Anschar Diamonds Blog

Ethiopia is now officially on the Paraíba tourmaline map. Independent investigations by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and Switzerland’s Gübelin Gem Lab have confirmed that a newly reported East African deposit is producing copper-bearing tourmaline that meets the widely accepted definition of Paraíba tourmaline.



The two respected laboratories announced Aug. 27 that they had separately examined samples from the Ethiopian deposit and reached the same conclusion. Their findings make Ethiopia the fourth known source of Paraíba tourmaline, joining Brazil, Nigeria and Mozambique.



The Ethiopian stones display an eye-catching palette ranging from vivid blue and bluish green to violet and purple. Many examples also show dramatic color zoning, creating fascinating variations within individual crystals.

Paraíba tourmalines burst onto the jewelry scene in the late 1980s after prospector Heitor Barbosa discovered intensely colored copper-bearing tourmaline near São José da Batalha in Brazil's Paraíba state. The material's almost neon blue appearance quickly made it one of the world's most coveted colored gemstones.

Whether or not a gem can be called a Paraíba tourmaline is not necessarily dependent on where the gem was mined, but what gives the gem its color. Under the definition used by the gemological laboratories, the designation can apply to tourmaline from outside Brazil when copper is the predominant coloring element.

This became relevant when copper-bearing tourmaline was subsequently discovered in Nigeria and Mozambique in 2001.

The Ethiopian discovery was initially reported in the trade earlier this year. Gübelin encountered stones in May with a chemical composition that did not match its reference material from Brazil, Mozambique or Nigeria. The laboratory subsequently assembled about 300 rough and faceted stones from multiple sources, including material obtained during a visit to Ethiopia. GIA began examining Ethiopian material in June and received a parcel of more than 100 rough and faceted samples in July for detailed research.

The laboratories also discovered something potentially valuable for identifying the new gems. Ethiopian Paraíba tourmaline has a distinctive chemical fingerprint, including elevated levels of vanadium, lead and gallium. These elements can help gemologists distinguish Ethiopian stones from material originating in the other three known sources.

Credits: Paraíba tourmaline from Ethiopia (top) includes a 7.64-carat faceted stone and an 8.70-carat rough stone. Photo (below) shows rough tourmaline stones from Ethiopia in a range of colors. Stones weigh from 4.20 carat to 10.95 carats. Courtesy of the Ferreira Group. Photo by Annie Haynes/GIA.

A family outing to Arkansas’s Crater of Diamonds State Park turned into a remarkable discovery for Tennessee grandfather Barry G. Smith, who unearthed a 2.29-carat canary yellow diamond while searching with his wife and two granddaughters on August 16.



Smith, of Germantown, TN, had brought Sage and Juniper to the Murfreesboro-area park as part of a weeklong family trip. The group rented a hand-pulled wagon and basic prospecting equipment and headed into the park’s 37½-acre search field, where amateur miners get to keep what they find at the only diamond site in the world that’s open to the general public.



About 30 minutes into the search, Smith spotted something glimmering in the East Drain area of the diamond field.

“I thought it was mica,” Smith said, referring to a glittery — but common — yellow mineral found in the search area. Smith tucked the stone into his shirt pocket, hoping it might be quartz or, perhaps, a diamond, and continued searching with his granddaughters until around noon.



The surprise came when he brought the stone to the park’s Diamond Discovery Center. Staff inspected the specimen and confirmed what Smith had hoped — but hardly expected — to hear. He had found a 2.29-carat canary yellow diamond, about the size of a black-eyed pea.

“I never expected to find a diamond here,” Smith said. “The potential was there, but you never come here expecting to find one.”

Was he excited by the news?

“Oh, absolutely!” Smith said.



The discovery ranks as the third-largest diamond registered at Crater of Diamonds State Park in 2026, following a 6.03-carat yellow diamond found in January and a 3.09-carat white diamond discovered in April.

“I was dumbfounded when I first saw the diamond,” park facility supervisor Ralph Hall said, underscoring just how striking Smith's stone was.

Yellow diamonds are particularly noteworthy at the park because they are less common than white and brown stones. Historical park statistics show that about 62% of the diamonds found there have been white, 20% brown and 17% yellow, with just over 1% falling into other categories. The yellow color occurs when nitrogen becomes incorporated into a diamond’s crystal structure during its formation.

As is customary with large discoveries at the park, Smith decided to name the diamond. It is now officially called the Sage Juniper Diamond, honoring his two granddaughters.

The find adds to an extraordinary 54-year history at Crater of Diamonds. Since the park opened in 1972, visitors have registered more than 37,000 diamonds, with an average of one to two diamonds discovered each day. In 2026 alone, 351 diamonds had been registered as of the announcement of Smith’s find.

The park’s search field is unusual even by diamond-mining standards. Rather than digging deep underground, visitors search the exposed, eroded surface of an ancient diamond-bearing kimberlite pipe — the volcanic rock formation that carried diamonds toward Earth’s surface millions of years ago.

Credits: Images courtesy of Arkansas State Parks.

For more than a century, diamond has been regarded as one of the world’s most electrically inactive materials. Now, researchers at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have discovered that under the right conditions, diamond can actually generate electricity — a finding that could give the celebrated gemstone an intriguing new role in technology.



The surprising discovery involves ultrathin diamond membranes that produce an electrical response when they are bent. The research, led by Professor Zhiqin Chu of HKU’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Professor Yuan Lin of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, challenges the long-held belief that diamond is non-piezoelectric.

Piezoelectric materials generate an electrical charge when they are squeezed, pressed or subjected to mechanical stress. Diamond, despite its extraordinary hardness and other impressive properties, has traditionally been classified as non-piezoelectric. That meant engineers generally used diamond in tiny electronic devices as a durable structural material rather than as a source of electricity.

The HKU researchers discovered that making diamond extraordinarily thin changes the equation.

Using a specialized technique, the team created flexible diamond membranes only a few micrometers thick — thousands of times thinner than a human hair. The membranes are made from numerous microscopic diamond crystals joined together. When researchers bent the membranes, they detected a steady and repeatable electrical voltage.

Even more surprising was the explanation for the phenomenon. The boundaries where the microscopic crystals meet are not perfectly symmetrical. When the ultrathin membrane bends, those tiny imperfections cause electrical charges to become unevenly distributed, producing a measurable voltage between the membrane’s surfaces.

The researchers subjected the diamond membranes to repeated mechanical tests to ensure the electrical signals weren't simply caused by friction or other environmental effects. The consistent results provided evidence of a genuine piezoelectric response.

The discovery could eventually make diamond useful in places where conventional electronic materials struggle. Because diamond is exceptionally hard, chemically stable and highly biocompatible, flexible diamond membranes could one day help power medical implants and tiny sensors. Instead of relying entirely on conventional batteries, future devices might harvest small amounts of energy from movements such as a heartbeat or muscle contraction.

The technology could also find applications in high-temperature sensors, aerospace equipment, industrial machinery and wearable electronics. Diamond's ability to withstand extreme conditions while simultaneously converting mechanical movement into electrical energy could be particularly valuable in environments where ordinary electronic components deteriorate.

