Anschar Diamonds Blog

US consumers are projected to spend a record $6.4 billion on jewelry gifts for Valentine’s Day 2024, outpacing last year's total by 16.3%, and up an amazing 64.1% compared to 2019, according to a survey just released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics. Jewelry topped all other categories for the 8th year in a row and is expected to account for 25 cents of every dollar spent on gifts for the holiday.



The jewelry category's gains come at the same time when overall Valentine gift sales are expected to be flat. Total spending for Cupid's Day, according the the NRF, is projected to tick down in 2024 from $25.9 billion to $25.8 billion.

The NRF also predicted new spending records for three other categories: "evening out" ($4.9 billion), "clothing" ($3 billion) and flowers ($2.6 billion) categories.

Another important finding is that spending dollars seem to be shifting towards "significant others" and away from "other family members," "friends," "children's classmates/teachers" and "co-workers."

The value of Valentine's Day gifts intended for significant others/spouses will see an increase of 5.2% in 2024 ($14.2 billion vs. $13.5 billion). Gift budgets allocated to significant others/spouses is expected to reach an all-time high of $101.84, while overall household spending for Valentine's Day is expected to be $185.81, down from $192.80 in 2023 and off the $196.31 peak set in 2020.

Exactly 57% of survey respondents intended to give candy in 2024, followed by greeting cards (40%), flowers (39%), an evening out (32%), jewelry (22%), clothing (21%) and gift cards (19%).

More than half of consumers (53%) plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, which is on par with the 52% tallied last year. Sixty-two percent of consumers ages 25-34 plan to celebrate this year, a higher proportion than any other age group.

According to the NRF, among those not celebrating Valentine’s Day, 29% still plan to mark the occasion in some way. Many will treat themselves to something special, while others will plan a get-together or evening out with their single friends or family members.

As the leading authority and voice for the retail industry, NRF provides data on consumer behavior and spending for key periods such as holidays throughout the year. The survey of 8,329 US adult consumers was conducted January 2-8 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.

Credit: Image by BigStockPhoto.com.

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. In his signature “Stable Song,” singer-songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov uses gemstone and precious-metal metaphors to describe an artist who struggles to find his muse and ultimately returns to his roots.



He sings, “Ring like crazy, ring like hell / Turn me back into that wild haired gale / Ring like silver, ring like gold / Turn these diamonds straight back into coal / Turn these diamonds straight back into coal.”

Isakov has told live audiences that “The Stable Song” is a poem “about everything.”

But, in our interpretation, the artist seems overwhelmed by the stress that comes with success. He’s under tremendous pressure to compose something perfect (diamond) and, instead, decides to return home where he can get back to basics (coal) and recapture the energy of his youth.

Written by Isakov, “The Stable Song” was the second track of his 2007 debut album, That Sea, The Gambler. The song also returned as the fourth track of the artist’s 2016 collaboration with the Colorado Symphony.

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, raised in Philadelphia and now calling Boulder, CO, his home, the 44-year-old Isakov has been traveling most of his life. His songs tell the story of his time on the road and his constant yearning for a sense of place. Music critics have described him as “strong, subtle, a lyrical genius.”

Isakov is currently wrapping up a series of shows in Australia before coming back to the US with stops scheduled in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, California, New Mexico, Tennessee, Massachusetts, and Riviera Maya, Mexico.

Please check out the video of Isakov's live performance at the Forum in Melbourne, Australia, on January 28 of this year. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“The Stable Song”
Written and performed by Gregory Alan Isakov.

Remember when our songs were just like prayer
Like gospel hymns that you called in the air
Come down, come down sweet reverence
Unto my simple house and ring… and ring

Ring like silver, ring like gold
Ring out those ghosts on the Ohio
Ring like clear day wedding bells
Were we the belly of the beast, or the sword that fell?
We’ll never tell

Come to me, clear and cold
On some sea
Watch the world spinning waves
Like that machine

Now I’ve been crazy, couldn’t you tell?
I threw stones at the stars, but the whole sky fell
Now I’m covered up in straw, belly up on the table
Well I drank and sang, and I passed in the stable

That tall grass grows high and brown
Well I dragged you straight in the muddy ground
And you sent me back to where I roam
Well I cursed and I cried, but now I know
Now I know

And I ran back to that hollow again
The moon was just a sliver back then
And I ached for my heart like some tin man
When it came, oh it beat and it boiled and it rang
Oh, it’s ringing

Ring like crazy, ring like hell
Turn me back into that wild haired gale
Ring like silver, ring like gold
Turn these diamonds straight back into coal
Turn these diamonds straight back into coal



Credit: Screen capture via Youtube.com / Aiden Giddings.

Starting in 2025, a Paris agency known for outrageous and lavish engagement proposal packages, will be offering couples a robot-hosted, seven-hour romantic adventure to the stratosphere and back for the tidy sum of 750,000 euros ($808,000).



ApoteoSurprise described how the couple will board a sleek, futuristic spherical space capsule hours before sunrise. Equipped with state-of-the-art comforts, the cabin will be equipped with an elegantly set dining table reminiscent of the most refined Parisian eateries.

As they start their slow, two-hour, pilot-assisted ascent into space, the couple will be introduced to StellarEmbrace, an AI-trained robot who will present the soon-to-be fiancée with a bouquet of roses.

StellarEmbrace is able to recognize body language, facial expressions, tone and vocabulary. The robot will respond to the couple's beck and call and is ready to field questions, converse, serenade and dance.

Propelled by a helium-inflated stratospheric balloon, the craft will pass through the troposphere (10 km, 6.2 mi) and into the stratosphere at about 32 miles (50 km) above the Earth's surface.

ApoteoSurprise noted that the towering windows of the capsule will offer awe-inspiring 360-degree views and a unique perspective of our planet. In the darkness of night, they will be able to see the countless networks of luminous cityscapes and roadways.

In the first phase of the trip, the robot will serve glasses of champagne, orange juice, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and freshly baked croissants.

