Anschar Diamonds Blog

The face of the Texas Rangers' 2023 World Series Championship ring is removable and reversible. Players and coaches learned during a team dinner on Friday night that the face of the ring could be spun off and flipped to reveal an alternate design choice.



The first option features the Rangers "T" logo rendered in white diamonds and accented with rubies against a ground of blue sapphires. The alternate design has the "T" logo rendered in rubies and accented with white diamonds against a white "baseball" background.

Affixed to the back of the removable face is a piece of leather from a baseball that was used during the World Series.



With the face removed, one can see a hidden message titled "11-0 ROAD DOMINANCE," with the letters in the word ROAD spelled out in the logo font of the teams the Rangers beat as the away team to capture the franchise's first title. They included Tampa Bay (R)ays, Baltimore (O)rioles, Houston (A)stros, Arizona (D)iamondbacks.

The unique rings, designed in collaboration with Jason of Beverly Hills, were presented to players and coaches on Saturday during a special on-field ceremony before the game with the Chicago Cubs at Globe Life Field.

"There was a lot of pressure when designing this ring, not just because it was a first for the Rangers, but because it is also our very first World Series Ring," said Jason Arasheben, CEO of the jewelry company. "With this delivery, Jason of Beverly Hills will have designed championship rings for the 'Big Four' major professional sports leagues in North America."

In addition to the ring's neat mechanical components, the precious stones in the design symbolically tell the story of the championship season and other franchise milestones.

For instance, the 103 blue sapphires on the face of one design signify the total number of wins in 2023 (regular and postseason), while the 23 red rubies outlining the "T" on that design represent the year the Rangers won the World Series (2023).



The 49 rubies used to render the "T" on the alternate face equals the number of players who held a spot on the active roster in 2023.

Exactly 52 points of white diamonds are utilized to spell "CHAMPIONS" on the face of the ring, and that number honors the Rangers' first World Championship during its 52-year history.



One side of the ring has the catchphrase "Went and Took It" along with a bezel-set diamond overlaying a rendering of the World Series trophy. That single gem also represents the franchise's first championship. The diamond measures exactly 3mm, and that aligns with the the number of American League championships won by the franchise.



The other side of the ring shows the player's name and number. The three diamonds set horizontally under the player's name reflect the team's three pillars of baseball: "Compete with passion, be a good teammate, and dominate the fundamentals."

The 72 points of diamonds on the border of the bezel represent the year the Rangers moved from Washington, DC, to Arlington, TX (1972). And the 30 stones on the inner bezel represent the 30 home runs the team hit during the postseason.

The 2.33 carats of white diamonds used to adorn the side of the ring represent the 233 home runs the club slugged during the regular season.

Around the ring's bezel is an architectural design element that looks like the rafters at Globe Life Field. Inside the shank of the ring is an engraving of the player's signature, as well as the postseason series records and the clubhouse motto, "AS ONE."

Please check out the short video by Jason of Beverly Hills here…

Credits: Screen capture composite via Instagram / jasonofbeverlyhills. Ring images courtesy of Texas Rangers.

The 703-carat "L’Heure Bleu" recently earned Guinness honors as the world's largest cut tanzanite.



Carved by New York City-based artist Naomi Sarna, L’Heure Bleu was officially weighed in at the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks & Minerals, Hillsboro, OR, by Guinness World Records adjudicator, Michael Empric.

Several years ago, Sarna was invited to travel to the tanzanite mines located in the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania — the only place in the world where the mesmerizing blue-violet gemstone is found. She was asked to create a carving for an international competition that would also benefit the Maasai people and was presented with several large tanzanite crystals that might suit her vision.

The result was Sarna's hand-carved L’Heure Bleu, a beautiful piece that would capture a First-Place Spectrum Award for carving from the American Gem Trade Association. The gem's name means The Blue Hour in French. It's a term to describe the time of twilight when there is neither full daylight or complete darkness.

The gem is mounted on a twisted sterling silver base inspired by the winds of Tanzania’s Great Rift Valley. The entire piece measures 6 inches tall, 4 3/4 inches wide and 2 inches deep.

During her trip to the ancestral land of the Maasai, the designer spent time with the Maasai women and taught them how to make wire-wrap jewelry from tanzanite. She also learned that many of the locals suffer from trachoma, a bacterial infection that causes vision loss and blindness.

Sarna pledged that when she sells her award-winning L’Heure Bleu carving, she will donate the profits to the world-renowned Portland-based Casey Eye Institute to provide eye care to the Maasai.

“The Guinness World Records brings international recognition and attention to my tanzanite carving L'Heure Bleu," stated Sarna. "This recognition gives great strength to my promise to help the Maasai with their vision difficulties.”

“The Casey Eye Institute is in Naomi’s debt," commented Dr. Andreas K. Lauer, director, Casey Eye Institute. "In the future, patients, their families and the Maasai community will feel her passion and love as they express it through their smiles and joy from improved vision.”

Credits: Images courtesy of Naomi Sarna Designs.

In honor of April’s official birthstone, we shine our spotlight today on a scintillating and spectacular item from the Smithsonian National Gem Collection. Gifted to Empress Marie Louise by French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte in 1811 to celebrate the birth of their son, Napoleon II, the "Napoleon Diamond Necklace" is now an American treasure.



Before taking residence in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals in Washington, DC, the 234-diamond, 260-carat neckpiece was owned for a very short time by American businesswoman and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post.

The necklace, which was designed by Etienne Nitôt and Sons of Paris, consists of an inner circle made up of 28 old mine-cut diamonds, suspending a fringe of nine “pendeloques” (five pear shapes alternating with four ovals) and 10 briolettes.

Mounted above each pear shape is a small round brilliant diamond, while the four ovals are attached to motifs decorated with 23 smaller diamonds. Each of the 10 briolette mountings is accented with 12 rose-cut diamonds. The largest single diamond in the piece weighs approximately 10.4 carats.

According to the Smithsonian, when Marie Louise died in 1847, the necklace was given to her sister-in-law, Archduchess Sophie of Austria. The necklace was bequeathed in 1872 to the Archduchess’ son, Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria. The necklace remained in the Austrian royal family until 1948, when Archduke Ludwig’s grandson, Prince Franz Joseph of Liechtenstein, sold it to a French collector who, in turn, sold it to Harry Winston, Inc., in 1960.

Post, the heiress to the Post cereal fortune and a big fan of Napoleonic jewelry, was one of the richest women in the world when she acquired the necklace — in its original case — from Winston that same year. In 1962, she donated it to the Smithsonian Institution.

Post was not only famous for her business acumen and acts of philanthropy, she was also the original owner of Mar-a-Lago, which she built in Palm Beach, FL, between 1924 and 1927. Post died in 1973 at the age of 86. Former president Donald J. Trump acquired the 126-room, 62,500-square-foot mansion in 1985.