The discovery offers an intriguing reminder that diamond is much more than a symbol of love and enduring beauty. The same material prized for engagement rings and other cherished jewelry may also possess an unexpected talent for turning movement into electricity.

Credit: Fanciful image by The Jeweler Blog using aichatapp.ai.

Welcome to Music Friday, when we bring you awesome songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, British singer-songwriter Andreya Triana turns one of jewelry’s most enduring treasures into a metaphor for the things that make life truly rich. In her soulful 2015 song “Gold,” Triana celebrates the everyday moments, relationships and experiences that shine with a value all their own.



The song’s central message is beautifully simple: What matters most in life isn’t necessarily what looks the most impressive or expensive. Triana uses gold as a metaphor for happiness, gratitude, freedom, music and the small moments that make life meaningful.

She sings, “It all feels like gold, gold to me.”

She describes opening her eyes and seeing “so much beauty,” celebrating a new sense of possibility after difficult times. The song also reflects Triana’s love of music and the joy she finds in singing. Its infectious, layered vocals and rhythmic chant make the message feel less like a philosophical lesson and more like an invitation to join the celebration.

“Gold” was released as the lead single from Triana’s second studio album, Giants, in March of 2015. The album blended soul, electronic music and other influences around Triana’s distinctive voice.

More than four years later, “Gold” found a new audience when Nissan selected it for its 2020 Versa advertising campaign. The “Good Morning, Goodnight” commercial followed a couple whose opposite work schedules leave them crossing paths as one begins the day and the other ends it — a fitting visual companion to a song about finding richness in ordinary life. The campaign began airing in 2019 as part of the launch of the redesigned Versa.

Now 39, Triana’s path to stardom began when she was a child in London. She started singing at age seven, experimenting with harmonies using cassette decks, and by 17 was performing at open-mic nights. Her adventurous musical approach eventually led to an invitation to the Red Bull Music Academy in Australia in 2006. She went on to collaborate with artists including Flying Lotus and Bonobo, whose production helped shape her critically acclaimed 2010 debut album, Lost Where I Belong.

Today, Triana continues to pursue her music independently, balancing creative work with motherhood and developing new material. And, perhaps, that is the enduring appeal of “Gold”: Its definition of wealth has nothing to do with how much something costs. Sometimes the richest moments are simply the ones that make us stop, look around and realize that life is already shining and beautiful.

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

“Gold”
Written by Dee Adam, Alex “Cores” Hayes, Andreya Triana and Hannah Vasanth. Performed by Andreya Triana.

Lord only knows this heart is free
A brand new day is at my feet
Now sing it low, low and sweet
I give it more soul, I give it all of me

It all feels like gold (gold), gold to me (gold)
It might not be diamonds, but it shines for me
It all feels like gold (gold), gold to me (gold)
It ain’t lost in silence, it’s all good to me
Sing it
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, gold
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Simple things that light me up
What a beautiful world, and I see the love
And everything, and everyone
When I’m digging softly
Oh the time will come

It all feels like gold (gold), gold to me (gold)
It might not be diamonds, but it shines for me
It all feels like gold (gold), gold to me (it's gold to me)
It ain’t lost in silence, it’s all good to me
Sing it
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, gold
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Open my eyes, I see there’s so much beauty
There’s so much more then I ever believed
Hard touching the sky when the angels keep fallin'
And it’s all good to me, it’s all good to me

It all feels like gold, gold to me
It might not be diamonds, but it shines for me
It all feels like gold (gold), gold to me (it's gold to me)
It ain’t lost in silence, it’s all good to me
Sing it
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, gold
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

It all feels like gold, gold to me (Yeah, yeah)
It ain’t lost in silence, it’s all good to me (Yeah, yeah, gold)
It all feels like gold, all gold to me (Yeah, yeah)
It ain’t lost in silence, it’s all good to me (Yeah, yeah, gold)
It’s all good to me

All good to me
All good to me
So good to me



Credit: Photo by Paul Hudson from United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Two extraordinary Paraíba-type tourmalines with a remarkable history are headed to the auction block. On September 17, Sotheby’s Hong Kong will offer the Kat Florence “Luminas,” weighing 71.24 and 72.84 carats, respectively — a spectacular set being billed as the largest matched pair of flawless, unheated Paraíba tourmalines ever brought to auction.



Sotheby’s has placed a pre-sale estimate of $382,000 to $510,000 (HK$3 million to HK$4 million) on the pair. The oval gems were cut and fashioned by jewelry designer and artist Kat Florence, who gives the name “Lumina” to exceptional Paraíba-type tourmalines originating from the same remarkable piece of rough.

In 2003, world-famous gem hunter Don Kogen discovered an enormous 830-carat Paraíba tourmaline crystal in the Mavuco district of Mozambique’s Nampula province. Kogen, who is also Florence’s husband and the in-house gem hunter for Kat Florence Atelier, found the crystal during a routine expedition. The intensely saturated neon blue-green stone was notable for its copper-rich composition and extraordinary potential.

Kogen estimated that the huge crystal might one day yield a clean 300-carat gem, an almost mythical prospect in the world of Paraibas, but for more than 20 years the stone lay untouched.

Then in 2025, encouraged by his wife, Kogan agreed to embark on an exacting cutting journey that produced a 315-carat gem. The cut stone was impressive, but not perfect. It displayed “windowing,” an optical effect that can make a gemstone appear flat or see-through instead of allowing its color and brilliance to shine. Rather than accept a compromised result, Florence and her team undertook a painstaking process of analysis and precision recutting.

The effort ultimately produced the 181.61-carat flawless Kat Florence Lumina, which was offered at Bonhams Hong Kong on May 22, 2025, with a pre-sale estimate of HK$3 million to HK$5 million (approximately US$385,000 to $640,000). The remarkable cushion-cut stone ultimately sold for HK$3.814 million, or about US$487,000 including buyer’s premium.

Paraíba tourmalines are among the jewelry world’s most coveted colored gemstones because of their electrifying blue to green hues and exceptional rarity. Their signature color is associated with copper in the crystal’s chemical composition, producing the vivid “neon” appearance that has made fine Paraíba tourmalines legendary among collectors.



The Sotheby’s sale also will feature another extraordinary Kat Florence creation: the largest flawless tanzanite necklace ever to go to auction. Its centerpiece is a spectacular step-cut 424.80-carat tanzanite, fashioned as a royal pendant and surrounded by D-flawless princess- and brilliant-cut diamonds. The necklace carries a pre-sale estimate of HK$2 million to HK$2.8 million (approximately $255,000 to $357,000).

Credits: Photos courtesy of Kat Florence.

Today, the NFL begins another long journey toward Super Bowl glory, and the opening game offers a fitting reminder of where every team ultimately wants to be. Tonight, the defending champion Seattle Seahawks will host the New England Patriots in a rematch of Super Bowl LX, giving both teams their first opportunity to take a step toward another championship — and another piece of championship jewelry.



For Seattle, the goal is a third Super Bowl title. The Seahawks enter the season as defending champions after going 14-3 in the regular season and finishing with 17 total victories, including the playoffs. They capped that run with a 29-13 victory over New England in February.

