Anschar Diamonds Blog

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fun songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, the members of ZZ Top tick off a list of jewelry-wardrobe must-haves in their 1983 classic, “Sharp Dressed Man.”



Original band members Dusty Hill, Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard share their tips about snappy accessorizing in the second verse.

They sing, “Gold watch, diamond ring / I ain’t missin’ not a single thing / Cufflinks, stick pin / When I step out I’m gonna do you in / They come runnin’ just as fast as they can / ‘Cause every girl crazy ’bout a sharp dressed man.”

Written by Gibbons, Beard and Joe Michael Hill, “Sharp Dressed Man” appeared as the third track on ZZ Top’s popular 1983 album Eliminator. The album sold more than 10 million copies, earning it a Diamond certification.

The single topped out at #56 on the US Billboard 100 and remains one of ZZ Tops’ most enduring signature songs. The group performed it live at the 1997 VH1 Fashion Awards and during the halftime festivities of the 2008 Orange Bowl.

“Sharp dressed depends on who you are,” Hill told Spin magazine in 1985. “If you’re on a motorcycle, really sharp leather is great. If you’re a punk rocker, you can get sharp that way. You can be sharp or not sharp in any mode.”

Founded in Houston in 1969 as a blues-inspired rock band, ZZ Top featured its three core members from 1970 until Hill's untimely death in 2021 at age 72. The band continues to tour with the bassist-vocalist duties passed on to Elwood Francis, who had been the band's guitar tech for three decades.

Gibbons told Q magazine that their first gig at a Knights of Columbus Hall outside of Houston in 1970 was attended by just one person.

“We shrugged and pressed onwards,” he said. “We took a break halfway through, went out and bought him a Coke.”

Over the course of the following 54 years, the band would go on to sell more than 50 million albums worldwide. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Please check out ZZ Top’s live performance of “Sharp Dressed Man.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Sharp Dressed Man”
Written by Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard and Joe Michael Hill. Performed by ZZ Top.

Clean shirt, new shoes
And I don’t know where I am goin’ to
Silk suit, black tie,
I don’t need a reason why
They come runnin’ just as fast as they can
‘Cause every girl crazy ’bout a sharp dressed man

Gold watch, diamond ring,
I ain’t missin’ not a single thing
Cufflinks, stick pin,
When I step out I’m gonna do you in
They come runnin’ just as fast as they can
‘Cause every girl crazy ’bout a sharp dressed man

Top coat, top hat,
And I don’t worry ’cause my wallet’s fat
Black shades, white gloves,
Lookin’ sharp lookin’ for love
They come runnin’ just as fast as they can
‘Cause every girl crazy ’bout a sharp dressed man



Credit: Photo by Tilly antoine, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Former professional skateboarder, snowboarder and three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White dug deep into his bag of tricks to deliver a surprise marriage proposal to actress Nina Dobrev with a flawless, oval-cut 5-carat diamond ring.



White conspired with his publicist to send a fake invitation for Dobrev to attend an exclusive dinner with Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour at The Golden Swan Restaurant in New York City's West Village. Knowing that his girlfriend would never pass up such an opportunity, he also arranged for a pre-dinner styling session, so she would look absolutely perfect.

When she arrived at the restaurant's private room, Dobrev froze as she was greeted — not by the Vogue editor — but by her now-fiancé. White went down on one knee and proposed under an arch of white flowers.



Dobrev told Vogue that she was in shock and doesn't remember exactly how White proposed, but she did recall that he said "all the right things."

After she accepted his proposal, the couple shared champagne and caviar with some friends and partied into the evening.



Page Six Style reported that the ring was designed by celebrity jeweler Lorraine Schwartz, who described the gem as “a flawless diamond for a flawless girl.”

White and Dobrev had been dating for five years, and the ring has been burning a hole in White's pocket for six months. He originally planned to pop the question to Dobrev during their summer vacation, but she fractured her knee in a biking accident and the proposal was put on hold until she completed her rehabilitation.



Then, he was all set to propose during their planned trip to Cape Town, South Africa, in November, but friends of the couple started asking too many questions about his intentions. Once again, his plans were thwarted.

The fake invitation did catch Dobrev by surprise.

"He made the invite look so legitimate," she told Vogue.

On October 30, Dobrev and White turned to their Instagram pages to share pics of their surprise proposal in Lower Manhattan.

Dobrev wrote, "RIP boyfriend, hello fiancé" and punctuated her statement with two emojis, an engagement ring and an infinity sign.

"She said YES," confirmed White on his page, while punctuating his comment with the same two emojis.

According to the Daily Mail, Dobrev and White first met during a brief encounter at the 2012 Teen Choice Awards, but were formally introduced in 2019.

The 38-year-old White is a three-time Olympic gold medalist in half-pipe snowboarding. Dobrev, 35, is best known for portraying Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce in CW's The Vampire Diaries (2009–2015).

The couple has yet to announce wedding plans.

Credits: Images via Instagram / niña, Instagram / shaunwhite.

A team of archeologists from the US and Egypt has unearthed a jewelry-laden tomb near Luxor that dates back 4,000 years to the 12th and 13th Dynasties. The team discovered beautiful necklaces, bracelets, armlets, scarab rings and decorative belts made of amethyst, carnelian, garnet, blue-green glazed faience (ceramic) and feldspar.



The amulets feature carved gemstones that resemble characters of the natural and spiritual worlds: a hippo, hawk, snake, ba (bird with human head), Eye of Horus and the fertility goddess Taweret, among others.



One standout necklace is strung with 30 amethyst barrel beads with an amazonite ba-shaped amulet in the center. Another exquisite piece is a belt crafted of carnelian ball beads connected by double strings of blue faience ring beads.



