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 by Darryl Alexander in 2010. It was made into a ring by designer Brenda Smith, whose 18-karat white gold mounting mimics the scalloped outline of the gem. Smith generously donated the ring to the Smithsonian in 2014.

The Smithsonian describes the amethyst as having a deep violet color with flashes of red, a trait common for a Four Peaks amethyst.

The Four Peaks Amethyst Mine is believed to be the only precious stone mine in the United States that requires a helicopter to transport supplies in and take mined material out. Located in the most rugged parts of the Matzanal Mountains, 46 miles from Phoenix, the miners live at the mine for up to two weeks at a time, and have to hike nine miles roundtrip to get to work. According to the mine's official website, the facility has no running water or electricity, and hand tools must be used for the slow, tedious extraction of the amethyst. Private tours, which include a high-altitude helicopter ride, are available.

Amethyst is the most valuable gem variety of quartz. In its pure state, quartz is colorless. But when trace amounts of other atoms get into the mix, a range of colors can occur. For instance, iron atoms are credited with giving amethyst a wide range of color intensity, from almost white to deep purple.

The color rating of an amethyst is determined by a combination of hue, tone and saturation. Hue is the color; tone is relative lightness or darkness of the color; and saturation relates to the color’s intensity, from dull to vivid.

Amethyst has been coveted for thousands of years and is one of the oldest recorded gemstones. They’ve been recovered from ancient Egyptian tombs and were prized by the Greeks, Romans, Babylonians and Hebrews. Amethyst is associated with spirituality, sobriety, security and wisdom. It is also the zodiac stone for the constellation of Pisces.

According to Roman mythology, amethyst was colored purple by the god of wine and was thought to offer protection against drunkenness. It derives its name from a Greek word meaning “not to intoxicate.”

Beyond the U.S., Brazil and Uruguay, amethyst can be found in parts of Zambia, Mexico, Italy, Germany and Canada.

Credit: Image by John Parrish, courtesy of Brenda Smith via geogallery.si.edu.

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 to embark on an extended tour, but before he heads to the airport, he wants to assure his girlfriend that he is totally committed to her.



With an impatient taxi driver waiting for him at the curb, Denver wakes his girlfriend at the crack of dawn. He begs her to "wait for him" and promises that they will tie the knot when he returns.

He sings, "Every place I go, I'll think of you / Every song I sing, I'll sing for you / When I come back, I'll bring your wedding ring."

"This is a very personal and very special song for me," Denver told the BBC. "It doesn't conjure up Boeing 707s or 747s for me as much as it does the simple scenes of leaving. Bags packed and standing by the front door, taxi pulling up in the early morning hours, the sound of a door closing behind you, and the thought of leaving someone that you care for very much. It still strikes a lonely and anguished chord in me, because the separation still continues, although not so long and not so often nowadays."

The son of a U.S. Army Air Forces pilot, Denver and his family moved often and it was difficult for the introverted little boy to make friends. Even as an adult, he was always tormented by the feeling of not knowing where the "right" place was.

The anguish of being on the road inspired a 24-year-old Denver to write "Babe, I Hate to Go" (later renamed "Leaving on a Jet Plane") in 1966 during a layover at Washington airport. The song was first released on Denver's studio album John Denver Sings, but didn't become a smash hit until his producer Milt Okun introduced the song to Peter, Paul and Mary in 1969. That version went to #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and became the trio's biggest hit.

As the writer of the immensely popular "Leaving on a Jet Plane," Denver saw his solo switch into overdrive. Bolstered by songs, such as "Take Me Home Country Roads," "Annie's Song," "Rocky Mountain High," "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" and "Sunshine on My Shoulders," Denver became one of the most popular acts of the 1970s.

Born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., in Roswell, N.M, in 1943, Denver spent most of his adult life in his much-beloved adopted state of Colorado. In fact, he took the name "Denver" to honor Colorado — and because the name Deutschendorf was not likely to fit on many marquees.

Over the course of his career, Denver recorded about 300 songs and sold more than 33 million records worldwide. Sadly, his career was cut short when his two-seat plane crashed near Monterey Bay, Calif., in 1997. He was 53.

Please check out the the 1977 concert video of Denver performing "Leaving on a Jet Plane." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"Leaving on a Jet Plane"
Written and performed by John Denver.

All my bags are packed
I'm ready to go
I'm standin' here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin'
It's early morn
The taxi's waitin'
He's blowin' his horn
Already I'm so lonesome
I could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
'Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

There's so many times I've let you down
So many times I've played around
I tell you now, they don't mean a thing
Every place I go, I'll think of you
Every song I sing, I'll sing for you
When I come back, I'll bring your wedding ring

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
'Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

Now the time has come to leave you
One more time
Let me kiss you
Then close your eyes
I'll be on my way
Dream about the days to come
When I won't have to leave alone
About the times, I won't have to say

Oh, kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
'Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

But, I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go


Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com.

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 out" ($3.7 billion), flowers ($2.0 billion) and clothing ($1.9 billion) — but it is also the fastest growing.

The "evening out" category is down 2% from 2017 and 17.6% from 2016. Flowers and clothing were both flat, compared to 2017.

Rounding out the most popular Valentine's Day gifts for 2018 are candy ($1.8 billion), gift cards/gift certificates ($1.5 billion) and greeting cards ($894 million).

The NRF reports that overall spending on Valentine's Day gifts will reach a near-record $19.6 billion in 2018, narrowly missing the high-water mark of $19.7 billion in 2016. Valentine spending in 2017 was $18.2 billion, according to the NRF.

Jewelry will be the gift of choice for 19% of Valentine's Day consumers in 2018, the exact percentage tallied in 2017. This compares to an "evening out" (to be gifted by 36%), flowers (17%), clothing (17%), candy (55%), gift cards/gift certificates (15%) and greeting cards (46%).

The average amount spent on Valentine's Day gifts in 2018 is expected to creep up to $143.56 from last year's $136.57. That's an increase of 5.1%.