As the sun rises, the capsule will be at its full cruising altitude. From that vantage point, the couple will see the bluish halo of the atmosphere, and the pitch-black expanse of space, bejeweled by a multitude of stars. It's a view that only 600 humans have ever experienced. ApoteoSurprise noted that the couple will feel a profound connection with all of humanity, forever altering their perception of our world.

StellarEmbrace will then invite the couple to gather around the central table, where it will serve a food and wine pairing curated by a French Michelin-starred chef. The menu features puffed scallops, a duet of lobster and truffles, matured caviar with milk flower, honey-lacquered roast supreme and a crisp grapefruit.

Also accompanying the experience is a space-theme playlist, including iconic tracks, such as "Space Oddity" by David Bowie, "Across the Universe" by The Beatles, "Rocket Man" by Elton John and "Walking on the Moon" by Police.

But just before dessert, StellarEmbrace will playfully interject that something very important has been forgotten.

ApoteoSurprise noted that the robot will then make its way backstage and promptly return, clutching a luminous chest straight out of a science-fiction film. The suitor will input a secret code on the chest's screen, and a resonant electronic tone will announce the unveiling of a box containing an engagement ring.

At that moment, the suitor will pop the question, "forever sealing your love within the eternity of space!"

StellarEmbrace will break into applause, moved to tears, joyously sharing in the celebration.

​A bit later, noted ApoteoSurprise, the capsule will begin its two-hour descent.

All the while, the robot will have filmed every moment — from the couple's arrival at the capsule to their final farewells.

Credit: Image courtesy of ApoteoSurprise.

Greenville, SC, resident Melanie Harper is singing the praises of local Public Works employees who went above and beyond the call of duty to rescue her diamond wedding band from a huge pile of recycled trash.



A routine Sunday visit to her town's recycling plant turned into a nightmare for Harper, whose cherished band slipped off as she tossed her recyclables into the container at the Rutherford Road recycling center.

"I know the likelihood of finding this is slim to none," she wrote in an email to the City of Greenville’s Public Works department. "But, if the ring is found during the course of processing the recycling, I would be most appreciative if someone could contact me."

On its official Facebook page, the Public Works department wrote, "Finding a needle in a haystack = hard. Finding a ring in a recycling bin = nearly impossible. Unless you're the City of Greenville Public Works, where employees truly dive into their work!"



On Monday morning, instead of processing what was in the bin, Public Works supervisors and litter crew members agreed to dump the recycling materials on the ground and sort through each item, piece by piece.

After hours of searching, "Travis Golden struck gold. White gold," reported the Public Works department on its Facebook page.



The department contacted Harper and invited her to the plant to be reunited with her ring.

Besides Travis, the Facebook post gave a shout-out to the other team members involved in the search efforts: Jeff Hammond, James Burnside, Frank Daigneault and Manny Cruz.

Credits: Images courtesy of City of Greenville.

Flaunting an intense vivid purple color with flashes of red, this 401.52-carat stunner is one of the finest and largest faceted amethysts in the National Gem Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.



The Brazilian-sourced, emerald-cut gem was a gift from the Smithsonian Gemstone Collectors group in 2012 and checks all the boxes for what a Smithsonian-quality gem should be. In addition to its impressive size, it displays superb color, clarity and cut.

Amethyst is February's official birthstone and the most coveted variety of quartz. The gem is colorless in its pure state, but gets its purple color from a few atoms of iron displacing some of the silicon in the gem’s molecular structure. These traces of iron can give amethyst a wide range of colors, from almost white to deep purple.

Amethyst has been coveted for thousands of years and is one of the oldest recorded gemstones. Amethysts have been recovered from ancient Egyptian tombs and were prized by the Greeks, Romans, Babylonians and Hebrews.

The color purple was traditionally the color of royalty, and amethyst was used to adorn the richest and most powerful monarchs and rulers. The English revered the stone for its majestic properties — creating emblems and insignia featuring amethysts during the Middle Ages to symbolize royalty.

Amethyst gets its name from the Greek word “amethystos,” which literally means “not to intoxicate.” Apparently, the Greeks believed amethyst could reverse the effects of drunkenness. Other characteristics attributed to amethyst include peace, balance, courage, stability and inner strength.

The color rating of an amethyst is determined by hue, tone and saturation. Hue is the color; tone is relative lightness or darkness of the color; and saturation relates to the color’s intensity, from dull to vivid.

While Brazil is the primary source of this gemstone, fine-quality amethysts also can be found in parts of Zambia, Mexico, Uruguay, Italy, Germany, Canada, Maine, Colorado, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Credit: Photo by Ken Larsen / Smithsonian.

If pop icon Taylor Swift's avid fans get their wish this Sunday night, Kansas City Chiefs' star tight end Travis Kelce will be popping the question to the 14-time Grammy winner on the gridiron at the conclusion of Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.



With 200 million people expected to tune in to the contest between the Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, the Swift-Kelce union could be the most-viewed proposal ever.

During a presser on Monday, Kelce was asked if there was another ring on his mind besides the one that comes with winning Super Bowl LVIII.

“I am focused on getting this [third Super Bowl] ring,” Kelce said. “That’s all my mind is focused on right now.”

But the gambling community believes there's an outside chance that Kelce will end up on bended knee.

According to USA Today, an astounding $23.1 billion in wagers will be placed on Super Bowl-related outcomes.

No longer do bettors simply choose a winning team. Now they can engage in "prop bets," such as the temperature at kickoff time, the duration of the National Anthem and the color of Gatorade poured on the winning coach.

An online betting site in Canada even established a line for the question: "Will Travis Kelce propose to Taylor Swift," noting specifically that the proposal has to take place on the field after the game.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the "Yes" position would deliver +820, which means that a $100 bet would yield a winning sum of $820. Essentially, the site believes there is a 10.87% chance that it will happen.

That yield has crept steadily downward from +1060 (8.62% probability) earlier in the day, which means that more people seem to be willing to gamble that the proposal will take place.

The "No" position stands at -2000 (95.24% probability), which means that a $2,000 bet would generate winnings of $100. That number is down from -3500 (97.22%) earlier in the week.