The Seahawks received their second-ever Super Bowl rings in June, and the elaborate jewelry is almost a championship storybook in miniature. Designed by Jason of Beverly Hills, the ring features 50 brilliant white diamonds surrounding the Seahawks logo, commemorating the franchise's 50th NFL season. Two Lombardi Trophies sit behind the logo, representing Seattle's Super Bowl victories.



The ring's most surprising feature is a tiny 12 flag button. Press it and diamond-covered arches inspired by Lumen Field spring outward to reveal the words “WORLD CHAMPIONS.” The theme of “12” — a tribute to Seattle’s famously passionate fan base, known as “The 12s” or the “12th Man” — appears throughout the design, including 12 jeweled feathers on the underside. The ring's top can even be removed and worn as a pendant, while a hidden piece of game-used football leather is preserved inside. “17 WINS” is engraved within the shank.

For New England, tonight begins the pursuit of a seventh Super Bowl championship. The Patriots' most recent championship ring, awarded in 2019 after their Super Bowl LIII victory over the Los Angeles Rams, remains one of the most spectacular examples of championship jewelry ever created.



Designed by Jostens, the 10-karat-gold ring contains an average of 422 diamonds totaling 8.25 carats, plus 20 blue sapphires weighing 1.60 carats. Six Lombardi Trophies are represented by marquise-cut diamonds surrounded by 123 round diamonds, while another 108 pavé diamonds symbolize the 108 practices held during the championship season.

The Patriots face formidable headwinds in their quest for another ring. Meanwhile, Seattle begins its title defense with expectations tempered by a competitive NFC West. Current preseason rankings place the Los Angeles Rams at or near the top of the Super Bowl field, with Buffalo, Seattle, Philadelphia and Baltimore among the other highly regarded contenders.

Credits: Seahawks ring images courtesy of Jason of Beverly Hills. Patriots ring image courtesy of Jostens.

Imagine a sapphire the size of a large chicken egg, weighing nearly 423 carats and glowing with a rich blue hue touched by the faintest whisper of violet. That is the Logan Sapphire, one of the world’s most spectacular faceted blue sapphires and a dazzling centerpiece of the Smithsonian National Gem Collection. It's also an amazing example of September's birthstone.



Weighing 422.98 carats, the cushion-cut Logan Sapphire is believed to be the third-largest faceted blue sapphire in the world. The only ones larger are the 486.52-carat Blue Giant of the Orient and the 478.68-carat Queen Marie of Romania Sapphire.

The Logan Sapphire’s impressive size is only part of its appeal. The mixed cushion-cut gem is blue with very slight violet overtones and measures roughly 49 by 38 by 21 millimeters. It is mounted in a silver-and-gold brooch surrounded by 20 round brilliant-cut diamonds totaling approximately 16 carats. The piece holds the distinction of being the heaviest mounted gem in the Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection.

The sapphire was cut from a crystal mined in Sri Lanka, historically one of the world’s great sources of fine sapphire. Before reaching America, the gem was owned by Sir Ellice Victor Sassoon, third Baronet of Bombay. The Sassoon family reportedly acquired it from an Indian maharajah, after which Col. M. Robert Guggenheim purchased it.

In late 1952 or early 1953, Guggenheim presented the spectacular brooch to his wife, Rebecca Pollard “Polly” Guggenheim, as a Christmas/anniversary gift. The enormous sapphire might seem like a challenging piece of jewelry to wear, but Polly apparently embraced its grand scale. When asked whether her 422.98-carat sapphire brooch was perhaps too large to wear, she reportedly replied, “I thought so too until I owned it.”

Polly donated the sapphire to the Smithsonian in December 1960, although she retained possession of it for another decade. In April 1971, she sent the brooch to Washington, DC, and formally presented it to Smithsonian curator Paul Desautels for public exhibition on June 22. By then, Polly had married John A. Logan, providing the name by which the famous gemstone is known today.

A 1997 Gemological Institute of America report determined that its color is natural and found no evidence of heat treatment. Under longwave ultraviolet light, the sapphire exhibits moderate reddish-orange fluorescence.

Like all sapphires, the Logan is a variety of corundum. Trace elements introduced naturally into the crystal structure give the gemstone its color, with iron and titanium contributing to the blue hues. Its Sri Lankan origin places it among the celebrated “Ceylon” sapphires prized by collectors.

Sapphires are seen in many colors, including pink, purple, green, orange and yellow. Ruby is the red variety of corundum.

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

Welcome to Music Friday, when we bring you fun songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, country music legend Don Williams tells a sweet story about a boy, a girl, a toy ring and a teenage crush that blossoms into lifelong love. In “Cracker Jack Diamond,” a prize from a box of caramel corn becomes the first symbol of a romance that eventually leads to a genuine diamond engagement ring.



The song, written by Ronny Scaife and Neil Thrasher, begins with a 14-year-old boy spending the summer mowing lawns for extra money. His luck changes when he comes across a house with tall weeds and a girl sitting on the porch eating ice cream. Instantly smitten, he reaches into his grass-stained jeans and finds some leftover caramel corn and a plastic ring that had been a prize in the box.

He gives the ring to the girl, and the friendship begins to evolve into something much deeper. Five years later, the boy is 19 and has been saving his money. He returns with enough for a preacher and a real diamond ring, takes his sweetheart back to that same porch and asks her to marry him.

That transformation is the heart of the song’s jewelry metaphor. The first ring has little monetary value, but it represents the moment when two young people discovered each other. The diamond that follows symbolizes their eternal love and unbreakable commitment.

The story then jumps ahead, imagining the couple in later life. The woman still brings out the old toy ring once a year. It no longer fits, but she keeps it because its sentimental value is priceless. The little ring is where their story began.

Williams was the perfect storyteller for such a gentle tale. Known as the “Gentle Giant” for his towering stature and warm bass-baritone, he built a career around understated performances that made everyday stories feel profound.

Born in Texas in 1939, he co-founded the folk-pop group the Pozo-Seco Singers before launching his solo career in 1971. Over six decades, he scored 17 #1 country hits, including “Tulsa Time,” “You’re My Best Friend” and “Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good.” He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010 and retired from touring in 2016. He died in 2017 at age 78.

Williams was the first to record “Cracker Jack Diamond.” The song appeared on his 1998 album I Turn the Page, which was released in October of that year.

Marty Raybon later recorded the song, giving it another life on his self-titled solo album.

(Since 1912, Cracker Jack fans, young and old, have been excited to find a prize buried in their box of caramel corn. Over time, these prizes have included plastic figurines, booklets, stickers, temporary tattoos and… rings.)

Please check out the audio track of Williams’s performance of “Cracker Jack Diamond.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Cracker Jack Diamond”
Written by Ronny Scaife and Neil Thrasher. Performed by Don Williams.

