The 6.16-carat blue diamond originally presented in 1715 as a wedding gift to Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain, has emerged on the market for the first time and will be offered for sale at Sotheby’s Geneva on May 15. It is expected to fetch between $3.7 million and $5.3 million. Sotheby's noted that the blue […]
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you the hottest songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Taylor Swift wants to wear her new boyfriend's initial on a chain around her neck in the introspective 2017 hit, "Call It What You Want." Written by Swift and collaborator Jack Antonoff, […]
Chinese researchers have successfully restored the vision of blind mice by replacing their deteriorated photoreceptors with artificial ones made from gold and titanium. Using jewelry-industry metals to reverse blindness could prove to be a game changer in the treatment of debilitating eye diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and macular degeneration. In the study, scientists […]
A tiny diamond found at South Africa's Cullinan mine is credited with preserving and ferrying an unstable, never-before-seen deep-Earth mineral 400 miles to the surface. Scientists at the University of Alberta's Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences discovered a minuscule sample of the elusive mineral "calcium silicate perovskite" trapped within the rough diamond that measured […]
A spectacular 24.70-carat cushion-shaped ruby ring will share top billing with "The Circle of Heaven" jadeite bracelet at Sotheby's Hong Kong on April 3. Both items are expected to fetch more than $10 million when they hit the auction block at the Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite Spring Sale. Rubies found in the Mogok region of […]
Gold, platinum and diamonds literally rained from the sky over the frigid city of Yakutsk in eastern Siberia last Thursday. The wild display of flying treasure — worth 21 billion rubles or $368 million — was attributed to the failed cargo hatch of a Cold War-era transport plane called the Antonov An-12. The aircraft was […]
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you new songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, former American Idol Scotty McCreery delivers a first-hand account of his mountaintop marriage proposal to future bride Gabi Dugal in his brand new single, "This Is It." In the song, the 24-year-old McCreery […]
Quick action and perfect timing are credited with saving $100,000 worth of diamond jewelry from a ghastly demise at the Hall County landfill, about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta. This past Friday, a Georgia woman (who wishes to remain anonymous) mistakenly threw away two diamond rings and a tennis bracelet. Even though she felt sick […]
The colossal 910-carat diamond recovered from the Letšeng mine in January was sold on Monday for $40 million. Dubbed the "Lesotho Legend" to honor its country of origin, the Type IIa, D-color rough specimen is the fifth-largest gem-quality diamond ever discovered. The Lesotho Legend also has the distinction of being the largest gem-quality diamond ever […]
Hidden Valley is honoring the upcoming nuptials between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle — and National Ranch Day — with a bejeweled bottle of salad dressing valued at $35,000. White diamonds punctuate the crown-shaped cap, while green and blue sapphires adorn the bottle's neck. Thin ribbons of blue sapphires hug the contours of the bottle […]