Credit: Photo courtesy of Smithsonian/Chip Clark and digitally enhanced by SquareMoose.

Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola, one of the original cast members of MTV's hit series Jersey Shore, turned to Instagram on Monday to announce her engagement to boyfriend Justin May — and to show off her new diamond ring.



The 37-year-old told her 3.8 million followers that she was the "happiest and luckiest girl in the world" and shared closeup shots of a prong-set round diamond solitaire on a thin yellow gold band.



Giancola's new bling mirrors the recent resurgence of yellow gold and solitaire settings, as reported in The Knot's 2023 “Real Weddings Study.”

In a post sprinkled with a series of emojis, including an engagement ring, red and white hearts and a "loudly crying face," Giancola wrote, "Life update: Fiancé 3.16.24. The easiest question I’ve ever answered. I’ll love you forever and then some."



And because she made the announcement on April 1, the reality star was sure to include a note that clarified that her post was “Not an April fools joke.”

May posted a similar series of pics on his Instagram page and captioned them with this sweet sentiment: "She said yes! Can’t wait to Marry my best friend! Love you so much babe! Can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you!"

Giancola was one of the original eight cast members of Jersey Shore, which ran for six seasons from December 2009 to December 2012 and spawned numerous spinoffs and sequels, including Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, which she rejoined in 2023 after a decade away from the MTV franchise.

Jersey Shore castmates were quick to jump into the comments thread of Giancola's Instagram page to add their well wishes.

Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino wrote, “Congratulations!! Love Love” punctuated by a clapping hands emoji, while Paul "Pauly D" DelVecchio added, "Ayeeeee congrats," alongside champagne and clapping hand emojis.

Giancola and May, who have been dating since 2021, have yet to pick a wedding date.

Credits: Images via Instagram / sammisweetheart.

Welcome to Music Friday when we unravel the mysteries behind famous songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, we're bending the rules a bit to visit Carly Simon's 1972 hit, "You're So Vain," the most popular song ever to use the phrase "total eclipse of the sun."



This is a particularly timely subject because on Monday, April 8, a rare total eclipse — and the resulting "Diamond Ring Effect" — will be visible to curious sky gazers on a long, bending path that starts at the Texas/Mexico border and exits in the Maritime provinces of Canada. The next total eclipse to span North America will take place in 2045.

In the famous line from Simon's chart topper, she sings, "Well, I hear you went up to Saratoga / And your horse naturally won / Then you flew your Learjet up to Nova Scotia / To see the total eclipse of the sun."

On Monday, at exactly 4:39 pm Atlantic Daylight Time, viewers in Nova Scotia will see the extraordinary celestial display mentioned in the song. The “Diamond Ring Effect” 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. This phenomenon was first explained by Francis Baily in 1836.

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.

Now, back to the song…

Historically speaking, Simon's reference to Nova Scotia's total eclipse seems plausible. That Canadian province did, in fact, experience a total eclipse on March 7, 1970. Simon wrote the song in 1971 and released it in November of 1972. It appears on her third studio album, No Secrets.

For 52 years, fans and music critics have wondered out loud about the identity of Simon's vain character. Was it Warren Beatty or James Taylor or Kris Kristofferson or Mick Jagger or Jack Nicholson or Cat Stevens?

In 1974, she told Modern Hi-Fi and Music: "That song is about a lot of people. I mean I can think of a lot of people. The actual examples that I've used in the song are from my imagination, but the stimulus is directly from a couple of different sources. It's not just about one particular person."

In 2012, Simon revealed to variety.com the inspiration behind the guy wearing the apricot-colored scarf in the first verse.

“In the case of ‘You’re So Vain’ I had the chorus: ‘You’re so vain/You probably think this song is about you.’ I had that written on a piece of paper a year before I got the rest of the song. I thought, ‘that’s kind of funny, it’s sort of a nice twist’ so I put it down in my notebook," she said.

"And then about a year later I was at a party at my sister’s apartment and a man walked into the party with a big long scarf and he looked at the mirror, which was right as you entered the front door, and he whisked his scarf around his neck as he saw himself and he tilted his hat slightly to the left. I thought, ‘Wow, he’s really vain…'"

Simon offered more details about the second verse while promoting her memoir Boys in the Trees in 2015. That's when she confirmed that the guy who "gave away the things he loved" was Beatty.

"Warren thinks the whole thing is about him," she said.

The guy in the third verse with the racehorses, LearJet and interest in the solar eclipse has yet to be identified conclusively. She offered a clue in her 2010 remake of "You're So Vain," where she whispers the name "David."

Some have concluded that it must be record executive David Geffen, who has owned racehorses. Simon pushed back in an email to Showbiz 411, saying that she had yet to meet Geffen when she wrote the song in 1971. On his radio show, Howard Stern claimed that Simon told him the identity of the mystery person, and it was definitely not Geffen.

So the intrigue will linger a bit longer. Simon celebrated her 80th birthday in June of 2023. Beatty is 87 and Geffen is 81.

Trivia: Jagger sings the memorable ("Don't you? Don't You?") backing vocals on the original track. He is uncredited on the album jacket.

Please check out the video of Simon's spectacular live performance of "You're So Vain." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along…

"You're So Vain"
Written and performed by Carly Simon.

Son of a gun

You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf it was apricot
You had one eye in the mirror, as you watched yourself gavotte

And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner
They'd be your partner and

You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain (you're so vain)
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

You had me several years ago when I was still quite naive
Well, you said that we made such a pretty pair and that you would never leave
But you gave away the things you loved
And one of them was me

I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee and

You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain (you're so vain)
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you? Don't you?

I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee and

You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain (you're so vain)
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

Well, I hear you went up to Saratoga
And your horse naturally won
Then you flew your Learjet up to Nova Scotia
To see the total eclipse of the sun
Well, you're where you should be all the time
And when you're not
You're with some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend
Wife of a close friend and

You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain (so vain)
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you? Don't you now?

You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you



Credit: Screen capture via Youtube.com / Carly Simon.

Determined to keep her relationship status with pro football player Nnamdi Asomugha a secret, actress Kerry Washington pinned her engagement ring to her "undergarments" — for three years.



"I loved my ring so much, so I would sleep in it at night, and then in the morning, I would pin it to my undergarments so that nobody knew we were engaged," she told James Corden during a recent appearance on his SiriusXM show, This Life of Mine.

She explained that she took extreme measures to keep their three-year engagement and summer 2013 wedding hidden from the prying eyes of the paparazzi because they were both going through a "really crazy time."

"He had a groundbreaking, record-breaking contract... and he had been in three or four Pro Bowls, you know," she told Corden. "When I met him, he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated (August 2011), and I was on this hit show (Scandal, 124 episodes).

When Washington finally revealed her bridal jewelry in August of 2013 during a Television Critics Association event in Beverly Hills, fashion writers weren't sure if the ring was a wedding band, eternity band, engagement ring or some combination of the three.