Valentine gift-givers will spend an average of $88.98 on their significant other/spouse ($12.1 billion), $25.29 on other family members, such as children or parents ($3.5 billion), $7.26 on children’s classmates/teachers ($991 million), $7.19 on friends ($982 million), $5.50 on pets ($751 million) and $4.79 on co-workers ($654 million).

The overall observance of Valentine’s Day will go up a tick in 2018. Exactly 55% of respondents said they will celebrate on February 14, up 1 percentage point compared to 2017, but down from 63.4% in 2007.

The NRF’s 2018 Valentine’s Day spending survey was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to Valentine’s Day. The survey was conducted for NRF by Prosper Insights & Analytics. The poll of 7,277 consumers was conducted from January 3-10, 2018, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.

Credit: Image by BigStockPhoto.com.

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 the mentholated topical ointment — and she's not quite sure how the ring got there or who it belongs to.

Roybal told local NBC affiliate KRQE that she had used the ointment to care for her mother, who has since passed away. In fact, her mom's room — along with the jar of Vicks — had been left undisturbed for the past four years.

Recently, Roybal went to use the ointment in her mom's room and was shocked to see a diamond ring suspended just below the surface.

While one would assume that the ring might be her mom's, Roybal was certain that it wasn't.

“I was with my mom 24/7, I cared for her. I took care of her and my dad, this is not her ring,” Roybal told KRQE.

Determined to find the rightful owner, Roybal contacted the Vicks company, which has been owned by Procter & Gamble since 1985. A company representative offered to investigate the case of the Vicks VapoRub ring and asked Roybal to send the jar and the ring to their headquarters. The representative told her the ring was likely lost during the packaging process.

Interestingly, Vicks VapoRub is currently manufactured and packaged in India and Mexico. Since Indian consumers favor higher karatages of gold, we might assume that the 10-karat ring was lost at Vicks' Mexican factory.

For now, Roybal has decided to keep possession of the ring and the old container of Vicks VapoRub.

“The Vicks bottle is sentimental because it’s [a memory of] my mom and dad," she told KRQE. "The ring is someone else’s special memory and I would like to get it back to them.”

She's hoping that her story will wind its way to the person — possibly in Mexico — who lost the ring many years ago.

Credit: Illustration by The Jeweler Blog with images via Vicks.com and BigStockPhoto.com.

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, while running cooler to the touch. Akhan Semiconductor boasts that Miraj Diamond Glass exhibits the brilliance and beauty of a real diamond.

Diamond is the hardest substance known to man and the only thing that can scratch a diamond is another diamond. Still, despite their hardness, diamonds can be brittle. A diamond struck by a hammer, for instance, will shatter.

Akhan Semiconductor has solved this issue by arranging the diamond nanocrystals in a random pattern to help lower the probability of the screen fracturing. The company claims the new screens are virtually unbreakable and shatterproof.



Akhan Semiconductor is partnering with an unnamed smartphone company, which is currently putting Miraj Diamond Glass through a series of tests. Among the issues being worked out are reducing glare and ensuring that the diamond material can respond to the touch. The company is also studying how Miraj Diamond Glass performs when applied as a top layer to other materials, such as conventional glass or Gorilla Glass.

Akhan Semiconductor is also planning to introduce Miraj Diamond Glass to related product lines, such as screen protectors and fitness bands.

In the past, phone makers have experimented with sapphire crystal screens. Sapphire is the second-hardest material (rating 9 on the Mohs scale, while diamond rates a 10). The maker of Miraj Diamond Glass claims that the nanocrystalline diamond is superior to sapphire not only because it is harder, but because it can flex to a greater degree.

If testing goes well, expect diamond smartphone screens to hit the market in high-end devices by 2019.

Credits: Images courtesy of Akhan Semiconductor.

Just two days removed from his team's stunning Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz announced his engagement to Madison Oberg on Twitter and Instagram.



The 25-year-old rising star, who was forced to watch the championship game from the sidelines due to an injury, tweeted, "She said YES! And now Maddie and I both got us a ring... can’t wait to marry my best friend! God is doing some amazing things and I can’t thank him enough!"

Actually, Wentz has yet to receive his Super Bowl ring. They're scheduled to be distributed to the players, coaches, football staff and team executives some time in June.



The tweet was accompanied by four romantic shots of Wentz proposing to Oberg in what seems to be the candle-lit rooftop of a fanciful castle.

Wentz had been leading the Eagles to one of the greatest seasons in the franchise's history when he tore his ACL in Week 14. Up to that point, he had thrown for 3,296 yards and 33 touchdowns.



The former North Dakota State University star underwent surgery in December and was on the sidelines during the Eagles' hard-fought 41-33 victory over the favored Patriots on Sunday. His replacement, Nick Foles, was named the Super Bowl MVP after throwing three TD passes and catching a fourth one. It was the Philadelphia franchise's first-ever championship title.

Wentz' social media followers were introduced to Oberg in a December Instagram post from his hospital bed. The photo showed the quarterback with Oberg at his side giving a thumbs up. He told his 863,000 Instagram followers that “the comeback officially begins now!” and added, “The Lord truly blessed me with this beautiful young lady to walk by my side and support me through all of this!”

Millions of fans are expected to attend the Eagles' parade in Philadelphia today. Fans will line a route from Broad Street and Pattison Avenue to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, hoping to catch a glimpse of Foles, Wentz and the rest of their heroes.

Wentz is expected to regain his starting position when the Eagles return to action later this year. The couple has yet to announce a wedding date.

Credits: Images via Twitter.com/cj_wentz.

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fun songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals (in this case, medals) in the title or lyrics. Today marks the opening of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, so to get into the spirit of the Games — throwback style — we've searched our attic for an old neon leotard and a long-forgotten 45 of "Reach Out," the go-for-the-gold theme song from the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.



