The gold-clad mirrors of the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope will play a key role in observing galaxies that are more than 13 billion light years away. In fact, NASA scientists believe that gold's superior ability to maximize the mirrors' reflection of infrared light gives Webb its best chance of seeing the cosmos. On […]
On Sunday, February 6, Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate 70 years on the British throne, and The Royal Mint will be commemorating her remarkable Platinum Jubilee with a series of precious metal coins. The special obverse design, by esteemed artist John Bergdahl, depicts The Queen on horseback and will be struck on the "heads" side […]
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today we feature Justin Bieber singing about pearls in the R&B remix of his 2010 release, “Up.” In this 2011 collaboration with Chris Brown, the Canadian heartthrob refuses to call it quits on a […]
We love to write about romantic marriage proposals, but today we take a deep dive into the murky subject of who gets to keep the engagement ring when a relationship fails and the wedding never takes place. Although there is no uniform law in the US or Canada regarding the return of engagement rings after a […]
With the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing less than a month away, let's take a close look at the gold, silver and bronze "Tong Xin" medals that will be awarded at the much-anticipated global event. "Tong Xin" means "together as one" and the circle-in-a-circle design is reminiscent of the themes seen in ancient Chinese jade […]
After being out of the public eye for more than four decades, the "Subway Garnet" is once again the pride of Manhattan. When the American Museum of Natural History unveiled its completely redesigned, 11,000-square-foot Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals in June of 2021, visitors were encouraged to see the 9 pound 10 ounce reddish-brown […]
Fancy-diamond specialist Diacore — the company responsible for cutting the Pink Star, the most expensive gem ever sold at auction — recently purchased an exceptional 32.32-carat pink rough diamond for $13.8 million, or about $427,000 per carat. Diacore's purchase of the pink diamond was the highlight of Petra Diamond's first tender of goods from its […]
Mining giant Alrosa recently bestowed the name Kyndykan on a newly mined, yellow-brown, 91.86-carat diamond to shine a global spotlight on the indigenous peoples of Russia's frigid Far North territory. Kyndykan was a little girl who was miraculously found alive 200 years ago by Yakut hunters near the Verkhoyansk Mountains in an ancestral settlement that […]
A 54-pound Gold Rush-era ingot that was swallowed by the sea in 1857 and recovered 200 miles off the coast of South Carolina in 1988 will be offered for sale at Heritage Auctions in early January. Assayed in California by Justh & Hunter, the massive gold brick met its watery demise when a hurricane sank […]
Jewelry sales soared 32% during the 2021 holiday season, according to a newly released Mastercard report. "Smaller boxes had a big impact," the report emphasized. "Whether consumers were shopping for themselves or for loved ones, the jewelry sector experienced some of the strongest YOY (year-over-year) and YO2Y (year-over-two-year) growth." During the traditional holiday period that […]