One sports betting site even established odds for whether Swift will reverse traditional roles and propose to Kelce on the field after Super Bowl LVIII. The site is offering a "Yes-only" option at +2500 (3.85% probability), which means a $100 bet would generate winnings of $2,500 if it happened.

“[Swift] is absolutely the number one fan right now,” Kelce told USA Today. “I love having her at every single game she can make, and we’ll see. I don’t plan anything after Super Bowl. My focus is on trying to win this game. Everything afterward will just fall in place.”

Will bridal jewelry become part of celebration as the game clock ticks down to 0:00 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas? Stay tuned and enjoy the game.

Credits: Taylor Swift photo by Paolo Villanueva from New York, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Travis Kelce image by Adam Schultz, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, former Rilo Kiley frontwoman Jenny Lewis sings about having the courage to jettison a failing relationship in the 2007 release, “Silver Lining.”



Penned by Lewis, the song builds up to the moment our heroine breaks up with her boyfriend because she knows that — in the long run — she’ll be better off without him.

She sings, “I never felt so wicked / As when I willed our love to die / and I was your silver lining as the story goes / I was your silver lining but now I’m gold.”

The phrase “now I’m gold” reflects Lewis's return to a fresh and idyllic view of life after having the confidence to break ties and set out on her own. She is no longer defined as her boyfriend’s silver lining — the glimmer of hope in his bad situation.

In the song’s official video, Lewis and fellow bandmate Blake Sennett are seen exchanging vows in a church. But then, Lewis hands Sennett a gold coin and leaves him at the altar. Both child actors, Lewis and Sennett dated in real life until 2002.

“Silver Lining” is the first track on the indie rock band’s fourth and final full-length album, Under the Blacklight. In retrospect, some critics believe that the song foreshadowed the band’s breakup, which would take place in 2014.

Both the single and the album earned critical acclaim. Rolling Stone magazine rated Under the Blacklight as the 8th best album of 2007, and picked “Silver Lining” as the 27th best song that same year.

Founded in Los Angeles in 1998, Rilo Kiley was named for a mythical Australian rules football player that came to Sennett in a dream. According to a 2005 interview with syndicated radio show Loveline, Sennett dreamed he was being chased by a sports almanac.

“When it got me, I leafed through it… and I came upon an Australian rules football player from the 19th century named Rilo Kiley. It’s kind of embarrassing,” Sennett admitted.

After the band's breakup, Lewis has gone on to have a successful solo career. She is currently touring, with stops planned in California, Arizona, Texas, Missouri, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Georgia and Tennessee.

Trivia: As a 13-year-old, Lewis starred alongside Shelley Long in Troop Beverly Hills (1989).

Please check out the official video of Lewis and Rilo Kiley performing “Silver Lining.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Silver Lining”
Written by Jenny Lewis. Performed by Rilo Kiley.

And I’m not going back into rags or in the hole
And our bruises are coming
But we will never fold

And I was your silver lining
As the story goes
I was your silver lining but now I’m gold
Hooray hooray I’m your silver lining
Hooray hooray but now I’m gold.

And I was your silver lining
High up on my toes
Well you were running through fields of hitchhikers
As the story goes

Hooray hooray I’m your silver lining
Hooray hooray but now I’m gold
Hooray hooray I’m your silver lining
Hooray hooray but now I’m gold

And the grass it was a ticking
And the sun was on the rise
I never felt so wicked
As when I willed our love to die

And I was your silver lining as the story goes
I was your silver lining but now I’m gold
Hooray hooray I’m your silver lining
Hooray hooray but now I’m gold
Hooray hooray I’m your silver lining
Hooray hooray but now I’m gold
But now I’m gold
But now I’m gold
But now I’m gold



Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com / rilokiley.

The same Oxford University mathematician who this past fall calculated that young children were most likely to pitch a tantrum exactly 27 minutes and 48 seconds into a flight, has revealed his newest formula — this one for a perfect proposal.



The 34-year-old Dr. Tom Crawford, who is widely known by his YouTube handle @TomRocksMaths, cooked up a way to quantify whether a marriage proposal is likely to be a roaring success or an embarrassing bust.

His methodology, which is based on an Asda engagement survey of 2,000 Brits, establishes an individual's "proposal score" (S) out of possible 100 points.

"If you follow this recipe for success," he told the Daily Mail, "you'll be giving yourself the best possible chance of getting that 'Yes.'"

Here's how it works…

Dr. Crawford's formula rewards points in four areas and then adds bonus points for superior behavior and subtracts points for each thoughtless faux pas.
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Assuming the proposal will be taking place during a home-prepared dinner, the four key factors include the exact time of the meal (M), the staging of the proposal (T), the amount of advance planning (P) and the cost of the engagement ring (C). Each one of these is worth 20 points.

Dr. Crawford calculated that the optimum time to start the momentous meal is exactly 8:06 pm, with the proposal set to occur after the main course, but before the dessert.

The mathematician noted that the suitor should have been planning for this special moment for 68 days and that the ring's value should reflect 2.5 months' salary.

Proposers can supplement their point totals (and thereby increase their chances of a "Yes" response) by delivering a heartfelt engagement speech (+8 points), setting an attractive environment with mood lighting and flowers (+7 points) and queuing up a romantic playlist (+5 points).

These same suitors needed to be mindful of potential score busters…

Checking one's phone is a definite "no-no." If it happens, deduct 20 points.

Leaving the TV on in the background is a distraction that will cost an additional 14 points.

Burning the dinner is a 10-point deduction, and having kids in the house when popping the question is a negative-6 on the score card.

"In terms of things to avoid," Crawford told the Daily Mail, "keep those phones switched off and out of sight, drop the kids off with a babysitter, and don't burn the food!"

Dr. Crawford, a self-proclaimed numberphile, began teaching at the University of Oxford in the 2017. His Tom Rocks Maths YouTube channel claims more than 178,000 subscribers.

Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com / TomRocksMaths.

A British anesthetist, who accidentally left her diamond ring in the pocket of her scrubs while working in a hospital in West Suffolk and then at the end of her shift dropped the protective garment in the laundry, was surprised to learn that the ring reemerged five days later, 100 miles away at a hospital in London.



