nails are so cool."
Jewelry-industry experts estimated the size of the center stone at somewhere between 4 and 6 carats, and placed the ring's value in the neighborhood of $250,000.
For Cher, December was a time of mixed emotions. Her diamond-loving mom, Georgia Holt, passed away on December 10 at the age of 96.
In a Twitter comment regarding her new ring, Cher noted, "Woke up Min ago, & 1st thing …B4 I Opened my eyes, I Thought… I Need 2 Run To Moms & Show Her my ring…’she Loves Diamonds.’ Before I realized it. I Had Little Tear, But Im sure this is natural. Bet Moms ears were burning Last Nite. We were telling Stories about her, WHAT A WOMAN.”
Then on New Year's Day, Cher was back on Twitter with shared photos of the couple celebrating the ball drop for 2023. In both photos, her ring is prominently in the frame, but curiously, she's wearing it on her left middle finger.
Is that a clue to her engagement status, or was the ring a bit too large for her ring finger and she really wanted to wear it out on New Year's Eve before getting it properly sized?
The first photo — seen by 7.6 million Twitter users — was captioned, "Happy New Year
Daddy."
The caption of the second photo, posted two hours later, took a shot at the naysayers who have criticized the 40-year age gap between Cher and Edwards.
She wrote, "This should Send you Haters to The Part in Wizzard of OZ…WHEN DOROTHY THREW WATER ON THE wicked Witch & Melted her."
According to etonline.com, the couple first met at Paris Fashion Week in September 2022 and confirmed their relationship a month later.
Cher addressed their age difference during a recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
"On paper it's kind of ridiculous, but in real life we get along great," she said. "He's fabulous, and I don't give men qualities that they don't deserve. He's very kind. He's very smart. He's very talented, and he's really funny. And I think he's quite handsome."
The singer-songwriter-actress has had two previous rock star marriages. She was married to Sonny Bono of Sonny & Cher fame from 1964 to 1975 and to Gregg Allman of The Allman Brothers Band from 1975 to 1979.
Credits: Images via Twitter.com / cher.
A research team analyzing archived data from NASA’s Curiosity rover have identified fractures and "halo" networks along the Martian landscape that are likely rich in opal. Since the iridescent gem is formed from water and silica, the findings provide additional evidence that the Red Planet had a watery past that could have supported microbial life.
Back in 2012, NASA sent the Curiosity rover to Mars to explore Gale Crater, a 96-mile-wide impact basin with a massive, layered mountain in the middle. The mission was supposed to last for three years, but was extended indefinitely as Curiosity continued to deliver invaluable information.
Researchers from Arizona State University have dug into the Curiosity rover's vast archive of images and found that these opal-rich "halos" of lighter-colored rock weren't isolated. Rather, they appear to exist all over Gale Crater. Curiosity's onboard neutron spectrometer was able to independently verify that fracture halos contained water-rich opal.
"Our new analysis of archival data showed striking similarity between all of the fracture halos we've observed much later in the mission," noted lead study author Travis Gabriel, who is currently a research physicist at the U.S. Geological Survey. "Seeing that these fracture networks were so widespread and likely chock-full of opal was incredible."
The researchers also noted that the vast subsurface fracture networks would have provided water-rich and radiation-shielded conditions that were potentially more habitable than those on the surface, where temperatures can descend to minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit at night and reach barely 30 degrees Fahrenheit during the day.
The findings were recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.
Looking forward, the presence of so much opal on the surface of Mars could have implications for space travelers because the structure of October's birthstone contains between 3% and 20% water.
Theoretically, when the opal is ground down and heated, the water can be extracted. The research team estimated that a 1-meter-long specimen could contain up to 5.7 liters (1.5 gallons) of water in the top 0.3 meters from the surface.
In February of 2021, NASA placed a second rover, Perseverance, on the surface of Mars. That research vehicle is currently searching for signs of life in the Jezero Crater, which is also suspected to be rich in opal-like material.
Here on Earth, fine opals are sourced mainly in Australia. Scientists believe that between 100 million and 97 million years ago, Australia’s vast inland sea, which was populated by marine dinosaurs, began retreating. As the sea regressed, a rare episode of acidic weather was taking place, exposing pyrite minerals and releasing sulphuric acid. As the surface of the basin dried further and cracked, silica-rich gel became trapped in the veins of the rock. Over time, the silica solidified to form opals.
In precious opal, the silica spheres are uniform in size and are stacked into an orderly arrangement, which gives the structure the ability to break visible white light into separate colors.
Credits: Curiosity rover image by NASA/JPL-Caltech, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Martian terrain image by Malin Space Science Systems/NASA/JPL-Caltech. Opal image by Dpulitzer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you wonderful tunes with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, jewelry items play key roles in “All I Left Behind,” a hauntingly beautiful song featuring the harmonies of Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt.