Two burials also contained copper or copper alloy mirrors with elegantly carved ivory handles.

The items were discovered by the Egyptian-American mission South Asasif Conservation Project, which works under the auspices of Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. The Middle Kingdom tomb with 11 intact burials was found as the team was clearing the south side of the superstructure of the 25th Dynasty tomb of Karabasken.

While the burials were significantly damaged by previous floods, which destroyed the wood of the coffins and the linen wrappings, items that were impervious to water remained intact. This is why the recovered jewelry is in such pristine condition. The jewelry was found "in situ" (in its original positioning among the skeletal remains), which allowed the team to determine how the jewelry might have been worn.



According to Dr. Afaf Wahba, the burials contained the skeletons of five women, two men and three children. It is believed that they represented many generations of the same family.

Dr. Wahba noted that most of the jewelry was found in among female burials. The children and one of the men did not have any burial goods.



Interestingly, one of the male burials contained what he called "an imposing necklace" consisting of 40 faience ball beads, each separated by a single faience cylinder bead. Two cylindrical carnelian beads flank a hippo head amulet on the back.

The items in the tomb date back to the 12th and 13th Dynasties of Egypt (1938 BC-1630 BC). The tomb is the first from the Middle Kingdom period to be discovered in the South Asasif area, which is located near the west bank of the Nile next to the Temple of Hatshepsut.

Credits: Images courtesy of the South Asasif Conservation Project.

Morgan Perigo of McMaster University's Class of 1965 never expected to see his graduation ring again after losing it in the surf along the coast of Barbados in 1977. But thanks to the good nature of a Barbados professional free diver named Alex Davis and the helpful alumni staff at the university, Perigo got to wear the ring again on his 83rd birthday.



John Travolta was starring in Saturday Night Fever and a gallon of gas cost 66 cents when Perigo, his wife and their two young sons traveled from their home in Canada to enjoy a vacation on the sandy beaches of Barbados.

Perigo remembered the exact moment his ring went missing in the shallow waters off the coast of Barbados' Miami Beach near the town of Oistins.

“One day I took my younger son and waded into the ocean," he told McMaster University Daily News in an email. "He was knocked over by a wave, so I reached to grab hold of him. He pulled on my hand and my Mac alumni ring came off.”

Perigo and his family searched for the ring, but were unsuccessful.

Flash forward to mid-October 2024 at the same beach, where we find Davis trying out a new metal detector in the recently churned-up shallows. Hurricane Beryl, a category 4 storm, caused heavy damage when it struck the island in July of this year, but it also shifted the sands, which was a boon to metal-detector enthusiasts.



Davis was snorkeling with his metal detector when the unit sounded an alert. Davis told CBC Hamilton that he dug down at least 15 centimeters, but all he found were rocks. The metal detector kept buzzing, so the diver kept digging. At 30 centimeters deep, he noticed a flash of gold.

"It catches your eye like nothing else," he told the outlet. "Your heart starts to race."

What he pulled from the sand was a nicely preserved McMaster University class ring mounted with a deep red stone.

Davis set out to find the rightful owner by emailing a photo and explanation to the university.

“I found a McMaster University signet ring with three initials on the inside,” he wrote to McMaster University's Alumni Department. “I found it metal detecting in Barbados this morning and suspect it’s been lost for some time.”

His email reached alumni officer Laura Escalante, who set out to solve the mystery with only two clues, both engraved on the slightly tarnished ring: the year 1965 and the initials FMP. Her quest eventually led her to mathematics major Frederick Morgan Perigo.

Reached by email, Perigo confirmed the ring was his.

“This is unbelievable news,” he wrote back.

Escalante then got to work connecting Perigo and Davis and helping coordinate the return of the ring. She called the successful reunion one of the happiest moments of her career and said the story has touched the hearts of McMaster alumni staff.

"The stars aligned and the water was clear," Davis told CBC Hamilton. "Mr. Perigo's ring was a hell of a find."

The long-lost ring arrived at Perigo's home in Burlington, ON, the day before his 83rd birthday.

“What a wonderful unexpected 83rd birthday present,” he told McMaster University Daily News.

Credits: Images courtesy of Alex Davis and Morgan Perigo via McMaster University Daily News.

The golden-orange Imperial Topaz — the most highly prized variety of November’s birthstone — was originally mined exclusively in Russia’s Ural Mountains during the 19th century. It was named Imperial Topaz to honor the Russian czar, and was considered so special that only royals were allowed to own it.



Today, Brazil is the largest producer of gem-quality topaz, but the mineral is also mined in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Russia, Australia, Nigeria, Germany, Mexico and the US. In fact, the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) claims that Utah's Topaz Mountain is "one of the world's great places to find topaz."

The pretty specimen, shown above, was sourced at Topaz Mountain in Juab County, UT. Off the beaten path about 36 miles northwest of Delta, UT, experienced and amateur prospectors alike explore the summit and surrounding areas for the coveted Imperial Topaz.



The topaz crystals formed within cavities of the Topaz Mountain rhyolite, which is a volcanic rock which erupted approximately six to seven million years ago from volcanic vents along faults in the area, according to BLM.

The agency also noted that the topaz crystals at Topaz Mountain are naturally amber colored, but become colorless after extensive exposure to sunlight.

Amateur prospectors will see small, colorless topaz crystals glimmering on slopes on the south side of the 7,000-foot mountain. Those who search the seams in the rhyolite, may find gem-quality, golden-orange crystals. Tour operators sell UV-light reflective bags and warn prospectors to keep their precious topaz finds out of the sunlight.

