Queen Elizabeth II is wearing a spectacular sapphire ensemble in an official portrait released by the Government of Canada. The 94-year-old monarch, who was separately proclaimed the Queen of Canada when she ascended to the British throne in 1953, is bedecked in a famous series of pieces called “The King George VI Victorian Suite.” Included […]
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you throwback songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Bobbie Gentry's autobiographical "Chickasaw County Child" tells the story of the four-time Grammy winner's unlikely rise to fame despite her hardscrabble upbringing in rural Mississippi. In the song, Gentry's mom assures the young […]
After a year of upheaval, holiday season 2020 will see a surge in demand for diamond gifts that symbolize hope, love and celebration, according to the Natural Diamond Council's 2020 “Holiday Trend Report.” Compiled by the NDC's Style Collective, an international team of fashion experts and influencers, the report spotlights four themes that will be […]
"The Spirit of the Rose" — a 14.83-carat fancy vivid purple-pink diamond that's so special it has its own website — is expected to fetch up to $38 million when it hits the auction block at Sotheby's Geneva on November 11. Sourced in 2017 at Alrosa’s Ebelyakh deposit in Yakutia, Russia, the oval-shaped sparkler was […]
Highlighted by a 396.30-carat pleochroic kunzite, the “Picasso Kunzite Necklace“ is the next stop on our virtual tour of the Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Pleochroism is an optical phenomenon in which a gemstone presents multiple colors when observed at different angles. The impressive cushion-cut kunzite […]
University of Alabama staffer Victoria Giattina defied all odds last week by locating a missing diamond in the cavernous confines of the 101,800-seat Bryant–Denny Stadium. Even more amazing is the fact that the assistant director of event management and external operations completed her impossible assignment in less than 30 minutes. The drama unfolded after last […]
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fabulous songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, music legend Van Morrison serves up his 2006 interpretation of "Big Blue Diamonds," a frequently covered song that was first released 70 years ago. Written by Earl J. "Kit" Carson, "Big Blue Diamonds" […]
There's an unusual nut from Queensland, Australia, that will never find its way into a candy bar or portable protein pack. That's because the Yowah nut is actually a naturally forming concretion — an inedible ironstone nodule that looks very much like a nut. What's even more fascinating about Yowah nuts is that when they're […]
There's an unusual nut from Queensland, Australia, that will never find its way into a candy bar or portable protein pack. That's because the Yowah nut is actually a naturally forming concretion — an inedible ironstone nodule that looks very much like a nut. What's even more fascinating about Yowah nuts is that when they're […]
A previously unrecorded example of an ancient “Ides of March” gold coin commemorating the assassination of Roman dictator Julius Caesar in 44 BC has been confirmed by rare coin authenticators in the United States and the United Kingdom. Only three are known to exist. One expert described the nickel-sized rarity as “a masterpiece of ancient […]