London-based mining company Gemfields has formed a long-term partnership with Mozambique’s Luwire Wildlife Conservancy to preserve Luwire’s biodiversity and assist its local communities. Gemfields and Luwire share common interests in the pristine — and ruby-rich — wilderness of northern Mozambique, just this side of the border from Tanzania. The Luwire Wildife Conservancy is headquartered within […]
The Chinese Year of the Ox officially begins on February 12th, and The Perth Mint is celebrating with the release of a limited-edition silver coin that incorporates this year's zodiac animal rendered in pure Australian opal. The coin’s reverse incorporates a round black panel inlaid with a mosaic of bluish-green opal. Irregular slices of the […]
For thousands of years, wedding rings have been worn on the ring finger of the left hand, but do you know the origin of this worldwide tradition? Some give credit to the ancient Romans and Greeks, who believed that the vein in the fourth finger of the left hand (the vena amoris or vein of […]
Former tennis star Maria Sharapova kicked off the new year by finally revealing her stunning, emerald-cut diamond engagement ring from venture capitalist Alexander Gilkes. The couple had announced their engagement in December, but their choice of engagement ring had remained a mystery. The sizable, rectangular-shaped gem seems to be cradled in a bezel setting crafted […]
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fabulous songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, pop star Selena Gomez drives home a message of self-empowerment and self-worth in her Latin-infused 2020 release, "Ring." In the song, the 28-year-old former Disney Channel actress turns up her nose at insincere […]
Botswana's Karowe mine, the only mine in history to have yielded two 1,000-plus-carat diamonds, will be turning out high-value rough gems until 2046 under a renewed licensing agreement between Lucara Diamond Corp. and the Government of Botswana. The 25-year deal will pave the way for the underground expansion of the prolific Karowe mine, which has […]
Jessica Amis, an Emmy-winning digital journalist for CBS-affiliate THV11 in Little Rock, recently found herself at the center of a story about a lost diamond, a precocious 7-year-old and the significance of "things" that remind you of stuff you never want to forget. Amis had been enjoying a meal with two co-workers in the outdoor […]
Entombed with the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, garnets have been coveted by kings and commoners alike for thousands of years. The fabulous and versatile January birthstone comes in a wide array of natural colors, including deep red, purple, orange, yellow, violet, green, black, brown — and a vibrant raspberry pink. This ultra-feminine pink variety of […]
Leibish, the New York-based colored diamond specialist, upped its bids this year by 20% to secure 16 of the 62 gems offered by Rio Tinto at the penultimate 2020 Pink Argyle Diamonds Tender. The company's biggest prize was "The Argyle Sakura Diamond," a 1.84-carat, pear-shaped fancy vivid purplish-pink stone that had been touted by the […]
More than 200 million visitors to the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, have marveled at the beauty and majesty of the Hope Diamond since jeweler Harry Winston donated it to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958. In yesterday's column, we recounted how and why Winston decided to use the US Postal Service to […]