A 24.45-carat, internally flawless, heart-shaped diamond fetched $2.01 million at Christie's Summer Sparkle sale, narrowly missing the record for the highest-valued jewel ever sold online. Christie's had established that record in June 2020 when a 28.86-carat, D-color, emerald-cut diamond achieved $2.11 million.
The heart-shaped stunner, which came into the auction with a pre-sale estimate of $1.55 million to $2.55 million, was designated as Lot #1 in Christie's second iteration of Jewels Online: Summer Sparkle. In the lead-up to the sale, Christie's had promoted the sale's top lot as the "highest valued jewel ever offered in an online sale at Christie's." The record holder from 2020 had entered its auction with a pre-sale estimate of $1 million to $2 million.
The top lot of the 2021 Summer Sparkle sale is set as a platinum pendant and surrounded by internally flawless pear-shaped brilliant-cut diamonds weighing 1.37 carats. The heart-shaped center stone belongs to the rare Type IIa category. These diamonds are the most chemically pure and characterized by their exceptional transparency.
Featuring 51 lots, the sale celebrated a wide variety of diamonds, from colorless to colorful.
One of the most colorful was "The Summer Sunrise," a fancy vivid, orange-yellow, round-cornered rectangular modified brilliant-cut diamond weighing 9.83 carats. The Summer Sunrise was scooped up for $810,000, just above the pre-sale high estimate of $800,000. Set in a platinum ring and framed by triangular-shaped diamonds, the center stone boasts a clarity rating of VS1.
Other diamonds in the sale spanned a wide variety of colors, including pinks, greens, browns and yellows.
Overall, the August 4 - 18 online sale raked in $5.13 million.
Today starts an occasional series covering the rarest gems you've probably never heard of. The remarkable 9.41-carat light-pink oval gem seen here is one of the largest — if not the largest — faceted poudretteite in existence, according to the Smithsonian.
A faceted poudretteite is so rare, says the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), that few professional gemologists will ever encounter one.
Poudretteite gets its name from the Poudrette family, owners and operators of a quarry near Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada, where a few tiny crystals of the curious material was first unearthed in the mid-1960s. It would take until 1986 for poudretteite to finally be recognized and registered as a new mineral.
In 2000, the first documented gem-quality specimen of poudretteite was discovered nearly half-a-world away in Mogok, Burma — an area famous for its pigeon's blood rubies, as well as lapis lazuli, garnet, moonstone, amethyst, peridot and chrysoberyl. The 3-carat poudretteite was submitted to the Gubelin Gem Lab for examination, and the findings were published in the scholarly journal Gems & Gemology in 2003.
Also sourced in Burma, the much larger, nearly flawless 9.41-carat poudretteite is the only gem of its kind in the Smithsonian's National Gem Collection. The gem was generously gifted to the Smithsonian in 2007 by Frances Miller Seay.
Poudretteite can range from colorless to purple-pink and owes its color to the presence of manganese in its chemical composition. Specimens with few inclusions and saturated color are said to be worth $6,000 per carat or more.
On the Mohs hardness scale, poudretteite rates a 5, compared to amethyst (7), topaz (8), sapphire (9) and diamond (10). The relative softness of the gem makes it unsuitable to be used in a ring, but it could be used, with care, in earrings, a pendant or pin.
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great throwback songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, we shine the spotlight on Don Cherry's 1955 hit, "Band of Gold," which made a resurgence more than 50 years later on the Emmy-award-winning AMC series Mad Men.
In the song, Cherry explains how he would gladly trade fame and fortune for a simple life with his true love. And he symbolizes that eternal bond with a gold wedding band.
Backed by Ray Conniff & His Orchestra, Cherry sings, "Don't want the world to have and hold / For fame is not my line / Just want a little band of gold / To prove that you are mine."
With music by Jack Taylor and lyrics by Bob Musel, "Band of Gold" became Cherry's biggest hit, reaching #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It was also covered by Kit Carson, Petula Clark, Mel Carter, and Cherry, again, in 1968 for his album There Goes My Everything.
The song may have faded from our collective memories had it not been for critically acclaimed Mad Men, which chronicled the fast-paced world of New York's Madison Avenue advertising executives during the turbulent 1960s.
Mad Men fans may remember that "Band of Gold" was the first song played after the opening credits of the first episode of Season 1 in 2007. It also returned for Mad Men's sixth season finale. The series included 92 episodes and concluded in 2015.
In November 2015, "Band of Gold" was featured as the second song on a 24-track compilation album called Retrospective: The Music Of Mad Men.