Composed by three-time Oscar winner Giorgio Moroder and sung by pop star Paul Engemann, "Reach Out" is a power ballad that includes the inspiring lines, "Reach out / Reach out for the medal / Reach out / Reach out for the gold / Come play to win / Never give in / The time is right for you to come and make your stand / Reach out / Reach out."

The catchy chorus of "Reach Out" will bring back memories of Irene Cara singing "Flashdance... What a Feeling." And that's no coincidence. Only one year earlier, Moroder composed that song for the blockbuster 1983 film Flashdance. It earned Moroder, 77, a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1983 and an Oscar for Best Original Song in 1984. Moroder is frequently credited with pioneering electronic dance music.

Engemann, 60, is best known for his 1983 song "Scarface (Push It to the Limit)." That tune, which was co-written by Moroder, was featured in the famous Tony Montana rise-to-power montage sequence in the motion picture Scarface, starring Al Pacino.

Interestingly, the 1984 Summer Olympics had unique theme songs for individual events. For instance, Quincy Jones wrote "Grace" for the gymnastics competition and Foreigner's "Street Thunder" was played during the marathon. "Reach Out" was the theme of the track and field events. In all, there were 13 songs included in the album titled The Official Music of the 1984 Games.

"Reach Out" was also included in Moroder's 1985 album Innovisions. The song scored a #1 spot on the German singles chart, #2 on the Swiss singles chart and #81 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Please check out the video of Engemann performing "Reach Out." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"Reach Out"
Written by Giorgio Moroder, Paul Engemann and Richie Zito. Performed by Engemann.

Reach out
Reach out for the medal

Reach out
Reach out for the gold
Come play to win
Never give in

The time is right for you to come and make your stand
Reach out
Reach out

You now hold the future in your hand
You have come from everywhere across the land
The stars are shining bright
Make it yours tonight

You know every wish you have's at your command
Reach out
Reach out for the medal

Reach out
Reach out

Now's the time to take hold of your dream
You are standing on the edge of history
So let the games begin
May the best man win

Give your all for all the world to see
Reach out
Reach out for the medal

Reach out
Reach out for the medal
Reach out
Reach out for the gold


Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com.

A seven-tier stackable ring that uses champagne-colored diamonds to represent all-beef patties, tsavorites to depict the lettuce and pickles, and orange sapphires to illustrate the special sauce is the scintillating prize in McDonald's romantic "Bling Mac Ring" competition.



Valued at $12,500, the fanciful ring by New York-based designer Nadine Ghosn will be awarded to the Twitter user who does the best job professing his or her love for any of the three Big Mac sandwiches — Grand Big Mac, Big Mac and Mac Jr. The competition marks both Valentine's Day and the 50th anniversary of the Big Mac.



Just about everybody knows via the famous McDonald's jingle that the Big Mac consists of two beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a (three-part) sesame seed bun. Ghosn's challenge was to reimagine its iconic multi-layered sandwich in 18-karat gold and precious stones. We particularly like the sesame seeds rendered in flush-set round white diamonds.

“They were very adamant about having every burger ingredient represented in the ring,” Ghosn told NationalJeweler.com.



The competition, which started February 7 and will run through Valentine's Day, February 14, is being promoted via McDonald's Twitter page. The instructions: "Tweet @McDonald’s with #BlingMacContest and your funniest, most creative vows of love to the Big Mac burgers to compete to win the Bling Mac Ring." No purchase is necessary to participate.

A panel of experts will rate the entries based on the following criteria: 40% creativity; 30% love and affinity for the Big Mac sandwich; and 30% humor. Judging will take place from February 19 through February 28 and the winner will be announced shortly thereafter. In addition to the ring, the winner will get a check for $4,286 to help pay for the taxes or to be used at the winner's discretion.

The Big Mac was invented in 1967 by Jim Delligatti, a McDonald's franchise owner in Uniontown, Pa. It was an instant success in the Greater Pittsburgh area and added to the McDonald's menus nationwide a year later. It was billed as a "meal disguised as a sandwich."

While the regular Big Mac has been a staple of McDonald's menus for five decades, the company is re-releasing the Grand Mac and Mac Jr. for a limited time.

Credits: Images and screen captures via Twitter.com/McDonalds.

Sotheby's London Salon is offering for sale the world's largest D-flawless round brilliant-cut diamond. At 102.34 carats, the impeccable stone is being hailed as the rarest white diamond ever to come to market, and Sotheby's is confident it will break a world record for the highest price ever paid for a D-flawless. The diamond is expected to fetch more than $34 million.



Sotheby's emphasized that while only seven D-flawless diamonds weighing more than 100 carats have ever sold at auction, none were round brilliant cuts. The lack of rounds is really a matter of dollars and cents. When working with extraordinarily large rough stones, cutters generally opt for elongated cushions, emerald cuts and pear shapes, which allow them to keep the maximum carat weight.



Sourced in Botswana by De Beers, the 102.34-carat polished gem was cut from a rough diamond weighing 425 carats. The cutting and polishing process was conducted by Diacore's most experienced artisans in Johannesburg and New York, and took six painstaking months to complete. Although 24 other finished gems would be extracted from the rough, the round primary stone accounted for only 24.1% of the total weight.



By comparison, the 163-carat stunner known as “Art of de Grisogono” was honed from an Angolan-sourced rough diamond that weighed 404 carats. The emerald-cut primary gem accounted for 40.3% of the total weight. The D-flawless “Art of de Grisogono” fetched $33.7 million at Christie’s Geneva in November of 2017 and currently holds the record for the most expensive D-flawless diamond.

While a great majority of its high-profile gemstones are offered at auction, Sotheby's will be selling the flawless round through the Sotheby's Diamond retail boutique on New Bond Street in London. The diamond was on public display last week and will be available for private viewings through February 16. A Sotheby's spokesperson told JCKOnline.com that she expects the stone's selling price to "greatly exceed" the current record.

"This stone is over 100 carats of flawless perfection," said Patti Wong, Founder and Chairman of Sotheby’s Diamonds. "In the course of my long career, which has brought me close to some of the greatest stones the earth has ever yielded, I have not encountered anything quite like this.”

