US consumers are projected to spend a record $6.4 billion on jewelry gifts for Valentine’s Day 2024, outpacing last year's total by 16.3%, and up an amazing 64.1% compared to 2019, according to a survey just released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics. Jewelry topped all other categories for the 8th year in a row and is expected to account for 25 cents of every dollar spent on gifts for the holiday.
The jewelry category's gains come at the same time when overall Valentine gift sales are expected to be flat. Total spending for Cupid's Day, according the the NRF, is projected to tick down in 2024 from $25.9 billion to $25.8 billion.
The NRF also predicted new spending records for three other categories: "evening out" ($4.9 billion), "clothing" ($3 billion) and flowers ($2.6 billion) categories.
Another important finding is that spending dollars seem to be shifting towards "significant others" and away from "other family members," "friends," "children's classmates/teachers" and "co-workers."
The value of Valentine's Day gifts intended for significant others/spouses will see an increase of 5.2% in 2024 ($14.2 billion vs. $13.5 billion). Gift budgets allocated to significant others/spouses is expected to reach an all-time high of $101.84, while overall household spending for Valentine's Day is expected to be $185.81, down from $192.80 in 2023 and off the $196.31 peak set in 2020.
Exactly 57% of survey respondents intended to give candy in 2024, followed by greeting cards (40%), flowers (39%), an evening out (32%), jewelry (22%), clothing (21%) and gift cards (19%).
More than half of consumers (53%) plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, which is on par with the 52% tallied last year. Sixty-two percent of consumers ages 25-34 plan to celebrate this year, a higher proportion than any other age group.
According to the NRF, among those not celebrating Valentine’s Day, 29% still plan to mark the occasion in some way. Many will treat themselves to something special, while others will plan a get-together or evening out with their single friends or family members.
As the leading authority and voice for the retail industry, NRF provides data on consumer behavior and spending for key periods such as holidays throughout the year. The survey of 8,329 US adult consumers was conducted January 2-8 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.
Credit: Image by BigStockPhoto.com.
Chewy, the online purveyor of pet supplies, is offering $1,000 eGift cards to 10 lucky couples who include their pets in their marriage proposal photos or videos.
At its official website, the company explains that pets are fur-children, first loves and sometimes "the favorite cuddle," but when its time to take the next steps in a romantic relationship, pets should be right there to share in the excitement.
The rules for the contest are simple. Couples planning to get married during 2024 or 2025 must tag their "pet-posal" photos or videos with @Chewy and use the hashtag #ChewyPetposals. The 10 best entries posted between January 10, 2024, and March 31, 2024, will win a $1,000 eGift card, and 100 couples will get a "special surprise gift."
Chewy explained that it really doesn't matter how the pet is framed in the photo.
"Whether it’s getting your pet’s permission, having them deliver the ring or even a photobomb happy accident, we’re here for it all," the Chewy website noted.
After popping the question, all attention shifts to the impending wedding, and according to a Chewy survey, 21% of married couples have included pets in their weddings.
Respondents said that their beloved pets were incorporated into the festivities in many ways, such as ring bearers (50%), flower girls (17%), page boys (13%). Pets were also included on wedding invitations and save-the-date cards, "first look" photos and cake toppers. Some couples even named a signature drink after their four-legged friends.
Notes Chewy on its website that it's no surprise that many couples want their pets to be a part of this major relationship milestone, especially when you consider these other survey stats...
95% believe their pet loves them unconditionally
93% are happier because of their pet
70% say they are obsessed with their pets
Credit: Photo by Katie Wallace on Unsplash
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you classic chart toppers with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Gladys Knight & the Pips tell a story of unrequited love in their 1970 hit single, “If I Were Your Woman.”
In the song, the protagonist is a young woman whose love interest continues to give her the cold shoulder. His attention is focused on a rival, despite the fact that she treats him so poorly. Songwriters Gloria Jones, Pamela Joan Sawyer and Clay McMurray use a diamond vs. glass comparison to describe how the two women value the same man.
Knight sings, “She tears you down darlin’, says you’re nothing at all / But, I’ll pick you up darling, when she lets you fall / You’re like a diamond but she treats you like glass / Yet you beg her to love you, but, me you don’t ask.”