Topaz Mountain Adventures offers a premium package at $899, which allows a group of up to eight prospectors to witness an actual blast and get first dibs on the treasure found in the freshly exposed rock.

The remote areas near Topaz Mountain offer no services, so BLM recommends carrying plenty of food, water, tools and emergency equipment.

While the prized Imperial Topaz comes in a range of colors from brownish-yellow to orange-yellow and even vibrant red, other varieties of topaz are available in blue, green, pink and purple. Topaz rates an 8 out of 10 on the Mohs hardness scale, making it a durable and wearable gem.

Imperial Topaz is the suggested gift for the 23rd or 50th wedding anniversary.

Credit: Photo of topaz crystal by Leon Hupperichs, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Topaz mountain photo by Tweeber69, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you superb songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, country star Miranda Lambert confesses a deep, dark secret to her engagement ring in the 2011 ballad, “Dear Diamond.”



The song’s protagonist has cheated on her husband and feels terrible about her indiscretions. Now, she fears that her once-flawless marriage could be fractured if she comes clean. She's certain the truth will break his heart, but the guilt might haunt her forever.

She sings, “Dear diamond, pretty and new / Perfectly flawless, too good to be true / Dear diamond, you shine like the sun / You wrap around my finger just like he does / You cost more than he wanted to lose / And with this ring I said I do / I promise to never do what I’ve done / I’ve lied to someone.”

In an interview with CMT.com, Lambert — who will celebrate her 41st birthday on Sunday — clarified that the characters in the story are fictional. This probably came as comforting news to fellow country star Blake Shelton, who was her husband at the time of the song's release.

“When you first get engaged, as the girl, you’re constantly staring at your ring, showing everybody your ring,” she told CMT.com. “I just thought it would be a cool concept to write a song to my ring. And, of course, the dark side of me just kind of leaned toward the darker version instead of going happy with it. But I think that was the right way to go.”

“Dear Diamond,” which features the on-point harmonies of country singer, Patty Loveless, is the sixth track from Lambert’s Four the Record album.

Lambert told Rolling Stone magazine that Loveless was one of her heroes and that the collaboration was really special to her — “a dream come true.”

With more than one million records sold, Four the Record reached #1 on the US Billboard Top Country albums chart and ascended to #3 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart. It also placed as high as #12 on the Canadian Albums chart.

Born in Longview, Texas, in 1983, Lambert became interested in country music after attending a Garth Brooks concert as a nine-year-old. Lambert made her professional singing debut with “The Texas Pride Band” while she was still in high school. She also performed with the house band at Reo Palm Isle in Longview, Texas.

In 2003, Lambert placed third in Nashville Star, country music’s version of American Idol. Her first album, Kerosene, made its debut at #1 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart.

Since her professional debut 20-plus years ago, Lambert has been honored with more Academy of Country Music Awards (35) than any artist in history. She also claims three Grammy Awards, six American Country Awards and eight CMT Music Awards. In 2019, the Chicago Tribune named Lambert the "greatest country music artist of all time." Earlier this year, she took home the Country Icon Award at the People's Choice Country Awards.

Trivia: The singer-songwriter-guitarist is also an author. In 2023, Lambert co-wrote a cookbook with this eye-catching title: Y’all Eat Yet? Welcome to the Pretty B*tchin’ Kitchen.

Please check out the audio track of Lambert and Loveless performing “Dear Diamond.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Dear Diamond”
Written by Miranda Lambert. Performed by Miranda Lambert, featuring Patty Loveless.

Dear diamond, pretty and new
Perfectly flawless, too good to be true
Dear diamond, you shine like the sun
You wrap around my finger just like he does

You cost more than he wanted to lose
And with this ring I said I do
I promise to never do what I’ve done
I’ve lied to someone

Dear diamond, what will we do?
Well I like the devil, just face the truth
Dear diamond, be my saving grace
What you don’t know will kill him, that I can’t face

You cost more than he wanted to lose
And with this ring I said I do
I promise to never do what I’ve done
I’ve lied to someone, dear diamond

Dear diamond, with your band of gold
Some people you have, some people you hold
Dear diamond, I promise to keep
The secret I have while he’s holding me



Credit: Photo by Craig ONeal, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

In a closely watched case that has earned national attention, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts ruled last week that engagement rings are "conditional gifts" that must be returned to the giver if the couple breaks up and calls the wedding off — no matter who is to blame for ending the relationship.



The ruling closes the books on an archaic state precedent that required litigators to argue who was at fault for the breakup before a judge could render a decision about who would get the ring.

Massachusetts' highest court agreed to hear the case after the state's lower courts delivered contradictory opinions in the case of Johnson v. Settino.

Bruce Johnson and Caroline Settino were briefly engaged in 2017, but Johnson broke off the relationship and asked for the return of a $70,000 engagement ring when he suspected that his fiancée was having an affair.

In 2021, a Massachusetts Superior Court ruled that Johnson’s suspicions were unfounded and that it was his fault the wedding was called off. As a result, Settino was entitled to keep the ring. Based on a 60-year-old Massachusetts precedent, Johnson could have retained the ring if he could have convinced the court that the breakup was his fiancée's fault.

But, then a Massachusetts Appeals Court in 2023 flipped the lower court’s decision, ruling that Johnson had the right to call off the engagement and retain the ring even if couldn’t prove infidelity.

“Sometimes there simply is no fault to be had,” the court said.

On Friday, the Massachusetts Supreme Court agreed, writing, “We now join the modern trend adopted by the majority of jurisdictions that have considered the issue and retire the concept of fault in this context. Where, as here, the planned wedding does not ensue and the engagement is ended, the engagement ring must be returned to the donor regardless of fault.”