Sotheby's noted that beyond the stone's exceptional color, size, clarity, cut and symmetry, it is also rated Type IIa by the Gemological Institute of America. Diamonds in this rare and coveted subgroup are chemically pure and often show extraordinary optical transparency.

Credits: Images courtesy of Sotheby's.

"The Jewelled Phoenix," a remarkable three-dimensional gold coin hand set with 89 ultra-rare pink diamonds, was unveiled last week by mining company Rio Tinto and The Perth Mint at the 47th World Money Fair in Berlin. The delicately sculpted two-tone coin carries a price tag of $147,835 and will have a limited mintage of eight pieces.



“Inspired by ancient Chinese legend, the fine detail and artistry of The Jewelled Phoenix has taken our craftsmanship to the next level,” said Perth Mint chief executive officer Richard Hayes.



Embellished with plumage rendered in pink and purplish-pink diamonds, the 18-karat rose gold phoenix appears to be landing on the fabled paulownia tree, which has three of its flowers hand set with pink diamonds. Each coin will showcase 1.22 carats of colored diamonds sourced from Rio Tinto’s Argyle Diamond Mine in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia.



Each coin measures 60.6mm (2.39 inches) in diameter and contains more than 10 troy ounces of 99.99 fineness yellow gold and .45 troy ounces of 18-karat rose gold. The extraordinary three-dimensional rendering of the phoenix brings the thickness of the coin to 12.8mm (0.5 inches).

The phoenix is a mystical bird associated with ancient Greek and Asian cultures. The mystical Chinese phoenix is a symbol of happiness and prosperity.

The paulownia tree also has a special place in Chinese culture. An old custom was to plant a paulownia tree (also known as the "princess or empress tree") when a girl was born. The fast-growing tree matured quickly, so when the girl was ready to marry, the tree was cut down and carved into wooden articles for her dowry.

Legend also states that the phoenix will land only on the empress tree — and only when a good ruler is in power. The mintage of eight coins is also significant, because the number eight is considered extremely lucky in Chinese culture.

Credits: Images courtesy of The Perth Mint and Rio Tinto. Screen capture via YouTube/Perth Mint.

Inspired by the majestic characteristics of the largest gem-quality diamond ever mined, Rolls-Royce announced Tuesday that its first-ever all-terrain SUV will be called "Cullinan" — a name the company deems "perfect and brilliant.”



The 3,106.75-carat Cullinan Diamond was discovered at South Africa's Premier Mine in 1905. Three years later, the rough gem was cut into nine magnificent finished stones, including the 530.40-carat Cullinan I (also known as the Great Star of Africa) and the 317.40-carat Cullinan II (Second Star of Africa). Both diamonds are now part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.



“It is the most fitting name for our extraordinary new product," commented Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer of Rolls-Royce. "Cullinan is a motor car of such clarity of purpose, such flawless quality and preciousness, and such presence that it recalibrates the scale and possibility of true luxury. Just like the Cullinan Diamond, the largest flawless diamond ever found, it emerges when it is perfect and exists above all others.”



Ötvös said that the designers of Roll-Royce's new "high-bodied" luxury car were "inspired by the epic processes, over many millennia, which went into the creation of the Cullinan Diamond."



Like its namesake, Rolls-Royce's Cullinan undertook a perilous and fascinating journey to get to where it is today. From the searing deserts of Africa and the Middle East to the freezing snows of the Arctic Circle; from the grassy glens of the Scottish Highlands to the towering canyons of North America, the designers, engineers, craftspeople and artisans of the House of Rolls-Royce have shaped, tested and polished this unique motor car to eliminate any flaws. The rigorous testing lasted three years.

Apparently, Rolls-Royce is showing the car in camouflage-style paint to hide some of its design details until is officially delivered to the public later this year.
In its original rough form, the Cullinan Diamond measured approximately 10.1 cm (4.0 in) long, 6.35 cm (2.50 in) wide, 5.9 cm (2.3 in) deep, and weighed 621.2 grams (1.37 lbs). It was discovered by Frederick Wells and named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, the mine's chairman. The colonial government of South Africa bought the Cullinan Diamond in 1907 and presented it to King Edward VII on his 66th birthday.

Not only was the stone massive, but it was also of superb quality. Both the Cullinans I and II were graded as colorless Type IIa, a coveted subgroup of diamonds that are chemically pure and show extraordinary optical transparency.



King Edward VII entrusted the cleaving of the massive rough stone to the Asscher Brothers of Amsterdam. The stone was sliced in half on February 10, 1908 — nearly exactly 110 years ago — and the rest of the splitting and cutting would proceed for the next eight months, with three cutters working 14 hours per day. The final yield was nine major stones, weighing a total of 1,055.89 carats.

To this day, no other gem-quality rough diamond has come close to the size of the Cullinan Diamond. Currently in second place is the 1,111-carat Lesedi La Rona, which was discovered in the Karowe Mine in Botswana in 2015.

Credits: Car images courtesy of Rolls-Royce. Cullinan Diamond images via Wikimedia Commons [Public domain].

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great, new songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, we shine the spotlight on country singer Kelsea Ballerini and her current hit, "Legends," a song that uses a gilded phrase to illustrate an epic romance.



In the song's first line, she sings, "We were golden, we were fire, we were magic / Yeah, and they all knew our names all over town / We had it made in the middle of the madness / We were neon in a grey crowd."

The 24-year-old newlywed said "Legends" was originally a breakup song, but now she views it as a love song. She penned it when a previous relationship was on the rocks. Ironically, the song hit the airwaves two years later while she was planning her wedding to Australian country singer Morgan Evans. The couple tied the knot in December.

"I wrote it when I was going through a breakup, so that was the heart and the perspective that it came from," the Grammy-nominated "Best New Artist" for 2017 told The Boot. "But as I've lived with it, it's kind of changed meanings. It's a chameleon song for me. It's still a story about heartbreak, but now I'm in a very good place in my life and I sing it as a love song."