Born in Wichita Falls, TX, in 1924, Cherry was a successful big band singer and a top-ranked amateur golfer. In 1960's U.S. Open, Cherry finished only four strokes behind the winner, Arnold Palmer. Cherry passed away in 2018 at the age of 94.
Please check out the audio track of Cherry singing "Band of Gold." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along…
"Band of Gold"
Written by Bob Musel and Jack Taylor. Performed by Don Cherry.
I've never wanted wealth untold
My life has one design
A simple little band of gold
To prove that you are mine
Don't want the world to have and hold
For fame is not my line
Just want a little band of gold
To prove that you are mine
Some sail away to Araby and other lands of mystery
But all the wonders that they see will never tempt me
Their memories will soon grow cold
But till the end of time
There'll be a little band of gold
To prove that you are mine
Don't want the world to have and hold
For fame is not my line
Just want a little band of gold
To prove that you are mine
Dogo, a police dog with the Keweenaw County Sheriff’s Office, recently showed off his amazing olfactory skills by sniffing out an engagement ring that was lost at a Michigan beach on the shore of Lake Superior.
The five-year-old Dutch shepherd is trained to locate hidden drugs and weapons, but is also skilled at detecting human scent on small objects.
So, when Sgt. Brad Pelli learned that Elsa Green had lost her bridal jewelry at the beach in Eagle River, he had a hunch that Dogo could use his nose to save the day.
Dogs possess up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to about six million in humans. This gives dogs an ability to detect a teaspoon of sugar in a million gallons of water, or a single rotten apple in two million barrels. Their keen sense of smell can even detect human disease, such as cancer, diabetes and tuberculosis.
Of course, Green wouldn't have needed Dogo's assistance if an ugly black beetle hadn't crawled across a baseball cap that she had set upon the sand. Green flung the cap, hoping to scare off the beetle. What she didn't remember at the time was that she had placed her cherished engagement ring and wedding band in the cap while she was applying sunscreen. The rings went flying and disappeared into the sand.
Green and her friends searched the area and came up empty. They even solicited the help of a beachgoer with a metal detector. He also failed to find the rings.
“I’d been wearing those rings every day for 17 years,” Green told the Washington Post. “But at that moment, I figured they were gone.”
With no cell phone coverage at the beach, Green asked her friend to seek help from the sheriff’s office about a half mile away.
Sgt. Pelli initially told the friend that there was not much he could do. The department didn't have a metal detector.
“But then after she left, I thought, ‘Why not take the dog down to the beach?’" Pelli said.
A few minutes later, the officer and his K-9 partner arrived at the beach ready to do to some searching.
Pelli told Green and her group to wait in the parking area so Dogo wouldn't be distracted by their scents.
Pelli gave Dogo a "search" command, and within a few minutes the talented K-9 laid his body on the sand, signaling that he had found something.
“I got down on my knees to brush away the sand and saw something glimmering,” Pelli told the Washington Post.
It was Green's platinum engagement ring.
Pelli reunited Green with her engagement ring, but soon learned that the wedding band was still missing. Pelli didn't need Dogo's help for the second search. The wedding band was in the same area, just an inch beneath the surface.
“My son and I both gave the dog a huge hug,” Green said.
She also posted a glowing “thank you” on her Facebook page.
“K9 Dogo, you will forever be my hero!” she wrote. "I started my beach day at Eagle River by losing my wedding rings in the sand… Dogo put his training and skills to use and sure enough he found my rings! Dogo, I’ll be bringing you ice cream to say thank you!"
The Keweenaw County Sheriff's Office's Facebook page featured a photo of Green, her son, the sergeant and his K-9 buddy, along with this caption: "This is what we call going above and beyond. Great job Sgt. Pelli and K9 Dogo!"
Credits: Group pic via Facebook.com/Elsa Green; Dogo pic via Facebook.com/keweenawsheriff.
In a startling report, Mastercard singled out "jewelry" as the fastest growing retail sector, with July 2021 sales jumping a whopping 54.2% compared to pre-pandemic July 2019 levels. When comparing July 2021 jewelry sales to those in July 2020, the growth is even more dramatic, with the jewelry sector accelerating 82.6%.
In the 2021 vs 2019 comparison, jewelry far outpaced apparel (+10.2%), department stores (+7.2%), furniture & furnishings (26.8%), grocery (+10.9%), hardware (+18.6%) and restaurants (+30.2%).