The Massachusetts decision falls in line with a majority of states that currently take the “no fault” approach. They consider engagement rings a “conditional” gift that should be returned by the recipient if the relationship fails to culminate in a marriage. Who is at fault is not considered.

Credit: Image by BigStockPhoto.com.

Last month, a Kansas City woman plunked down $3.99 for a previously loved leather jewelry pouch at a Savers thrift store north of the city. She didn't think much about the modest purchase until two weeks later when she pulled it out of her closet to use on a work trip.



Carlie Goss opened a zipped compartment inside and was surprised to see a vintage gold wedding band dating back to 1932.

Goss quickly turned to social media in an effort to return the keepsake to its rightful owners.



On her Facebook page, Goss posted six photos of the pouch and ring along with this caption: "Please share. I went to Savers thrift store on Barry Rd two weeks ago and bought this vintage jewelry pouch. I just recently went on a work trip and pulled it out to use it. I found a gold wedding band inside."



The inside of the ring is inscribed with the name "Heinz" and a date with mixed Arabic and Roman numerals: 8.IX.1932 (August 9, 1932).



"I'm sure whomever donated this didn't realize it was in there," she continued. "I would love to get this ring back to the family it belongs to. I don't know how else to do that except with the power of social media. It sure would break my heart to lose something this special that belonged to my family. Thank you!!"

Goss's compelling story drew the attention of her local Fox affiliate, which further amplified her message.



“It’s kind of romantic when you find something like this,” Carlie Goss told Kansas City-based Fox4. “It’s special because I think it brings you back to a time when flashy things and name brands and items didn’t really matter… It was just a symbol of love."

"I really hope I can find the family," she added. "If I can’t, I will treasure it.”

The staff of Savers was surprised to learn about the valuable item hiding in the $3.99 pouch. Store manager Holly Calderon told Fox4 that situations like this don't come down the aisle too often.

“I’d just love to see the ring find its original owner,” said Calderon. “That would be amazing.”

The manager added that Savers was going to work through some social channels to assist in the effort to find the family it belongs to.

Credits: Images via Facebook / Carlie Goss; Goss screen capture via fox4kc.com.

Luxury consumers are jazzed about the upcoming holiday season, with increased intention to dress up, travel and buy gifts — especially fine jewelry — according to the latest Saks Luxury Pulse survey.



Exactly 82% of the luxury consumers who are celebrating the holidays plan to spend the same or more on holiday shopping compared to the 2023 holiday season. That's seven percentage points higher than last year. And 85% expected to be highly engaged in the shopping experience.

The top gifts that luxury consumers want to receive are fine jewelry (especially among women), clothing (especially among men) and experiences (favored by all respondents).

The holiday season also presents a time for self-gifting, especially among luxury consumers, with 61% planning to buy gifts for themselves.

According to the Saks Luxury Pulse, luxury consumers are beginning their shopping earlier this holiday season.

Exactly 70% of luxury consumers plan to start their holiday shopping before Thanksgiving this year, a 14 percentage point increase from last year. This is likely attributed to this year’s shorter holiday shopping season.

Millennial respondents (born 1981 to 1996) plan to begin their holiday shopping slightly later than respondents of the Generation X (born 1965 to 1980), Baby Boomer (born 1946 to 1964) and Silent Generations (born 1928 to 1945).

Due to their desire for convenience and distain for crowds, the majority of luxury consumers (64%) reported that they prefer to shop online for the holidays, and this is especially true for Millennials (70%). However, when shopping for fine jewelry and home décor, luxury consumers prefer to shop in person, underscoring the importance of a seamless cross-channel experience.

Demonstrating the heightened level of excitement for this holiday season, 66% of luxury consumers said they will get into the holiday spirit, with 24% planning to do so even more than they did last year.

-- 75% of Generation X respondents said they plan to decorate their home for their holidays, 16 percentage points more than Millennial respondents.

-- 77% of luxury consumers plan to attend a holiday party or gathering this holiday season, 11 percentage points more than last holiday season.

-- When going out and celebrating, 62% said they plan to dress up, with 23% of those planning to dress up even more than they did last year.

-- More than half of respondents (53%) said they are planning to travel this holiday season, and, of those, 31% are planning to travel more than they did last year.

This season's Saks Luxury Pulse survey reflects an increasingly upbeat outlook among luxury consumers.

When it comes to their personal finances, 70% of luxury consumers said they feel optimistic, an increase of six percentage points compared to last year, and 68% said they feel calm, a slight increase of one percentage point compared to last year.

The greatest increase in optimism and calmness towards the economy was among respondents of the Baby Boomer and Silent Generations, which saw a 13 percentage point increase in optimism and a five percentage point increase in calmness year over year.

The Saks Luxury Pulse is a quarterly online survey of luxury consumers’ attitudes towards shopping, spending and the economy. It is based on responses from 1,196 U.S.-based luxury consumers over the age of 18 and was fielded from October 11-15, 2024.

Credit: Image by BigStockPhoto.com.

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fun songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, a 14-year-old Tiffany Evans celebrates a very special piece of jewelry in her 2007 debut single, “Promise Ring.”



In the song, the former Star Search Grand Champion in the Junior Singer Division tells her boyfriend that sometimes a girl needs a token of love to show how much she’s appreciated for all the things she does. Apparently, her boyfriend was thinking the same thing.



He surprises her with a small velvet box containing a promise ring. In the official video, the yellow-metal ring features a gleaming red gemstone.

Evans recounts her boyfriend's vow: “I promise not to hurt you, I promise not to lie / I promise to befriend you and defend you with my life / I promise you forever, I promise you today, he said / Would you wear my promise ring? I said yes.”