Released in June of 2017, "Legends" is the lead single from Ballerini's second studio album, Unapologetically. The song ascended to #11 this week on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It also hit #3 on Billboard's Canada Country chart.

Ballerini was raised in Knoxville, Tenn., and wrote her first song at the age of 12. She went to college in Nashville, but left school after two years to pursue a music career. At the age of 19, she signed a record deal with Black River Entertainment. She released her debut single "Love Me Like You Mean It" in 2014 and was named one of CMT's Next Women of Country that same year.

Ballerina's career got a big boost when superstar Taylor Swift tweeted about how much she enjoyed Ballerini's self-titled EP.

"To have someone that you've looked up to for a long time admire your stuff and admire what you do is just a really big deal," she told TasteofCountry.com.

Please check out the video of Ballerini's acoustic version of "Legends," which she performed for Radio Disney. The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"Legends"
Written by Kelsea Ballerini, Forest Glen Whitehead and Hillary Lee Lindsey. Performed by Kelsea Ballerini.

We were golden, we were fire, we were magic
Yeah, and they all knew our names all over town
We had it made in the middle of the madness
We were neon in a grey crowd
Yeah, we wrote our own story
Full of blood sweat and heartbeats
We didn’t do it for the fame or the glory
And but we went down in history

Yeah, we were legends
Loving you, baby, it was heaven
What everyone wondered, we’d never question
Close our eyes and took on the world together
Do you remember?
We were crazy
Tragic and epic and so amazing
I’ll always wear the crown that you gave me
We will always stay lost in forever
And they’ll remember
We were legends

Like we were written down in permanent marker
Not even the brightest sun could ever fade
Come whichever hell or high water
It was always me and you either way
Hey, we wrote our own story
Full of blood sweat and heartbeats
We didn’t do it for the fame or the glory
We just did it for you and me

And that’s why we were legends
Loving you, baby, it was heaven
What everyone wondered, we’d never question
Close our eyes and took on the world together
Do you remember?
We were crazy
Tragic and epic and so amazing
I’ll always wear the crown that you gave me
We will always stay lost in forever
And they’ll remember
We were legends

We were legends
Loving you, baby, it was heaven
What everyone wondered, we’d never question
Close our eyes and took on the world together
Do you remember, baby?
We were crazy
Tragic and epic and so amazing
I'll always wear the crown that you gave me
We will always stay lost in forever
And they’ll remember
We were legends
We were, yeah, we were legends
Yeah, we wrote our own story


Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com.

Olympic athletes are visually and emotionally linked to diamonds in a trio of compelling ads now airing during the coverage of the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.



Conceived by the Diamond Producer's Association's 'Real is a Diamond' platform in partnership with The NBCU Content Studio, “The Making of a Gem” commercials tell the story of young athletes on the rise. In their own words, athletes representing the sports of snowboarding, women’s ice hockey and pairs figure skating speak of their journeys to achieve greatness.

Each of their narratives include words and phrases commonly associated with diamonds. In fact, one can easily imagine the story being told from the diamond's point of view.

Here's an example from the snowboarding script...

"I can do this. I can handle intense pressure. I can stand up against unimaginable heat. That makes me strong. Gives me an edge. And even when I'm rough, unpolished, with all my imperfections, I'm still flawless. That's what makes me unique. What about you?"



And the hockey script...

"We were made this way. We were made strong. Commitment helped us dig deeper. Focus sharpened our edge. And even when we were vulnerable... we never stopped being invincible. They tried to crush us. But our bond is unbreakable."



And the figure skating script...

"I've spent most of my life in the dark, unseen by the world. The longer I waited, the more intense the pressure became. Until, like a force of nature, I finally broke free. And where before I was hidden, today I have the support of the world who never lets me forget that with love, might and a little polish... I shine."

“The breadth of common themes was surprisingly rich and made for seamless and layered storytelling,” said Deborah Marquardt, Chief Marketing Officer for the Diamond Producer’s Association.

Stylist Tanya Dukes chose the featured jewelry, explaining, “In each film, we styled the athletes in realistic, current diamond jewelry that they’d actually wear, including some of their own pieces. The jewelry was an authentic part of their personal style.”

The snowboarding ad, for instance, shows the male athlete wearing a princess-cut stud earring and a spider-shaped diamond pendant. The hockey-themed ad shows twin diamond stud earrings on the female athlete and a diamond wedding band on her male coach. In the pairs figure skating ad, the female athlete is wearing twin diamond stud earrings and a diamond engagement ring. Her partner (presumably her husband) is wearing a wedding band.

Of the three ads, the women's hockey version is getting the highest engagement (7.9), according to ad tracking service Ispot.tv. The snowboarding ad is second with a 7.7 and the figure skating ad is third at 7.0.

“The Making of a Gem” series is being distributed through NBCUniversal’s portfolio-wide platform across social media, video programming and the company’s strategic partnerships with Apple News and Vox Media. Videos and supplemental content will also run on Real is a Diamond-owned and -operated channels, as well as in cinema.

Each of the videos is below...

Snowboarding


Women's Hockey


Pairs Figure Skating


Credits: Screen captures via YouTube.com/Real is a Diamond.

Identical twins Brittany and Briana Deane shouted "Yes" as identical twins Josh and Jeremy Salyers popped the question at Twin Lakes State Park in Virginia on February 2 (2/2/18). The simultaneous surprise marriage proposals — complete with "twinfinity" rings for both brides-to-be — were featured on the Valentine's Day installment of Inside Edition.



The gals from Virginia and the guys from Tennessee had met last August at The Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio. The 31-year-old Deane twins and the 34-year-old Salyers twins admit that it was love at first sight.

"It was one of the most magical moments," Briana told DelawareOnline.com. "For me, it went in slow motion, like a movie. We all believe in soulmates and we all felt that instant connection."

