The 15.10-carat "De Beers Blue" came within a whisker of setting a new world record for the priciest vivid blue diamond ever sold at auction. The hammer price of $57,471,960 at Sotheby's Hong Kong last night was just short of the $57,541,779 achieved by the 14.62-carat "Oppenheimer Blue" at Christie's Geneva in 2016. The single-lot, live-streamed auction featured eight minutes …

Mother's Day 2022 jewelry sales are expected to hit $7 billion, making it the fastest-growing and highest-volume gift-giving category for the second year in a row, according to an annual survey released by the National Retail Federation (NRF). The jewelry sector's record-breaking tally is up from $6.1 billion in 2021 and $5.3 billion in 2020. That's a two-year sales gain …

Climbing to a height of 175 feet or more, giant kelp will be playing a key role in De Beers' ambitious efforts to achieve carbon neutrality across its operations by 2030. The world's largest diamond miner by value announced that it is investing $2 million in Kelp Blue, an innovative start-up that is pioneering a nature-based solution for sequestering carbon …

Mattel's newest Barbie doll is literally fit for a queen. Sculpted in the likeness of Britain's longest-reigning monarch, the new Barbie Signature Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Doll celebrates her 70 years of service and reflects her love of fine jewelry. The toy company released the collectible on the Queen's 96th birthday, April 21. Jewelry lovers will notice right away …

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you uplifting songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, newly engaged Canadian recording artist Avril Lavigne performs “Fly,” a power ballad inspired by the athletes of the Special Olympics. In this song about having the inner strength to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges, Lavigne metaphorically states that “we …

Unlike Super Bowl rings that can be worth upwards of $35,000 apiece, college football's National Championship rings cannot exceed $415 in value, according to NCAA rules. This reality creates enormous challenges for companies, such as Jostens, which was recently tasked with creating commemorative jewelry for the University of Georgia Bulldogs' National Championship football team. Instead of using diamonds and other …

The Houston Astros’ colorful 2021 American League Championship rings tell the story of the team's impressive run to the World Series, where they narrowly lost to the Atlanta Braves in six games. The 10-karat white and yellow gold rings feature 104 round diamonds, 15 custom-cut diamonds, four princess-cut diamonds, 42 blue sapphires and eight orange sapphires for a total gemstone …

Singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne turned to Instagram recently to announce her engagement to fellow pop-punk rocker Mod Sun and to offer a peek at her new 5-carat, heart-shaped diamond ring. She treated her 10.8 million Instagram followers to a series of romantic proposal pics, some with a clear view of the Eiffel Tower in the background. She captioned the photos, "Oui! …

Jon Batiste, the musician who won big at the 2022 Grammys, revealed to CBS Sunday Morning that he and his bestselling author partner, Suleika Jaouad, secretly tied the knot in February — using bread ties as wedding rings — in a hastily arranged ceremony one day before her scheduled bone marrow transplant. According to Jaouad, who is battling leukemia for …

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fun songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, our spotlight shines on Jennifer Lopez, who set the Internet abuzz this past week when she revealed the super-rare 8.5-carat green diamond engagement ring she received from Ben Affleck — nearly 20 years after their first engagement became …