Well he spent that summer walkin’ door to door
With a can of gas and an ol’ lawn mower
That’s a sure fire way to make a buck when you’re 14

Well he made a block with no luck at all
Then he spotted a place where the weeds were tall
With a young girl sitting on the front porch eatin’ ice cream

Deep in the pocket of his grass stained jeans
Was some caramel corn and a plastic ring
Leftover from the week before
Momma didn’t wash them, thank the lord

Just like a Cracker Jack Diamond,
You never know when your gonna find one
They found love from that day on
The hand of fate put them together,
Their hearts will stay forever young
Like a Cracker Jack Diamond

Well it’s been five years since he gave her his prize
Now the sparkle’s gone, but not in their eyes
And he’s wanting to tell her what’s been on his mind lately

He said, "Girl I ain’t rich but I’ve been saving up
A little ever day ’til I had enough"
Before he could finished she said, "You know I will, baby."

Deep in the pocket of his holey jeans
Was money for the preacher and a diamond ring
He took her back to that old front porch
Slipped it on her finger and he thanked the Lord

Just like a Cracker Jack Diamond,
You never know when your gonna find one
They found love from that day on
The hand of fate put them together,
Their hearts will stay forever young
Like a Cracker Jack Diamond

Now, once a year she takes it out but it don’t fit her hand
But she wears it in her heart
That’s where it all began

Just like a Cracker Jack Diamond,
You never know when your gonna find one
They found love from that day on
The hand of fate put them together,
Their hearts will stay forever young
Like a Cracker Jack Diamond



Credit: Screen capture via YouTube / Don Williams.

A diamond that spent decades hidden from public view is finally stepping into the light. The legendary 137-carat "Florentine Diamond," once part of the Austrian Crown Jewels and believed lost for nearly a century, is now the star attraction of a remarkable new exhibition in Québec City.



“Hidden Treasure: A Century of Mystery,” which opened September 4th at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ), presents 15 historic jewels connected to the Habsburg family, along with other artifacts that help tell the extraordinary story of how the treasure was spirited out of war-torn Europe and secretly preserved in Canada.

The exhibition’s centerpiece is the Florentine, a pale yellow diamond weighing 137.27 carats. Its unusual nine-sided double-rosette cut features 126 facets, including a second layer of facets on the underside that enhances the gem’s brilliance. Historical records once described its color as “wine mixed tenfold with water.” Its story stretches back centuries, beginning with the Medici dynasty in Florence before the diamond passed into Habsburg hands and became part of the Austrian Crown Jewels.

The diamond disappeared from public view following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, but the gem was actually still very much in the Habsburg family.

Empress Zita, wife of Emperor Charles I, carried the diamond and other family jewels with her when she fled Europe during World War II. After arriving in North America in 1940, the family eventually settled in Québec, where the jewels were placed in a Canadian bank vault. Zita reportedly instructed her sons to keep the location of the Florentine secret for 100 years following Emperor Charles’ death in 1922.



For generations, only a handful of family members knew where the legendary gem was hidden. In 2025, Habsburg descendants finally revealed that the diamond had survived — safely tucked away in Canada.



Now visitors can see not only the Florentine, but also 14 additional Habsburg jewels. Among the highlights are an 18th-century insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece and a jeweled pocketwatch from the trousseau of Marie Antoinette. The exhibition also includes the actual suitcase that protected the jewels for decades.



The exhibition is organized as a three-part journey, moving from the Habsburg dynasty and its years of exile to the family’s connection with Québec and, ultimately, the dramatic unveiling of the jewels themselves.



“The city of Québec offered my family safety, respect and hope during a time of great uncertainty,” said Empress Zita’s grandson Karl von Habsburg. “Showing these jewels at the Musée is an expression of profound gratitude to Québec and Canada.”

The exhibition is on view at the MNBAQ in Québec City, with reservations required.

Credits: Photos of Florentine Diamond, tourmaline Insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece, yellow sapphire hat pin, diamond hat pin, emerald-and-diamond watch, Marie Antoinette's pocketwatch, and suitcase courtesy of Saint Joseph Trust, photo by MNBAQ, Louis Hébert.

For Denise Rivera, a breezy open-air meal overlooking the Hudson River turned into a jewelry nightmare when her engagement ring slipped from her finger, rolled across the restaurant dock and disappeared into the murky water below. But thanks to a remarkable team of volunteer student divers, the sentimental treasure was back on her finger less than 24 hours later.



Rivera was dining with her sister and brother-in-law at Billy Joe’s Ribworks in Newburgh, NY, when she moved the ring down her finger to relieve an irritation. In an instant, it was gone.



“It just slipped off,” Rivera told News 12. “It rolled off the table, rolled on the floor and then off the dock and into the water. And my heart dropped.”



The ring was particularly meaningful. Rivera and her fiancé, Alfred Gonzalez, had reconnected through a mutual friend earlier this year after discovering that they had attended middle school together in Queens. Gonzalez proposed in May.

Rivera thought the ring might be gone for good, but there was an extraordinary stroke of luck: A group from the nearby Hudson Valley Commercial Diving Training Center happened to be eating at Billy Joe’s that evening. After hearing about the mishap, school owner and dive instructor Christian Dougherty offered to help.

“I run an underwater welding school right next door to Billy Joe’s,” Dougherty recalled telling Rivera in an interview with ABC 7 News. “We’re in the Hudson River every day. We’ll go find it for you.”

The next morning, six student divers met Rivera at the restaurant. They reviewed the restaurant's security video to determine exactly where the ring had entered the water before beginning their search.

The conditions were daunting. The Hudson was approximately 12 to 15 feet deep beneath the dock, with virtually zero visibility. The divers couldn't see their hands, much less a tiny piece of jewelry. Instead, they had to feel their way through the mud and debris covering the river bottom.

After roughly two hours — and four 40-minute dives — the divers still hadn't found the ring. Rather than give up, they changed tactics. They began scooping buckets of silt, mud and debris from the riverbed and inspected the contents on the shore.

The first bucket came up empty. The second produced a miracle.

“Believe it or not, it was the second bucket,” Dougherty told News 12.

When the ring emerged from the muck, Rivera was overwhelmed.



“I couldn’t believe it when he showed me the ring and I immediately put it on,” she told ABC 7 News. “I didn’t care [that] it wasn’t clean. I just put it right back on.” She also vowed to never take it off again.

Restaurant owner Jonathan Gatsik told News 12 that Rivera isn't the first customer to lose a wedding ring from the dock — it has happened three times, and all three rings have been recovered.

“These amazing guys found it for us,” Gatsik said. “We’re really happy about that. Only happy endings at Billy Joe’s.”

Rivera was so grateful that she plans to invite the divers to her wedding.

“They were just angels there at the right place and the right time,” she told News 12. “They came to help. No questions asked.”

Credits: Screen captures via abc7ny.com.

A spectacular 8.41-carat pink diamond with a vivid purple overtone is poised to become the star of Christie’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels Autumn Auction on November 24, where it carries a presale estimate of up to HKD 95 million ($12 million).



The pear modified brilliant-cut diamond is graded Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink — the Gemological Institute of America’s highest and most vibrant color intensity designation for this category — and belongs to the exceptionally rare Type IIa classification. Type IIa diamonds are prized for their chemical purity and exceptional optical transparency.

The diamond’s captivating color combination is its biggest attraction. Purple-pink diamonds are among the most coveted of nature’s colored gemstones, and specimens with intense, saturated color become dramatically rarer as their size increases. The 8.41-carat centerpiece is surrounded by round and lozenge-shaped diamonds in an elegant, dimensional ring setting.

