By reviewing surveillance video, the general services director of a transfer station in Windham, NH, was able to narrow down the location of a garbage bag containing a bridal set that had been accidentally thrown away. Kevin Butler had mistakenly discarded the rings that his wife of 32 years had just cleaned and wrapped in […]
A gamma-ray burst generated by a rare kilonova signaled the birth of platinum, gold and other heavy elements equal to 1,000 times the mass of the Earth, according to an international team of scientists. On Dec. 11, 2021, NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected a blast of high-energy light from […]
Philanthropist and humanitarian Mitzi Perdue’s 400-year-old historic emerald hit the auction block at Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels Sale in New York last week and the results were stellar. Despite a modest pre-sale high estimate of $70,000, the 5.27-carat emerald mounted on a gold band drew a winning bid of $1.2 million with all the proceeds going […]
Welcome to a special holiday edition of Music Friday when we bring you great songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Kelly Clarkson sings about the glittery items on her Christmas wish list in the 2013 favorite “4 Carats.” In this tune penned by Clarkson and three collaborators, the […]
An elaborate and stylish necklace discovered at an early-Christian burial site dating back to the 7th century AD was revealed to the press on Tuesday by scholars at the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA). Dubbed the "Harpole Treasure," the necklace is unique because it likely belonged to a powerful female religious leader during a time […]
Early season donations of valuable diamond jewelry and gold coins are signaling a bright holiday season for Salvation Army chapters across the country. The Salvation Army’s bell-ringing season starts each November and runs through Christmas Eve. Most of the donations come in the form of pocket change and paper money, but each year the well […]
The humble, but widely loved, text message celebrated its 30th anniversary on December 3. Three decades ago, British software programmer and test engineer Neil Papworth sent the world’s very first text, which simply read, "Merry Christmas.” Today, texting is one of the most popular forms of communication, with Americans sending more than 6 billion text […]
Described as a "new animated red that revels in pure joy," Viva Magenta was just named Pantone's Color of the Year for 2023. According to The Pantone Color Institute, Viva Magenta is inspired by cochineal, a red dye derived from the dried bodies of female cochineal insects. Cochineal dye was used as early as the […]
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fabulous songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, we feature Fleetwood Mac's iconic 1977 hit, "The Chain," a song that represents the band's strength, love and resilience despite five decades of personal and professional obstacles. For Christine McVie, who passed away […]
Fifty-five years ago, a Maasai tribesman named Jumanne Ngoma happened upon a cluster of intense blue-violet crystals in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. At first glance, they appeared to be sapphires, but it was later revealed that the stones were a never-before-seen variation of zoisite. The mesmerizing mineral quickly caught the attention of […]