Later in the song, Evans sings, “How in the world could a girl say no / I knew it the moment he made my finger glow.”

The recurring hook is, “Yes, I’ll rock your promise ring.”

“Promise Ring” was the lead single from the teenager’s self-titled debut album. The song went to #1 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 list and #66 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs list. The album scored a Top 20 position on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop albums chart.

The official video for the song spotlights the teenybopper rockin’ her promise ring with a special appearance by Grammy Award-winner Ciara, who was 21 years old at the time. The video has been viewed on YouTube more than 27 million times.

While the now-32-year-old Evans still has an active singing career, "Promise Ring" remains her most successful single to date.

Born in the Bronx, NY, Evans rose to fame in 2003 as an 11-year-old contestant on Star Search, hosted by Arsenio Hall. Evans was the only performer in the talent show’s history to earn perfect scores on all of her appearances. The Grand Champion in the Junior Singer Division soon caught the attention of Columbia Records, which signed her to a record deal.

Please check out the video of Evans and Ciara performing “Promise Ring.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Promise Ring”
Written by Ezekiel Lewis, J. Que, Balewa Muhhammad, Candice Nelson, Bryan Reid and Michael Crooms. Performed by Tiffany Evans, featuring Ciara.

To the beat, to the beat, to the beat ’cause I need
Everybody to the floor, why? ’cause this beat is sick, yeah
It’s time to rock, uh, that’s what it is
Tiffany’s her name, love is the game
And the only way to play is with this promise ring

Sometimes a girl needs to know that she’s
Appreciated for all the things she does
With some sorta token of love
‘Cause without it her young heart won’t know

And right then to my surprise, he
Pulled out a small velvet box, pink ribbon tied
I’m wondering what’s inside
He opened it and then he replied

He said, I promise not to hurt you, I promise not to lie
I promise to befriend you and defend you with my life
I promise you forever, I promise you today, he said
Would you wear my promise ring? I said yes

If ya break ya promise we breakin’ up
Got a couple things that I want
Walks in the park and sweet things
If I rock your promise ring

I could be your pretty young thing
You could become my king
I gotta know you got me
Yes, I’ll rock your promise ring

Yes, I’ll rock your promise, promise, promise ring
Yes, I’ll rock your promise, yes, I’ll rock your promise ring
Yes, I’ll rock your promise, promise, promise ring
Yes, I’ll rock your promise, yes, I’ll rock your promise ring

How in the world could a girl say no
I knew it the moment he made my finger glow
It was good to know I’m who he chose
It was your heart he felt now it shows, now it shows

You know when you see me floss
No way it’s gon’ get lost, I’ll never take this off
I’m older and they call me by your name
I’ll wear it on a chain, because I can hear you say

He said I promise not to hurt you, I promise not to lie
I promise to befriend you and defend you with my life
I promise you forever, I promise you today, he said
Would you wear my promise ring? I said yes

If ya break ya promise we breakin’ up
Got a couple things that I want
Walks in the park and sweet things
If I rock your promise ring

I could be your pretty young thing
You could become my king
I gotta know you got me
Yes, I’ll rock your promise ring

Yes, I’ll rock your promise, promise, promise ring
Yes, I’ll rock your promise, yes, I’ll rock your promise ring
Yes, I’ll rock your promise, promise, promise ring
Yes, I’ll rock your promise, yes, I’ll rock your promise ring

Everybody get up and rock to this beat
My name is Tiffany and why’all know me
All my girls with me, all the boys like me
Come correctly with the promise ring
And you just might be my boo, my boo

Promise that you’ll never let me go and boy I’ll
Boy I’ll wear your promise ring
All you have to do is say the word and boy I’ll
Boy I’ll wear your promise ring

Just let me know, just let me know, what I gotta do
Just let me know, just let me know
You ain’t goin’ nowhere, I ain’t goin’ nowhere
I’ll be on for sure but you gotta know that

If ya break ya promise we breakin’ up
Got a couple things that I want
Walks in the park and sweet things
If I rock your promise ring

I could be your pretty young thing
You could become my king
I gotta know you got me
Yes, I’ll rock your promise ring

Yes, I’ll rock your promise, promise, promise ring
Yes, I’ll rock your promise, yes, I’ll rock your promise ring
Yes, I’ll rock your promise, promise, promise ring
Yes, I’ll rock your promise, yes, I’ll rock your promise ring

If I rock your promise ring
Young thing, my king

<

Credit: Screen capture via YouTube / Tiffany Evans.

In commemoration of its 200th anniversary, the Brooklyn Museum launched on Friday an expansive exhibit that shines the spotlight on gold through 6,000 years of history. Dubbed "Solid Gold," the exhibition features more than 400 gold objects, ranging from jewelry and luxury objects, to works of art, fashion and film.



Organized in eight sections, Solid Gold will present historical works in visual juxtaposition and “collisions'' with contemporary objects and fashions, sparking dynamic conversations across time and space. Entry galleries explore manifestations of ancient gold, pairing antiquities from the Brooklyn Museum’s collection with iconic 20th- and 21st-century objects.

“Solid Gold will transport visitors through the many worlds of gold, its joyful (though sometimes heartbreaking) histories, and its innumerable luminous expressions across cultures, past and present,” noted Matthew Yokobosky, Senior Curator of Fashion and Material Culture, Brooklyn Museum. “As a museum dedicated to bridging art and people in shared experiences, audiences will find inspiration, opening them to unexplored realms of beauty in their world.”