According to music trivia website Songfacts.com, the song came together while Jones and Sawyer were having a discussion about gender issues during the infancy of the Women’s Liberation Movement. They were looking to compose a piece about how women could be committed in their relationships while remaining strong and independent.
“If I Were Your Woman” appears as the first track from Gladys Knight & the Pips’ album of the same name. The single zoomed all the way to #1 on the Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles chart and peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
The song has been covered by a number of top artists, including Stephanie Mills (1988) and Alicia Keys (2006). The Keys version received a nomination for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance at the 2006 Grammy Awards.
Established in Atlanta as The Pips in 1952, the group led by founding member Gladys Knight topped the music charts for more than three decades. Gladys Knight & the Pips are multiple Grammy and American Music Award winners and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
The group disbanded in 1989, but Knight went on to a successful solo career. Also known as The Empress of Soul, Knight continues to maintain an active touring schedule at the age of 79.
Please check out Gladys Knight & the Pips performing “If I Were Your Woman” on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1971. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…
“If I Were Your Woman”
Written by Gloria Jones, Pamela Joan Sawyer and Clay McMurray. Performed by Gladys Knight & the Pips.
If I were your woman and you were my man,
you’d have no other woman, you’d be weak as a lamb.
If you had the strength to walk out that door,
My love would overrule my sense, and I’d call you back for more,
If I were your woman.
If I were your woman, and you were my man.
She tears you down darlin’, says you’re nothing at all.
But, I’ll pick you up darling, when she lets you fall.
You’re like a diamond but she treats you like glass.
Yet you beg her to love you, but, me you don’t ask.
If I were your woman, If I were your woman.
If I were your woman, here’s what I’d do,
I’d never, never, never stop loving you.
If I were your woman, here’s what I’d do,
I’d never, never, never stop loving you.
If I were your woman, the sweet lovin' woman
You'd need no other woman
If I were your woman, I'd be your only woman
You'd have no other woman
I'd never stop loving you…
Credit: Photo by Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
M&M's just released the teaser video of the "Almost Champions" TV spot that will air during the first quarter of Super Bowl LVIII on February 11 on CBS. In the lighthearted look at professional footballers who had stellar careers but never won a championship ring, M&M's steps in with a "Ring of Comfort" adorned with lab-grown diamonds derived from M&M's peanut butter.
The teaser spotlights the beloved M&M's characters providing comfort to three NFL Hall of Fame Legends who just missed earning a Super Bowl ring in their respective Big Game appearances – Dan Marino (Miami Dolphins, 1985), Terrell Owens (Philadelphia Eagles, 2005) and Bruce Smith (Buffalo Bills, 4 times, 1991-1994).
Designed to look like Super Bowl bling, the first-of-its kind Almost Champions ring is crafted in 14-karat gold and adorned with a diamond-encrusted replica of Mars' beloved M&M's Orange character. The character is holding a football and giving the peace sign while standing in cleats against a field of orange-red baguettes.
When the ring top is twisted open, a secret internal compartment reveals a mini replica of a football stadium designed to snugly house a single Peanut Butter M&M's candy.
The minute-long teaser video mimics the style of a blockbuster movie trailer.
"In a world where Super Bowl winners get the world's admiration and the fancy ring, but the runners-up get nothing, one retired quarterback returns to claim what's his," announces the Yellow M&Ms character in an exaggerated movie trailer voice. Shown on the screen is Marino, captioned as "The Almost Champion."
The video then transitions into the science of making lab-grown diamonds from carbon-based products. Under the title "Actual Science," a scientist in a white lab coat explains how M&M's peanut butter was heated to 3,000 degrees Centigrade, purifying it into graphite. The video speeds up to show flashes of images related to the diamond cutting and polishing process with the end result being a perfectly faceted diamond.
As Owens looks at a handful of diamonds held by the scientist all he can do is sigh as he is patted on the shoulder by the Green M&M's character.
Then Smith gets a look at the diamonds and laments, "Four times," referencing his four Super Bowl appearances without a win. The scientist responds, "I remember."
The closing scene shows Ms. Brown M&M's (yes, that's her official name) and Yellow M&M's looking at the Almost Champions ring on her big screen television.
"Wow, that was something," she says.