Overall, Mastercard SpendingPulse™ — which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment — revealed that retail sales in the U.S. grew for the 11th consecutive month in July. Overall sales were up 10.9% in July and in-store sales were up 15.5% over that same period.
July's retail sales growth of 10.9% is nearly quadruple the recent four-year average, which registered just 2.9%.
The analysts at Mastercard SpendingPulse™ believe that the spending growth was spurred, in part, by the infusion of cash provided by the Child Tax Credit, as well as pent-up savings.
They also pointed to a rush of shoppers returning to physical stores.
“While e-commerce continues to play an increasingly significant role for retail, nothing replaces the in-store experience,” said Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO and Chairman of Saks Incorporated. “July numbers reflect a return to the store. Consumers are shopping, spending and splurging across channels.”
Credit: Image by Bigstockphoto.com. Chart by Mastercard SpendingPulse™.
It's one of the most difficult beaches to access on Hawaii's Big Island, but certainly worth the extra effort. Because when you get there, you'll be walking barefoot on a blanket of sparkling green sand that owes its astounding color to olivine crystals eroded from the belly of an ancient volcano and delivered to the shore by ocean waves.
Mahana Beach on Hawaii’s Papakolea coast is one of only four green sand beaches in the world. The beach sand on the Big Island’s undeveloped southern tip is rich in the mineral olivine (gem-quality olivine is known as peridot, the August birthstone). Olivine is a common mineral component of Hawaiian lavas and one of the first crystals to form as magma cools.
Locals refer to peridot as the “Hawaiian Diamond,” and small peridot stones are sold as “Pele’s tears” in honor of Pele, the goddess of volcanoes. In ancient Hawaiian chants, Pele was described as “She-who-shapes-the-sacred-land,” and her temper was known to be both as abundant and dangerous as the lava.
Those daring enough to take the three-mile hike through lava fields to the remote beach at the crescent-shaped bay of Pu’u Mahana, will be treated to a display of one of nature’s crowning achievements — a green beach that appears surreal against the backdrop of steely grey cliffs, turquoise blue ocean and bright blue sky. (Locals with four-wheel-drive vehicles are also available to shuttle visitors to and from the beach.)
“At sunset, the play of colors against the sand is simply breathtaking,” noted the website to-hawaii.com.
The abundance of olivine crystals filling the beach comes from the eroded cutaway interior of Pu’u Mahana, a volcanic cone produced more than 49,000 years ago by the explosive combination of lava and groundwater.
As tempting as it may be to take home a small sample of the green olivine sand, the practice is illegal and subject to fines as high as $100,000.
Hawaii's Mahana Beach (also known as as Papakolea Beach and the Green Sand Beach) is one of only four "green" beaches in the world. The others are Talofofo Beach on Guam, Punta Cormorant on Floreana Island in the Galapagos Islands and Hornindalsvatnet in Norway.
The official birthstone for August, peridot is one of the few gemstones that occurs in only one color: generally an olive green. The amount of iron in the crystal structures determines the intensity and tint of the green color. Specimens can range from yellow-green through olive green to brownish green. The dark-olive color is the most valuable.
Last Thursday, the wedding ring that Philadelphian Jim McAllister wore continuously since 1974 slipped off his finger in the surf at Ocean City, NJ.
McAllister was with his son, Ryan, when a large wave nearly knocked them over. Jim felt the ring falling off his finger, and the water was clear enough for him to see the plain gold band slowly disappearing from his view.
"It was a sinking feeling because my wife passed away three years ago," the 70-year-old McAllister told Philadelphia's ABC-TV affiliate, WPVI. "Her name was Ellen, and we were married for 47 years."
The ring was inscribed, "Love Always."
The loss was also emotionally devastating to Ryan.
"Memories of my mom just crushed me," he told WPVI. "I remember going over there... and sliding my feet around, trying, hoping that I can find this circle. And not finding it just made me feel broken."
The McAllisters didn't give up hope, however. Ryan's wife's friend posted an alert to a bunch of Ocean City Facebook groups. Facebook users were quick to direct the McAllisters to a local metal detector enthusiast, John Favano, who is a member of the international group called The Ring Finders.
Favano, who runs the South Jersey chapter of The Ring Finders, started his search for McAllister's ring at low tide, mapping out a grid based on where Jim said he was standing when the ring sank to the bottom.
He searched for about an hour unsuccessfully, but then decided to expand his grid to an area farther into the ocean.
Favano's hunch paid off.
"And then I get another signal," he said. "And it's really deep. I dig it, bring it up, sift the sand out, shells are in there, and I see this big ring in there."