Highlights include a large wooden sarcophagus from Dynasty 22 (945–740 BCE), which is on display for the first time in more than 100 years. The coffin is decorated with images and inscriptions painted with yellow orpiment pigments to imitate gold inlays.

Illustrating the ancient world’s fascination with the metal, the museum is presenting an extraordinary “horde” of 181 individual gold pieces from the Hellenistic period and a selection of ancient jewelry, helmets, and chainmail spanning three millennia of creation across Egypt, the Mediterranean coast and the pre-Hispanic Americas.



The exhibition also includes a look at golden smiles as seen in ancient Panama, in the form of gold disks and facial jewelry made around the first millennium CE. According to the senior curator, such gold smiles, for various practical and aesthetic reasons, have continued into contemporary culture in the form of grillz (also known as fronts or golds). These dialogues, created between ancient and contemporary objects, emphasize the significance that the metal plays from aesthetic and anthropological perspectives.

One of the exhibition’s main galleries examines the wide array of techniques used by artisans, craftsmen, fashion designers and others when working with gold, whether to construct objects or for applications across surfaces.

In the long history of its use, gold experienced a “democratic surge” around the 6th century BCE, beginning with the invention of coinage in ancient Lydia (present-day Turkey). Access to and use of gold was no longer restricted to the upper echelons of royalty or for ritual purposes.



The final section celebrates gold as the universal symbol of achievement: a gold crown, a gold medal, a gold record, an Oscar, or a gold star on a report card. An ancient Greek gold laurel wreath dating to the third to second century BCE (one of only four wholly extant wreaths in the world, and a gem from the Brooklyn Museum’s collection) is displayed alongside modern-day crowns, such as a spectacular gold, platinum and diamond tiara designed by Fulco di Verdura.



To close out the exhibition, visitors will walk upon the gleaming animated gold waves by international art collective teamLab, an immersive digital experience that emphasizes the fact that like the inexhaustible waves of our oceans, gold is truly eternal.

Co-sponsored by Bank of America and Dior, the exhibition will run through July 6, 2025.

Captions: Wreath (detail), reportedly Corinth, Greece, 3rd-2nd century B.C.E. Gold. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of George D. Pratt, 26.763. Image courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum; Mummy Cartonnage of a Woman, probably Hawara, Egypt, 1st century. Linen, gesso, gold leaf, glass, and faience. Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 69.35. Image courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum; Coclé artist. Plaque with Crocodile Deity, 900–1000. Gold. Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1931, Museum Collection Fund, 33.448.12. Image courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum. Wreath, reportedly Corinth, Greece, 3rd–2nd century B.C.E. Gold. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of George D. Pratt, 26.763. Image courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum; teamLab. Gold Waves, 2017. Digital work, 4 channels, 6 channels, 8 channels, and 12 channels, continuous loop. ©teamLab, courtesy Pace Gallery.

The 37-carat "Aga Khan" emerald made a triumphant return to Christie's Geneva after a 55-year hiatus, smashing the all-time record for the most expensive emerald ever to be sold at auction.



The unusually transparent and evenly colored square-cut stone sold for $8.85 million, eclipsing the pre-sale high estimate by more than 10% and the previous record holder by 36%.

Relegated to second place on the list of the priciest emeralds sold at auction is actress Elizabeth Taylor’s emerald-and-diamond brooch by Bulgari, which had achieved $6.5 million at auction in 2011.

The Aga Khan emerald, which is set into a brooch/pendant and surrounded by marquise-shaped diamonds, was originally commissioned by Prince Aga Khan for his wife, Nina Dyer, in 1960, and then sold to Van Cleef & Arpels for $75,000 at Christie’s inaugural Magnificent Jewels event in Geneva in 1969.

Francois Curiel, now Chairman of Christie’s Europe, but in 1969 a 21-year-old Christie's intern-to-be, remembered the excitement of seeing the Aga Khan emerald at the event: “The emerald was breathtaking 55 years ago and is even more admired today. It is so rare to see a jewel of its size and quality and I feel privileged to have had the winning bidder on the phone 55 years later, here in Geneva in 2024.”

“The emerald brooch is not just a piece of jewelry," commented Max Fawcett, Christie’s Head of Jewelry Europe. "It carries with it the stories and charm of a bygone era.”

In the lead up to last week's auction, Curiel called the Aga Khan "one of the rarest treasures on Earth."

"We might see an emerald of this quality come up for sale once every five or six years,” he said at the time.

After Dyer's untimely death in 1969, Aga Khan put her jewelry up for auction, as stipulated in her will, with the proceeds going to benefit animal welfare.

While the Aga Khan established a new price record for an emerald sold at auction, the 18.04-carat Rockefeller emerald retains the price-per-carat record, according to nationaljeweler.com. The publication noted that luxury jeweler Harry Winston paid $5.5 million, or $305,000 per carat for that stone in 2017. The Aga Khan emerald's price per carat amounted to just under $240,000.

Credit: Photo courtesy of Christie’s.

A gem-quality ammonite, "Sandrita" Paraíba tourmaline, Alaskan gold nugget and olivine-freckled meteorite are just a handful of eye-popping treasures that will be offered today at Heritage’s "Nature & Science Signature" auction.



According to the auction house, the "gem" ammonite from the Bearpaw Formation in Alberta, Canada, dates to the Cretaceous period some 71 million years ago. Exhibiting superb iridescence, the specimen is said to be a top representation of the Placenticeras costatum variety, which accounts for less than 10 percent of the ammonites found at Bearpaw.

This extraordinary piece weighs 24 kilograms (52.8 pounds) and offers superb color and an incredible matrix in both size and shape. The vibrant fossil measures 10 inches (25 centimeters) at maximum diameter and is visually stunning with a myriad of vivid reds, oranges, golds and greens, as well as the rarer purples and blues.



