Maria Menounos' One-of-a-Kind Engagement Ring Has Signature Stone Hidden Underneath

E! News host Maria Menounos and her boyfriend of nearly 20 years, Keven Undergaro, got engaged last Wednesday on-air during Howard Stern‘s SiriusXM radio show. Undergaro got down on one knee and presented Menounos with a one-of-a-kind halo-style engagement ring that features a Signature Stone hidden underneath.

Menounos appeared on the radio show to promote her new book, The EveryGirl’s Guide to Cooking. Just as she had completed her interview with Stern, boyfriend Undergaro, a TV producer, took the microphone, prompting Menounos to ask if he was about to propose. He initially said, "No," but then went on to tell Stern's audience about the emotional ups and downs the couple had experienced over the course of almost two decades.

Then he addressed Menounos directly. "It reminds me just how much I do love you," he said. "And although I said that this isn't a proposal, I want to ask you something, Maria."

"Would you make me the happiest man on earth?" Undergaro asked. "And would you marry me?"

Menounos, 37, was clearly shocked by the surprise proposal, stating, "Are you friggin' kidding me right now? Is this a joke?"

"It's not a joke," Keven replied. "This I wouldn't joke about. I love you so much and this show's meant so much to both of us. Why not make it official now? Will you, honey? Will you accept?"

"Oh, my God! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Of course!" she exclaimed, as she stared at her new ring. "Oh, my God! I can't even believe this is happening."

French jeweler Jean Dousset, whose client list includes Amy Adams and Eva Longoria, dished to PeopleStyle about the details of ring he designed with the assistance of Undergaro.

“The first question I asked Keven was, ‘Has Maria ever said anything about what she would like her diamond cut and ring design to be?’ Every girl does,” Dousset told PeopleStyle. “‘Never in 19 years’,” he replied. That was a first for me. So we imagined what the ring should be based on her personality and style. Bright and chic.”

The ring boasts an Ideal Cut round center stone set in a "Seamless Halo" that is adorned with 220 intricately set brilliant-cut diamonds. The smaller diamonds encircle the center stone and cascade down the band.

"Keven chose to add personal elements to the ring by including a Signature Stone hidden underneath," the designer told E! News. "The choice of color and origin of the stone adds thoughtful detail only he and Maria will know and see." We're assuming the gem is flush-set inside the band.

On Instagram, Menounos posted a photo of her and her boyfriend showing off the new ring. The caption reflected her sheer joy... "omg this happened!!!!!!! thank you @sternshow @bethostern so much for everything. I'm in utter shock! And thank u my love for 19 amazing years. Can't believe we are engaged!!!!"

Images: Screen captures via YouTube/The Howard Stern Show; Instagram/The Howard Stern Show; Getty Images/WireImage/Paul Zimmerman.

Music Friday: Stevie Wonder Is Totally Devoted to 'Pearl,' the Sweetest Girl in the World

Welcome to Music Friday when we like to bring you throwback tunes with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, Stevie Wonder performs his funky rendition of "Pearl," a 1969 song about the sweetest girl in the world.

Wonder tells us that no matter how far he travels or how far he roams, there's no girl in the whole wide world as sweet as the girl he's got waiting for him back at home.

He sings, "Let me tell you, I love that girl so / And I call that girl Pearl / Sweetest girl in the world."

Written by Richard Morris, "Pearl" was the seventh track on Wonder's memorable album My Cherie Amour, which spawned a number of hits, including the title track and "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday."

Born Stevland Hardaway Morris in inner-city Detroit, Wonder was a child prodigy and musical genius — despite being blind since infancy. His first instrument was a harmonica and he was a skilled musician by the age of eight. ("Pearl" happens to feature an excellent harmonica solo by Wonder.)

He was discovered by Ronnie White of the Miracles at the age of 11 and was quickly signed to a five-year Motown contract by CEO Berry Gordy.

Billed at Little Stevie Wonder, the singer/songwriter/musician was an instant sensation. Wonder and his mother received a stipend to cover their expenses, and the young performer got $2.50 in spending money per week. The rest of his earnings were held in trust until he turned 21.

Wonder plays the piano, synthesizer, harmonica, congas, drums, bongos, organ, melodica and Clavinet.