Jim watched as Favano scored his miraculous find.
"He dug a couple of scoops and all of a sudden he shouted, 'I found it!' And there it was," Jim explained.
Ryan needed only one word to describe how he felt when his dad got his ring back: "Elation."
Ellen's brother told Jim, "I can't help but to believe that Ellen helped you find this."
Favano told WPVI that he feels great when he is able to return a lost item to its owner.
"It makes me happy that I'm helping someone," he said.
As for Jim, his ring finger will be unadorned on his next visit to the beach at Ocean City.
"No ring," he said. "It'll stay home."
The Ring Finders is a loosely knit network of more than 1,000 members in 25 countries. Each member shares a love of metal detecting and reuniting people with their cherished keepsakes. The group's website claims that members have recorded more than 8,441 successful recoveries since it was founded 12 years ago.
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you feel-good songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, Beyoncé and P. Diddy sing about falling in love and cruising the world for pearls in “Summertime.”
In this 2003 collaboration, Beyoncé celebrates that special moment when a woman knows she’s finally found her true love — someone who'll really listen, a friend.
In P. Diddy’s rap at the end of the song, he says how much he loves her and how she brings out the best in him. He also promises to take her on a summertime adventure, which includes a search for precious gems.
He sings, “We can cruise the world for pearls.”
Oh, and there's also a surprise engagement. The rap continues, "And that’s your plan, where’s your hand let me ice that / You my heart ain’t no chance you could fight that."
Released on 12-inch vinyl as the B-side to #1 mega-hit “Crazy in Love,” “Summertime” also charted, peaking at #35 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Critics praised “Summertime” as a “breezy dance number” that leaves the listener “on a smooth laid-back high.”
Beyoncé acknowledged early in her career that “Summertime” was one of her favorite songs. It was part of her set list for both the “Dangerously in Love Tour” in 2003 and the “Verizon Ladies First Tour” in 2004. Her performance of “Summertime” in front of more than 20,000 fans in New York City led MTV News to comment that Knowles “stepped in the name of love” during the breakdown of the song.
Born in Houston in 1981, Beyoncé is one of the world's best-selling recording artists, with more than 118 million records sold worldwide. She's captured 28 Grammy Awards, 26 MTV Video Music Awards, 31 BET Awards and 17 Soul Train Music Awards. In 2020, Time magazine included Beyoncé on its list of the "100 women who defined the last century."
Please check out the audio track of Beyoncé and P. Diddy performing “Summertime.” The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along.
“Summertime”
Written by Beyoncé Knowles, Angela Beyince, Sean Combs, Steven “Steven J.” Jordan, Adonis Shropshire, Varick “Smitty” Smith, Mario Winans. Performed by Beyoncé Knowles, feat. P. Diddy.
[P. Diddy]
Yeah
There’s three things I like about the summertime
Drop tops, long hot nights and summer love
Yeah
Hey yo, B
Tell ’em what time it is
Let’ s go
[Beyoncé]
Out of all the guys that approached me
Walking up to me like they know me
You were the one that stayed aside
Waited a while and took your time
You don’t know how impressing
Your curiosity was to me
It was the fourth day of July
Looked in my eyes and saw that I
[Break – Beyoncé]
I wanted more than just a man (man)
I needed a friend (I want a friend)
Someone I can talk to (oh)
Someone who’ll really listen (yeah)
When you touched my hand (yeah yeah)
The sun got brighter then (brighter then)
Trusting you I closed my eyes
And felt our love begin
[Chorus – Beyoncé]
It was the summertime (when we fell in love)
It was the summertime (when heaven shined on us)
It was the summertime (baby there is nothing like the)
Summertime, summertime (ohh)
[Beyoncé]
Now it’s been a year and we’re closer
Fall in love again when I hold ya
I know that God set you aside
For me and now you are my prize
Wanna grow old with ya
Fill a house with ya pictures
Have a son for you, a little girl for me
Together we’ll raise a family
[Break – Beyoncé]
I wanted more then just a man
I needed a friend
You are my best friend (yeah)
Someone I could talk to
Someone who’ll really listen (yeah)
When you touched my hand (yeah)
The sun got brighter then (brighter then)
Trusting you I closed my eyes
and felt our love begin
[Chorus]
[P. Diddy]
Yo let me holla at you for a sec
So what’s in gonna be, him or me? (yeah)
We can cruise the world for pearls
And bare boots for girls
Summertime in the linen, fresh fruit
Livin the life that’s forbidden for just you (let’s go)
No worries you ain’t gotta be stressed out
No hurries you ain’t gotta be rushed out
Sit back relax ma take your time
Now have a taste of the finest wine
Every minute that we have’s a blessing to me
And in your heart you’s a “Child of Destiny” (that’s right)
Them hot summers that we had especially
Love who you is girl, you bring out the best of me
And it’s like that, you know it’s like that (that’s right)
And that’s your plan, where’s your hand let me ice that
You my heart ain’t no chance you could fight that
The summertime, when you hot baby take that, take that
Yeah.