Glamour.com contributor Kim Fusaro opined at the time, "So we finally got a glimpse at her ring finger, which is sporting a dainty diamond band stacked on top of a plain gold one. I'm not sure if the diamond band is an engagement ring {I do LOVE an eternity band engagement ring!} or if the two rings are a wedding set, but either way, I adore how gorgeously understated they are."

Prior to August 2013, however, her ring remained pinned — and out of sight.

"We kept our relationship very private when we were dating, I think mostly because we just wanted to protect ourselves and each other," the 47-year-old told Corden.

The Golden Globe winner had been previously engaged to actor David Moscow from October 2004 to March 2007, and when they broke up, the actress was inconveniently appearing on the cover of a bridal style magazine.

"I think it's really hard when people have a lot to say about your relationship," she said during the SiriusXM interview. "I had been in a really public engagement that, when it ended, I was in the unfortunate position of being on the cover of a bridal magazine, and it was a bridal magazine that came out quarterly, so for three months I walked around and I thought: 'I think I'm done talking about my personal life in the public.'"

Washington and Asomugha tied the knot during a top-secret Idaho event in June of 2013 and honeymooned at a remote resort off the coast of Zanzibar, Tanzania.

There, she collected shells that remain among her most prized possessions. She told Corden that they represent the "happiest two weeks" of her life.

"Whenever I look at that collection of shells, it reminds me of the space that we gave ourselves to start our life together as a couple in this really sacred way," she said. "You know, having this sort of very private, secretive wedding and then just jumping off into this very remote place to really begin our lives together. I love that. I love that jar. It always makes me feel so grateful for the life that I have."

Credit: Image by Daniel Benavides from Austin, TX, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons..

Sparkling with 250 diamonds weighing a total of 4.10 carats, the Columbus Crew's 2023 MLS Cup ring celebrates the team's third championship and tells the story of an inspiring playoff campaign and a franchise steeped in soccer tradition.



The Crew’s journey to the MLS Cup was one of determination, resilience, tenacity and emotion. After multiple hard-fought matches leading up to a final showdown with defending champion LAFC, the Black & Gold emerged victorious and became one of only three clubs with three MLS titles (2008, 2020 and 2023).

“Like earning a championship, this ring is timeless and represents the meaningful moments, emotions and most importantly people who worked together to accomplish this exceptional goal, including our supporters,” said president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko.

Designed by Jostens, the 10-karat yellow gold ring features the Columbus Crew crest rendered in diamonds against a striking black background crafted from a custom-cut onyx. The 57 diamonds in the crest are symbolic of the club’s regular season point total — a number that tied an all-time franchise record.

The three beveled golden stars sitting just above the crest are a nod to the Crew’s three MLS Cups.

To the left and right of the crest is the phrase “MLS CUP CHAMPIONS” rendered in raised gold capital letters against a black background.

To honor a fanbase that helped create a tremendous home field advantage throughout the year, Jostens added a row of nine diamonds to the top and bottom of the ring top edges. When combined the 18 diamonds represent the club-best 18 MLS home matches played in front of capacity crowds at Lower.com Field in 2023.



The left side of the ring shows the player's name in raised gold letters against the backdrop of the iconic black-and-gold isometric brand pattern that’s also featured on the Crew’s VeloCITY jersey. Just below the player's name is a jersey number rendered in diamonds. Above the name are the words COLUMBUS CREW in raised gold letters on a black background.

The right side of the ring shows the 2023 “ALL TOGETHER NOW” mantra, as well as the championship year in raised gold lettering. The 29 diamonds that make up the MLS Cup pays homage to the club's status as MLS' "First Club," which is now embarking on its 29th season. Twenty-nine is also the number of franchises currently in the MLS. (The inaugural season included 10 teams). The background of the ring's right side also utilizes the isometric brand pattern.

The story of the season continues on the inside of the ring. This is where the results from the 2023 playoffs and abbreviations of the Crew's opponents are displayed next to the Crew smokestack.

The inner palm of the ring displays the date of the MLS Cup, 12-9-23, and the exterior palm features the phrase, “IMPOSSIBLE IS AN OPINION,” which is a quote shared by head coach Wilfried Nancy that deeply resonated with the team, supporters and the city.

“We appreciate Jostens’ care, thoughtfulness and craftsmanship to help design a ring that is fitting for the Crew’s incredible story in 2023 and winning our Club’s third MLS championship,” said Crew Vice President of Soccer Administration & Operations Jaime McMillan. “As MLS’ First Club, it was important to our team that this ring properly reflected our history, season and city, and Jostens did a fantastic job of incorporating those elements into an elegant presentation.”

Credits: Images courtesy of Jostens.

During the April 7 episode of Gold Rush: White Water, Dustin Hurt and his mining team are moved to tears after pulling a near-6-ounce nugget from their Alaskan claim.



The extraordinary find — which is estimated to be worth more than $20,000 — came at a time when the crew was struggling to make ends meet. They saw the nugget as the late Fred Hurt's way of saying thanks to the team for following his crazy dream of white water gold mining.

Fred was 80 years old when he succumbed to brain cancer only four month's after being diagnosed with the disease. The veteran miner and father of Dustin was the inspiration behind Discovery Channel's second most popular show. He was an active cast member right until the end of his life.

The April 7 episode is titled "Fred's Golden Gift."



The clip, below, opens with crew member Carlos Minor trying to contain his emotions after finding the massive nugget in the sluice box of their white water mining operation.

"Holy stinking moly, man, you see the size of that nugget?" Minor asks a member of the TV production team as he points to the heavens. "I wish Fred was here to see that. I literally do. Amen, amen, double amen, oh wow!"

Dustin reminded the show's fans that Fred was the one who assembled the team and got them to their current claim.



"He's still here with us. He's helping us out. I know he'd be so proud right now," said Dustin. "So this is definitely the high that we needed today. It's been seven years just killing ourselves and now we got this badass nugget that's just kind of like a trophy."

He continued, "We stuck it out. We put in the effort. We finally figured out the right place and the right technique. We got this. Now let's do great."

The narrator then explains that Minor's discovery is proof that there's ancient gold "here for the taking."

At their camp site, the crew members gathered to celebrate the giant find, pay homage to Fred and to determine the actual weight of the giant-sized nugget.



They put the nugget on the scale and it weighed in at 5.81 ounces, which translate into a gold value of $13,671.



Dustin explained that nuggets that size deliver extra value as specimen pieces, so it may be worth almost double the spot gold price.

The 47-year-old crew leader noted that the surprising find could be just the beginning of what may be discovered at Nugget Creek.

"There were stories up until today, but it's a reality for us now that there are big nuggets in this creek," he said. "I absolutely guarantee it."



Credits: Screen captures via Youtube.com / Discovery.

