Japanese scientists are on a mission to save the species of oyster responsible for producing the world's most beautiful cultured pearls. The Japanese pearl oyster — Pinctada fucata — is fighting for its survival as viruses and red tides have taken a savage toll on oyster populations and, as a result, pearl production in Japan […]
In a wonderful example of serendipity, Jessica and Seth Erickson of Chatfield, MN, mined their own 10th anniversary diamond at Arkansas’s Crater of Diamonds State Park. The couple had recently embarked on an 11-state road trip to celebrate their anniversary milestone and was excited to schedule a stop at the only diamond site in the […]
Welcome to Music Friday when we often bring you uplifting songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Canadian recording artist Kelita performs “Tears,” an inspirational song about inner healing and overcoming adversity. In this song, Kelita compares herself to a sparrow with broken wings. But, instead of accepting her […]
A private Asian collector is the proud new owner of the 18.18-carat "Fortune Pink" diamond after placing the winning bid of 24.5 million Swiss francs ($24.6 million) at Christie's Geneva on Tuesday. With the buyer's premium, the final price for the stone touted as the largest pear-shaped "fancy vivid pink" diamond ever to appear at […]
The sunny yellow November birthstone you see here is the world’s largest faceted citrine — an oval-cut, 20,200-carat marvel that vanished from the public eye in 2012. Named for what was once its host city, the “Malaga” had been selected as one of the “Special Exhibition Gems” of the Programa Royal Collections. It was 2010, […]
Despite economic headwinds, holiday season spending is expected to shatter previous records. The National Retail Federation (NRF) is predicting that retail sales during November and December 2022 will grow between 6% and 8% compared to 2021. That translates into consumer purchases that could top $960 billion, and easily outpace the $889.3 billion record-breaking tally of […]
The Kafubu Cluster, a colossal 187,775-carat matrix of individual and intertwined emerald crystals, is expected to set a Gemfields' price record at the mining company's rough tender in mid-November. The impressive, 82.8-pound specimen was extracted in March 2020 from the Chama pit of the famous Kagem emerald mine in Zambia. Kagem is believed to be […]
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great throwback songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. In today’s selection, John Lennon of The Beatles performs the lead vocals to “Anna,” the third track of the legendary group’s 1963 debut studio album, Please Please Me. In the song, Lennon woefully accepts […]
Four hundred years ago, a galleon named Nuestra Señora de Atocha was making a return trip to Spain from the New World when it was hit by a squall and sank along the reefs near the Florida Keys. This was no ordinary ship. It was packed to the rafters with treasures collected from Bolivia, Mexico, […]
For more than 130 years, the sunken steamer known as the Ship of Gold, rested undisturbed in the Atlantic Ocean 7,200 feet beneath the surface, about 200 miles off the coast of South Carolina. The side-wheeler, also known as the SS Central America, met its watery demise in 1857 when it got torn up by […]