Interestingly, older siblings Jeremy and Briana established an immediate bond, as did younger siblings Brittany and Josh.



When they got home from the festival, the girls had a message waiting for them. The boys said they couldn’t wait to see them again and the girls responded, “Why wait until next year?” That next weekend, Josh and Jeremy drove from Tennessee to Virginia to see the girls.

"The rest," the girls wrote on HowHeAsked.com, "is (a double) history."

"Ever since we were little girls, we have always known that there were identical twin boys who were going to marry us one day," Briana said.

As part of the surprise proposal, the Salyers brothers convinced the Deane sisters that all four were hired to participate in a commercial for the catering facility at Twin Lakes State Park (This was also the site of their first date). The ruse was that the venue wanted to use twins as a fun tie-in to the park's name. Actually, the film crew was from the staff of Inside Edition. Josh and Jeremy had orchestrated the whole thing.



With the boys decked out in matching suits with blue ties and the girls wearing matching blue gowns, the film crew led them to a picturesque pavilion decorated with rose petals and candles. When the producer yelled, "Action," Josh and Jeremy dropped to one knee, pulled out their matching "double infinity" diamond rings and asked their girlfriends to marry them. Brittany and Briana simultaneously said, "Yes."

The girls called their diamond bling "twinfinity" rings.

The couples are planning a dual wedding ceremony during The Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg this August. After the wedding, the foursome will be sharing a home.

Credits: Screen captures via YouTube.com.

Resourceful neighbors in the community of Alamo, Calif., pooled their limited plumbing skills to reunite a future bride with the $10,000 diamond engagement ring she had accidentally flushed down the toilet.



Only 48 hours earlier, the world was filled with nothing but despair for Haleigh Morrissey and her fiancé Dean Booras.

Morrissey had been in her bathroom applying suntan lotion when she grew concerned that the ring might get stained. She asked Booras to remove it from her finger and rinse it off.



He cleaned the ring and placed it on a tissue, neatly folding the ends together to create a little ring package. And he left it there on the bathroom sink.

Later in the day, Morrissey returned to tidy up the bathroom and instinctively scooped up the folded tissue and flushed it down the toilet.

“I got to the bathroom and then I was like here’s some trash… throw it in the toilet,” Morrissey told a reporter from Fox affiliate KTVU.

Morrissey was devastated when she realized what she'd done.

"I thought there is no chance in the world that we were ever going to see it again," Booras told the local ABC affiliate.

The panicked couple recruited a bunch of neighbors from this close-knit community 28 miles east of San Francisco. Together, they pooled their marginal plumbing experience to noodle out the best way to find a flushed engagement ring.



After watching a bunch of YouTube videos, neighbor Brett Gunari rented a plumber's snake equipped with a camera. When that method failed to turn up the ring, fellow neighbor and building inspector Ken Gunari recommended that they flood the system and try to snag the ring further down the sewer line.

His method: "Turn on the bathtub, flush the toilet, dump the two five-gallon buckets of water into the toilet all at once," he said.

About 200 feet from the house, the neighbors had unearthed the sewer line and rigged it with a screen to catch the ring.

Within a few minutes of the water rush, the neighbors at the site of the trap could be heard yelling, "Oh man, look at that."

The plan worked. The ring emerged from the screen a bit mucky, but not damaged.

We're guessing that Morrissey and Booras — who have their wedding planned for this May — will be adding a bunch of well-deserving neighbors to their guest list.

Credits: Screen captures via abc7news.com.

The avocado is arguably the most versatile fruit in the world. It can be used in soups, drinks, salads, dips, ice cream — and if you pop the pit and cut it in half, you've got the latest, coolest, trendiest ring box. Yes, thanks to Amsterdam-based food stylist, author and avocado aficionado Colette Dike, the wonder fruit has caught the attention of millennials ready to pop the question.



On February 10, Dike posted to her Instagram page a photo of a diamond engagement ring pressed into the gooey core of an "avo box." Accompanying the photo was the following caption: “Tag someone who should propose like this.” She used the hashtags "avobox" and "avocadoproposal."

The post went viral with 10,840 likes and 2,310 comments. What's more, the post stirred the interest of giant media outlets, such as The Today Show, ESPN and the Daily Mail.

Reactions to Dike's Instagram post were generally positive, humorous and good-natured.

One Instagram user wrote, “I avoca-DO,” while a second chimed in, "BEST EVER."

A third tagged her boyfriend and wrote, "I do! Only if he brought a spoon, though."

A few were not so kind due to the fact that avocados are notoriously mushy and their bright green hue quickly turns brown once they're cut open.

One Instagram user called the idea "ridiculous, dumb and pathetic" while another noted sarcastically, "Here, put on this slimy ring."

Although Dike is getting the credit for making the "avobox" into a phenomenon, The Today Show's website noted that Instagram user Taylor Selby in October 2016 posted a photo of her now-fiancé on bended knee, proposing with a ring embedded in a slightly overripe avocado.

Avocados originated in south-central Mexico more than 7,000 years ago, and although the Aztecs associated avocados with fertility, they were not likely used for ring boxes at that time.

A single avocado tree can produce 500 avocados each year, with an output of more than 200 pounds of fruit. About 95% of U.S. avocado production comes from Southern California. Fallbrook, Calf., claims to be the "Avocado Capital of the World" and the State of California's official fruit is — drumroll, please — the avocado.

Credit: Image courtesy of Colette Dike via Instagram/fooddeco.

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fresh, new songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, prepare to be blown away by 16-year-old Billie Eilish and her debut single "Ocean Eyes."



In the song, Apple Music's UPNEXT Artist of the Month is suffering through a devastating breakup. She still loves her ex-boyfriend and is longing for his brilliant "diamond mind" and his dreamy "ocean eyes."

She sings, "I've been walking through / A world gone blind / Can't stop thinking of your diamond mind / Careful creature made friends with time / He left her lonely with a diamond mind / And those ocean eyes."