As the hardest material known to man, diamond is often used in tools to cut glass. But, research scientists at China's Yanshan University have developed a new type of glass that can actually scratch a diamond.
This new high-tech glass — tentatively named AM-III — rated 113 gigapascals (GPa) in the Vickers hardness test, compared to natural diamonds, which typically score in the 70-to-100 GPa range.
So, how hard is this new material exactly? Researchers say it is 10 times harder than steel and 20 to 100 times tougher than most bulletproof windows.
The researchers were also clear to point out that the new material — while amazingly hard — is not terribly attractive. The yellowish material is not suitable for jewelry applications.
It does have excellent semiconductor qualities, however, so it will likely show up in photovoltaic applications, solar panels and electronics, as well as bulletproof glass and protective phone cases. The material is not yet transparent enough to be used as phone screens.
As described in the journal National Science Review, the researchers started off with a material called fullerene, which is rich in carbon atoms. They subjected the material to 25 GPa of pressure and 1,200 degrees Celsius (2,192 degrees Fahrenheit). Normally, carbon exposed to that type of pressure and heat may have transformed into a diamond. But, the scientists were careful to reach those conditions gradually over the course of 12 hours. They also allowed the material to cool for another 12 hours.
Instead of the carbon organizing itself in an orderly crystal lattice (producing a diamond), the new material became a chaotic mix of crystal and amorphous structures (super-strong glass).
“Comprehensive mechanical tests demonstrate that the synthesized AM-III carbon is the hardest and strongest amorphous material known so far, which can scratch diamond crystal and approach its strength," noted the authors of the study. "The produced AM carbon materials combine outstanding mechanical and electronic properties, and may potentially be used in photovoltaic applications that require ultrahigh strength and wear resistance.”
A new study confirms what most of us already know — that jewelry plays an important role in our daily lives. Two out of three respondents said that they wear specific jewelry pieces to express their personality and mood. And exactly 64% of respondents believe that — to some extent — the symbols used in jewelry have the power to convey emotion or to protect.
These were just two takeaways from a recent survey initiated by The Plumb Club, a coalition of 45 best-in-class suppliers to the jewelry and watch industries.
Consumers noted that when it comes to expressing their personality, 44% prefer traditional or classic styling, 20% select a minimalistic approach, 14% like contemporary jewelry and 12% opt for vintage looks. Trendy or fun styling preferences were cited by 9%.
Approximately 8 out of 10 consumers (78%) said that colorful jewelry lifts their mood, and they define "colorful jewelry" as pieces that contain a single hue of gemstones (43%) or a mix of many hues (42%).
When purchasing colored gemstone jewelry, 41% of respondents said they prefer a somewhat neutral color palette that might work for more outfits, while 31% want a brighter color palette of gems. Multi-color and pastel preferences were split, each at 14%.
Survey respondents said they generally prefer white pearls (53%) over color pearls (24%), and when it comes to styling, 52% said they like classic strands, while 37% said they like more modern looks.
In addition to the research related to jewelry style preferences, the survey also sought to learn how the pandemic was impacting consumers' perception of jewelry.
Exactly 30% of consumers surveyed stated that the pandemic positively impacted their jewelry purchasing, compared to 21% who said that it impacted their purchasing negatively. Just under half (49%) said that their jewelry purchasing levels remained steady.
A surge in virtual meetings has more people conscious of how they look online. Exactly 41% of consumers said they were more tempted to wear jewelry that would be seen on the screen during video meetings and online gatherings.
The research, titled "The Plumb Club Industry and Market Insights 2021" was initiated by The Plumb Club with the help of Paola Deluca, The Futurist and Qualitrics. The study was conducted with a sampling of 1,049 men and women, from the ages of 25-60 with a focus on 10 “test markets” across the US. Respondents had all attended some college or higher, had a combined household income of at least $75K/year and claimed to have either purchased jewelry in the past year and/or were intending to purchase jewelry in the upcoming year.
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