A Botswana diamond exploration company is employing artificial intelligence (AI) to make sense of 380 gigabytes of survey data that will help identify the best places to find new deposits.



About the size of France, the landlocked Republic of Botswana in southern Africa produces more high-quality diamaonds than any other country in the world, except for Russia. Jwaneng, in southern Botswana, is regarded as the world's richest diamond mine, and Orapa, in northeast Botswana, is the world's largest diamond mine by area.

Making the monumental decision about where the country's next diamond mine should be leaves little room for error and is no easy task. In the case of Ireland-based Botswana Diamonds PLC, the decision requires the expert analysis of 260,000 files.

The exploration company's current database includes 32,000 drill hole logs, 228,000 soil sample results, 606 ground geophysical surveys and 375,000 km of airborne geophysical data.

"Our mineral database in Botswana is simply vast. Too big for timely analysis by humans," noted Botswana Diamonds chairman John Teeling. "Think of it, over 375,000 kms of geophysical data, and 32,000 drill holes logs."

The company will getting a big assist from Planetary AI Ltd Xplore, a mineral prospectivity technology that was developed in collaboration with the UK-based International Geoscience Services Limited.

According to Botswana Diamonds, Xplore is a system that uses a unique combination of semantic technology and machine learning. Semantic technology is a branch of artificial intelligence focused on understanding and representing the meaning of data, information and knowledge in a machine-readable format.

Computers can "understand" the meaning and context of geological data in much the same way a geologist would, in order to identify zones of prospective mineralization based on specific mineral deposit models.

The system acts much like a geologist, but can function quicker and more efficiently, according to the exploration company. Vast data-sets are processed though AI that finds logical gaps in the data and learns to correct them. This exercise is expected to yield fresh insights that will offer drillable targets previously unseen.

As an added bonus for Botswana Diamonds and the Republic of Botswana, the AI-supported analysis will yield information on other valuable minerals apart from diamonds.

The company acknowledges that its use of AI is in its infancy, but believes the future potential is huge.

Credit: Image by BigStockPhoto.com

Welcome to Music Friday when we feature wonderful tunes with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, introspective indie artist Briston Maroney sings about achieving his life-long dream of dating a girl with "eyes of gold" and then comes to the realization that he still feels empty in his 2017 release, "June."



He sings, "Well, I don't know, but I've been told / My woman, she's got eyes of gold / Well, I spend all day and I search all night / 'Til I see 'em in that perfect light / Oh, I'm gonna see 'em in that perfect light."

The term "eyes of gold" reflects songwriter's perception that the girl was beautiful, precious, perfect, unattainable.

According to Maroney, most people believe the song is about a college romance that ends after graduation. Throughout the song, he repeats the line, "Ain't it funny how I fell in love and then came June?"

But, in an interview with rockamag.com, Maroney revealed that the song actually reflects something "much bigger," a time in his life when many important relationships were breaking down and he didn't feel good about himself.

“I hated myself. I hated my friends, and my girlfriend at the time was so mean to me," he said. "Life had always gone up and down, but that time in my life felt different. I wrote to disconnect from everything.”

A year after releasing "June" as the first track of his Big Shot EP in 2017, he broke up with his girlfriend and dropped out of Lipscomb University in Nashville, where he studied music.

Born in Jacksonville, FL, in 1998 and brought up in Knoxville, TN, Maroney got his first taste of stardom at the age of 15, when he tried out for the 13th season of American Idol. After showing off his talent at one of the show's audition bus stops in his town, he was invited to perform in front of the American Idol judges in Salt Lake City. From there, he was sent to Hollywood as one of the 30 semi-finalists.

Maroney released his album Paradise in 2021 and followed it up with Ultrapure in 2023. The singer/songwriter will be making some high-profile appearances over the next few months: High Water 2024 (North Charleston, SC), Whale Jam 2024 (Boston, MA), Summerfest (Milwaukee, WI), Lollapalooza (Chicago, IL) and Osheaga Festival (Montreal, QC).

Please check out the video of Maroney performing "June" live at Studio C in Akron, OH, in August of 2023. The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along…

"June"
Written and performed by Briston Maroney.

Pick up the phone to calm me down
I never got used to that ringing sound
And drinking out of the same cup
When I run low, you fill me up
Yeah, when I run low, you fill me up

So dress up in your finer things
And the smile can't hide anything
And pin the flower to my chest
And count the days that I've got left
Oh, I'll count the days that I've got left

And I don't know how we got so far away
From what I had in sight
Are you gonna sleep tonight?
And I don't know where it's gonna be a year from now
Or anyhow, how it's gonna be tonight?

Ain't it funny how I wanted this all my life?
Ain't it funny how I got it here and it don't seem right?
Ain't it funny how we all want to be someone new?
Ain't it funny how I fell in love and then came June?

Well, I don't know, but I've been told
My woman, she's got eyes of gold
Well, I spend all day and I search all night
'Til I see 'em in that perfect light
Oh, I'm gonna see 'em in that perfect light

And I don't know how we got so far away
From what I had in sight
Are you gonna sleep tonight?
And I don't know where it's gonna be a year from now
Or anyhow, how it's gonna be tonight

Ain't it funny how I wanted this all my life?
Ain't it funny how I got it here and it don't seem right?
Ain't it funny how we all want to be someone new?
Ain't it funny how I fell in love and then came June?

There you go, you let me walk away
With nothing left to say
Or think, or dream, or feel, or do, or be
Oh, but I give myself a week until I'm down on my knees
'Cause I can't find what I'm supposed to be

Ain't it funny how I wanted this all my life?
Ain't it funny how I got it here and it don't seem right?
Ain't it funny how we all want to be someone new?
Ain't it funny how I fell in love and then came June?
Ain't it funny how I wanted this, oh, all my life?
Ain't it funny how I got it here and it don't seem right?
Ain't it funny how we all want to be someone new?
Ain't it funny how I fell in love and then came June?
Ain't it funny how I fell in love and then came June?
Ain't it funny how I fell in love and then came June?
Ain't it funny how I fell in love and then came June?



Credit: Screen capture via Youtube.com / TheSummitFM.

A Kansas baker warned her customers on Facebook last week to bite down gently on cookies purchased from Sis’ Sweets Cookies and Café in Leavenworth. You see, the owner's engagement diamond fell out of her ring at some point between rolling the dough and placing the uncooked treats in the oven — so there's a chance the bauble was baked right into a batch.



Baker Dawn "Sis" Monroe broadcast her alert via the store's Facebook page on the morning of Friday, April 5, just after she prepared the day's cookie dough and scoured the prep area unsuccessfully for her precious keepsake.

"Bonus if you buy cookies today. My diamond is missing," she wrote on Facebook. "My heart is beyond broken. It’s been on my hand for 36 years. If you happened find it, I would forever be in debt if you would return it. It’s a marquise cut."