Co-written by her brother, Finneas Baird O'Connell, "Ocean Eyes" was originally recorded for a dance class in 2015, when Eilish was only 14 years old. The original intention was to have her dance teacher choreograph a routine to the music.

"We put it on SoundCloud with a free download link next to it so my dance teacher could access it," Eilish told Teen Vogue. "We had no intentions for it, really. But basically overnight a ton of people started hearing it and sharing it."

The song soon went viral with 35 million streams on Spotify alone.

"Ocean Eyes" was featured as the lead single from Eilish's debut EP, Don't Smile at Me, which was released in August of 2017. One month later, she made her national TV debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden, and Apple Music named Eilish the UPNEXT artist of the month in October 2017.

Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell was born in Los Angeles in 2001 to a family of actors and musicians. She began writing songs at age 11, following the footsteps of her older brother, who was already performing original songs with his band.

Please check out Eilish's official music video of "Ocean Eyes." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"Ocean Eyes"
Written by Arron Carl Davey and Finneas Baird O'Connell. Performed by Billie Eilish.

I've been watching you
For some time
Can't stop staring at those oceans eyes
Burning cities and napalm skies
Fifteen flares inside those ocean eyes
Your ocean eyes

No fair
You really know how to make me cry
When you gimme those ocean eyes
I'm scared
I've never fallen from quite this high
Falling into your ocean eyes
Those ocean eyes

I've been walking through
A world gone blind
Can't stop thinking of your diamond mind
Careful creature made friends with time
He left her lonely with a diamond mind
And those ocean eyes

No fair
You really know how to make me cry
When you gimme those ocean eyes
I'm scared
I've never fallen from quite this high
Falling into your ocean eyes
Those ocean eyes

No fair
You really know how to make me cry
When you gimme those ocean eyes
I'm scared
I've never fallen from quite this high
Falling into your ocean eyes
Those ocean eyes


Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com.

A United Airlines pilot traveled 2,500 miles to hand-deliver a bridal set to a traveler who had lost her precious cargo while hurrying aboard a flight in New Jersey. Not only did the pilot "go the extra mile" to deliver the jewelry, but he also included a heartwarming personalized note.



The viral story took an incredible turn when it was later revealed that the traveler was Brit Morin, the founder and CEO of Brit + Co, the lifestyle media company that boasts 130 million users.

On Twitter, Morin wrote: "I lost my wedding/engagement rings last week somewhere between New York and Jackson Hole. A @United gate agent found it, put it in a safe, and then gave it to a pilot to HAND-DELIVER it back to me in SF. I have a newfound faith in humanity and airlines. Thanks United."

Morin outlined the details of her incredible story at Brit's Blog, a popular feature at Brit.co.

Morin is a frequent guest on ABC's Good Morning America. While in New York shooting a segment for GMA on February 8, Morin had taken off her rings, explaining, "I always do this — it feels odd having a giant camera zoomed in on my ring when I’m working with my hands on set."



After the GMA appearance, Morin was scheduled to meet her family in Jackson Hole, Wyo., for a ski vacation. The GMA segment ran late and Morin found herself rushing to make a flight at nearby Newark International Airport.

She packed her rings in a carry-on bag and made it to the gate just in time.

But, since she had gotten there later than all the other passengers, there was no overhead storage available. She quickly transferred her rings to a small toiletry bag and jammed it inside her purse. The larger carry-on bag was tagged and sent below.

Imagine Morin's horror when she got to her final destination in Jackson Hole and realized that the engagement ring and wedding band were gone.

"Panicked, I searched all of my bags — my toiletry bag, my purse, and my suitcase — at least a dozen times, beginning to fear that the worst may have happened," she wrote. "It must have fallen out somewhere during the suitcase transfer. I must not have zipped my toiletry bag all the way. Oh, dear god, how was I going to tell my husband? (The bigger irony? We got married in Jackson Hole nearly seven years ago, and now here we were back in a town that symbolizes our eternal love and I had no physical symbol of that love on my finger.)"

Fearing that she may never see her rings again, Morin went on the United Airlines website and filed a lost-items claim.



Meanwhile, back in New Jersey, a United Airlines gate agent had found the rings on the jet bridge. She immediately put them in a safe pending the identity of the owner.

When she learned that the owner had come forward, the agent handed the rings to United Airlines pilot Captain Jim Moorey, who was happy to ferry the rings 2,500 miles to San Francisco, where Morin lives with her family.

On February 15, Moorey hand-delivered the rings to Morin, along with a personal note that read, "From day to day, I take pride in getting passengers from point A to point B safely and on time. Today, I’m happy to be able to be part of a team focused on making just one individual happy."

"I was ELATED," wrote Morin. "I expected them to shoot me over a FedEx or UPS tracking number, but instead they informed me they would be HAND-DELIVERING them back to me. I couldn’t believe it."

Credits: Ring photo, Brit Morin photo via Twitter.com/brit/; Aircraft photo by United Airlines.

Bridal couples are opting for less-formal wedding receptions, inviting fewer people, but spending more per guest, according to The Knot’s 11th annual "Real Weddings Study."  They're also seeking out non-traditional wedding venues and pushing back on time-honored traditions, such as tossing the bouquet.



We also learned that the engagement ring — at $5,764 — remains the second-highest-priced item on the list of wedding expenses, with the reception venue claiming the top spot at $15,163. Interestingly, The Knot also defined a sub-group of "high spenders," whose wedding expenses exceeded $60,000 in 2017. Of that group, the average price of the engagement ring was $13,933.

The Knot, which surveyed nearly 13,000 U.S. brides and grooms married in 2017, reported that the average total cost of a wedding (excluding the honeymoon) is $33,391, which is down about $2,000 compared to the all-time high tallied in 2016.

“Weddings in 2017 showed us that couples are focused on guests, as we see them pulling out all the stops to create a truly memorable experience for their wedding attendees,” said Kristen Maxwell Cooper, editor in chief of The Knot. “Couples are also shifting away from formal affairs to create an experience that’s truly reflective of their personalities, and infusing more unique and unconventional ideas—from their venue and invitations to food, entertainment and more.”