Now 65, Wonder has performed for more than five decades. Over that time, he has amassed 30 U.S. top 10 hits and received 25 Grammy Awards, the most ever awarded to a male solo artist. He has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and Rolling Stone magazine named him the ninth greatest singer of all time. He is a member of both the Rock and Roll and Songwriters halls of fame.

We hope you enjoy the audio track of Wonder's performance of "Pearl." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along.

"Pearl"
Written by Richard Morris. Performed by Stevie Wonder.

Oh, people let me tell you
No matter how far I travel
No matter how far I roam
There's no other girl in the whole wide world
Sweet as the girl I, I got at home

Woah and I love that girl so
(Oh, I love that girl so)
Yeah, I need that girl, children
(Oh, I need that girl so)

Let me tell you, I love that girl so
(Oh, I love that girl so)
And I call that girl Pearl
Sweetest girl in the world
(Sweetest girl in the world, love that girl Pearl)

Sweet young thing
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)
Sweet sixteen
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)
Prize I can't afford to lose
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)

She's the only thing
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)
That stands between
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)
Me and
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)
The Twelfth Street Blues
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)

Woah and I love that girl so, have mercy
(Oh, I love that girl so)
I need that girl so
(Oh, I need that girl so)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

I love that girl so, have mercy
(Oh, I love that girl so)
I'm talkin' 'bout Pearl
Sweetest girl in the world
(Sweetest girl in the world, love that girl Pearl)

Oh baby, baby, baby, baby
(Oh, I love that girl so)
Oh baby, baby, baby, baby
(Oh, I need that girl so)
Oh, I love that girl so
(Oh, I love that girl so)
Sweetest girl in the world
(Sweetest girl in the world, love that girl Pearl)

Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Oh, I love that girl
Love that, love that girl, love that girl, yeah
(Oh, I love that girl so)
I need that girl so
(Oh, I need that girl so)

Woah I love that girl, woah
(Oh, I love that girl so)
And I call that little girl Pearl
Sweetest girl in the world
Sweetest girl in the world, love that girl Pearl
Sweetest girl in the world, love that girl Pearl

Image: By Pete Souza, official White House photographer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Relentless Iowa Sheriff Tracks Down Owner of Custom Ring Found in Gas Station Parking Lot

An Iowa sheriff left no stone unturned in his relentless effort to reunite a unique custom ring with its rightful owner.

On Super Bowl Sunday, Good Samaritan Angela Allen was shocked to find the valuable bauble lying on the ground in the parking lot of a gas station in Slater, a small town about 20 miles north of Des Moines.

”When I got out of my car, I looked down and it happened to be by my feet," Allen told the CBS affiliate, Local 4 News. “It wasn't just a ring you'd go buy in the store. You could tell it was unique and it was created for somebody.”

Recognizing both the tangible and sentimental value of the ring, she turned it over to the Story County Sheriff, Aaron Kester.

The unusual ring, which features two large diamonds and a rim of graduated smaller ones punctuated by a single amethyst, had been the prized possession of Sharon Soder. The largest of the graduated stones was from her mother's wedding ring and all the others held special meaning.

"There's no other ring like it," she said.

Soder had no idea where she lost the ring. She and her husband tore through her home, checking the laundry, under the beds, everywhere.

Meanwhile, Sheriff Kester was on a mission to solve the mystery.

"There were no maker marks inside, so there really wasn't much to go on,” he said.

The sheriff decided to personally visit every jeweler in the county to see if any of them had designed the ring. When that strategy failed, he widened his net to include every jeweler in Des Moines. Still, no luck.

Then he texted a picture of the ring to a customer jeweler, who confirmed that he has designed it. The jeweler also had documentation revealing the ring's owner.

Three weeks after losing her ring, Soder received an unexpected call from Sheriff Kester.

“I'm like, 'Oh my gosh!’ It was like a miracle,” Soder told Local 4 News.

When Sheriff Kester was asked about his heroic efforts to return the ring to Soder, he attributed them to "Iowa values."

And when Good Samaritan Allen was asked about her motivation to do the right thing instead of keeping the ring for herself, she answered, "That's why I live in Iowa."

Soder is thrilled to have the ring back on her finger. She thanked the sheriff with a heartfelt note and something extra special...

With a wry smile, Kester recounted: "Yeah, I bent our policies and allowed her to give me a hug."

Images: Video captures via ourquadcities.com/Local4News.