Dr. Radhika Ramasamy explained how she put the ring — a birthday gift from her husband — in the pocket of her scrubs before giving a patient a spinal anesthetic at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust in Bury St Edmunds.

“I meant to put the ring back on afterwards, but ended up doing another procedure and forgot about it," Dr. Ramasamy said in a press release. "It wasn’t until the evening of the next day that I realized it was missing and then it was the weekend, so I didn’t report it to my facilities team till the Monday. To be honest, I never expected to get it back as I thought it would be crushed in the machinery at the laundry.”

Flash forward five days and nearly 100 miles southwest on the M11 motorway where we find Suraj Shah, an anesthetics registrar based at London's Royal Free Hospital (RFH), getting ready for his ICU shift by donning a freshly laundered pair of scrubs.

“As I put the scrubs on something clattered to the floor and a colleague spotted the ring and alerted me," Shah noted. "At first I thought maybe one of the nurses here had lost the ring and I put the word out through the nurse in charge. I checked with the doctors, as well, but nothing, so I contacted our facilities team."

Shah was deeply touched by the gravity of the situation.

“I knew how downhearted my wife would be if she’d lost a ring that had sentimental value to her so that was in the back of my mind," he added. "As healthcare workers, we often take off rings for procedures so it’s an easy mistake to make.”

The RFH facilities team contacted the commercial laundry about the newly found ring and, by good fortune, there was a match as Ramasamy had reported it missing just days earlier.

Amazingly, the delicate diamond ring was able to endure the high-powered agitation of the commercial washers and the extreme tumbling of its dryers — all while remaining tucked in the pocket.

A reunion was quickly arranged and Ramasamy couldn't have been more pleased with the colleagues and professional staff who made it happen.

“I’m so happy to have it returned," she said. "It just shows how honest people are and I want to say a huge thank you to all the people involved — my end at the West Suffolk Hospital and at the Royal Free Hospital — in reuniting me with a ring that has real sentimental value to me as it was a birthday present from my husband a few years ago."

"I know it’s been an incredible team effort," she continued, "and I am so appreciative of how so many people have gone the extra mile to track me down and return it to me.”

At RFH, Shah said, “It’s nice to feel part of a bit of a little miracle. I’m delighted the ring has been reunited with Radhika.”

Credit: Image courtesy of West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.

If you're lucky enough to live along the narrow path that runs from Eagle Pass, TX, to the eastern tip of Maine, April 8th will bring you a fantastical total solar eclipse, complete with a bonus celestial display that looks remarkably like a diamond ring.



The “Diamond Ring Effect,” which was first explained by Francis Baily in 1836, occurs when the moon completely masks out the sun during a total solar eclipse. Due to the rugged lunar landscape, the black outline of the moon is not smooth. Tiny beads of sunlight can still shine through in some places and not in others as the moon slowly grazes past the sun.

These are called Baily’s Beads. When only one dazzling “bead” remains, momentarily, the view of the eclipse resembles a diamond ring. The ring’s glow is produced by the sun’s corona remaining dimly visible around the lunar silhouette.



The Diamond Ring Effect will actually happen twice on April 8. The first time will occur in the moment just before the total eclipse, and the second will occur just after the total eclipse. The solar eclipse will last about 4.5 minutes in most locations along the path, and effectively turn day into night. The grey path shown on NASA's map is about 115 miles wide and represents the viewing area where the Moon will completely block out the Sun in the sky.

Skygazers southwest of San Antonio will experience the solar eclipse at approximately 1:30pm Central time, while those in the easternmost reaches of Maine will close out the US light show just after 3:30pm Eastern.

Ironically, one of the best places to view the “Diamond Ring Effect” on April 8 will be at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, AR, the only diamond site in the world that’s open to the general public.

The park will experience 3 minutes and 48 seconds of the total eclipse, which will start at 1:47pm and last through 1:51pm. Visitors to the park on April 8 will see the start of a partial eclipse at 12:30pm and the end of the partial eclipse at 3:08 pm.

Reservations at the park are booking up fast, so those planning a trip to the park should order tickets online at this site…

While snacks and drinks are available in the Visitor Center while supplies last, guests are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch and plenty of water for every person in their group. Visitors are also encouraged to bring their own buckets, shovels, wagons, and sifting screens, as rental equipment is likely to sell out.

NASA warned that skywatchers should NEVER look at a partial solar eclipse without proper eye protection. Looking directly at the sun, even when it is partially covered by the moon, can cause serious eye damage or blindness. Only during totality, when the sun’s disk is completely covered by the moon, is it safe to view the eclipse with the naked eye, says NASA.

During the solar eclipse, the moon’s shadow will pass over half of the US. The path of the umbra, where the eclipse is total, will stretch on a fairly straight path from the Tex-Mex border to the Maine-New Brunswick border. Cities in a great position to view a total eclipse and the "Diamond Ring Effect" include Little Rock, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo and Burlington, VT.

Credits: Diamond ring solar eclipse photo by Lutfar Rahman Nirjhar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Solar eclipse map by Michala Garrision and the Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS), in collaboration with the NASA Heliophysics Activation Team (NASA HEAT), part of NASA's Science Activation portfolio. Eclipse calculations by Ernie Wright, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Crater of Diamonds image courtesy of Arkansas State Parks.

The excruciatingly difficult task of finding rough diamonds just got a bit easier, thanks to new research that links the most coveted gem on earth with its yellowish-green traveling cousin called olivine, a mineral whose precious form is peridot.



Geologists from ETH Zurich and the University of Melbourne recognized a critical distinction between two types of olivine, which happens to be a key ingredient in kimberlite pipes, the molten rock that blasts diamonds from deep within the Earth to the surface.

The scientists learned that when olivine contains a high concentration of iron, diamonds are less likely to be in the mix. If the olivine contains high concentrations of magnesium, there's a high likelihood that diamonds will be present.

Diamond mining giant De Beers, which helped fund the study and supplied the scientists with kimberlite samples, is already reaping the benefits of this new, streamlined method of finding rough diamond resources.