Ammolite, the gem, is formed from the fossilized shells of ammonite molluscs, which thrived in an inland sea east of the Rocky Mountains. After sinking to the seabed, the mud that covered ammonites hardened over millions of years to become shale.

The shell properties, combined with southern Alberta’s unique geology, transformed many ammonite shells into the ammolite that is mined and used for jewelry today.

The mineral composition of ammolite is similar to that of a pearl, and the iridescent, multicolor presentation is reminiscent of a fine opal.

Although ammonite fossils are present in many places around the world, ammolite has been found only in one place, the Bearpaw geological formation in southern Alberta, making it one of the rarest gemstones, according to the American Gem Trade Association.

Ammolite is one of the few biogenic gemstones, which means it is made by living organisms. Others include amber and pearl. Ammolite was given gemstone status by the World Jewellery Confederation in 1981.



Another highlighted lot at the auction is a 2.65-carat “Sandrita” Paraíba tourmaline from Brazil. Paraíba tourmalines are named after the Brazilian state in which they were first discovered in 1989. Although this example hails from the Brazil's Batalha Mine — making the color rare for this locality — it still presents with the iconic “Sandrita” green hue associated with the Sandrita Mine in Paraíba.

It has been expertly cut and faceted with modified brilliant faceting, and is clean to the naked eye and when viewed through a loupe. Once a part of the private collection of Heitor Barbosa, who discovered this variety, it later passed through the hands of Paraíba tourmaline expert Brian Cook before ending up in a private international collection.



Bidders also will have a chance to own a gold nugget from Alaska that tips the scales at 5.5 troy ounces and measures just over 2 inches (5.21 centimeters) in length.

Smoothed by natural forces, this nugget has a number of “bubbly” sections resulting in an organic shape. Heritage commented that given the fact that a mere single-troy-ounce gold nugget is as rare as a 5-carat diamond, any such specimen this large is an inherent rarity.



Another remarkable specimen is this slice of Imilac meteorite that was first discovered in Antofagasta, Chile, in 1822. Imilac is a favorite of collectors because of its rarity (they account for fewer than 200 out of more than 70,000 classified meteorites listed in the Meteoritical Bulletin) and because of their beauty. Measuring more than 16.5 inches (42 centimeters) in width, this piece is covered in olivine crystals over its otherwise mirror-like surfaces. Olivine is the non-gem variety of peridot.

Live bidding at HA.com commences today, November 20, at 11 a.m. CST.

Credits: Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions/HA.com.

Back in early 2018, a regional airport north of London addressed the ever-growing concern of romantic travelers who were planning to pop the question during a Valentine getaway: How to slip an engagement ring through security without alerting a soon-to-be fiancée.



“It would put a big damper on someone’s meticulously planned romantic trip if their big surprise was revealed even before they’ve boarded the plane,” an East Midlands Airport spokesman noted at the time. “Arguably, there are more romantic places to be proposed to than in our security hall.”

During the week of February 12, 2018, the airport offered up a “secret code” to those who planned to propose during their trip. To obtain the code, the suitor had to email or text a request, and then the suitor received a secret code that could be revealed to the security staff at the airport.

That code alerted inspectors to divert the ring carrier to a separate lane from his partner, so that the bag search remained away from the partner's view.

Now, a similar campaign has been introduced on a broader scale at the much larger London Luton Airport (East Midlands serves 4 million passengers each year, while Luton serves four times as many).

The "Ask for Harry" plan is very simple and it works like this.

Travelers going through security at London Luton Airport simply need to use the phrase, "Does Harry still work here?" That secret code will alert security staff to check through luggage discretely, without pulling out the ring and ruining the surprise.

The new protocol was launched by the airport in collaboration with with the jewelery company Queensmith, which revealed via its "2024 Marriage Proposal Report" that 53% of its UK-based respondents opted to propose abroad, and that 76% of those proposers felt stressed at the prospect of going through airport security with their partner and a hidden ring.

The airport suggests that flyers should go through security normally, with the receiver of the ring going first. If the giver's bag does get flagged, the suitor should simply ask the security agent, "Does Harry still work here?" This will alert the staffer that something special is in the carry-on bag. Ideally, the partner will have completed the inspection and be well away from the security area.

It will be fun to see if other international airports will build on London Luton Airport's initiative. Might we soon be seeing an "Ask for Antoine" program in France or an "Ask for Alejandro" edition in Spain?

Credits: Image by BigStockPhoto.com.

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you awesome songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, country star Mark Collie’s “Something With a Ring to It” tells the story of a guy whose girlfriend has been giving him the cold shoulder. She’s got “diamonds in her eyes” and wants to take their relationship to the next level. He needs to make a commitment or risk losing her.



In the 1990 ditty, Collie explains that his “baby’s playing hard to please” and he’s pretty sure he knows why.

He sings, “She wants something with a ring to it / Like a church bell makes / Like a pretty white gown to wear / And some vows to take / She wants something with a ring to it / I think I understand / I’ll have to put a ring on her finger / If I want to be her man.”

Collie told SongFacts.com about the unusual origin of the song. He and Aaron Tippin had been struggling writers “kicking around Nashville trying to get a door open.” One day, Tippin flippantly said, “We need to write something with a ring to it.” Collie said, “OK.” And the off-hand remark became the basis of the song.

The team originally wrote the song for country legend George Strait, but when he declined, the head of MCA Nashville, Tony Brown, advised Collie to record it himself and make it his debut single.