She was particularly concerned about the customer who might bite down onto the precious stone, which Monroe estimates to be worth $4,000.

”Mainly ‘cause I don’t want anybody to break a tooth,” Monroe told Kansas City ABC-affiliated KMBC.

Based on the variety of cookies she prepared that Friday morning, she is certain the diamond would be one of three batches: chocolate chip, sugar or peanut butter.

She also said there might be "a ton" of free cookies for the person who returns the diamond.

The baker told KMBC that her husband had picked out the marquise-cut center stone especially for her and that she hadn't take the ring off in 36 years.

“I was crying, and all [my husband] could say was, ‘You still have me,’ so that made it all better," Monroe said.

On Thursday, April 11, Cherokee Street neighbor First City Cheese Market injected some levity into a sad situation when proprietor Ryan popped into Sis’ Sweets Cookies and Café with a "diamond" cookie. Essentially, it was an Oreo with a diamond-shaped decoration protruding from the cream center.

Monroe shared a pic of Ryan and the cookie on Facebook and wrote, "Someone came in [and] brought me a cookie with a diamond in it. It’s a Topaz! We have great neighbors. We all work together to help each other!! Love our community, it’s the best! Thanks Ryan."

The baker added a final note about the missing diamond: "NO it still hasn’t been found."

As of Sunday evening, April 14, the diamond had yet to turn up. The story, on the other hand, has gone viral and circulated around the globe — delivering unmeasurable publicity to the Leavenworth baker.

Credit: Image by BigStockPhoto.com.

Phillips is estimating that a magnificent 6.21-carat Fancy Vivid Pink diamond ring could fetch as much as $15 million as the star lot of its "Geneva Jewels Auction: TWO" on May 13.



Other baubles expected to turn heads at Hotel President Geneva include a 280.84-carat Colombian emerald and a super-rare 1.56-carat Fancy Red diamond.

In all, the meticulously curated sale of just over 100 lots will showcase signed jewels from illustrious houses such as Cartier, JAR, Sterlé, Suzanne Belperron, and Van Cleef & Arpels.

The property of an "important private collector," the 6.21-carat pink diamond boasts a VS1 clarity and a Type IIa classification reserved for diamonds of exceptional purity and transparency. The gem's Fancy Vivid rating sits at the top of the diamond color grading scale. The oval diamond is set in a ring between two kite-shaped diamonds.

The auction house set the estimated sales range at $10.5 million to $15 million.

Pink diamonds are in high demand and short supply since the November 2020 closure of Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine in Australia, which had been the world’s primary source of high-quality pink diamonds.

The “CTF Pink Star” still holds the record for any gem sold at auction. The 59.6-carat pink diamond sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong for $71.2 million in 2017.

Other auction highlights include the following:



An octagonal step-cut emerald weighing 280.84 carats, "The Amazon Queen" is expected to sell in the range of $1.5 million to $2.6 million. The gem measures 40mm x 35mm (about 1.5 inches square) and was sourced in Colombia.



"The Argyle Phoenix" is a brilliant-cut Fancy Red natural color diamond sourced from the now-depleted Argyle mine. Red is said to be the rarest diamond color in the world. "The Argyle Phoenix" is expected to fetch between $1 million and $1.5 million.



Set with pear-shaped Fancy Intense Yellow and Fancy Yellow diamonds weighing from 0.44 carats to 11.28 carats, and an oval Fancy Intense Yellow diamond weighing 5.44 carats, this Harry Winston-designed necklace is expected to sell in the range of $300,000 to $500,000.



A ring featuring a cut-cornered Fancy Intense Green diamond weighing 2.26 carats framed by circular-cut pink sapphires should yield from $260,000 to $380,000 based on Phillips' pre-sale estimate. The green diamond boasts a clarity of VS1.

Top lots from Geneva Jewels Auction: TWO will be traversing the continents before returning to Geneva for the auction. Tour stops will include New York, London, Taipei and Singapore before returning to Hotel President Geneva from May 8 until the sale on May 13.

Credits: Images courtesy of Phillips.

Back in October of 2017, thousands of astronomers from around the globe joined together to confirm the first-ever sighting of two neutron stars colliding in space. In just one second, the “kilonova” located 130 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Hydra triggered the equivalent of 50 Earth masses of silver, 100 Earth masses of gold and 500 Earth masses of platinum.



The scientists estimated that the gold alone was worth more than $100 octillion. That’s $100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (1 followed by 29 zeroes).

The astronomers aimed their equipment at the super-dense kilonova, looking for the signatures of heavy metals. They recorded visible light, radio waves, X-rays and gamma rays. The data confirmed the birth of massive amounts of precious metals and seemed to put to rest the long-standing mystery of how these and other “heavy” elements are formed.

A newly published study, however, is challenging conventional wisdom and deepening the mystery.

Northwestern University researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study a mammoth stellar collapse were stunned when they found absolutely no evidence of heavy elements.

The collapse, first registered on October 9, 2002, resulted in the brightest gamma-ray burst (GRB) ever recorded. Scientists gave it the nickname B.O.A.T. (“brightest of all time”).

“When we confirmed that the GRB was generated by the collapse of a massive star, that gave us the opportunity to test a hypothesis for how some of the heaviest elements in the universe are formed,” said Northwestern’s Peter Blanchard, who led the study.

“We did not see signatures of these heavy elements, suggesting that extremely energetic GRBs like the B.O.A.T. do not produce these elements. That doesn’t mean that all GRBs do not produce them, but it’s a key piece of information as we continue to understand where these heavy elements come from. Future observations with JWST will determine if the B.O.A.T.’s ‘normal’ cousins produce these elements.”

“This event is particularly exciting because some had hypothesized that a luminous gamma-ray burst like the B.O.A.T. could make a lot of heavy elements like gold and platinum,” added second author Ashley Villar of Harvard University and the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. “If they were correct, the B.O.A.T. should have been a gold mine. It is really striking that we didn’t see any evidence for these heavy elements.”

The findings were published last week in the journal Nature Astronomy.

According to a Northwestern University press release, the powerful B.O.A.T. explosion occurred approximately 2 billion light-years from Earth, in the direction of the constellation Sagitta and lasted a few hundred seconds. It was so bright that it saturated most of the world’s gamma-ray detectors.

“The event produced some of the highest-energy photons ever recorded by satellites designed to detect gamma rays,” Blanchard said. “This was an event that Earth sees only once every 10,000 years. We are fortunate to live in a time when we have the technology to detect these bursts happening across the universe.”

Credit: Image by Aaron M. Geller / Northwestern / CIERA / IT Research Computing and Data Services.

With gold trading near an all-time high, it might be a great time to take a closer look at another undeniably elegant noble metal, platinum.



Gold was in the news last Friday as it hit $2,448 per ounce due to investors flocking to the precious metal as a hedge against inflation and international uncertainty. By contrast, an ounce of platinum was priced at $1,000 per ounce, about 41% of gold's value.