Engagement Ring, Journey Pendant Rescued From Septic Tank 3 Years After Toddler 'Flushed Mommy's Pretties'

You know it's going to be a bad day when you've misplaced your best diamond jewelry and your toddler says he "flushed Mommy's pretties."

That's the story of British Columbia resident Dani Jacobsen, whose two-year-old son, Cohen, scooped up his mom's engagement ring, wedding band, diamond earrings, diamond pendant and diamond necklace and flushed them down the toilet as she was preparing his bath.

Cohen was going through his "flushing" stage, and only one day earlier he tried to flush a whole apple down the commode.

Dani had removed her precious keepsakes in preparation of giving her son a bath, but when bath time was over, her jewelry was out of site. She and her husband, David, searched the house, but to no avail.

Finally, they asked Cohen if he had seen Mommy's "pretties."

Cohen took his mom's hand, led her to the toilet and repeated the phrase, "flushed Mommy's pretties."

Dani's husband, an underground pipe layer by trade, removed the toilet and even crawled under the house to take apart the pipes leading from the toilet.

“He had to go on his back," Dani told the Salmon Arm Observer. "He spent four or five hours under the house, taking one pipe out at a time, looking with a flashlight and having to glue it back together.”

When that effort failed, the couple called in the professionals at Reliable Septic Services. Co-owner Jacob Starnyski and David put on their Hazmat suits and waded waist deep in the stinky septic tank. After hours of pumping, screening and sifting, the jewelry still could not be found.

That was 2013, and Dani was certain that her engagement ring and other diamond jewelry were gone forever.

She was particularly fond of the Journey Diamond Pendant, a gift from her husband when they were going through some difficult emotional times.

“There are six little diamonds going down from biggest to smallest – it signifies the journey of life," she told the Salmon Arm Observer. "It just gutted me, thinking about losing that… I was horrified that was gone.”

But, recently, as the couple was preparing to sell their house, they decided to give the search one more shot.

Again, Starnyski found himself in the now-familiar mucky septic tank, and once again he would pump out the waste while screening and sifting.

"Once I got to the bottom, I took my time a little more, and lo and behold there was the ring," Starnyski told CBC News.

Wrapped around the engagement ring was Dani's cherished Journey Diamond Pendant. Later, he also found the diamond necklace.

Although the wedding band and diamond earrings remain missing, Dani was still overwhelmed by the success of the stinky expedition.

"My heart just burst with joy," Dani said. “I had tears in my eyes… I kept thanking him over and over again.”

Dani and her family had already moved 330 miles away to their new town of Nanaimo when the jewelry was found, so her parents, Donna and Doug Howard, stood in to accept the recovered jewelry from Starnyski on their daughter's behalf.

Credits: Jewelry shot and group shot courtesy of Dani Jacobsen. Jacob Starnyski shot via Facebook/reliablesepticservicesinc.

Bejeweled Maquech Beetles Are Worn as Living Jewelry South of the Border

South of the border on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, women love to make a fashion statement with the Maquech Brooch — a live beetle decked out with colorful rhinestone jewels and gold chain. The docile, wingless bug crawls on the wearer's shirt within range of its three-inch-long chain "leash" that's attached with a decorative safety pin.

If bugs make you jumpy, it’s hard to imagine the appeal of wearing a creepy-crawly beetle as a "pet-cessory." One might even find it disheartening that the creatures are destined to go through their lives as animated bling, but the bugs don't seem to mind having beautiful baubles glued to their backs. They generally live for up to three years on a diet of apples and wet, rotted wood.

The bejeweled beetles have played a romantic role in Yucatan culture for centuries. According to legend, a Mayan princess was not permitted to marry a prince from a rival clan, and when they were discovered, the lover was sentenced to death. Recognizing their plight, a shaman changed the man into a shining beetle that could be decorated and worn over the princess's heart as a reminder of their eternal bond.

Tourist shops in the Yucatan have been selling Maquech jewelry since the 1980s. Today, the glittery crawlers sell for about $10.

U.S. tourists may not bring the blingy beetles over the border. Defying the law carries a fine of up to $500. According to Smithsonian.com, several confiscated specimens are glittering among the Coleoptera collections of the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

"It doesn't take much to keep them happy," Warren Steiner, an emeritus beetle researcher at the Natural History Museum, told Smithsonian.com. "They need to eat a little starchy material, but they can survive for a long time with no water. The adults are often found under logs, bark stumps, that kind of thing. They're wood scavengers, and really sluggish. They usually play dead when you find them."