Christie’s has particular bragging rights when it comes to this unusual color. In May 2021, the auction house sold the 15.81-carat Sakura Diamond for $29.3 million in Hong Kong. Graded Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink, Internally Flawless and Type IIa, the Sakura remains the most valuable Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink diamond ever sold at auction.

The all-time auction record for a pink diamond, however, belongs to the legendary 59.60-carat Pink Star. The Fancy Vivid Pink, Internally Flawless diamond realized $71.2 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2017. Purchased by Hong Kong jeweler Chow Tai Fook, it was subsequently renamed the CTF Pink Star. The sale established a world auction record for any gemstone.

The rarity of exceptional pink diamonds has become even more apparent since Australia’s Argyle mine, historically the world’s most important source of pink diamonds, ceased operations in 2020. According to Christie’s, fewer than 10% of pink diamonds weigh more than one-fifth of a carat, while only about 4% achieve the Fancy Vivid color grade.



Adding another dose of gemstone glamour to Christie's November sale is a spectacular Cartier ruby-and-diamond brooch featuring a 10.10-carat Burmese ruby. The ruby displays the highly prized “pigeon blood red” color and shows no indications of heating — a combination that makes an untreated Burmese ruby of this size exceptionally rare.

Dating to Cartier’s pioneering platinum period in the early 20th century, the brooch frames its crimson centerpiece with triangular and square-cut diamonds in a bold, geometric design. It carries an estimate of up to HKD 60 million ($7.7 million).

Jewelry lovers will have several opportunities to see the featured jewels before the Hong Kong sale. Christie’s plans previews in Taipei, Bangkok, Beijing, Geneva, Shanghai and Hong Kong beginning in mid-October.

Credits: Images courtesy of Christie's.

For nearly 50 years, Ring Pop has been making childhood memories one candy-coated “gem” at a time. Now the iconic wearable treat is growing up with the launch of its first-ever Wedding Collection, created in collaboration with celebrity wedding and event planner Mindy Weiss.



Launched September 15, the new collection gives the familiar candy ring an elegant bridal makeover. The jewel-inspired pops are set on sleek pearl-white bands and arrive in sophisticated ivory-and-gold packaging designed to look right at home alongside wedding stationery, favors and décor.



The collection features three lighter-toned versions of Ring Pop’s best-selling flavors: “First Kiss” Watermelon, “Main Squeeze” Citrus and “Berry in Love” Strawberry. The softer hues aren't just a style choice. They are designed to be camera-friendly, with lighter candy colors that won't leave stains on teeth — an especially welcome detail when every smile may end up in a wedding photo.

Adding another layer of personality, each individually wrapped Ring Pop features an occasion-ready message, including “Love Is Sweet,” “Off the Market,” “Pop the Question,” “I’m Yours,” “Love Story,” “Ring it On” and “I Said Yes.”

The idea is to make the candy part of the entire wedding journey, not just the big day. The Wedding Collection can turn up at engagement parties and bridal showers, bachelorette weekends, wedding welcome bags, dessert tables and reception favor displays — or serve as a playful recovery-kit treat the morning after.



With more than 30 years of experience planning high-profile events, Weiss has established herself as one of the most recognizable names in celebrity weddings and celebrations. Her A-list clients have included Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Heidi Klum, the Kardashian-Jenner family, and Justin and Hailey Bieber. She is also the bestselling author of The Wedding Book.

“Ring Pop already had that magic,” Weiss said in the launch announcement. “My job was simply to give it the packaging, the polish and the occasions it deserved.”

The collaboration may seem like a natural evolution for a candy that has long been associated with romance. Introduced in 1977, Ring Pop was created as a way to turn a lollipop into a wearable piece of candy. Its gem-shaped design, colorful appearance and novelty ring band soon transformed it from a simple sweet into a cultural icon, appearing at birthday parties, concerts and celebrations of all kinds.

Over the years, couples have also embraced Ring Pop for proposals, bridal showers and other wedding festivities on their own. The new collection simply makes that connection official — and gives the nostalgic candy a decidedly more polished place in the jewelry-inspired world of weddings.

The Ring Pop Wedding Collection is available through David’s Bridal and online retailers including Amazon, with a broader nationwide retail rollout planned for early 2027.

Credits: Images courtesy of Bazooka Brands.

Welcome to Music Friday, when we bring you great songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Sting and The Police take us on a darkly hypnotic journey involving a band of gold, Greek mythology and a control-hungry master whose apprentice ultimately turns the tables.



In “Wrapped Around Your Finger” the jewelry connection arrives immediately. Sting sings about being “hypnotized” while staring at the ring around his master’s finger. Later, he sees a destiny that was supposedly sold transformed into a “shining band of gold.” The precious metal traditionally associated with wealth, permanence and commitment takes on a new meaning here — a glittering symbol of a bargain in which the apprentice has surrendered his freedom in exchange for knowledge.

The narrator’s predicament becomes even more perilous when Sting compares himself to sailors caught between Scylla and Charybdis, who, in Greek mythology, were once beautiful maidens, but were turned into horrific monsters. Scylla was a multi-headed sea monster and Charybdis a deadly whirlpool, positioned on opposite sides of a narrow strait. Sailors attempting to navigate between them faced danger whichever way they turned.

Sting layers that mythology with references to Faust and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, creating a story about an inexperienced student serving a mysterious, almost devilish master. He later described the song as “vaguely alchemical,” explaining that it was inspired in part by a professional psychic who was his tarot tutor, with elements of Doctor Faustus (whose main character makes a tragic deal with the devil) and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (whose main character mistakenly believes he is equal to his master) mixed in.

But the apprentice is learning more than magic. By the song’s conclusion, the relationship’s power dynamic has been completely reversed. The promise of being “wrapped around your finger” becomes the declaration that the master will be “wrapped around my finger.” The ring and finger that once represented control now symbolize the apprentice’s newfound mastery.

Some music critics have interpreted the relationship described in the song as being between a young man and his controlling lover.

“Wrapped Around Your Finger” appeared on The Police’s blockbuster 1983 album Synchronicity, the British trio’s fifth and final studio album. In the United States, it was released as the album’s fourth single and climbed to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner in England in 1951, Sting became the lead singer, bassist and principal songwriter of The Police before launching his solo career in 1985. With The Police and as a solo artist, he has become one of the world’s most successful recording artists, earning 17 Grammy Awards (six with The Police and 11 as a solo artist).

Synchronicity became The Police’s biggest commercial success, topping the US and UK charts and selling more than eight million copies in the United States. It earned five Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year, and won three awards at the 1984 ceremony. The album was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

More than four decades later, Sting is still at the top of his game. His current STING 3.0 World Tour features longtime guitarist Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas, with North American dates continuing into fall 2026. “Wrapped Around Your Finger” remains part of the live repertoire.

Please check out the video of Sting and The Police's live performance of “Wrapped Around Your Finger” in 2007 at River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Wrapped Around Your Finger”
Written by Sting. Performed by The Police.