Historically, platinum has traded at a premium to gold. In January of 2014, for instance, one could purchase an ounce of platinum for $1,378, while an ounce of gold sold for $1,225. In January of 1990, platinum stood at $475 and gold stood at $404.

But, then at the beginning of 2011, gold started to overtake platinum.

This was an unsettling phenomenon because platinum always reflected a higher status overall. The record industry, for instance, awards a gold album at 500,000 units and a platinum album at 1 million units. The American Express Platinum Card offers far more benefits than its Gold Card.

King Louis XVI of France once said that platinum was the "only metal fit for kings." In the jewelry industry, platinum was always preferred over gold to secure the most valuable and famous gemstones in the world — including the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond.

The status of platinum in 2024 is not the first time it's been undervalued.

In the 1500s, platinum was belittled and cast aside by the Spanish conquistadors who encountered the material while mining for silver in Rio Pinto, Colombia. They named the curious metal “platina” or “little silver.” In one version of the story, the conquistadors threw the platinum nuggets back into the river hoping they would ripen into silver. (Silver is trading today at $28.45 per ounce).

Here are some additional fun facts about platinum…

Platinum is 30 times more rare than gold. If all the platinum ever mined was melted and poured into an Olympic-sized pool, the platinum would barely reach your ankles. All the mind gold, however, would fill three Olympic-sized pools.

Platinum is stronger than gold. When platinum is scratched, the material moves aside and no platinum is lost. When gold is scratched, tiny bits flake away. This is why gold rings that are worn for a long period of time often need to be re-shanked.

Platinum jewelry is typically 90% to 95% pure and includes markings in the band that say “PLATINUM, PLAT, PT, PT950, 950PT or 900PT.” Canadian quality marks can say “”platinum,” “plat.” or “platine.” In the UK, the platinum marks will say “850,” “900,” “950” or “999.” Gold purity, on the other hand, is measured in karats. Most commonly, 14-karat gold is 14/24th (58.3%) gold and alloyed with other metals. Eighteen-karat gold contains 75% precious metal.

Platinum is a true white metal. White gold, by comparison, is actually yellow gold that has been mixed with other white metals and then plated with rhodium to give a bright white appearance. That plating does wear off over time and requires re-plating.

Platinum is hypoallergenic and an excellent choice for people with sensitive skin or allergies to other metals.

Platinum is 60% more dense than 14-karat gold. It’s a difference you can actually feel.

Platinum typically occurs as small grains and crystals in certain layered igneous rocks. The extraordinarily rare platinum nugget, above, weighs 444.4 grams (just under 1 pound) and is so special that it’s on permanent exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.

Credit: Photos by Chip Clark / Smithsonian.

Welcome to Music Friday when we like to shine the spotlight on inspirational songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, five-time Grammy nominee Brandon Heath seeks divine intervention in “Diamond,” his 2012 song about a young coal miner who "has only scratched the surface." He wants to be a better man, but needs God’s help to find the “diamond” buried deep inside.



He sings, “I got something down inside of me / That only You can see / Help me dig a little deeper now / And set that diamond free.”

For Heath, the diamond symbolizes the ability to bring his life to the next level — a life of clarity, not confusion, of compassion, not cruelty, of ambition, not excuses.

In the last lines of the song, Heath invites the Almighty to seek him out in the coal mine: “Come down with your old flashlight / Underground, black as night / No telling what you’re gonna find in me.”

“Diamond” is the fourth track on Heath’s fourth studio album, Blue Mountain. The album is unique because each song takes place in the Blue Mountains and is told from the point of view of a particular character. The real and fictional players featured in the songs include his grandfather, his mentor, a farmer, a coal miner and a death-row inmate. Each song weaves a message of hope, love and redemption.

When it was released in 2012, the album earned strong reviews and a #5 spot on Billboard‘s US Christian Albums chart. It also reached #97 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

“[The songs] are all kind of telling my story a little bit,” Heath revealed to The Clarion-Ledger. “[They talk] about my own fears, and my own desires. As a songwriter, it was more fun to give someone else my own voice. I think the best way to describe a place is to describe its people. And so, all these characters tell a story about what Blue Mountain is and who lives there.”

Born in Nashville, TN, Brandon Heath Knell turns 45 in July. The son of a police officer dad and hairdresser mom, Heath received his first guitar as a Christmas gift when he was 13. In high school, he converted to Christianity and explored his spirituality by participating in faith missions to India and Ecuador. Those trips helped inspire a career in contemporary Christian music.

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

“Diamond”
Written by Brandon Heath, Ross Copperman and Lee Thomas Miller. Performed by Brandon Heath.

My father’s father broke this ground
Daddy mined till we laid him down
Only God knows what they found beneath

Now here I stand in my own boots
Ax to grind and a point to prove
Tangled up in my own roots, it seems

I got treasure up in Heaven
I got dirt all over me
I have only scratched the surface
Of the man I’m meant to be

I got something down inside of me
That only You can see
Help me dig a little deeper now
And set that diamond free

Why do I do the things I do
All the things that I don’t want to
Act like I don’t fear You at all

Hard head and a heart of stone
Older now but I haven’t grown
Any riches that I have to show are small

I got treasure up in Heaven
I got dirt all over me
I have only scratched the surface
Of the man I’m meant to be

I got something down inside of me
That only You can see
Help me dig a little deeper now
And set that diamond free

Set it free
Set it free
Set it free
Set it free

Come down with your old flashlight
Underground, black as night
No telling what you’re gonna find in me

Set it free
Set it free
Lord, set it free
Set it free
Come set it free

Set it free
I got treasure up in heaven

Set it free
I got dirt all over me

Set it free
I got treasure up in heaven

Come dig a little deeper now
And set that diamond free



Credit: Photo by David Holzemer, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Seven-time All Pro center Jason Kelce revealed on Wednesday that he lost his 2018 Super Bowl ring in a kiddie pool full of chili during the "Lombaby" Games on the campus of the University of Cincinnati (UC).



The Lombaby Games pit UC student-athletes against academics in goofy, Olympic-style games, including one where contestants searched two pools filled with Skyline Chili for Kelce's Super Bowl ring along with other decoy rings.

In the end, the decoys were found, but the authentic Philadelphia Eagles ring emblazoned with 219 diamonds and 17 green sapphires had disappeared.

"I legitimately lost my Super Bowl ring in this event," Jason Kelce said during Wednesday's episode of "New Heights," a podcast he hosts with his brother, Kansas City Chiefs star, Travis. "They could not find it."

The rings were hidden in socks and submerged in the chili. Jason Kelce feared that the sock containing his Super Bowl ring might have been kicked out of the inflatable pool and thrown away by mistake.

"What did you expect to happen?" Travis said. "You're such [an]… imbecile."

