Many eons ago, the Orange River ferried precious diamonds from the center of South Africa westward all the way to the Atlantic coast — eventually scattering millions of carats across the ocean floor. Today, five massive production vessels operated by De Beers — in partnership with the government of the Republic of Namibia — are recovering those gem-quality diamonds from a remote …

A lavish diamond necklace worn by Catherine the Great 250 years ago is one of the highlights of Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels & Noble Jewels auction in Geneva on November 16. The jewelry offers a rare glimpse at the grandeur and elegance surrounding the Russian Royal Family and, specifically, Catherine II, Empress of Russia. One of the great leaders in Russian …

In September 2015, we reported on a Netherlands-based artist and innovator named Daan Roosegaarde, who was on a mission to install 23-foot-tall “Smog Free Towers” in cities with the most polluted air. What made the concept even more intriguing was that the super-sized air purifiers conceived by Roosegaarde and his team of experts would be partly financed by the sale of …

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, country music legend George Jones sings about finally finding that special someone in his 1987 hit “The Right Left Hand.” In the song, Jones sadly recounts how he’s cried a million tears over relationships that had come undone. …

The Ostro Stone — the world’s largest faceted intense blue topaz at 9,381 carats — made its public debut at London’s Natural History Museum yesterday. Unearthed by gemstone pioneer Max Ostro in the Amazon rainforest in 1986, the flawless gem was expertly cut and polished into a oval shape and then locked away in a vault for three decades. After Max’s …

Made famous in the landmark 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers have been a popular attraction at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., for more than three decades. But the 77-year-old slippers are showing their age. The color has faded and the slippers appear dull and washed-out. The ruby-red sequins that once gave the shoes their vibrant color are flaking …

Samford University junior linebacker Deion Pierre recruited his teammates to assist in an unforgettable postgame marriage proposal on Saturday. Right after the Bulldogs’ convincing 55-21 win over VMI, Pierre and his squad — still in full football gear — surprised Jasmine Henderson at the 50 yard line with a choreographed presentation set to Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud.” Henderson was …

It’s not easy to render a cartoon penguin in precious metals and gemstones, but that was exactly the challenge Jostens faced when tasked with designing the 2016 Stanley Cup rings for the champion Pittsburgh Penguins. The team’s iconic logo crest features a black penguin skating with a hockey stick across a golden triangle that represent the shape of downtown Pittsburgh. Jostens used a …

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you awesome new songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, RaeLynn — who is best known as a finalist in Season 2 of The Voice — sings about how an engagement ring embodies a lifelong pledge of love and devotion in her 2016 release, “Diamonds.” In the song, RaeLynn …

On January 26, 1905, Captain Frederick Wells was conducting a standard inspection of the Premier Mine in South Africa when a glint off the wall of the mine caught his attention. At first, he thought it was a shard of glass that may have been embedded there by a miner as a practical joke. But, then he pulled out his …