Finding and collecting Maquech beetles is the work of "Los Maquecheros," a group of men who specialize in sifting through decomposing vegetation on the forest floor.

Animal rights activists are on the record as opposing living ornamentation. Back in 2010, PETA spokesperson Jaime Zalac told The Monitor, "Beetles may not be as cute and cuddly as puppies and kittens, but they have the same capacity to feel pain and suffer.”

Interestingly, the ancient Egyptians may have been the first people to wear insects as jewelry. Historians believe that Egyptian soldiers wore scarab beetles into battle as the beetles were considered to have supernatural powers of protection against enemies.

Maquech screen captures via YouTube.com. Store shot by BlankeVla (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

March Babies, Aquamarine is Your Birthstone and One of the Most Famous Was Owned by a First Lady

Hey, March babies. Congratulations, your official birthstone is the beautiful aquamarine. Did you know that one of the largest and most famous aquamarines of all time — a 1,298-carat wonder — was gifted to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt by Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas nearly 80 years ago? It now resides in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, N.Y.

FDR had just won his second presidential election in November of 1936, when he and the First Lady decided to embark on a month-long "Good Neighbor" cruise to South America.

When the cruiser USS Indianapolis landed in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian president and his wife presented Eleanor Roosevelt with the remarkable stone from Vargas' own collection. At the time, the bluish-green rectangular step-cut gem was the world's largest cut aquamarine.

Mined in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, the gem was cut from a rough stone that weighed 6,500 carats (2.86 pounds). The rough had been shipped to Amsterdam, where cutter Gustav Reitbauer successfully produced two world-class gems — the one given to the First Lady, and a second, at 865 carats, that was sold to Jagatjit Singh, the Maharaja of Kapurthala (India).

The First Lady's gift was presented in an art deco box, which was custom made by jeweler Casa Oscar Machado. Even today, the gem remains in its original presentation box.

Like many famous gemstones, Eleanor Roosevelt's aquamarine was the subject of intrigue and controversy. In 1947, two years after FDR's death, syndicated columnist and radio personality Drew Pearson accused the former First Lady of trying to sell the aquamarine. Apparently, the columnist had learned that she had attempted to discover the gem's value. The controversy went away quietly when she donated the gem to the Roosevelt Library.

She acknowledged the aquamarine in her 1949 autobiography This I Remember: “I think it does interest people and perhaps does serve a good purpose by symbolizing the kindness and generosity of Brazilian feeling toward our country.”

The First Lady passed away in 1962 at the age of 78.

Credits: Aquamarine images courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, Hyde Park, New York; FDR and First Lady photo, by Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library Digital Archives [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons; Eleanor Roosevelt photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Music Friday: 'Under This Pressure, We Are Diamonds Taking Shape,' Sings Coldplay's Chris Martin in 'Adventure of a Lifetime'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great new tunes with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, the British rock band Coldplay compares the forging of a new relationship to the formation of diamonds deep within the Earth in a song called "Adventure of a Lifetime." It's about finding love and feeling alive again.

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin sings, "Turn your magic on / To me she'd say / Everything you want's a dream away / Under this pressure, under this weight / We are diamonds."

"Adventure of a Lifetime" is the lead single from Coldplay's A Head Full of Dreams album, which was released in November of 2015. The album signals a change of tone for Martin, whose previous work was downbeat and broody — reflecting his breakup with actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

Writing for pop music website Idolator, Bianca Gracie and Robbie Daw called the colorful and energetic "Adventure of a Lifetime" the "best Coldplay single in seven years" and described the song as "incredibly vibrant in an almost childlike, blissful way that gives such an energetic rush."

The song was co-written by Martin and band members Guy Berryman, Will Champion and Johnny Buckland. In an interview with SiriusXM radio, Martin explained that the song was inspired by a classic Guns N' Roses' rock riff.

"I'd been begging Jonny, our guitarist, for years to make a riff that I like as much as 'Sweet Child O' Mine' by Guns N' Roses," said Martin. "Then he showed me that one, and I was like, 'That's it.' So those elements all came together, and we just wanted to kind of embrace our love of joyful music and sort of let it free."

