InStyle magazine's editor-in-chief Laura Brown raised the bar for engagement ring selfies last week when she posted to her Instagram page an impeccable close-up shot of her new Art Deco-inspired bling. The ring features a round center diamond surrounded by an unusual asymmetrical array of square and rectangular baguettes. Comedian and writer Brandon Borror-Chappell surprised the Australian-born fashion guru with …
Music Friday: Kelly Clarkson Sings, ‘You Used to Make Me Feel Like a Diamond’
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you awesome new songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, pop star Kelly Clarkson sings about rejuvenating a listless relationship in her 2017 gospel-inspired release, “Heat.” In the song, Clarkson assumes the role of a woman whose marriage is suffering because the passion seems to be gone. …
Demantoid Garnet Is the Rarest and Most Valuable Variety of January’s Birthstone
First discovered in Russia’s Ural Mountains in 1851, the vivid green demantoid garnet is the rarest and most valuable variety of January's birthstone. Demantoid is derived from the Dutch word for diamond, "demant." The stone owes its impressive diamond-like brilliance to two main factors: A high refractive index and a high dispersion (its ability to separate light into the spectrum …
This Multi-Cooker Does a Lot of Things, But Producing Fine Jewelry Isn’t One of Them
Imagine Shiloah Avery's surprise when she unpacked the box to her new Instant Pot on Christmas morning only to find a gold and diamond wedding ring inside. While the multi-cooker is famous for doing so many things — it combines an electric pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, browning pan and warming pot in one handy unit — …
Music Friday: Seth Ennis Shares Story Behind His Proposal in the Newly Released ‘Xmas’
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you awesome new songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, country music newcomer Seth Ennis shares the story behind his holiday marriage proposal in the newly released “Xmas.” The Georgia-raised 23-year-old turned to Instagram on December 23 to share a snippet of his new song, along with …
Oops! Famous ‘Diamond Planet’ Is Actually a ‘Sapphire Planet,’ New Research Suggests
Super-Earth 55 Cancri e, which made headlines in 2012 as "the diamond planet," needs to be reclassified as a sapphire planet, according to astronomers at the Universities of Zurich and Cambridge. "We are turning the supposed diamond planet into a sapphire planet," said astrophysicist Caroline Dorn, the lead author of new research published in the British journal Monthly Notices of the Royal …
1,109-Carat Lesedi La Rona Likely Weighed 2,774 Carats Before Fracturing Into 5 Pieces
A senior research scientist at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) believes the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona — the second largest rough diamond ever found — actually weighed at least 2,774 carats before it fractured into five pieces during the sorting process at Lucara's Karowe mine in Botswana in November 2015. Lucara had previously reported that the 813-carat "Constellation” and …
Music Friday: 5 Golden Rings Shine in This Famous Mashup of ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’
Welcome to a special holiday edition of Music Friday when we bring you fabulous songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today we present one of the most popular Christmas tunes on YouTube — Straight No Chaser’s clever mashup of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” To date, the original version of a cappella group’s “12 Days” …
Flight Test Engineer Proposes With Engagement Ring That Reached the Edge of Space
Virgin Galactic reached a remarkable milestone last week when it successfully launched two pilots into suborbital space 50 miles above the Earth aboard the VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo. While the company led by Richard Branson made a giant leap in its efforts to achieve safe commercial space flight, a little known fact about the mission is that a diamond engagement ring …
Ohio Man Gains a New Appreciation for ‘Stupid Little Ring’ He Lost 30 Years Ago
When Ohio teenager Jim Biehl misplaced his brand new Parma Senior High School class ring 30 years ago on a church trip that oddly stopped overnight in Parma, Mich., the 17-year-old was hardly emotional about the loss. He called it a "stupid little ring." "I woke up one morning to move on to the next destination of our trip, the …