Imagine 640 African elephants balancing on the tip of a ballet shoe. That was the amount of pressure scientists needed to transform carbon into diamonds — at room temperature. The scientists defied nature by taking heat out of the equation of how diamonds are formed. “Natural diamonds are usually formed over billions of years, about 150 kilometers deep (93 miles) …

The golden-orange Imperial Topaz is the most highly prized variety of November's birthstone. Originally mined exclusively in Russia’s Ural Mountains during the 19th century, the intense orange crystals were so valuable that they earned the designation Imperial Topaz to honor the Russian czar. What's more, only royals were allowed to own it. Flash forward to today, when the finest Imperial …

If the trending continues, Holiday Season 2020 promises to be the most romantic ever. Welcome to “engagement season,” that special time of the year when more than 40% of all marriage proposals take place. It officially starts next week on Thanksgiving Day and stretches through Valentine's Day. WeddingWire’s 2020 Newlywed Report reveals a significant spike in the portion of proposals …

Using a wire hanger and a snake cam, Stockton, CA, resident Danny Gutierrez deftly fished his wife's engagement ring from the "plumbing cleanout" pipe in their backyard. The successful rescue mission took place three weeks after the ring — wrapped in a tissue — was accidentally flushed down the toilet. The family was so determined to get the ring back …

Lucara's Karowe mine in Botswana has delivered another head-turning rough diamond — a 998-carat stunner that ranks as the fourth-largest gem-quality diamond ever recovered. Other famous Botswana-sourced diamonds include the #2-ranked 1,758-carat Sewelô (2019), the #3 ranked 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona (2015) and the #9-ranked 812-carat Constellation (2015). Despite being nearly the width of a baseball and weighing 7 ounces, …

Welcome to Music Friday when we often unearth wonderful, but sadly forgotten, songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, we present the immortal Nat King Cole singing “The Ruby and the Pearl,” the theme song to the 1952 film, Thunder in the East. In this ballad written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, Cole …

“The Spirit of the Rose" set an auction record when an anonymous phone bidder secured the 14.83-carat, fancy vivid purple-pink diamond with an offer of 21 million Swiss francs at Sotheby's Geneva yesterday. With the buyer's premium added, the final price totaled 24.4 million Swiss francs ($26.6 million), or about $1.8 million per carat. The bidding opened at 16 million …

An ecstatic Anthony Anderson showed off his Hollywood Walk of Fame diamond ring during an interview with guest host Sarah Silverman on Monday's installment of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The Black-ish actor told Silverman that George Lopez and Cedric the Entertainer surprised him with the supersized, championship-style ring after his Walk of Fame Star was unveiled in mid-August. After explaining how the …

Back in 1979, the diamond industry was changed forever when the first Argyle Pinks were discovered atop an anthill in the Kimberley wilderness of Western Australia. You see, while excavating underground passages, ants famously bring unwanted obstacles to the surface. In this case, their painstaking work signaled that the anthill sat above a pipe of diamond-rich ore. And so began …

Luxury brand Louis Vuitton is taking the concept of bespoke opulence to a whole new level. By securing the rights to represent Lucara's 549-carat "Sethunya" diamond, the retailer can offer its discriminating clients a unique opportunity to design the gem of their dreams, down to the exact shape and carat weight. "In this way, the client will be involved in …