Recounting the story about a woman who unselfishly puts her life on hold to go on the road with her lover, “All I Left Behind” details the items she lost along the way, which include her silver earrings and her dad’s gold bracelet. In the end, she loses her lover, as well.
Harris and Ronstadt sing, “Silver earrings in Wichita / Beaded moccasins in Tonopah / But I had you so, I just let them go.”
In a later verse, they tell the story of a cherished keepsake: “And the gold bracelet with my father’s name inscribed / On the back by the one who loved him all her life / The way I too could have loved you.”
Written by Harris, along with sisters Kate and Anna McGarrigle, “All I Left Behind” appeared as the 12th track on Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions, a Ronstadt/Harris duet album featuring songs written by some of the most successful names in the business, including Jackson Brown, Rosanne Cash, Sinéad O’Connor and Bruce Springsteen. Singing background vocals and playing the harmonica on the album was none other than Neil Young.
“It took more than 25 years, two divergent careers and plenty of false starts, near-misses and might-have-beens, but Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris have finally made an album together,” wrote Bill DeYoung for Goldmine magazine back in 1999.
“I believe that there’s a poetic thread that holds [the songs] together,” Harris told Goldmine. “I think they all deal with very deep issues about life and love and longing and loss. For me, an album has to be a string of pearls, but they’re all slightly different. They’re not perfectly matched pearls.”
The album — featuring the songbird soprano of Harris and the velvety alto of Ronstadt — earned critical acclaim, hitting #6 on the Billboard Country albums chart while earning several Grammy nominations.
(The photo, above, shows Ronstadt and Harris receiving honorary doctorate degrees from Boston's Berklee College of Music in 2009.)
The 75-year-old Emmylou Harris boasts a stellar career spanning seven decades. Since recording her first album in 1969, she has accumulated 14 Grammy awards and 48 Grammy nominations. She became a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008 and was presented with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
Ronstadt, 76, is a 2014 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She has released 24 studio albums and charted 38 Billboard Hot 100 singles. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, a Tony nomination and a Golden Globe nomination.
We hope you enjoy the audio track of Harris and Ronstadt performing “All I Left Behind.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…
“All I Left Behind”
Written by Emmylou Harris, Kate McGarrigle and Anna McGarrigle. Performed by Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.
All I left behind should come as no surprise
To me since I fell through the black hole of your eyes
Only little things inconsequential I could say
Of all I left behind with you along the lost highway
Silver earrings in Wichita
Beaded moccasins in Tonopah
But I had you so, I just let them go
The flannel shirt I wore to keep me from the cold
When we drove from Boston all the way to Buffalo
The leather boots I bought, so many miles ago
I took them off to follow you into the Ohio
Never did my armor feel so thin
Silk was all I had between me and your skin
Like Waterloo, I lost that too
And the gold bracelet with my father’s name inscribed
On the back by the one who loved him all her life
The way I, too, could have loved you
The Spanish shawl, I put across the broken shade
Of the lamp that lit the room that last night near Coeur d’Alene
Only little things inconsequential I could say
Of all I left behind with you along the lost highway
Credit: Photo by Eric Frommer, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Pablo Lücker, a Dutch artist best known for his "Dream Script" illustrations, recently introduced the HE(ART) Diamond Collection, a grouping of 13 round diamonds, each laser inscribed with an original heart-themed design.
"It’s a great opportunity to create a story of love and passion on the smallest canvas," Lücker wrote on his Instagram page. "The resulting collection represents where heritage and craftsmanship meets art and luxury design. 13 hearts, 13 love stories, all unique."
The 37-year-old collaborated with luxury jewelry brand Trophy by Gassan, an Amsterdam-based company that holds a worldwide patent for the GASSAN 121®, a unique diamond cut featuring 121 facets. The limited-edition collection includes a dozen 1-carat diamonds and a hero 2.75-carat diamond, each inscribed with a Dream Script heart.
Lücker described the HE(ART) Diamond Collection as "The world’s smallest work of art on a diamond." The artist's challenge was to design a piece of art that could fit neatly onto the table facet of a diamond.
"For me, as an artist, it's very, very important that, because it's so small, the shape is immediately recognizable," Lücker told Euronews.com. "So, that's why I also chose to create 13 unique hearts."
To get a feeling for the size of his canvas, consider that a 1 carat round diamond has a diameter of 6.4mm. The ideal proportion for the flat table facet that you see when you look down on a round diamond is about 55% of the total diameter. That means the table alone measures about 3.5mm, or 0.137 inches — just over 1/8th of an inch.
Lücker and Trophy by Gassan unveiled the collection in December at the Masters Expo in Amsterdam. The 2.75-carat diamond carried a price tag of $134,000, while the smaller ones were priced at $31,000 each.
"Together, we took on the challenge and pushed boundaries," Lucker wrote on Instagram.
Credits: Images via Instagram / Houseofpablolucker.