Diamond discovery is child's play
Eight-year-old boys who play in the park usually come home with nothing more than dirty clothes and scruffy hair; however, two lucky boys from Arkansas, USA, gave their mother a surprise when they returned from the Crater of Diamonds State Park with a 2.5-carat rough diamond.
The boys were drawn to a sparkling, heart-shaped object and were overjoyed when they were told they had actually found a 2.50-carat uncut diamond, estimated to be worth several thousand dollars.
The Crater of Diamonds State Park encourages visitors to look for precious stones, allowing them to keep what they find. And the park often yields some big beauties for lucky amateur archaeologists: Jim Gatliff, of Delight, Arkansas was one. He uncovered a 2.67 carat yellow diamond recently. The largest gem found in the park remains a 16.37 carat white diamond, discovered in 1975.
Sale of the century
A 215-carat white diamond has fetched $US8.3 million in a sale involving the Lesotho Government.
Omega Diamonds purchased the stone as part of a tender in Antwerp, Belgium from vendors Gem Diamonds Ltd. and the Lesotho Government, according to a report in JCK Magazine.
Recovered at the Letseng mine in late January, the prize gem was sold with two other white, D-colour, IF stones of 66 and 54-carats, the two smaller stones yielding $US1.2 million and $US1.4 million respectively.
Clutching at diamonds
It seems celebrities at the 2007 Academy Awards ceremony just couldn't get enough bling.
One lucky lady got to clutch a diamond-encrusted handbag for her prance down the red carpet.
Containing a total diamond weight in excess of 10-carats, and valued at $US49,500, the Ideal Evening Bag - a metallic patent leather clutch studded with 326 ideal-cut Lazare Diamonds set in platinum - was the creation of Kaplan Diamonds and luxury shoe designer Taryn Rose.
Rose's client base includes such stars as Angelina Jolie, Angela Bassett, Felicity Huffman, Meryl Streep, Jamie Foxx and Cate Blanchett.
Gold today, gone tomorrow
Gorgeous to look at, lovely to hold, but don't take your eyes off it for a second. That was the message for curators at a Japanese museum where a $US 2 million gold bar was stolen after showcases were left wide open!
The Ohashi Collection Kan museum in Takayama, Japan, had kept the 100-kilogram gold bullion unguarded by sensors or even a case because curators wanted visitors to be able to touch it, according to police officer Shinji Kurake.
Such allowances made it easy for three masked men to steal the gold bar in broad daylight while the museum was open. "We were very shocked, but this was a big block of gold and there was no security. I suppose they could have been a little more careful," Kurake said, adding that the heist could have easily been prevented.
Police are still searching for the group, last seen making a getaway by car.
The Ohashi museum purchased the gold bar in 1994 for $US1.6 million. The block would now be worth about $US2.1 million.
Cricketers score with golden ball
A different kind of cricket ball was on display at the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup - a gold and diamond masterpiece presented to the best cricketers in the series.
Worth around three million rupees ($AU85, 800), the balls are made from 82.2 grams of gold and contain 5,728 diamonds.
"We wanted to associate our jewellery company with the World Cup and what better way than to make this diamond in a ball," said Manjunath Jyothinagar, president of ball-manufacturer Gitanjali Group. "And a lot of work has gone into it - 5,728 diamonds all picked in a similar style, cut, colour, clarity and size - it's really a wonderful job done by the team."
Bollywood actress Mahima Chaudhary unveiled the diamond cricket balls, commenting, "It is nice when a jewellery brand comes up with something like this for cricket. It's beautifully crafted."
Not just for jewellery
Sceptics may roll their eyes when told that all gemstones have healing powers, but one US-based company is taking the matter seriously indeed.
Artemis Woman uses real, powdered gemstones in its line of skincare products. Quartz, tourmaline, topaz, rose quartz and amethyst are all ingredients in the Artemis Woman Healing Gems Skin Care Collection, comprising facial scrubs, body polishes, hand creams, and foot butter. Gem therapy is based on the premise that each gemstone has a different energy property or frequency that can help to restore balance to the body when placed on different energy centres.
Diamonds forever
An American woman who has never owned a diamond recently won a $US1 million Hearts on Fire (HOF) shopping spree.
Jennifer Barnier from Texas was the grand prize winner for Godiva Chocolatier's 11th Annual Valentine's Day promotion, co-sponsored by HOF.
Barnier's shopping spree took place at Michael C. Fina Jewellers, where she selected a pair of $US19,000 diamond stud-earrings and topped it off with a breathtaking $US130,000 diamond choker-necklace that featured 132 HOF diamonds and weighed 8.5 carats.
"I never saw myself as a person who would wear diamonds," said an excited Barnier, "and now I'm going to be wearing diamonds every day for the rest of my life."