“Diamond producers sometimes wish they were mining gold, copper or some other raw material, because nothing is as complicated as finding and mining diamonds,” stated Andrea Giuliani, Senior Scientist at ETH Zurich’s Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology. “There’s no method that guarantees that you will find diamonds.”

His team's breakthrough finding relies on how the chemical composition of olivine can become altered 150 kilometers below the Earth's surface.

When melt from underlying layers infiltrates the lithospheric mantle (just below the Earth's crust), it makes the olivine richer in iron. The melt also destroys diamonds.

When only a small amount of melt or no melt can penetrate the lithospheric mantle, the olivine will contain more magnesium and diamonds will remain intact.

“Just looking for a kimberlite is like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Giuliani explained. “Once you’ve found it, then the arduous search for diamonds really gets underway.”

Now miners can inspect kimberlite samples for magnesium-rich olivine and be confident that diamonds are nearby.

The study was recently published in Nature Communications.

Credit: Image by Parent Géry, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you classic songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today’s featured track is “For Your Love” by the British-invasion band The Yardbirds. The 1965 hit, which features key “diamond” references, was the group’s biggest commercial success, but also triggered the departure of future superstar Eric Clapton.



The song is essentially a love treatise, with lead singer Keith Relf ticking off all the things he would give “for your love.” In addition to offering the moon, the sun and the stars, Relf starts off with a jewelry-related proposal…

Relf sings, “I’d give you everything and more and that’s for sure / I’d bring you diamond rings and things right to your door / To thrill you with delight / I’d give you diamonds bright/ There’ll be things that will excite / Make you dream of me at night.”

Even though the song rose to #6 on the US Billboard Top 100 chart and scored #1 spots in both the UK and Canada, “For Your Love” became a dealbreaker for the 20-year-old Clapton.

The lead guitarist left the band eight days after the song’s release because he believed it signaled that The Yardbirds were abandoning their blues roots and becoming too commercial. Music historians claim he was also disgruntled having to duplicate the song’s unusual harpsichord intro on his 12-string electric guitar when playing live.

On The Yardbirds official site, guitarist Chris Dreja said “For Your Love” was responsible for bringing the group international fame. He also said that the “weirdness” of the song’s time-signature change in the middle became a template for future hits.

“‘For Your Love’ was an interesting song,” Yardbirds drummer Jim McCarty told songfacts.com. “It had an interesting chord sequence, very moody, very powerful. And the fact that it stopped in the middle and went into a different time signature, we liked that, that was interesting. Quite different, really, from all the bluesy stuff that we’d been playing up till then. But somehow we liked it. It was original and different.”

Ironically, The Yardbirds’ signature song and biggest hit wasn’t originally intended for the group. Apparently, songwriter Graham Gouldman wrote it for his own group, the Mockingbirds, but their demo was rejected by Columbia Records. The song was also turned down by the producers of Herman’s Hermits and the Animals before landing with The Yardbirds.

Musician Dave Liebman, who was hired to write the introduction to “For Your Love,” revealed years later that the use of the harpsichord was a total accident. Upon arriving at the recording studio, he realized that the organ he intended to use was nowhere in site. He had to settle for a harpsichord and history was made — the first rock song featuring a harpsichord.

The Yardbirds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and are included in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.”

Please check out the video at the end of this post. It’s a rare 1965 clip of The Yardbirds performing “For Your Love” on Shindig!, a U.S. musical variety show. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along...

“For Your Love”
Written by Graham Gouldman. Performed by The Yardbirds.

For your love.
For your love.
For your love.
I’d give you everything and more, and that’s for sure.
For your love.
I’d give you diamond rings and things right to your door.
For your love.

To thrill you with delight,
I’ll give you diamonds bright.
There’ll be things that will excite,
Make me dream of you at night.

For your love.
For your love.
For your love.

For your love, for your love,
Well, I would give the stars above.
For your love, for your love,
Well, I would give you all I could.

For your love.
For your love.
For your love.
I’d give the moon if it were mine to give.
For your love.
I’d give the sun and stars ‘fore I live.
For your love.

To thrill you with delight,
I’ll give you diamonds bright.
There’ll be things that will excite,
To make you dream of me at night.

For your love.
For your love.
For your love.
For your love.



Credit: Photo by Epic, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Rocking a bedazzled manicure and rings on five fingers, three-time Grammy winner Gwen Stefani coyly revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! why her Valentine's Day gift from hubby and country music star Blake Shelton was extra special this year.



"I got my Valentine's present early this year," the "Don't Speak" singer said, as she casually lifted her right hand near her face and tapped a beautiful emerald ring with the pointer of her left hand. Kimmel's audience let out a collective cheer.



While Stefani tried to queue up a clear shot of her ring for the studio cameras, it became clear that Stefani really likes fine jewelry. She wore two rings on her left hand and three on her right.

"It looks like you got a few Valentine's presents," Kimmel joked before asking if Shelton picks out the gifts himself, or if he has some friend that helps.

"He really mixed it up," the 54-year-old Stefani said. "Usually I get amazing flowers, which I love, love, love, but this was just a, 'Here you go!' Yeah, he did the whole thing. I love you Blakey!"



The Valentine's Day ring appears to feature a large oval emerald surrounded by florets of colorless accent diamonds. Last year, she received a massive assortment of pink and red roses.

Stefani and Kimmel laughed about how the talk show host's previous recommendation for a Valentine's gift for Shelton, 47, was a big hit.

"He got a lot of use out out it," she said of the flame thrower.

Shelton was on set to join his wife for the debut of their newest release, "Purple Irises,” a song about how true love can endure the aging process.

In a 2022 interview with Access Hollywood, Stefani revealed Shelton's all-time most romantic gift.

"Blake wrote our vows as a song," she said. "That was pretty up there. Try to top that, guys!"

Stefani and Shelton met while starring on The Voice in 2014. They began dating in 2015 and wed in 2021.

Check out Kimmel's interview with Stefani, below. The discussion about her Valentine's Day present starts at 2:32.