"So I think we safely assume that my Super Bowl ring is now in a landfill somewhere in the Cincinnati tri-state area," Jason told his brother.

Jason and Travis had served as referees and commentators for the UC event.

Jason had hoped that his support team might be able to use a metal detector to scan the chili after the event was over. As it turns out, Skyline Chili has trace amounts of iron in it, which rendered the metal detector useless, according to the recently retired 36-year-old center.

He has since submitted an insurance claim and hopes that the ring manufacturer, Jostens, can supply a replacement.

Each 10-karat championship ring boasted a gemstone total weight of 9.15 carats and contained symbols on every surface that told the story of an underdog team that overcame all obstacles to roll through the playoffs and eventually defeat the Tom Brady-led Patriots by a score of 41-33 in Super Bowl LII. It was the first time the Eagles raised the Vince Lombardi Trophy aloft in the team's 85-year history.

Jason, who is considered one of the best centers of all time, announced his retirement on March 4, 2024, after 13 NFL seasons with the Eagles. Younger brother, Travis, 34, just claimed his third Super Bowl ring as a tight end for the champion Kansas City Chiefs. He is famously linked romantically to pop princess Taylor Swift.

Credits: Jason Kelce image by Governor Tom Wolf from Harrisburg, PA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Super Bowl ring photo courtesy of Jostens.

For more than 2,000 years, the Golconda mines on the banks of the Krishna River in southern India produced virtually all the world's fine diamonds.



Many of history's most famous diamonds claimed a Golconda origin, and these included the 105-carat Koh-i-noor (replica, above), 45-carat Hope Diamond, 140-carat Regent Diamond, 189-carat Orlov and the 70-carat Idol's Eye.

During peak production between the 1600s and the 1800s, the Golconda mines supported a massive operation that employed 30,000 people at a time.

Golconda's mines produced an estimated 10 million carats of diamonds before the resources became exhausted in 1830. There were no more diamonds, but the legend carried on.

In the diamond trade, "Golconda" became synonymous with "superb quality." The Indian diamonds from that region had very few inclusions and contained little or no nitrogen. Today, those diamonds would be classified as Type IIa — the best of the best.

It was widely assumed that Golconda's alluvial diamonds originated in kimberlite pipes and were deposited downstream by ancient rivers. Until recently, the primary source of the gemstones remained a mystery.

Geoscientists at Savitribai Phule Pune University, near Mumbai, now believe the true origin of the Golconda diamonds is a volcanic outcrop nearly 200 miles upstream from the alluvial mines. Their findings were published recently in the Journal of Earth System Science.

The researchers utilized field geological studies and remote sensing tools to locate a long-dry ancient river channel that they believe was primarily responsible for the transportation of diamonds from the source rocks at the kimberlite fields of Wajrakarur to their final sites of recovery on the banks of the Krishna River.

The researchers noted that the movement of the precious stones in India is similar to the way the Orange River ferried precious diamonds from the center of South Africa westward all the way to the Atlantic coast in the Republic of Namibia.

That country currently produces more than 2.3 million carats each year. Most of those diamonds are extracted from the ocean floor by giant vacuum systems attached to massive production vessels.

Credit: Photo of Koh-i-Noor replica by aiva., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

During Thursday's installment of Today With Hoda & Jenna, co-host Jenna Bush Hager recounted how she nearly lost ALL of her fine jewelry — including her sapphire and diamond engagement ring — at JFK Airport in New York City.



The 42-year-old daughter of former President George W. Bush recalled how she lost track of a bag of jewelry as she was "racing to a shoot" while on assignment for the Today show.

Hager explained to co-host Hoda Kotb, "I don't have much nice jewelry, but everything I had was in there."

When Hager finally arrived at the shoot, she realized her precious keepsakes were nowhere to be found.

“I was stressed," she said. "I get to the shoot and I’m looking around. I’m like, ‘Oh no, I had a whole bag of jewelry.’”

Hager quickly reached out to Jack, a member of the NBC morning show's security team.

She explained: “I said, ‘Jack, I just took off at JFK. I know it’s gone, but can you just see what the airport says?’"

In a stroke of good fortune, a fellow traveler had spotted the unattended bag and did the right thing.

“Some lovely man who I’ve never met returned it to security,” she said.

Even though the story had a happy ending, Hager didn't share it with her husband of 15 years, Henry Chase Hager. He only learned about the incident on Thursday morning — at the same time as Kotb and the show's five million viewers.

“I couldn’t even tell Henry because if I lost our engagement ring, it’s priceless,” she said. “So, I harbored a secret from Henry, too, which was hard.”

Jenna and her twin sister, Barbara, were 20 years old when their dad, George W. Bush was inaugurated as President of the US in January of 2001. Henry popped the question to Jenna in 2007, and the couple tied the knot the following year. They have three children.

Credit: Photo by Moody College of Communication from Austin, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The 9.8mm natural quahog pearl at the center of the engagement ring Ken Steinkamp presented to Sandy Sikorski last summer continues to be a symbol of their love story. The couple just hosted a pearl-themed wedding at the famed Ocean House resort, high on the bluffs of Watch Hill, RI, and Inside Edition was on hand to chronicle the festivities.



Pearl and clam iconography abounded.

There were faux pearls affixed to the place settings, pearl beads decorating the champagne bottles and pearl-like candies streaming down the side of the wedding cake. At the top of the cake was an open clam revealing what appears to be a white meringue treat in the shape of a giant pearl. Guests also enjoyed clam-shaped cookies, and Sikorski's granddaughter got into the spirit by wearing pearls on her shoes.



The couple's pearl-themed adventure began in the winter of 2021.

While sharing a dozen quahogs (pronounced Kwo-hogs) at The Bridge Restaurant and Raw Bar in downtown Westerly, RI, the couple encountered a rare jewel that would forever change their lives.



In an interview with Providence NBC affiliate WJAR, Steinkamp described the scene as only one clam remained uneaten on the tray.



“No, no, no. You have it," Steinkamp said. "You really like these.”

When Sikorski attempted to slurp down the tender morsel, something was not quite right.

“I tasted this big, round thing in my mouth and I was thinking, ‘What the heck is this?” she recounted.

What Sikorski nearly consumed was a very rare natural pearl.

“What were the odds of a pearl being inside the shell?” Sikorski wondered out loud.

A local jeweler later told her that the odds of finding a natural pearl of that size in a perfectly symmetrical oval shape was one in a million.

On July 8, 2023, Steinkamp got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend of four years with a diamond-accented engagement ring featuring their special pearl at the center.

“We felt that [the pearl] was kind of a signal, or an odd bit of synchronicity,” Steinkamp told WJAR. “And we said, ‘This would be a great engagement ring.'”

The natural pearls found in clams are classified as non-nacreous and have a porcelain-like appearance. The cultured pearls grown in oysters present a deeper glow resulting from layers of nacre that refract the light.