"The peanut butter M&M's?" asks the Yellow M&M's character. "Or my movie trailer voice?"
"The M&M's Super Bowl campaign highlights the essence of sportsmanship for me — celebrating all players for the endless, demanding effort they put into their craft while enjoying the fun of the game," noted Hall-of-Famer Marino.
"Historically only one team walks away with a championship ring," he continued, "but Mars' inclusive message to inspire moments of happiness and to bring fun to everyone on and off the field really resonated with me. Just like the game itself, stay tuned for the ad's full release as there are always some surprising twists."
Notes Mars in its press release, "At long last, Almost Champions everywhere can raise their glittering hands in triumph."
Check out the trailer here…
Images courtesy of Mars, Incorporated.
Sara Bareilles, who is best known for starring in and composing the original score for the Broadway hit Waitress, just added photographer and hand model to her list of credits as she presented to 850,000 Instagram followers a photo montage featuring her vintage diamond engagement ring.
Spoofing the not-so-subtle way future brides show off their rings on social media, the three-time Tony winner posed with her new bauble while holding random items, such as a pen, avocado, scissors and wine bottle. The singer-songwriter-actress described the carousel of pics as “hand holding things” taken by me.
Bareilles, who currently stars with her fiancé, Joe Tippett, in the film adaptation of Waitress, noted that her new ring not only replaces the simple placeholder she's been wearing for more than a year, but also represents a "leap of faith."
Tippett, 41, had proposed to the “Love Song” singer, 44, with a simple gold ring they purchased while on holiday south of the border. They settled on a basic ring because the task of choosing the perfect ring became overwhelming.
"We bought the gold leaf [ring] at an arts fair in Mexico City last December because looking for a ring started to feel like it was distorting and eclipsing the beauty of choosing each other," Bareilles wrote on Instagram.
In the Instagram post, she explained how their recent visit to an Upstate New York antique store yielded her forever ring.
As they shopped, Bareilles looked at tiny lamp shades while Tippett gravitated to a vintage ring featuring an unusual center diamond flanked by two smaller diamonds.
(A jewelry-industry insider told The Jeweler Blog that the center stone appears to be an "Old Euro," or European Cut, which is characterized by a high crown and small table. The insider added that the Old Euro predates the modern round brilliant-cut by 40 years.)
"It didn’t fit my finger so I was scared to take the leap," she wrote. "I had been thinking I should go get something custom or really hunt for the ‘right ring’ so I balked at it."
On the drive back home, Bareilles and Tippett discussed the real meaning behind an engagement ring.
"That it is something he wants to give me, not just get for me," she explained. "That the leap of faith of not quite knowing if it was ‘the one’ is just that. A leap of faith. And isn’t that life?"
Bareilles and Tippett went back for the vintage ring the next day.
"I look at this ring and think of his big blue eyes and how sometimes they are pleading with me to let go and grow into something new with him. So I did," she wrote.
Bareilles got the ring sized and wears it proudly, as her Instagram selfies can attest.
"Now I just love that I see him when I look at it. I like looking at you @joetipps,” she concluded.
Bareilles and Tippett have yet to announce any wedding plans.
The singer had previously told People magazine that she and her fiancé are torn between two wedding options. The first is going down to City Hall and "just do the thing." The second is to have a great party with friends and family.
"And so I don't know," she said. "We're still figuring it out.”
Credits: Images via Instagram / sarabareilles.
As tight end Travis Kelce and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas Chiefs battled the Buffalo Bills Sunday night and punched their ticket to the AFC title game, CBS-TV's production crew spent a good part of the broadcast zooming in on a luxury box, where Taylor Swift and friends celebrated her boyfriend's on-field heroics that included two touchdown catches.
Just after scoring his first touchdown, Kelce made a heart sign and looked up at the suite where Swift was seated. Since September, Kelce and Swift have become one of the most talked about celebrity power couples, and speculation abounds as to when the seven-time Pro Bowler might pop the question to the 12-time Grammy Award winner.
The couple has deflected engagement rumors, but a juicy tidbit just emerged about Kelce's concepts for a "unique" and deeply symbolic ring for the love of his life.