Credits: Screen captures via Youtube.com / Jimmy Kimmel Live.

TODAY show hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie fabricated a "Love Your Pet" segment on Valentine's Day as part of an elaborate ruse to set the stage for a surprise marriage proposal.



Veterinarian Priscilla Diaz, who graduated in May of 2023, joined the hosts on a live broadcast, where she fielded questions about how to keep pets active during the winter months.

Priscilla told the first pet owner (who was actually a TODAY show producer) that it's important to bring pets outdoors despite the cold weather, while being mindful of providing the right gear, such as booties to protect paws from the salt, and sweaters to keep short-haired breeds warm.

The hosts then introduced the second pet owner, who turned out to be Priscilla's longtime boyfriend, Carlos. He entered the set accompanied by the couple's very excited pup, Teddy.

The hosts asked Carlos if he had a question for the surprised veterinarian.

"I do," he said solemnly.



"Baby, since the moment I told you I loved you and we slow danced in your backyard, I've waited for this moment," he began. "We've been three, three-and-a-half years long distance, and now you're home. And I wanted to make you my forever Valentine. And ask you to marry me."

Carlos went down on one knee and then asked formally, "Will you marry me, babe?"

Priscilla quickly responded, "Absolutely. Yes! Oh, my gosh."



Carlos opened a ring box and took out a pear-shaped diamond ring with diamond halo in white metal setting and placed it on Priscilla's ring finger.



"Oh, my gosh. I love you," she said, as she and Carlos embraced.

The hosts congratulated the couple and presented Priscilla with a bouquet of roses.

"And we're not done with surprises for you," said Guthrie, who went on to list a series of valuable gifts from a famous New York bridal shop, men's formalwear store and retail jeweler.



The hosts recounted how Priscilla and Carlos carried out a long-distance relationship while she was away at veterinary school. They had started dating during COVID and were excited to be reunited when she graduated last spring.

Carlos admitted that he had the engagement ring locked up in his safe for months, as he waited for the perfect time to pop the question, but there were "hiccups" along the way.

First they got COVID and then Priscilla burned her ring finger, which further delayed his proposal plans.

"I can't make that up," Carlos joked.

The TODAY show team learned about Priscilla's and Carlos's love story from a friend of the couple, who also happens to be Carlos's boss.

"A friend of yours told us about you," Kotb said. "We created an entire pet segment so that you would come here [and] we could have this moment."

"Congratulations and I'm glad your pooch was here to witness it, too," Kotb added.

Check out the full segment here…

Credits: Screen captures via today.com.

Researchers from Melbourne, Australia-based RMIT University are taking advantage of the amazing thermal conductivity of nanodiamonds to create "smart" textiles that can keep you cooler in the summer.



The study published in Polymers for Advanced Technologies found that fabric made from cotton coated with nanodiamonds — using a method called electrospinning — can draw out body heat and release it from the fabric.

The process delivers a comfort advantage of 2 to 3 degrees Celsius during the cooling down process, compared to untreated cotton.

Project lead and senior lecturer Dr. Shadi Houshyar said there is a big opportunity to use these insights to create new textiles for sportswear and even personal protective clothing, such as under-layers to keep fire fighters cool.



The study also found nanodiamonds increased the UV protection of cotton, making it ideal for outdoor summer clothing.

“While 2 or 3 degrees may not seem like much of a change, it does make a difference in comfort and health impacts over extended periods and, in practical terms, could be the difference between keeping your air conditioner off or turning it on,” Houshyar said.

The potential widespread use of nanodiamond-treated fabric in clothing was projected by the researchers to lead to a 20-30% energy saving due to lower use of air conditioning.

Nanodiamonds are unimaginably small. They measure from 5 to 100 nanometers in diameter. For reference, there are 25.4 million nanometers in one inch. A human hair is approximately 80,000-100,000 nanometers wide.

“There’s also potential to explore how nanodiamonds can be used to protect buildings from overheating, which can lead to environmental benefits,” Houshyar added.

In the study, cotton material was first coated with an adhesive, then electrospun with a polymer solution made from nanodiamonds, polyurethane and a solvent. This process created a web of nanofibers on the cotton fibers, which were then cured to bond the two.

Lead researcher and research assistant, Dr. Aisha Rehman, said the coating with nanodiamonds was deliberately applied to only one side of the fabric to restrict heat in the atmosphere from transferring back to the body.

“The side of the fabric with the nanodiamond coating is what touches the skin," Rehman said. "The nanodiamonds then transfer heat from the body into the air. Because nanodiamonds are such good thermal conductors, it does it faster than untreated fabric.”

Rehman added that nanodiamonds are also biocompatible, so they’re safe for the human body.

Researchers at RMIT's Centre for Materials Innovation and Future Fashion will continue to study the durability of the nanofibers, especially during the washing process.

Credits: Photo of research supervisor and senior lecturer Dr. Xin Wang, lead researcher and research assistant Dr. Aisha Rehman and project leader and senior lecturer Dr. Shadi Houshyar by Cherry Cai, RMIT University. Nanodiamonds photo by Cherry Cai, RMIT University.

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you classic hits with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, legendary band Earth, Wind & Fire uses pearls and gold to symbolize flawless perfection in its signature song, “That’s the Way of the World.”



A memorable singalong brimming with messages of inspiration and hope, “That’s the Way of the World” reminds the listener to “stay young at heart” despite society's negative influences.

They sing, “That’s the way of the world / Plant your flower and you grow a pearl / Child is born with a heart of gold / Way of the world makes his heart so cold.”

Band members have called “That’s the Way of the World” their “national anthem” and, in 2004, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. One year later, Rolling Stone magazine rated it #329 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

“That’s the Way of the World” was written by band members Maurice and Verdine White, along with producer Charles Stepney, as part of the score for a movie about the dark side of the music business. While the movie flopped, the soundtrack was a rousing success.

The song was also the title track of the group's sixth studio album, which ranked as the third best-selling pop album and the #1 best-selling R&B album of 1975.

Founded in Chicago by Maurice White in 1969, Earth, Wind & Fire’s unique sound combines modern jazz, fusion, soul, gospel, funk, disco, rock and the distinct rhythms of African music.