The song became the second track of Collie’s debut album, Hardin County Line, and was covered two years later by Garth Brooks on his 1992 album, The Chase. Collie also has written songs for Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Billy Ray Cyrus and George Jones.

Born in Waynesboro, TN, in 1956, George Mark Collie is a singer, songwriter, musician, actor, producer and fundraiser for Type 1 diabetes research. He has released five albums, and 16 of his singles have hit the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Please check out the 2021 video of Collie performing his acoustic version of "Something With a Ring to It." The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

"Something With a Ring to It"
Written by Mark Collie and Aaron Tippin. Performed by Mark Collie.

My baby's playin' hard to please
And I think I figured out
What it is she wants from me
'Cause when I hold her close
When we go out at night
I can hardly see the moonlight
For the diamonds in her eyes

She wants something with a ring to it
Like a church bell makes
Like a pretty white gown to wear
And some vows to take

She wants something with a ring to it
I think I understand
I'll have to put a ring on her finger
If I'm gonna be her man

My baby did but now she don't
And if I don't say I do
It's a safe bet that she won't
Love me like she used to
When our love began
Why, the only way to change her tune
Is with a wedding band

She wants something with a ring to it
Like a church bell makes
Like a pretty white gown to wear
And some vows to take

She wants something with a ring to it
I think I understand
I'll have to put a ring on her finger
If I'm gonna be her man



Credit: Screen capture via YouTube / Mark Collie.

The city of Watertown's recycling chief Matt Bacon is being showered with accolades for helping a distressed woman recover a diamond that accidentally ended up in a municipal Big Belly trash compactor.



According to published reports, the Massachusetts woman had been shopping at her favorite supermarket on Mt. Auburn Street just west of Boston when she decided to recycle some boxes. As she pushed the cardboard into the blue receptacle, she bumped the top of her engagement on the bin. She didn't realize until she got home that the center diamond of her three-stone ring was gone and it was likely in the compactor.



The woman, who asked not to be named, called Watertown's 311 non-emergency number on Friday hoping for a miracle as she explained her plight to dispatcher Laura Murray.

"You could definitely tell that she was panicked," Murray told Boston's ABC affiliate, WCVB.

On Monday morning, the recycling chief was on the case. The recycling bins are emptied three times a week — which included Mondays — so he quickly contacted the city's recycling contractor and ordered the provider to hold off on emptying that specific unit.

Then he called the woman to arrange a time when they could meet up at the Big Belly trash compactor.



By Monday afternoon, Bacon and the woman were sifting through some ugly garbage. The bin was supposed to contain only recyclables, but they also found a lot of Dunkin' Donuts coffee, trash and muck.

“We gloved-it up and I brought a trash bag so we could sort the contents,” Bacon told watertownmanews.com.



After about 10 minutes, Bacon spied the elusive gemstone that had been on the woman's ring finger for 20-plus years.

"The odds of finding the stone were extremely small, yet Matt went out of his way to help," the woman told Watertown officials in a statement. "He sat on the sidewalk next to me so he could help me scan the piles of garbage. When he said, 'There it is,' I was stunned. I hugged him so hard he almost fell over."

The City of Watertown shared the story on its social media pages.

The post read, "We’re thrilled the missing gem was reunited with its owner, and kudos to Matt for turning trash into treasure and proving our Recycling Program Manager really knows how to rock!"

On Tuesday, the woman expressed her appreciation by delivering goodie baskets to the Watertown Department of Public Works (DPW).

“I am so delighted and so grateful,” the woman told watertownmanews.com. “I love to celebrate people who go above and beyond.”

"It's part of the job," Bacon told WCVB. "DPW is happy to help."

Credits: Screen captures via wcvb.com.

Back in 1947, De Beers introduced the world to “A Diamond Is Forever,” a slogan penned by N.W. Ayer copywriter Frances Gerety when she was 31 years old. That four-word tagline has inspired literature, music, a James Bond flick, and earned in 1999 the title of the best advertising slogan of the 20th century by Advertising Age magazine.



On Friday, the De Beers Group announced that it is reviving the iconic slogan for its current "Forever Present" campaign, which promotes a wide array of gifting opportunities for natural diamonds this holiday season.

The campaign celebrates familial, friendship and romantic relationships under the premise that "natural connections deserve natural diamonds." The ads will drive home the notion that natural diamonds are the ideal choice for celebrating special moments with special people.

"De Beers’ iconic natural diamond category campaigns have shaped desire for natural diamonds over many decades," said Sandrine Conseiller, CEO of De Beers Brands. "We’re proud to build on this tradition by reviving and refreshing one of our most legendary taglines 'A Diamond Is Forever' this holiday season. With a modern sensibility and playful colloquial language, this latest campaign encapsulates the unique qualities of natural diamonds."



Starring in the ads are diverse real-life couples who mark the unforgettable moments and key milestones in their lives with natural diamond jewelry. These include a dating couple, a father-daughter duo and new parents with their baby. One of the ads features a self-purchaser under the headline "Forever me, myself and I."

Showcasing classic jewelry designs, including studs, tennis bracelets, anniversary bands, three-stone rings and solitaire pendants, the campaign speaks to a broad audience of US gift-givers.

The campaign emphasizes why natural diamonds are a store of emotional value that enable precious memories to remain "forever present."

The ads will be seen throughout the US on digital platforms, as well as on Instagram, TikTok and out-of-home venues, such as major airports.

The South Africa-based De Beers Group represents the interests of diamond exploration, diamond mining, diamond retail, diamond trading and diamond manufacturing. Among its many responsibilities is elevating the position of diamonds in the hyper-competitive luxury goods market. De Beers operates in 35 countries, including Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa.

Credits: Images courtesy of Arnold Worldwide.