An insider told the Daily Mail that Kelce has been talking to family and friends about the possibility of harvesting diamonds from his two Super Bowl rings and incorporating them into bridal jewelry for Swift.
“He wants to make sure it isn’t something cheesy, but more unique and something that is a part of him that he shares with her to show that forever means forever,” the insider said.
Certainly, those Super Bowl rings would yield a bonanza of diamonds and rubies.
The Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVII ring (awarded in 2023) contains 609 round diamonds, 16 baguette diamonds, four marquise diamonds and 35 custom-cut genuine rubies totaling approximately 16.10 carats.
The Super Bowl LIV ring (awarded in 2020) features 244 round diamonds, 9 baguette diamonds, two marquise diamonds, four baguette rubies and 32 custom-cut rubies for a total gem carat weight of 10.85 carats.
“Travis’ career is a major focus for the next several weeks," the insider said. "He has to get the job done. He wants another Super Bowl ring, but it is safe to say that there is room to think about Taylor."
The insider continued, "…he loves her and sees a future with her and has thought about what a ring for her would be like, as well.”
In addition to the notion of using Super Bowl gemstones in Swift's bridal rings, Kelce entertained the idea of incorporating a meaningful inscription, as well.
“He has thought of having a lyric or a quote engraved on the band that is special to both of them," the insider said.
Kelce and Swift, both 34, went public with their relationship in September of 2023, but they actually started seeing each other in July of 2023 after exchanging numbers during her Eras Tour stop in Kansas City.
Swift has been a fixture at Kansas City Chiefs' football games throughout the season, and she's been an enthusiastic fan. TV networks have acknowledged that Swift's interest in the NFL has boosted ratings — especially among younger women — and the Chiefs reported a 400% sales spike in Travis Kelce jerseys.
Credits: Taylor Swift photo by Paolo Villanueva from New York, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Travis Kelce image by Adam Schultz, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Images of Super Bowl LIV and LVII rings courtesy of Jostens.
On his first visit to Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park, a French tourist plucked a 7.46-carat chocolate brown diamond from the surface of the park’s 37.5-acre search area. About the size of a candy gumdrop, the roundish diamond is the eighth-largest ever discovered at the only diamond site in the world that’s open to the general public.
The park was not on Julien Navas's original itinerary. The Paris native's first stop was Cape Canaveral, FL, where he witnessed the launch of the moon-bound Vulcan Centaur Rocket on January 8. A few days later, he extended his trip to explore New Orleans with some friends and was intrigued by their stories about a park in Arkansas that sits upon the exposed eroded surface of an ancient diamond-bearing kimberlite pipe.
Navas had previously enjoyed his experiences panning for gold and searching for ammonite fossils, so he decided to add to his US adventure a stop at the world-famous diamond park in Murfreesboro.
Outfitted with rented gear, Navas got to work early on Thursday, January 11. The park had recently received more than an inch of rain, making the terrain wet and muddy.
“I got to the park around 9 o’clock and started to dig,” he said. “That is back-breaking work, so by the afternoon I was mainly looking on top of the ground for anything that stood out."
That strategy was not a bad one, because many of the park's largest diamonds have been found on the surface, according to Assistant Park Superintendent Waymon Cox.
“We periodically plow the search area to loosen the diamond-bearing soil and promote natural erosion,” he said. “As rain falls on the field, it washes away the dirt and uncovers heavy rocks, minerals and diamonds near the surface.”
After several hours of picking potential treasures, he carried his finds to the park’s Diamond Discovery Center. There he learned that one of his selections — a deep chocolate brown stone in the shape of a marble — was, indeed, a 7.46-carat diamond.
“I am so happy!" Navas exclaimed upon hearing the good news. "All I can think about is telling my fiancée what I found.”
In honor of his fiancée, he named his treasure the "Carine Diamond."
Navas told the park's administrators that he was planning to have the rough stone cut into two polished diamonds, one for his fiancée and one for his daughter. He also noted that he was planning to return to the park with his daughter once she's a bit older.
“It is always so exciting to see first time visitors find diamonds, especially large diamonds like this one,” said Park Interpreter Sarah Reap.
Navas called Crater of Diamonds State Park "a magical place, where the dream of finding a diamond can come true.”