Featuring the interplay of Philip Bailey’s falsetto and Maurice White’s baritone — supported by multiple drummers and a powerful brass section — the band amassed a huge international following. Maurice White passed away in February of 2016 at the age of 74.

The six-time Grammy Award winners are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and have sold more than 90 million albums worldwide. The group starts a four-month tour in New Orleans on May 5.

Please check out the video of Earth, Wind & Fire’s live performance of “That’s the Way of the World.” Put on your dancing shoes and be prepared to sing along…

“That’s the Way of the World”
Written by Verdine White, Maurice White and Charles Stepney. Performed by Earth, Wind & Fire.

Hearts of fire creates love desire
Take you high and higher to the world you belong
Hearts of fire creates love desire
High and higher to your place on the throne

We come together on this special day
Sing our message loud and clear
Looking back, we’ve touched on sorrowful days
Future pass, they disappear
You will find peace of mind
If you look way down in your heart and soul
Don’t hesitate ’cause the world seems cold
Stay young at heart, ’cause you’re never, never old

That’s the way of the world
Plant your flower and you grow a pearl
Child is born with a heart of gold
Way of the world makes his heart so cold

Hearts of fire create love desire take you
High and higher to the world you belong
Hearts of fire love desire
High and higher, yeah yeah yeah
Hearts of fire love desire
Ahh higher

We come together on this special day
Sung our message loud and clear
Looking back, we’ve touched on sorrowful days
Future disappears
You will find peace of mind
If you look way down in your heart and soul
Don’t hesitate ’cause the world seems cold
Stay young at heart, ’cause you’re never, never, never

That’s the way of the world,
Plant your flower and you grow a pearl
Child is born with a heart of gold
Way of the world makes his heart so cold

Hearts of fire, love desire
High and higher, yeah yeah
Hearts of fire, love desire

Credit: Image by Distributed by Columbia Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Said to be one of the most perfectly cut diamonds in the world, the seldom-seen 125.35-carat Jonker I Diamond is now headlining a special exhibition at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM).



Titled "100 Carats: Icons of the Gem World," the presentation features more than two dozen gems that have at least two things in common: Each weighs more than 100 carats and each represents the finest example of its type. The exhibition was assembled by the NHM in collaboration with Robert Procop Exceptional Jewels and runs through April 21, 2024.

The Jonker I Diamond is the largest stone cut from the 726-carat Jonker Diamond, which was the fourth-largest rough diamond in the world when it was found in 1934.

According to the NHM, the historic gem has passed through the hands of global royalty and Hollywood stars, but has not been on display at a museum for more than eight decades. In fact, the public has not seen this diamond since it was bought by a private collector in 1977.

Now, owner Ibrahim Al-Rashid has lent the Jonker I Diamond to NHM for display in this exhibition.

“The Jonker is one of the largest and most famous diamonds ever unearthed,” said Al-Rashid, who is also chairman of Miami-based Limestone Asset Management. “Its beauty and history are compelling. I'm grateful to have it on display for viewers to enjoy for the first time in many decades.”

In addition to the Jonker I Diamond, the gemstones on display in the NHM's Hixon Gem Vault include the following:

The Northern Light beryl (103.30 carats)
The Great White Emerald goshenite (168.20)
The Crown of Colombia emerald (241.04)
The Imperial tourmaline (111.09)
The Blue Star aquamarine (108.29)
The Magnificent paraiba (106.20)
Pride of Sri Lanka, The Healing Blue sapphire (186.82)
The Miracle sapphire (100.06)
The Scepter sapphire (127.30)
The Eastern Star sapphire (177.91)
The Princess Pink sapphire (109.82)
The Scarlet Red rubellite (112.68)
The Ukrainian Flag topaz (153.27)

“The show is a once-in-a-lifetime event,” said Dr. Aaron Celestian, NHM’s curator of mineral sciences. “The rarity of these gems cannot be overstated. Visitors will be able to see tremendous examples of gemstones in a rainbow of vivid colors that have been expertly cut to display their remarkable brilliance. I am thrilled that we’ve been able to bring these giant gems together for the first time.”

The Jonker Diamond has a wild backstory that includes a possible connection to the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond, the largest diamond ever unearthed.

On January 17, 1934, a rough diamond the size of a hen’s egg was pulled from a bucket of gravel at the Elandsfontein claim, 4.8 kilometers south of the Premier Mine in South Africa. The massive 726-carat rough diamond with a frosty ice-white color would take on the surname of Jacob Jonker, the 62-year-old digger who owned the claim.

Diamond experts speculated whether the 63.5mm x 31.75mm Jonker and the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond had once been conjoined, as their respective cleaved faces seemed to match up perfectly. The Cullinan Diamond had been discovered at the nearby Premier Mine 19 years earlier.

The Jonker rough was acquired by De Beers chairman Sir Ernest Oppenheimer and subsequently caught the attention of diamond dealer Harry Winston, who purchased the rough stone in 1935 for £75,000, the equivalent of £6.7 million ($8.5 million) today.

The Jonker diamond earned celebrity status when it was displayed during the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary in May of that same year.

The next year, Winston contracted Lazare Kaplan to cut 13 finished gems from the original rough. The Jonker finished diamonds were each named with a Roman numeral, in size order. The largest was the Jonker I at 142.90 carats and the smallest was the Jonker XIII at 3.53 carats. The Jonker I was later re-cut to eliminate flaws and improve its brilliance. The new-and-improved version weighed 125.35 carats.

Please check out the five-minute NHM video, below, which highlights many of the beautiful gemstones in the exhibit, with expert commentary from Celestian, jewelry designer Robert Procop and former president of the Gemological Institute of America Bill Boyajian.



Credit: Image of Jonker I Diamond, photo courtesy of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

Lucara Diamond Corp. just announced the recovery of a suite of impressive rough stones from its prolific Karowe Diamond Mine in Botswana. The two largest stones tipped the scales at 320 carats and 111 carats, respectively, while two smaller stones each weighed in at 50+ carats.