You consider me the young apprentice
Caught between the Scylla and Charybdis
Hypnotized by you if I should linger
Staring at the ring around your finger.

I have only come here seeking knowledge,
Things they would not teach me of in college.
I can see the destiny you sold
Turned into a shining band of gold.
>
So, I’ll be wrapped around your finger.
So, I’ll be wrapped around your finger
I’ll be wrapped around your finger.

Mephistopheles is not your name
I know what you’re up to just the same
I will listen hard to your tuition,
And you will see it come to its fruition
So, I’ll be wrapped around your finger
Yes, and I’ll be wrapped around your finger
So, I’ll be wrapped around your finger.

Devil and the deep blue sea behind me,
Vanish in the air you’ll never find me.
I will turn your face to alabaster,
When you’ll find your servant is your master.

You’ll be wrapped around my finger
And, you’ll be wrapped around my finger
Yes, and you’ll be wrapped around my finger.



Credit: Photo (cropped) by Nikita, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A diamond shape inspired by a woman’s lips makes for a great royal love story. But the woman at the center of the marquise-cut diamond’s origin story deserves far more than a footnote as King Louis XV’s mistress. Madame de Pompadour was one of the most influential women at the French court — and her relationship with the king continued to shape royal affairs long after their romance ended.



The legend of the marquise diamond dates to about 1745, when Louis XV supposedly commissioned his jeweler to create a diamond resembling the lips of Jean-Antoinette Poisson, the woman who would become the Marquise de Pompadour. The two reportedly met at a masked ball at Versailles, where the king was captivated by her beauty.



He soon made her his official chief mistress and, later that year, bestowed upon her the title Marquise de Pompadour. The elongated outline of the marquise-cut diamond was also known as the navette, or “little ship” in French, a reference to its boat-like silhouette.

The romantic relationship between Louis XV and Pompadour would last about five years, but for the next 14 years, until her death in 1764 at age 42, she retained his trust and became a powerful political confidante, court insider and influential patron of French culture.

She used her position to champion the arts and architecture. She supported artists including French painter François Boucher, helped establish the royal porcelain manufactory at Sèvres and encouraged projects that reflected the elegant Rococo style associated with the era.

She also supported Enlightenment thinkers and writers, helping make the royal court an important center of intellectual and artistic life. Her influence reached well beyond her personal relationship with Louis XV, making her one of the defining cultural figures of 18th-century France.

That legacy makes the marquise diamond’s origin story considerably deeper and more nuanced than a royal sweetheart inspiring a pretty gemstone shape.

And the shape itself remains distinctive nearly three centuries later. A modern marquise is an elongated brilliant-style diamond with curved sides and two pointed ends, typically featuring 58 facets. Its proportions and faceting have evolved considerably since the 18th century as cutters developed a better understanding of symmetry and light performance.

The shape offers a clever visual advantage, too. Because much of the diamond's weight is spread across its elongated outline, a marquise can appear larger face-up than a round diamond of the same carat weight. Its north-south orientation can also create the illusion of longer, more slender fingers.

Symmetry is especially important when choosing a marquise-cut diamond. Uneven curves or misaligned points can be obvious, while a pronounced “bow-tie” — a darker area across the center — can negatively affect its appearance. The pointed tips are also vulnerable to chipping, making protective settings, such as V-prongs, a smart choice.

Today, designers are giving the classic shape a fresh spin by setting marquise diamonds east-west, with the points extending across the finger. Celebrities have embraced both traditional and contemporary versions, including Victoria Beckham, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Portia de Rossi and Selena Gomez.

So while the marquise may have been born from a royal legend about a beautiful pair of lips, its enduring appeal owes something to a far more powerful legacy: the extraordinary woman whose name it carries.

Credits: Photo of 28.3-carat marquise-cut diamond by Chip Clark / Smithsonian and digitally enhanced by SquareMoose. Image of the Marquise de Pompadour by Charles André van Loo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Forget metal detectors and drilling rigs. Some of the best clues about what lies beneath the earth’s surface are being delivered by creatures that weigh only a fraction of an ounce.



Termites are helping geologists search for buried gold and other valuable minerals by doing something they have been doing for millions of years: digging. In parts of Africa and Australia, these industrious insects can excavate deep into the ground in search of moisture and material for their nests. Depending on the species and environment, termites can reach surprisingly deep layers of soil and rock, sometimes tens of meters below the surface.



As they tunnel and build, termites bring particles from those deeper layers back to the surface and incorporate them into their mounds. The material can contain tiny chemical traces — a kind of underground fingerprint — associated with mineral deposits hidden below. To a termite, it is simply building material. To a geologist, it can be a valuable sample of what lies beneath.

That makes termite mounds a natural form of geological sampling. Exploration companies can collect small amounts of mound soil and have laboratories analyze its chemical composition. Elevated levels of gold or other elements can indicate that a potentially valuable mineralized zone lies somewhere beneath or nearby. Geologists can then use those clues to determine where expensive exploratory drilling and other machinery should be deployed.

The approach has been scientifically tested for more than a decade. Research by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) found elevated concentrations of gold in termite mounds above known gold deposits in Western Australia. The research showed that even relatively small mounds could provide useful clues about mineralization several meters underground.

More recent studies have broadened and strengthened the case. A 2023 study of "Macrotermes falciger" termite mounds in the Democratic Republic of Congo found that mound material reflected characteristics of the underlying geological formations and concentrated metals including copper, cobalt, nickel, lead and zinc in fine particles. The researchers concluded that termite mounds can provide useful information about subsurface geological anomalies for mineral exploration.

The method is appealing because it can help explorers narrow a search area before bringing in costly equipment. It also requires collecting samples from existing mounds rather than extensively disturbing the landscape.

It turns out that some of nature's best prospectors don't earn a paycheck and aren't required to wear a hard hat.

Credits: Fanciful image by The Jeweler Blog using aichatapp.ai. Termite mound photo by Oratile Leipego, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Imagine an iceberg floating in an ocean — except the iceberg is diamond, the ocean is liquid carbon, and the whole scene is unfolding deep inside a planet billions of miles away. A new experiment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is giving scientists a better understanding of how such a bizarre landscape could exist inside ice giants such as Uranus and Neptune.



The study, published in Nature Physics, found that diamond melts under extreme pressure at the toasty temperature of 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit (700 degrees Celsius), but much lower than previous experimental estimates. Using powerful ultraviolet lasers, researchers compressed tiny diamond samples to pressures greater than those found at the centers of Uranus and Neptune and temperatures hotter than the surface of the Sun.

The breakthrough helps resolve a two-decade-old disagreement between laboratory experiments and computer simulations about diamond's melting point. It also confirms something particularly strange about diamond: under these extraordinary conditions, liquid carbon is denser than solid diamond.

That means a chunk of solid diamond could float in a sea of molten carbon — much like an ice cube floats in water. LLNL researchers have dubbed these hypothetical floating chunks “diamond bergs.”

The finding adds an intriguing new dimension to the long-standing “diamond rain” theory. Scientists believe the enormous pressure and heat deep inside Uranus and Neptune can break apart methane and other carbon-containing molecules, allowing carbon to crystallize into diamonds. The crystals would then sink deeper into the planet, creating a spectacular form of precipitation that never reaches a surface.