"Adventure of a Lifetime" peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs chart and #13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It was also an international hit, charting in 22 countries. The album earned the #2 position on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and a nomination for British Album of the Year.

With more than 80 million records sold worldwide, Coldplay ranks as one of the world’s best-selling music groups. In December 2009, Rolling Stone readers voted the group the fourth-best band of the 2000s. The group has earned five MTV Video Music Awards, seven Grammy Awards and 31 Grammy nominations.

We know you will enjoy the video of Cold Play's live performance of "Adventure of a Lifetime." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"Adventure of a Lifetime"

Written by Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin. Performed by Coldplay.

Turn your magic on
Umi she'd say
Everything you want's a dream away
And we are legends every day
That's what she told me

Turn your magic on,
To me she'd say
Everything you want's a dream away
Under this pressure, under this weight
We are diamonds

Now I feel my heart beating
I feel my heart underneath my skin
And I feel my heart beating
Oh, you make me feel
Like I'm alive again
Alive again
Oh, you make me feel
Like I'm alive again

Said I can't go on,
Not in this way
I'm a dream that died by light of day
Gonna hold up half the sky and say
Only I own me

And I feel my heart beating
I feel my heart underneath my skin
Oh, I can feel my heart beating
'Cause you make me feel
Like I'm alive again
Alive again
Oh, you make me feel
Like I'm alive again

Turn your magic on,
Umi she'd say
Everything you want's a dream away
Under this pressure under this weight
We are diamonds taking shape
We are diamonds taking shape

If we've only got this life
This adventure, oh, then I
And if we've only got this life
You get me through

And if we've only got this life
In this adventure, oh, then I
Want to share it with you
With you
With you
Yeah I do
Woohoo
Woohoo
Woohoo

Images: Screen captures via YouTube.

Lucapa's 404-Carat Gem-Quality Stunner Sells for $16 Million

When Lucapa unveiled an immense 404-carat diamond to the world last month, the company's chairman guessed that the pride of the Lulo Diamond Project in Angola would sell for about $14 million. On Monday, chief executive Stephen Wetherall proudly announced that the mining company's prized gem netted $16 million, or $39,580 per carat. The buyer was not revealed.

In February, Lucapa chairman Miles Kennedy had told ABC Australia that experts at his company were having trouble calculating the gem's value due to its unusual size.

“We’re not used to valuing 400-carat diamonds, but if we look at other diamonds slightly less weight than this, you’re looking in the order of [$14 million].”

The chemically pure, Type IIa gem weighs 2.8 ounces, measures 2.7 inches across and boasts a D color.

"The sale of a single diamond for $16 million underlines the huge potential of the Lulo diamond field to regularly produce gems which are both large and of world-class quality, said Wetherall.

Kennedy had noted that, over the past six months, the Lulo diamond fields in Angola have yielded more than 110 diamonds greater than 10.8 carats in weight. Four tipped the scales at more than 100 carats.

The nearly $40,000 per carat achieved by the mammoth gem was a record for any white diamond recovered from Lulo. It's also the largest diamond ever found in Angola (the previous record holder weighed 217.4 carats) and the largest ever recovered by an Australian-based mining company.

The Lulo Diamond Project is a relatively new endeavor among partners Lucapa, Endiama (the national mining company of Angola) and private Angolan partner Rosas & Pétalas. Mining operations commenced in 2015.

The alluvial diamond mining operations are located on an extremely remote parcel of pristine ground more than 430 miles from the coast.

"We look to the future with tremendous excitement at Lulo as we continue mining these exceptional alluvial diamond areas, growing our alluvial mining capability and advancing the kimberlite exploration program to locate the primary source or sources of these gems," noted Wetherall.

Image: Lucapa Diamond Company.

Hubble Space Telescope Adds Evidence to Existence of a 'Diamond Planet'

Using the Wide Field Camera on board the Hubble Space Telescope, a group of UK researches were able to add evidence to the theory that super-Earth 55 Cancri e — which revolves around a star 40 light years away — is, indeed, a "diamond planet."

Back in 2012, Yale astrophysicists estimated that the carbon-based super-planet was about two times the size of Earth, eight times more dense and had a surface temperature of 3,900 degrees Fahrenheit.

