An eagle-eyed trainee barely five months into his apprenticeship at Lucara’s Karowe mine in Botswana is credited with plucking the 1,109-carat gem-quality diamond— now known as the Lesedi La Rona — from the mining company’s “large diamond recovery” sorting machine. It was the largest rough diamond discovered in 111 years. “At first I wanted to scream,” Tiroyaone Mathaba told The …

City worker Jose Cervantes called it a “one in a million shot,” but the thin odds of finding an engagement ring in a sewer system six weeks after it was lost didn’t dissuade him from helping a family in need. Anna and Ryan Cornish, of Bothell, Wash., had been heartbroken over the loss of Anna’s double-halo-style diamond engagement ring — …

Three amateur treasure hunters, who call themselves “Team Rainbow Power,” unearthed the largest trove of Viking gold ever found in Denmark. Working with metal detectors in a field in Jutland, the team discovered seven bangles — six gold and one silver — dating back to the year 900. The combined weight of the jewelry, nearly all of which remained in …

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, we feature the hauntingly beautiful harmonies of Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris in their 1999 duet “All I Left Behind.” A song about a woman who unselfishly puts her life on hold to go on the road with her …

To the ancient Egyptians, gold was divine. The gods, they believed, had skin of gold, bones of silver and hair of lapis lazuli. The Turin Papyrus Map, which dates to 1160 BC, affirms the location of 1,300 gold mines, at least 100 of which have been rediscovered and explored in the desert valleys east of the Nile. Today, armed with clues from the …

Over the past 113 years, a single mine in South Africa has been the most prolific source of the world’s largest and finest-quality diamonds. On June 9, the 24.18-carat “Cullinan Dream” — named after the mine that famously yielded the 3,106.75-carat Cullinan — broke the record for the highest price ever achieved for a fancy intense blue diamond. It was …

The champion Denver Broncos received their Super Bowl rings in a private ceremony held at Mile High Stadium on Sunday night. Adorned with 194 diamonds and a flourish of orange sapphires, the two-tone 10-karat gold rings commemorate in high style the team’s 24-10 impressive victory over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. Photos taken by the players and posted …

Missouri bride-to-be Linda Huffman says the 1-carat solitaire engagement ring she got on Valentine’s Day from fiancé Steve Kozlowski is “the only thing I’ve had in my life that was perfect.” But after a swimming mishap at a local creek on Memorial Day, she was sure her perfect ring was lost forever. Huffman had been spending a glorious day with …

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fun songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Mr. Hyunh from the animated Nickelodeon TV series Hey Arnold! channels country star Randy Travis in a ditty called “The Simple Things.” It’s a song that introduced to the world — in its very first line — the …

Out of the spotlight for more than two years, the 59.60-carat “Pink Star” has new owners and an eye on the all-time record price for a diamond sold at auction. Don’t be surprised if the Pink Star — the largest internally flawless, fancy vivid pink diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America — sets a new benchmark at $70 …