The new melting temperature estimates suggest that as those diamonds descend into increasingly hotter regions, they could eventually encounter conditions where the surrounding carbon becomes liquid. Because the liquid is denser, some solid diamond could theoretically remain suspended or float within it.

The result could be less like diamonds simply raining toward a planetary core and more like a strange, deep planetary ocean containing floating chunks of diamond. The latest experiment doesn't prove that diamond bergs are actually present inside Uranus or Neptune, but it gives planetary scientists a much stronger physical basis for modeling that possibility.

But how can diamond melt without burning? The answer is oxygen. Burning and melting are two entirely different processes. On Earth, a diamond heated to sufficiently high temperatures in the presence of oxygen can combust, reacting chemically with oxygen rather than turning into a puddle of liquid carbon.

Deep inside an ice giant planet, however, there is no ordinary atmosphere surrounding the diamond. Under tremendous pressure and extraordinary heat, the carbon crystal instead reaches the point where its tightly organized atomic structure can no longer remain solid. It changes phase and becomes liquid carbon.

Credit: Image by The Jeweler Blog using aichatapp.ai.

Holiday shopping could be especially merry this year — and increasingly powered by artificial intelligence. The Mastercard Economics Institute (MEI) is forecasting a 5.5% year-over-year increase in US retail sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, from November 1 through Christmas Eve. That would make 2026 the strongest holiday season for spending growth since 2022.



Online sales are expected to grow 11%, while in-store sales are forecast to rise 3.6%, suggesting that shoppers will continue moving comfortably between digital discovery and traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Mastercard says consumers enter the season with solid purchasing power, supported by a strong job market, wage growth and rising household wealth. About half of the projected increase in spending, however, is expected to reflect higher prices.

One of Mastercard's most interesting findings involves the growing influence of AI in retail purchasing decisions. Using aggregated and anonymized data, MEI compared spending by “AI power users” — consumers with paid AI subscriptions — with shoppers who don't use paid AI services.

Michelle Meyer, Mastercard Economics Institute chief economist, described these shoppers as “a lot more nimble” when discussing the findings on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street on September 23.

“We were able to have a unique lens to understand how consumers that use AI spend differently, and frankly, in some ways are just a lot more nimble,” Meyer said. She added that this flexibility can help consumers navigate an environment in which prices have increased.

The difference could be especially meaningful as we approach the holiday season. In 2025, AI power users spent a larger share of their holiday dollars before Thanksgiving than non-AI users, particularly on travel, clothing and jewelry. They also shopped at a broader range of merchants, including smaller and boutique businesses.

For jewelry shoppers, that could mean using AI to compare styles, retailers and prices, discover independent jewelers or research an engagement ring well before the traditional holiday shopping rush. Meyer said AI power users frequent a wider range of merchants, creating “an incredible market for those consumers, especially in a world where you are trying to find the best value.”

The next step is agentic commerce, in which AI agents can go beyond making recommendations. They can research products, compare options and potentially initiate or complete purchases with little manual intervention. Mastercard has separately projected that more than 300 million online shoppers globally could routinely use AI agents to shop and pay by 2030.

The company also provided some eye-opening facts about last-minute shoppers. Mastercard found that during the 2025 holiday season, more than 35% of in-store spending in jewelry, handbags, department stores and cosmetics between November 22 and Christmas Day occurred during the final week before Christmas. Across online and in-store purchases in those categories, average purchase values rose each day beginning December 15 and peaked on Christmas Eve.

Credit: Image by The Jeweler Blog using aichatapp.ai.

Welcome to Music Friday, when we celebrate songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, we're revisiting one of the Beatles' most exuberant expressions of young love: “I Feel Fine,” a 1964 chart-topper in which diamond rings become sparkling symbols of affection, generosity and a relationship that makes both partners really happy.



Written primarily by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon-McCartney songwriting team, “I Feel Fine” captures the blissful simplicity of being in love. Lennon sings about a woman who is good to him, openly tells him she loves him and proudly shares that happiness with everyone around her. In return, he is thrilled by her affection and repeatedly declares, “I feel fine.”

The jewelry connection arrives when she tells the world that her “baby” buys her things — including diamond rings. Within the song's romantic storyline, the diamond rings are tangible expressions of how deeply the couple cares for each other. She is proud to tell everyone that he spoils her, and her happiness reinforces his own. Their love is reciprocal, openly celebrated and, quite simply, something that makes him feel great.

“I Feel Fine” was released in November 1964 as the A-side of the Beatles' eighth British single. In the US, the song appeared on the December 1964 album Beatles ’65. The single raced to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, while also topping charts in Britain and several other countries.

The song arrived during an extraordinary period for the Fab Four. After their American television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964, Beatlemania exploded across the United States. At one point that year, The Beatles occupied all five positions at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, with 14 songs simultaneously in the Top 100.

Their rise ultimately produced sales on a staggering scale: Apple, the Beatles' company, reported that their catalog had sold more than 600 million records, tapes and CDs worldwide.

“I Feel Fine” also made recording history with the strange, buzzing note that opens the song. During a studio session, Lennon leaned his semi-acoustic Gibson guitar against Paul McCartney's bass amplifier. When McCartney played a low note on his bass, the guitar picked up the sound and produced an unexpected burst of feedback. Instead of dismissing it as a studio mistake, the Beatles and producer George Martin liked what they heard and decided to edit the feedback onto the beginning of the finished recording.

Lennon later proudly claimed the innovation as the Beatles' first recorded use of feedback, well before the technique became a defining sound of rock guitar.

And “I Feel Fine” wasn't confined to records and radio. On August 14, 1965, the Beatles taped their fourth and final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. When the episode aired on September 12, the band performed “I Feel Fine” along with “I'm Down,” “Act Naturally,” “Ticket to Ride,” “Help!” and “Yesterday.”

We invite you to enjoy the audio track of the Beatles performing “I Feel Fine.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along. And don’t forget to listen for the feedback effect that starts the song.

“I Feel Fine”
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Performed by the Beatles.

Baby’s good to me, you know
She’s happy as can be, you know
She said so
I’m in love with her and I feel fine

Baby says she’s mine, you know
She tells me all the time, you know
She said so
I’m in love with her and I feel fine

I’m so glad that she’s my little girl
She’s so glad, she’s telling all the world

That her baby buys her things, you know
He buys her diamond rings, you know
She said so
She’s in love with me and I feel fine, mmm

Baby says she’s mine, you know
She tells me all the time, you know
She said so
I’m in love with her and I feel fine

I’m so glad that she’s my little girl
She’s so glad, she’s telling all the world

That her baby buys her things, you know
He buys her diamond rings, you know
She said so
She’s in love with me and I feel fine
She’s in love with me and I feel fine, mmm, mmm



Credit: Photo by Dezo Hoffmann, Distributed by Capitol Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Metal detector enthusiast Kalle Lappinen got the kind of signal hobbyists dream about while treasure hunting near the village center of Sysmä, Finland, earlier this month. Beneath the soil was a Viking Age hoard containing thousands of silver coins and jewelry — a remarkable bounty weighing about 10 pounds and now recognized as the largest of its kind ever found in Finland.