The presence of carbon, combined with high density and extreme heat create the perfect conditions for creating diamonds. They speculated that one-third of the planet could be composed of pure diamond.

Taking a stab at the potential value of a diamond planet, a Forbes columnist did the math and came up with a value of $26.9 nonillion. That's $26.9 followed by 30 zeros. Sadly, the prospects of claiming that fortune are unlikely because of the intense heat, poisonous atmosphere and inconvenient distance of 230 trillion miles.

Located in the northern constellation of Cancer, the diamond planet's host star is clearly visible with the naked eye.

The Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched into low Earth orbit back in 1990, continues to unveil chemical curiosities throughout the universe. In the case of 55 Cancri e, the Wide Field Camera was able to detect the presence of hydrogen cyanide among the hydrogen and helium gases swirling around the planet. Hydrogen cyanide is an indicator that carbon compounds may also make up part of its atmosphere.

The findings were announced by an international team, led by scientists from University College London (UCL) in the UK. A complete report will be published in the Astrophysical Journal.

“This is a very exciting result because it’s the first time that we have been able to find the spectral fingerprints that show the gases present in the atmosphere of a super-Earth,” explained Angelos Tsiaras, a PhD student at UCL, who developed the analysis technique along with his colleagues Ingo Waldmann and Marco Rocchetto.

55 Cancri e is considered an unusual super-Earth because it orbits very close to its parent star. A year on 55 Cancri e lasts for only 18 hours.

“If the presence of hydrogen cyanide and other molecules is confirmed in a few years time by the next generation of infrared telescopes, it would support the theory that this planet is indeed carbon rich and a very exotic place,” UCL's Jonathan Tennyson told spacetelescope.org. “Although hydrogen cyanide, or prussic acid, is highly poisonous, so it is perhaps not a planet I would like to live on!”

Images courtesy of ESA/Hubble, M. Kornmesser; Haven Giguere, Yale.

Platinum Jewelry Illuminates the Red Carpet at Sunday Night's 88th Academy Awards

Well before Spotlight won for Best Picture and Leonardo DiCaprio scooped up his first-ever Best Actor award for The Revenant, a bevy of Hollywood beauties — all donning stunning platinum baubles — illuminated the Red Carpet at the 88th Academy Awards. The jewelry mirrored the star-studded festivities — exciting, dramatic and frequently over-the-top.

Here are some of the highlights from Sunday night...

• Cate Blanchett, a Best Actress nominee for Carol, wore platinum by Tiffany & Co. Her ensemble included drop earrings with marquise and round diamonds ($125,000), a starfish cuff with round diamonds and a ring with a 2.30-carat round center diamond surrounded by a swirl of round diamonds ($110,000).

• Charlize Theron turned heads in a show-stopping 48.8-carat Secret Cluster Diamond Necklace by Harry Winston. The long platinum necklace was complemented by diamond cluster earrings (15.49 carats), cushion-cut diamond ring with micropavé (8.78 carats), micropavé diamond band and Queen ring with diamonds (7.44 carats). The platinum grouping was valued at $3.7 million.

• Reese Witherspoon wore an impressive suite of platinum jewelry by Tiffany & Co., which included a pair of earrings, three platinum bracelets and one platinum ring. The $1 million grouping included a ring featuring an emerald-cut 7.49-carat tsavorite with diamond accents.

• Jennifer Garner was decked out in a platinum ensemble by Neil Lane. She wore four platinum-and-diamond bracelets (150-carats, priced at $2.5 million), swirl drop earrings with diamonds and emeralds (10 carats), emerald-cut diamond ring (10 carats) and two additional platinum-and-diamond rings.

• Presenter Priyanka Chopra wore a beautiful pair of diamond drops set in platinum by Lorraine Schwartz. The earrings boasted a total weight of 50 carats and were valued at $3.2 million. She also wore three platinum rings with the following total weights and values: 22 carats ($3.4 million), 10 carats ($850,000) and 8 carats ($300,000).

• Lady Gaga, who performed the Oscar-nominated song “Til It Happens to You,” wore more than $8 million worth of platinum jewelry, including emerald-cut diamond drop earrings from designer Schwartz.

Celebrities photos courtesy of Platinum Guild International. Photo credits: Getty Images.

Cate Blanchett jewelry. Photo credit: Tiffany & Co.