An Illinois-based technology company is testing a diamond smartphone screen that it claims is six times stronger, 10 times harder and runs 800 times cooler than the leading competitor’s glass. The revolutionary nanocrystalline diamond material is said to be “virtually unbreakable.” Akhan Semiconductor is marketing the material as Miraj Diamond Glass. The company claims that its display is harder, stronger and thinner, …

We’d hardly be surprised to find a prize mixed into a Cracker Jack box or a fun toy buried in a specially marked package of Lucky Charms, but a diamond ring immersed in a tub of Vicks VapoRub? Now, that’s a curiosity. Last week, Albuquerque, N.M., resident Sharon Roybal fished a 10-karat diamond ring out of an old jar of …

For the second year in a row, jewelry tops the list of Valentine’s Day gifts, according to an annual survey released by the National Retail Federation. U.S. consumers are expected to spend $4.7 billion for jewelry-related items on Cupid’s favorite holiday, up 9.3% compared to 2017. Jewelry is not only the most popular category in 2018 — outperforming an “evening …

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you throwback songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, 1970s icon John Denver wears his heart on his sleeve in the timeless hit, “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” In this song about the heartbreak of being far away from the one you love, the musician is about …

While most gem-quality amethyst is currently mined in Brazil and Uruguay, this beautiful 10-carat specimen is American through and through. It was discovered eight years ago in the off-the-grid amethyst hotspot of Four Peaks, Ariz., but now calls the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., its home. A superior example of February’s official birthstone, the concave trillion-cut amethyst was mined and faceted …

If quarterback Tom Brady and the New England Patriots win their sixth Super Bowl this Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn., expect their championship rings to be the biggest ever — and we mean BIG. The National Football League, you see, maintains an unwritten rule that allows teams with multiple Super Bowl victories to design the most extravagant …

A Los Angeles man is thanking an honest neighbor, a road not taken and divine intervention for the return of an heirloom engagement ring that went missing during a crosstown move. In the span of just two hours, Nico Bellamy’s emotions would run the gamut from sheer desperation to unbridled elation. First, a little background on Bellamy, his girlfriend, Caitie Schlisserman, …

What could be more disheartening than having a surprise marriage proposal scuttled by airport security during a routine bag search? Acting on this problem, a romance-minded airport in the UK has devised a special way for a suitor to slip the ring through security without alerting his soon-to-be fiancée. “It would put a big damper on someone’s meticulously planned romantic …

Welcome to Music Friday when we normally bring you fun songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today we bend the rules just a bit to pay tribute to the incomparable Neil Diamond, who was forced to cancel the third leg of his year-long, worldwide golden anniversary tour due to a Parkinson’s diagnosis. Diamond made …

In 2016, the most popular baby names in the U.S. were Emma, Olivia and Ava for girls, and Noah, Liam and William for boys. With traditional names making a comeback, expectant parents may consider taking a closer look at the symbolic and beautiful baby girl names associated with precious stones. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was not …