Sourced in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, four museum-quality star rubies weighing a total of 342 carats will hit the auction block at Guernsey’s in New York City this June. The Mountain Star Ruby Collection will be sold together as one lot and could yield an eight-figure windfall for the family of Jarvis Wayne Messer, the humble fishing guide/rockhound …

The average bridal couple in the U.S. spent $6,163 on the engagement ring in 2016 — an increase of 5% compared to 2015, according to The Knot’s 10th annual Real Weddings Study. The engagement ring remains the second-highest-priced item on the list of wedding expenses. The reception venue easily claimed the top spot at $16,107, which was nearly 9% pricier …

Upstate New York resident Erin Tobin just had her best day ever. She achieved instant fame when she banked in a half-court shot at a Siena College men’s basketball game on Thursday night, not only earning a $500 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card, but also a surprise marriage proposal from her boyfriend disguised as a larger-than-life coffee cup named “Cuppy.”  Actually, …

Welcome to Music Friday when we celebrate classic songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today the late, great Jim Croce sings about a giant man with an affection for diamond jewelry in his 1973 chart topper, “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.” In this song inspired by a friend he met while working as a lineman for …

Lucapa Diamond Company’s $3.5 million investment in a state-of-the-art XRT large-diamond recovery system is already paying big dividends at the Lulo Diamond Project in Angola. The mine just yielded a 227-carat, Type IIa, D-color gem that’s expected to sell for an amount far more than the cost of the technology upgrade. The extraordinarily pure diamond is the second-largest ever recovered at …

Domino’s in the UK just celebrated Valentine’s Day by giving away a one-of-kind, 22-karat pizza-slice engagement ring topped with diamond pepperoni. The fast-food chain delivered nearly a half-million pizzas throughout the UK yesterday, and the company was certain that a significant portion of those dining in would be proposing to their significant others on the most romantic day of the …

On February 27, cadets from West Point’s Class of 2018 will honor the families of U.S. Military Academy graduates dating back to 1924 as part of a symbolic and solemn ceremony called the “Ring Melt.” During the event at Pease & Curren’s headquarters in Warwick, R.I., the donated class rings of 41 West Point graduates — many of whom have passed away — …

Moon Express, a private company charged with unlocking the immense potential of the moon’s valuable resources, has gotten approval from the U.S. government to begin lunar exploration before the end of this year. The company will be looking to mine gold, platinum, moon rocks and other materials with an estimated potential value of $16 quadrillion. (One thousand trillion is a …

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Oscar-winning Irish singer-songwriter-actor-musician Glen Hansard wonders if a simple wedding band has the power to save his marriage in the 2015 folk song “Wedding Ring.” Written by Hansard, “Wedding Ring” is about a man who loves his wife …

Jewelry is expected to be the strongest Valentine’s Day gift-giving category in 2017, with romantic consumers set to spend $4.3 billion on necklaces, rings, earrings, pendants and other jewels for their loved ones. The survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics shows the jewelry category taking the top slot from 2016’s frontrunner “an evening out,” which is …