Sysmä is about 105 miles northeast of Helsinki, and Lappinen was searching in an area he knew well when his detector delivered an extraordinary signal. As he began digging, his handheld probe “roared,” he told The New York Times.

“With the fury of a monkey, I dug through the soil, bottom moraine and cobblestones,” Lappinen recalled. About 18 inches below the surface, he uncovered what he described as “a pile of coins.”

After he had “recovered from the adrenaline rush,” he reported the discovery to authorities.

Then came an astonishing encore.

Not far from the first find, Lappinen’s detector sounded again. He dug a second hole and discovered another concentration of silver. Archaeologists from Lahti City Museums arrived the following day and recovered the artifacts under the direction of archaeologist Esko Tikkala.

The treasure is actually a kind of “double hoard.” The silver had been divided between two birch-bark containers buried about 12 meters, or 39 feet, apart.

The collection includes thousands of silver coins, plus a fragment of hacksilver — silver used as a form of payment — a silver bracelet, a silver fitting or mount, and a silver bead. The coins alone weigh approximately 4.5 kilograms, or nearly 10 pounds. Because the coins have not yet been cleaned, separated or counted, researchers have not established their exact number, although estimates put the total at more than 4,000.

The coins are preliminarily dated to between AD 1000-1050, placing the hoard near the end of the Viking Age. The collection also reflects the remarkably far-reaching silver economy of the era, with coins originating from areas that are now Sweden, Britain and Germany, along with Islamic dirhams from regions that are now part of Turkey and Iran.

The discovery easily surpasses Finland’s previous record, a hoard found at Nousiainen in 1895 containing approximately 1,700 coins and other objects weighing about 2.2 kilograms.

Why someone buried so much silver — and never returned for it — remains a mystery. It may have been a merchant’s savings or wealth hidden for safekeeping during a turbulent period.

Lappinen will likely receive substantial compensation for his record-breaking discovery.

For items made of precious metals, the Finnish Heritage Agency sets a statutory redemption price equal to at least the current market value of the raw metal plus a 25% bonus.

Credit: Photo by Esko Tikkala, courtesy of Lahti City Museums.

The Carolina Hurricanes are celebrating their second Stanley Cup victory with a championship ring that turns an unforgettable hockey season into a dazzling piece of fine jewelry that's loaded with surprises. Unveiled September 27 at a private ceremony in Raleigh, NC, the white-gold ring was designed and created by Jason of Beverly Hills in collaboration with Hurricanes' leadership and features nearly 900 individually set diamonds and natural red rubies.



At the center of the ring’s face, the Carolina Hurricanes logo is rendered in round white diamonds and positioned atop a diamond-encrusted Stanley Cup trophy. A field of custom-cut red rubies provides a dramatic backdrop, while the words “STANLEY CUP” and “CHAMPIONS” frame the design in diamonds.

Sixty-six natural red rubies encircle the ring's perimeter, representing the 66 goals Carolina scored during its playoff run. A sculpted rope motif wraps around the ring as a symbol of teamwork, unity and shared responsibility. The design was inspired by a Hurricanes locker-room tradition in which players were reminded that everyone on the team was “pulling on the same rope.”



One side commemorates the 2026 championship with 53 points of diamonds spelling out “2026,” representing Carolina’s 53 regular-season victories. The phrase “STRESS GAME” appears nearby, capturing the Hurricanes’ relentless style of play built around pace, pressure and constant attack. The opposite side is personalized for each player, featuring the player’s name, jersey number and Hurricanes logotype.



Inside the shank, the ring records the team’s 16-3 postseason journey, including the result of every playoff series. Each player’s signature is also engraved along the bottom of the ring, making every ring a uniquely personal keepsake.

But perhaps the most delightful surprises are hidden inside.



A removable championship puck pendant rests within the ring. Engraved with the Stanley Cup and personalized with the player’s number, the miniature puck can be removed and worn separately. Once it is lifted out, a hidden image of Stormy, the Hurricanes mascot, is revealed. Stormy is circled with rubies and diamonds.



The puck also uncovers another distinctly Carolina detail: the North Carolina state flag sits beneath the ring top, surrounded by 42 white diamonds representing the 42 goals scored during the Eastern Conference Final and Stanley Cup Final. The flag is encircled by the players’ jersey numbers as a tribute to the team’s “Storm Surge” victory celebration.

Additional ruby details inside include 69 points of natural red rubies commemorating the team’s combined regular-season and postseason victories.

“Every detail reflects the character of this team, from the way we played to the people who made this season unforgettable,” Hurricanes General Manager Eric Tulsky said.

Credit: Images courtesy of Jason of Beverly Hills.

It may look like a colorful slice of agate, but Fordite has a surprisingly industrial origin. Also known as Detroit agate, Motor City agate or paint rock, this eye-catching material is actually made from layers of hardened automotive paint salvaged from the factories where American cars were once manufactured.



Fordite isn't a gemstone or mineral in the geological sense. Instead, it is an accidental byproduct of an earlier era of automobile production — one that has been cut, polished and transformed into colorful cabochons for rings, pendants, earrings and other jewelry.



The story begins on the automotive assembly lines of the 20th century. When car bodies were painted by hand, overspray accumulated on the tracks, racks and skids that carried the vehicles through the factory. The paint-covered equipment then traveled with the cars into industrial ovens, where the paint was baked and hardened.

Then came another car, another color and another trip through the oven.



Repeated thousands of times, those layers eventually formed thick slabs of intensely cured paint. According to the Gemological Institute of America, one-inch-thick Fordite can contain approximately 997 layers of paint. Eventually, the buildup became too thick or obstructive and had to be removed. Some enterprising factory workers recognized that the discarded material revealed extraordinary patterns when cut and polished — and began saving it.



The resulting material can look remarkably geological. Waves, stripes, swirls and intricate bands of color mimic the patterns found in natural agate, while the particular colors can offer clues to the era and factory where the material originated. Fordite collected from the 1960s and 1970s is especially prized for its bold colors, reflecting the bright automotive finishes popular during those decades.

And Fordite isn't exclusively from Ford factories. The name has become a general term for automotive paint slag from various manufacturing plants. Material from the Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green, KY, for example, is sometimes called “corvetteite.”

For jewelry designers, every piece presents a little bit of automotive history in wearable form. A cutter can slice through the layers to reveal a particular pattern, then shape and polish the material into a lightweight cabochon. Because the layers vary from one piece to another, no two Fordite specimens look exactly alike.

There is also a finite-supply story behind the material. Modern automotive factories use electrostatic painting techniques that dramatically reduce overspray, eliminating the thick accumulations that produced classic Fordite. In other words, the old “Fordite mines” are essentially dry. What remains comes from material salvaged decades ago and preserved by collectors and former factory workers.

That scarcity, combined with its vivid colors and American manufacturing heritage, has helped transform an industrial nuisance into a collectible jewelry material.

Please check out the video of Duluth-based lapidary artist Taylor's first-hand experience with Fordite, below.



Credits: Screen captures via YouTube / Taylor's Rocksmithery.