These finds continue to bolster Karowe's reputation as one of the world's primary sources for large, high-quality diamonds.

Of the largest 12 diamonds ever discovered, six were sourced at the Karowe Mine. Karowe's newsworthy finds include the 1,758-carat Sewelô (2019), 1,174-carat Lucara Diamond (2021), 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona (2015), 1080-carat unnamed (2023) and the 998-carat unnamed (2020).

Described as a gem-quality top light brown diamond, the recent 320-carat discovery ranks 65th on Wikipedia's List of the Largest Rough Diamonds.

The 111-carat diamond and two 50-plus-carat gems are classified as white, gem-quality Type IIa stones. (The Type IIa classification represents a colorless diamond with no measurable impurities. Type IIa gems account for less than 2% of all natural diamonds.)

These diamonds were recovered from the direct milling of kimberlite ore from Karowe's South Lobe during a recent production run that included numerous additional recoveries of high-value diamonds larger than 10.8 carats.

Lucara’s MDR (Mega Diamond Recovery) XRT circuit uses advanced technology to identify 100-carat-plus diamonds. By monitoring the rocky material for X-ray luminescence, atomic density and transparency, the new technology can identify and isolate large diamonds before they go through the destructive crushing process.

"These diamond recoveries from the… South Lobe further validate the quality and potential of the Karowe Diamond Mine," noted William Lamb, president and CEO of Lucara Diamond Corp. "We are thrilled with the consistent success we continue to achieve in uncovering large, high-value diamonds, reaffirming Lucara's position as a leading producer of large high-quality gem diamonds.

A 25-year deal secured with the Government of Botswana in 2021 paved the way for Lucara to move forward with Karowe's underground expansion, a move that willl ensure the mine will continue to turn out high-value rough diamonds through 2046.

Credit: Image courtesy of Lucara Diamond Corp.

In the 2010 romantic comedy Leap Year, talented real estate "stager" Anna Brady, played by Amy Adams, is forced to take extreme measures after her cardiologist boyfriend fails to produce an engagement ring after four years together.



Invoking the Irish tradition that empowers women to pop the question on Leap Day, she travels to Dublin to track down her fiancé at a business conference in time to deliver a marriage proposal on February 29.

Yes, tomorrow is Leap Day, a romantic 24 hours dedicated to women who feel that have waited far too long for their men to pop the question.

In a recent Chillisauce.com survey of more than 10,000 respondents, the UK-based men's lifestyle and event-planning website asked women if they were willing to propose to their partners. Exactly 57% declared they would be willing to do it, and interestingly 76% of men agreed that they should.

When asked about the best day to propose, 52% of the women chose Leap Day, compared to 25% who picked Valentine's Day.

The concept of women proposing to men on Leap Day is rooted in 5th century Ireland where St. Brigid of Kildare hammered out an arrangement with St. Patrick to permit women to propose to men on a single day every four years.

Irish monks brought this tradition to Scotland, and legend states that in 1288, the Scotts passed a law that allowed women to propose on Leap Day. If the man refused the proposal, he would have to pay a fine, ranging from a kiss, to a silk dress or a pair of gloves. In upper-class circles, the fine for a proposal denial was 12 pairs of gloves. Presumably, the gloves would hide the shame of not wearing an engagement ring.

Leap Day proposals eventually found their way to England, where the date of February 29 uniquely held no legal status. The English reasoned that traditional customs held no status on that day either. Thus, women were free to reverse the unfair custom that permitted only men to propose marriage.

Leap Day proposals are now celebrated in North America and around the world. So, gentlemen, if you've been dragging your feet regarding a proper proposal, you may be in for a February 29th that will truly change your life.

Credit: Image by BigStockPhoto.com.

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 a small paperclip and has a 28-day battery life. A magnetic clip attaches one temperature sensor to a wearer’s ear, while another sensor dangles about an inch below it for estimating room temperature. The earring can be personalized with fashion designs made of resin (in the shape of a flower, for example) or with a gemstone, without negatively affecting its accuracy.



Researchers published their results in the January 12 edition of Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies. The device is not currently commercially available.

“I wear a smartwatch to track my personal health, but I’ve found that a lot of people think smartwatches are unfashionable or bulky and uncomfortable,” said co-lead author Qiuyue (Shirley) Xue, a UW doctoral student in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering.

“I also like to wear earrings, so we started thinking about what unique things we can get from the earlobe," she continued. "We found that sensing the skin temperature on the lobe, instead of a hand or wrist, was much more accurate. It also gave us the option to have part of the sensor dangle to separate ambient room temperature from skin temperature.”

The researchers noted that creating a wearable small enough to pass as an earring, yet robust enough to hold a charge for four weeks presented technical challenges.

“It’s a tricky balance,” said co-lead author Yujia (Nancy) Liu, who was a UW masters student in the electrical and computer engineering department when doing the research and is now at the University of California San Diego. “Typically, if you want power to last longer, you should have a bigger battery. But then you sacrifice size. Making it wireless also demands more energy.”

The team made the earring’s power consumption as efficient as possible, while also making space for a Bluetooth chip, a battery, two temperature sensors and an antenna.

Instead of pairing it with a device, which uses more power, the earring uses Bluetooth advertising mode — the transmissions a device broadcasts to show it can be paired. After reading and sending the temperature, it goes into deep sleep to save power.

Researchers noted that while core body temperature generally stays relatively constant outside of fever, earlobe temperature varies more, presenting several novel uses for the Thermal Earring.

In small proof-of-concept tests, the earring detected temperature fluctuations correlated with eating, exercising and experiencing stress. The temperature readings were also accurate enough to be used for ovulation and period tracking, as well as determining the effectiveness of certain medication.

“Current wearables like Apple Watch and Fitbit have temperature sensors, but they provide only an average temperature for the day, and their temperature readings from wrists and hands are too noisy to track ovulation,” Xue said. “So we wanted to explore unique applications for the earring, especially applications that might be attractive to women and anyone who cares about fashion.”

Credits: Images courtesy of Raymond Smith/University of Washington.