Other key findings from the survey include the following:
• Most Expensive Place to Get Married: Manhattan, $76,944
• Least Expensive Place to Get Married: New Mexico, $17,584
• Average Spent on a Wedding Dress: $1,509
• Average Marrying Age: Bride, 29.2; Groom, 30.9
• Average Number of Guests: 136
• Average Number of Bridesmaids: 5
• Average Number of Groomsmen: 5
• Most Popular Month to Get Engaged: December (16%)
• Average Length of Engagement: 14 months
• Most Popular Months to Get Married: September (16%), June (15%) and October (14%)
• Popular Wedding Colors: Ivory/Champagne (37%), Dark Blue (32%) and Gold (30%)
• Percentage of Destination Weddings: 25% (compared to 20% in 2016 and 15% in 2015)

The average number of wedding guests in 2017 is down to 136, compared to 149 in 2009, while the cost per wedding guest reached an all-time high at $268 (up from $194 in 2009), according to the survey. Couples are looking to create the ultimate guest experience with photo booths, sparklers, selfie stations, games, musical performances, wine and liquor tastings, magicians and more.

Since 2009, formal/black-tie weddings have decreased from 20% to 16%, and ceremonies hosted in a religious institution have dropped significantly, from 41% in 2009 to 22% in 2017. Meanwhile, outdoor ceremonies accounted for 52% of all weddings in 2017, an increase from 39% in 2009.

As couples look for more unique, unconventional places to host their weddings, farm, barn and ranch reception venues increased from 2% in 2009 to 15% in 2017, and the number of weddings taking place in historic homes rose from 12% in 2009 to 14% in 2017. Banquet halls dropped (from 27% in 2009 to 17% in 2017), as did hotels and resorts (from 18% in 2009 to 12% in 2017) and country clubs (from 13% in 2009 to 10% in 2017). Other nontraditional reception sites on the rise include beach houses, wineries, rooftops, museums and parks.

The Knot also noted that some time-honored wedding reception traditions are seeing a decline, with fewer than half (49%) of brides opting to toss a bouquet (down from 53% in 2016) and only 37% of grooms choosing to toss a garter (down from 41% in 2016). Even the ubiquitous cake-cutting is seeing a bit of a push-back with 85% of couples in 2017 saying that it was part of their ceremony (down from 88% in 2016).

On the other hand, bridal couples said it was still important to infuse their heritage, culture and/or religion into their special day. Twenty-one percent of couples incorporated a traditional cultural element, including a Chinese tea ceremony, Irish bagpipers, Moroccan belly dancers and traditional Hindu ceremonies.

On average, the bride’s parents contributed 45% of the overall wedding budget, the bride and groom contributed 41% and the groom’s parents contributed 13%. ("Others" accounted for the remaining 1%.) In 2017, 10% of couples paid for the wedding entirely by themselves, and 9% of couples didn’t contribute any finances to the wedding expenses. Exactly 45% said that they went over their budgets.



These were the average costs of key bridal services in 2017: reception band ($4,019), photographer ($2,630), florist/décor ($2,379), ceremony site ($2,311), wedding/event planner ($1,988), videographer ($1,912), wedding dress ($1,509), rehearsal dinner ($1,285), reception DJ ($1,231), transportation ($830), ceremony musicians ($761), wedding cake ($540), invitations ($408), groom’s attire and accessories ($286), officiant ($284), favors ($252) and wedding day hair stylist ($119). Catering averaged $70 per person.

The 2017 Real Weddings Study is based on the responses from nearly 13,000 U.S. brides and grooms married between January 1 and December 31, 2017.

Credits: Image by BigStockPhoto.com. Infographics courtesy of The Knot.

The De Beers Group confirmed that construction has begun on the world's largest diamond mining vessel. When it reports for duty in 2021, the 577-foot technological marvel will be extracting diamonds from the ocean floor near the coast of Namibia at a depth of 400 feet.



After more than eight decades of producing a staggering 2 million carats per year, the land-based diamond operations in Namibia are nearly mined out. Fresh sources of diamonds were discovered off the coast of Namibia, so new investments by De Beers and its partner — the Republic of Namibia — have been aimed offshore. A few decades ago, it would have been unfathomable for diamond companies to pursue deep-sea mining. But breakthroughs in technology are making this type of project viable and lucrative.



The grand vessel — the sixth in De Beers' Namibian fleet — is being built in Norway by a firm called Kleven Verft at a cost of $173 million. Mission equipment, including crawler-mounted dredge technology, will cost an additional $432 million. The ship will look similar to the mv SS Nujoma (shown above and below), which was also built by Kleven Verft. Launched in the summer of 2017, the mv SS Nujoma is the world’s largest diamond sampling and exploration vessel. The $157 million ship is credited with greatly improving the company's ability to target its mining activities.



The sea-based operation is called Debmarine Namibia and the reason the group is willing to make such a massive investment in a sixth mining ship is because of the treasures waiting on the ocean floor.

According to De Beers, 95% of the diamonds pulled from the seabed near Namibia are of gem-quality. This compares to just 20% of gem-quality diamonds coming from De Beers’s top mine in Botswana. Some experts surmise that the diamonds in the ocean have endured such a pounding for so long that only the gem-quality ones could remain intact.

The new ship will employ a super-powerful vacuum that will scour the ocean floor, sucking up tons of diamond-bearing gravel each hour and bringing it to the surface. On the ship, X-ray machines and other diamond-sorting devices will separate the gems from the worthless gravel. According to The Wall Street Journal, the mining operation yields a handful of diamonds for every 180 tons of material processed.

Debmarine Namibia has licensed an area that covers 3,700 square miles. It starts about three miles offshore and extends seaward 10 to 20 miles. The diamond concession is expected to yield more than a million carats per year for the next 50 years.

Credits: Images courtesy the De Beers Group.