A natural quahog pearl is very rare, and a single specimen — depending on the size, quality and shape — can be worth thousands of dollars.

“We’re both romantics and this is the perfect type of ring for that and the perfect place,” Sikorski told Inside Edition. “We feel it’s part of our life’s journey and it’s all come together for this.”

The couple will be honeymooning in Paris.

Credits: Screen captures via YouTube.com / Inside Edition.

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you classic songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, we feature three-time Grammy winner Tim McGraw singing Billboard's #1 country hit of 1998, “Just to See You Smile.”



In this song about selflessness, unconditional love and heartbreak, McGraw portrays a hard-working Texas miner who is willing to do just about anything to make his girlfriend happy — and that includes delighting her with fine jewelry.

McGraw sings in the very first verse, “You always had an eye for things that glittered / But I was far from bein’ made of gold / I don’t know how but I scraped up the money / I just never could quite tell you no.”

The miner leaves his job in Amarillo to relocate with her to Tennessee, but the relationship quickly breaks down. The girlfriend finds a new lover and our hero graciously tells her that he’s happy for her.

“And given the chance I’d lie again,” he admits. “It’s worth all that’s lost / Just to see you smile.”

Released in August 1997, the song would go on to spend 42 weeks on the Billboard Country chart — the longest chart run for any country single in the 1990s.

“Just to See You Smile” was the third single from McGraw’s fourth studio album, Everywhere. Both the song and the album topped the Billboard Country charts.

The son of New York Mets star pitcher Tug McGraw, Samuel Timothy “Tim” McGraw was born in Delhi, LA, in 1967. Tim was brought up by his step-dad, Horace Smith, and didn’t know that the famous athlete was his biological father until he was 11. He signed his first record deal with Curb Records in 1990 and married country singer Faith Hill in 1996.

McGraw has sold more than 80 million records worldwide, and 25 of his singles have gone to score a #1 position on the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Songs chart. In addition to his three Grammy Awards, the artist has earned 14 Academy of Country Music awards, 11 Country Music Association (CMA) awards, 10 American Music Awards and three People’s Choice Awards.

He is currently embarking on his "Standing Room Only Tour '24," with 27 performances scheduled from coast to coast through June 29.

Please check out the audio track of McGraw’s performance of “Just to See You Smile.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Just To See You Smile”
Written by Mark Nesler and Tony Martin. Performed by Tim McGraw.

You always had an eye for things that glittered
But I was far from bein’ made of gold
I don’t know how but I scraped up the money
I just never could quite tell you no
Just like when you were leavin’ Amarillo
To take that new job in Tennessee
And I quit mine so we could be together
I can’t forget the way you looked at me

Just to see you smile
I’d do anything
That you wanted me to
And all is said and done
I’d never count the cost
It’s worth all that’s lost
Just to see you smile

When you said time was all you really needed
I walked away and let you have your space
Cause leavin’ didn’t hurt me near as badly
As the tears I saw rollin’ down your face
And yesterday I knew just what you wanted
When you came walkin’ up to me with him
So I told you that I was happy for you
And given the chance I’d lie again

Just to see you smile
I’d do anything
That you wanted me to
And all is said and done
I’d never count the cost
It’s worth all that’s lost
Just to see you smile

Just to see you smile
I’d do anything
That you wanted me to
And all is said and done
I’d never count the cost
It’s worth all that’s lost
Just to see you smile



Credit: Image by 1035 WEZL, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Mother’s Day 2024 jewelry sales are expected to hit $7 billion, outperforming all other retail categories by a wide margin.



According to the annual survey released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics, Special Outings are projected to come in second at $5.9 billion in sales, while Electronics should rank third at $3.5 billion.

Overall Mother’s Day spending is expected to reach $33.5 billion this year. That figure is the second highest in the history of the survey, following last year’s record $35.7 billion.

“Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate the women who play a meaningful role in our lives,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Retailers know the significant importance of this day and are ready to help their customers with a wide selection of meaningful gifts for loved ones to show their appreciation.”

Exactly 40% of respondents said they will be buying jewelry for their moms this year. That’s 8 percentage points higher than the tally achieved in 2014.

According to the NRF, 84% of US adults are expected to celebrate the holiday. Of that group, most (59%) will be purchasing gifts for a mother or stepmother, followed by a wife (22%) or daughter (12%).

On average, those celebrating plan to spend $254.04 on Mother’s Day gifts and celebrations, the second highest per-person figure in history. The biggest spenders are expected to be those between the ages of 35 and 44, who are budgeting $345.75.

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 Mother's Day spending survey of 8,213 U.S. adult consumers was conducted April 1-8 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.

Credit: Image by Bigstockphoto.com.

Love was in the air during the LOT Polish Airlines flight 3905 from Warsaw to Kraków last week. In a touching video posted to the airline's Facebook and Instagram pages, we witnessed Captain Konrad Hanc, clutching a bunch of flowers and a ring box as he got down on one knee and popped the question to his flight attendant girlfriend, Paula.



Hanc could hardly hold back the tears as he emerged from the cockpit to proclaim his love in front of a full cabin of passengers.

“On today’s flight there is a very special person and I hope that she doesn’t expect anything,” he said. “Ladies and gentlemen, about one and a half years ago in this job I met the most wonderful person that completely changed my life.”

Wearing his heart on a highly decorated four-bar sleeve, Hanc continued, “You are most precious to me. You are my greatest dream come true. This is why I have to ask you a favor, honey. Will you marry me?”



At that moment in the camera turned to witness Paula sprinting down the narrow aisle from the back of the plane.

She embraced her husband-to-be and said, "Of course, I will."

As the captain placed the engagement ring on the ring finger of his fiancée's right hand, Paula questioned, "I don't know if this is the right hand for this."

Hanc replied, "Yes, it is."

(In most Western countries, it's traditional for the engagement ring to be placed on the ring finger of the left hand. Oh, well.)

The captain and the flight attendant shared a kiss and then Hanc looked down the aisle at his excited passengers and shouted joyously, "She said, 'Yes'."

Hanc then got on the loud speaker and announced, "And now I invite you to Kraków."

The cabin erupted with applause.

The captain intentionally chose the Kraków flight for the proposal because that city in the south of Poland is where they first met.



After the flight, the couple posed for some social media shots, one of which focused in on her new ring, featuring a translucent cabochon-cut white or pale pink stone accented with small purple stones that are likely amethysts. The cabochon center stone might be a rock crystal or a pale pink rose quartz.

On Instagram, LOT Airlines wrote: "We're not crying, you're crying. Let's raise a glass to Captain Konrad and Stewardess Paula as they embark on their journey together. Here's the video of their sky-high proposal on our flight to Kraków, the city where their story began."

Please check out the full video here…

Credits: Screen captures via Instagram.com / flylot.