The largest diamond ever discovered in the United States was unearthed in Murfreesboro in 1924. Named the “Uncle Sam,” the white diamond with a pink cast weighed 40.23 carats. The site of that early mining operation became a state park in 1972.
Credits: Images courtesy of Arkansas State Parks.
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you sensational songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Ed Sheeran tells the heartwarming story of his struggling grandfather, who made a wedding ring from dental gold in his 2017 hit, “Nancy Mulligan.”
The song chronicles the wartime love story of his grandparents and how their relationship flourished despite religious differences and the objections of their families.
With the scene set during the Second World War, the four-time Grammy winner recounts in the voice of grandpa William Sheeran how he fell in love with Nancy Mulligan at London’s Guy’s Hospital. He was a struggling dentist and she was a nurse.
Sheeran sings, “On the summer day when I proposed, I made that wedding ring from dentist gold / And I asked her father but her daddy said no / You can’t marry my daughter.”
“One was a Protestant from Belfast and [the other] was a Catholic from southern Ireland,” Sheeran explained on the Beats 1 radio show. “They got engaged and no one turned up to the wedding.”
The 32-year-old superstar noted that his grandparents were so poor that they had to borrow clothes for their wedding and that the gold for his grandmother’s wedding ring came from a collection of gold teeth his grandfather had collected during dental surgeries.
(Note: Gold used to make fine jewelry is generally 14-karat or 18-karat and alloyed with copper, silver and zinc. Dental gold is usually a 16-karat alloy containing palladium, silver, copper and/or tin.)
“[They] had this sort of Romeo and Juliet romance, which is like the most romantic thing," Sheeran said on the radio show. "I thought I’d write a song about it and make it a jig.”
Sheeran's grandparents were married for more than 60 years and had a profound impact on their grandson’s life. William passed away in 2013 and Nancy died in April of 2023.
“Nancy Mulligan” is part of the Deluxe Edition of Ed Sheeran’s third studio album ÷ (pronounced Divide), and despite the fact that it wasn’t officially released as a single, the song still managed to chart in 17 countries. Divide made its debut at #1 on the US Billboard 200 chart.
Please check out Sheeran's 2017 live performance of "Nancy Mulligan" on The Late Late Show. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…
“Nancy Mulligan”
Written by Ed Sheeran, Benjamin Levin, Johnny McDaid, Foy Vance, Amy Wadge and Murray Cummings. Performed by Ed Sheeran.
I was 24 years old when I met the woman I would call my own
Twenty two grand kids now growing old, in the house that your brother bought ya
On the summer day when I proposed, I made that wedding ring from dentist gold
And I asked her father but her daddy said "No"
You can’t marry my daughter
She and I went on the run
Don’t care about religion
I’m gonna marry the woman I love
Down by the Wexford border
She was Nancy Mulligan, and I was William Sheeran
She took my name and then we were one
Down by the Wexford border
Well, I met her at Guy's in the Second World War
She was working on a soldier’s ward
Never had I seen such beauty before
The moment that I saw her
Nancy was my yellow rose
And we got married wearing borrowed clothes
We got eight children now growing old
Five sons and three daughters
She and I went on the run
Don’t care about religion
I’m gonna marry the woman I love
Down by the Wexford border
She was Nancy Mulligan, and I was William Sheeran
She took my name and then we were one
Down by the Wexford border
From her snow white streak in her jet black hair
Over 60 years I’ve been loving her
Now we’re sat by the fire, in our old armchairs
Nancy, I adore ya
From a farm boy born near Belfast town
I never worried about the king and crown
Cause I found my heart upon the southern ground
There’s no difference, I assure ya
She and I went on the run
Don’t care about religion
I’m gonna marry the woman I love
Down by the Wexford border
She was Nancy Mulligan, and I was William Sheeran
She took my name and then we were one
Down by the Wexford border
Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com / The Late Late Show.
The new year started off with a bang for two of the world's most famous diamond mines. On January 9, Gem Diamonds unearthed a high-quality 295-carat stone at its prolific Letšeng mine in Lesotho. Only one day later, Lucara Diamond Corp. showed off a 166-carat sparkler from its Karowe mine in Botswana.
Both mining companies described their finds as white, Type IIa stones, which are colorless and chemically pure with no traces of nitrogen impurities.
