With many of you starting to plan your summer vacations, it's important to take note of the best ways to safeguard your fine jewelry when traveling. The importance of getting this right can't be overstated. In a recent survey by Jewelers Mutual (JM), nearly all respondents admitted to bringing their treasured pieces with them on holiday, while a surprisingly large …
100-Year-Old ‘Grease Table’ Tech Still Helps in Recovery of Small Diamonds
If you mosey on down to the lower level of the Diamond Discovery Center at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, AR, you'll see an ingenious piece of diamond-sorting technology that has stood the test of time. It's a replica of a "grease table" that allowed miners to separate small diamonds from dirt, rocks and other minerals. First invented …
Panamanian Archeologists Recover Golden Treasures From 1,200-Year-Old Tomb
Panamanian archeologists have recovered a trove of golden treasures from the 1,200-year-old tomb of a powerful chief at El Caño, an ancient necropolis about 110 miles southwest of Panama City in Coclé province. Among the artifacts discovered in the tomb were gold breastplates, gold bracelets, gold belts adorned with gold beads, gold-clad whale teeth earrings, a set of gold plates …
Music Friday: Brad Paisley Forgets the Ring in ‘You Have That Effect On Me’
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you romantic songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, a giddy and love-struck Brad Paisley is about to propose to his girlfriend, but accidentally leaves the engagement ring at home in 2001’s “You Have That Effect On Me.” In this song, Paisley takes on the role of …
Cheesemaking Byproduct Holds Key to Salvaging Gold From Electronic Waste
When the arachnophobic "Little Miss Muffet" sat on her tuffet in the 1805 nursery rhyme, young readers at the time could have hardly envisioned a future world in which her curds-and-whey snack would provide one of the ingredients for an eco-friendly way of salvaging gold from electronic waste. Researchers at ETH Zurich reported that they have successfully recovered gold from …
Rare 14-Karat Lego ‘Bionicle Hau’ Mask Found at Goodwill Sells for $18,000
Launched by the Lego Group in the summer of 2001, Bionicle was a line of articulated plastic action figures that deviated from the Danish toy company's core business of interlocking building blocks. Lego pulled the plug on Bionicles nearly 14 years ago, but the legend lives on — thanks to a 14-karat, super-rare, special-edition Bionicle Hau mask that surfaced at …
Millie Bobby Brown Shares How Her Ring Slipped Off During Underwater Proposal
Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown recounted on Thursday night's airing of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon how her new engagement ring slipped off during Jake Bongiovi's underwater proposal and how her new fiancé's quick reaction saved it from plummeting to the ocean floor. Although the couple announced their engagement on Instagram in April 2023, the bizarre proposal story …
Here’s Why a 1950s Brazilian Beauty Is Forever Linked With March’s Birthstone
In the lead-up to the the 1954 Miss Universe pageant, the runaway favorite to win the title was Maria Martha Hacker Rocha, a statuesque 21-year-old Brazilian beauty with captivating blue eyes. She had captured the title of Miss Bahia in her home state and went on to become the first-ever Miss Brazil. The pageant took place at the Municipal Auditorium …
Music Friday: ‘Your Love Is a Pearl’ in Joshua Kadison’s ‘Beautiful in My Eyes’
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you romantic favorites with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, we shine the spotlight on one of the most requested wedding songs of the 1990s: “Beautiful in My Eyes” by Joshua Kadison. Kadison’s lyrical love letter offers a sweet and sentimental prediction of how a relationship will become …
Wearable Tech Tracks Wellness by Continually Monitoring Earlobe Temperature
Researchers at the University of Washington just introduced the "Thermal Earring," a wireless wearable that continuously monitors a user’s earlobe temperature. In a small-scale study, the prototype measured the fever of sick patients more accurately than a smartwatch and showed promise for tracking changes in stress, exercise and ovulation. The smart earring prototype is about the size and weight of …