Situated two miles above sea level in the tiny, landlocked Kingdom of Lesotho, the twin Letšeng diamond mines churn out some of the largest and highest-value diamonds in the world. In fact, the Letšeng site generates the highest average dollar-per-carat of any kimberlite diamond mine in the world.
Among the country’s highest-profile rough diamonds are the Lesotho Legend (910 carats), Lesotho Promise (603 carats), Letšeng Star (550 carats), Lesotho Legacy (493 carats), Light of Letšeng (478 carats), Letšeng Icon (439 carats), Letšeng Princess (367 carats), Letšeng Dynasty (357 carats) and the Letšeng Destiny (314 carats).
The most recent find signals an encouraging start to 2024. The Letšeng mine is hoping to score some bigger pay days this year because the number of 100-carat-plus diamonds generated by the mine has been declining in recent years. After unearthing 16 super-large diamonds in 2020 and six in 2021, the number decreased to four in both 2022 and 2023, according to rapaport.com.
The recovery of 100-carat-plus gems is essential to the financial health of Gem Diamonds because these high-value diamonds reportedly account for 70% and 80% of the company's revenue each year.
In Botswana, the 166-carat diamond sourced from Karowe's highly productive South Lobe represented the mine's 328th stone larger than 100 carats since it commenced operations in 2012.
According to Wikipedia's list of the largest rough diamonds ever found, seven of the top 21 have come from the Karowe Mine. The largest Karowe finds include Sewelô (1,758 carats), Unnamed (1,174 carats), Lesedi La Rona (1,109 carats) and Unnamed (998 carats).
The Karowe Mine had been expected to cease operations in 2025, but an underground expansion at the cost of $683 million will extend its productive lifespan until at least 2040.
Credits: Letšeng diamond image courtesy of Gem Diamonds. Karowe diamond image courtesy of Lucara Diamond Corp.
Since 2019, the Royal Canadian Mint has been celebrating the Great White North's cultural diversity with an annual release of gem-adorned gold coins. The 2024 installment, which honors Canadians who trace their ancestry to Iran, Ancient Persia and beyond, is set with a genuine turquoise in the center of a 99.99% pure gold, 1-ounce coin.
The coin's intricately rendered reverse side was designed by Iranian-Canadian artist Soheila Esfahani, whose work reflects a contemporary take on traditional elements. For this coin, Esfahani incorporated Persian Eslimi patterns, Shah Abbasi flower motifs, lotus flowers inspired by the reliefs of Persepolis, stylized maple leaves symbolizing Canadian identity and a paisley arrangement in the center.
Genuine turquoise was selected as the featured gemstone because it figures prominently in Iranian art and architecture, and continues to be highly prized for its deep blue-green hue. Historically, Ancient Iranians called turquoise "piruzeh," which meant victory. They also believed that piruzeh offered protection.
According to the Mint, the coin's balanced symmetry and stirring symbolism are meant to inspire, to urge us to transcend our perceived limits, and to find inner peace and tranquility.
The obverse of the coin features the Susanna Blunt effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, as well as a special marking that includes four pearls symbolizing the four effigies of the Queen that have graced Canadian coins throughout her reign.
It also includes the Queen's name, the dates of her reign (1952-2022), Canada, the year 2024, the "200 Dollars" face value and the Latin phrase, "D.G. Regina," which means "By the grace of God, Queen."
Measuring 30 mm in diameter, the coin will have a limited mintage of 275 pieces. The coin has a face value of $200, but is priced at CAD 4,499.95 (about $3,334). The Mint pointed out that since turquoise features distinctive patterning and hue variations, no two coins will look exactly the same. Each collectible coin is presented in a Royal Canadian Mint-branded clamshell box.
The turquoise-set coin is the fifth in the Royal Canadian Mint’s "Celebrating Canada’s Diversity" series, which previously honored Sinhala and Indian cultures with a ruby (2019), Scottish and Irish descendants with an emerald (2021), French-Canadians with a blue sapphire (2022) and the indigenous Haida people with an ocean-colored abalone shell (2023). The annual series was temporarily disrupted in 2020 due to COVID-19.
Credits: Images courtesy of the Royal Canadian Mint.