Guest User 4/28/20 Guest User 4/28/20

'Dom Pedro' Occupies Prime Spot Near the Hope Diamond; Hop on the Virtual Tour!

Occupying one of the most highly trafficked locations in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals in Washington, DC, is an obelisk-shaped aquamarine that is widely recognized as the masterwork of Bernd Munsteiner, an Idar-Oberstein-based gem cutter, who has been called “The Picasso of Gems” and “The Father of the Fantasy Cut.”

The 10,363-carat "Dom Pedro" is the world's largest faceted aquamarine and one of the most recognizable treasures from the Smithsonian's National Gem Collection, which dates back to 1884.

With all the Smithsonian museums in Washington, DC, still closed in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, we offer our second virtual guided tour of the gem and mineral galleries of the National Museum of Natural History.

Visitors to the actual museum will have no trouble locating the 14-inch-tall Dom Pedro. It's just 30 feet from the Hope Diamond at the entrance of the exhibit. It occupies its own case alongside a wall panel that introduces visitors to "The Treasures From National Gem Collection." The panel explains that the 7,500-plus gemstones in the collection range in size from less than a half-carat to 23,000 carats. The panel also notes that virtually all the treasures are gifts from individuals.

To find the Dom Pedro display, please click this link. The resulting page will be the first of the many Gems and Minerals exhibits. Click twice on the double-arrows on the left of the control panel to toggle to “Geology, Gems & Minerals: Precious Gems 1.” When you arrive, you will see Dom Pedro to the left of the screen.

(You may customize your view by using the directional arrows on the control panel to look left and right, up or down. The plus and minus signs offer closeup and wide views.)

Munsteiner created Dom Pedro by utilizing a unique pattern of tapering "negative cuts," which are faceted into the two reverse faces of the obelisk. These facets reflect the light, making it appear to glow from within. The vertical "lines" near the base are hollow tubes that formed naturally in the original crystal.

Sourced in Minas Gerais, Brazil, in the late 1980s, the original crystal was almost two feet in length and weighed 57 lbs.

When Munsteiner viewed the rough gem for the first time in 1992, he said, “It was love a first sight!” according to an account at Smithsonian.com. Transforming the rough crystal into Dom Pedro would become the “project of his life.” Munsteiner spent four months studying the rough aquamarine crystal before embarking on a grueling six-month odyssey to meticulously cut, facet and polish the stone.

While cutting the gem completely by hand, he was never concerned with the eventual carat weight. His attention was purely on the beauty and the brilliance.

“When you focus on the carat weight, it’s only about the money,” he said. “I cannot create when I’m worried about the money.”

The finished work weighed 4.57 lbs., less than 1/10th of the weight of the original crystal.

Gem collector Jane Mitchell and her husband Jeffery S. Bland purchased Dom Pedro in 1999 and gifted it to the Smithsonian in 2011.

Credits: Dom Pedro photos by Donald E. Hurlbert / Smithsonian. Virtual tour screen capture via naturalhistory2.si.edu.

Guest User 4/27/20 Guest User 4/27/20

Pink Diamond Jennifer Lopez Got From Ben Affleck in 2002 Is Still Making Headlines

Back in 2002, Ben Affleck proposed to Jennifer Lopez with a 6.1-carat radiant-cut fancy intense pink diamond. Even though the power couple — affectionally known as Bennifer — never tied the knot, the ring sparked a craze for colored diamonds.

Now, 18 years and two engagements later, Lopez's pink stunner is still making headlines.

The 50-year-old singer/actress revealed during an at-home Zoom chat hosted by Apple Music's Zane Lowe that her exciting first-ever encounter with her idol, Barbra Streisand, focused primarily on the ring.

When posed with the question of how she was spending her time in quarantine, Lopez — sporting multiple rings on both hands — said that she was watching movies with her kids, 12-year-old twins Emme and Maximilian. Specifically she's been introducing them to the musicals her mom introduced her to when she was growing up. One of those movies was Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand.

"Have you met Barbra Streisand?" asked Lowe. "Can you tell us how that was?"

“I met her at an Oscar party years ago," Lopez recalled, "and I was at the time engaged to Ben Affleck. And she’s really into diamonds, which I didn’t know. He had given me a pink diamond, which got a lot of press and was... whatever."

Cutting her off in mid-phrase, Lowe joked, "It was very much not 'whatever.'"

"I mean, I loved getting it. Don’t get me wrong," Lopez clarified. "So, she came up to me, and like, she had heard about it. I’m just dying because it's Barbra Streisand. And I'm like, ‘Oh My God.’ And she’s like, ‘Can I see your ring?’ I said, 'Yeah,' and she asked me about the ring, but then she asked me – and I thought it was so strange – about being famous, and how I handle it.”

Lopez told Streisand, "I really don't think about it."

Lopez, who is now engaged to former baseball star Alex Rodriguez and is rocking a 10-plus-carat emerald-cut diamond ring, met Affleck on the set of the romantic comedy Gigli in 2002. According to Glamour.com, the duo called it quits in 2004, just four days before the wedding. Lopez and Marc Anthony tied the knot in June of 2004 and divorced 10 years later.

Check out the full interview at Apple Music. Lopez recounts her encounter with Streisand at the 3:11 mark.

Credits: Screen captures via Apple Music Presents.

Guest User 4/24/20 Guest User 4/24/20

Music Friday: Trumpeter Herb Alpert Teams Up With Janet Jackson in 1987’s ‘Diamonds’

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you memorable songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Back in 1987, legendary jazz trumpeter Herb Alpert reinvigorated his career and climbed back to the top of the charts by collaborating with a 21-year-old Janet Jackson on a song called “Diamonds.”

Borrowing from "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend” — the song famously performed by Marilyn Monroe in the 1953 film, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes — the Alpert/Jackson tune delivers the clear message that when a guy is serious about a girl, he needs to give her a tangible reminder of how much he cares. Specifically, Jackson wants something she can see — something on her finger that “shines so brightly.”

Jackson sings, “Don't you know / Diamonds are a girl's best / Best friend / When you go / They stay with me until the end.”

Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass had been one of the most successful acts of the 1960s, but faded from view by the end of the 1970s. With the 1987 release of his album Keep Your Eye on Me and the accompanying music video for “Diamonds,” the 52-year-old Alpert was back in the spotlight.

The video takes place at "Bucky's" nightclub, where the DJ is spinning “Diamonds” for an excited crowd and Alpert — trumpet in hand — gets into the act by playing live.

"Diamonds" charted in nine countries, including a #5 spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and a #4 position on the Canadian Singles chart. Jackson performed the song during her 2011 tour, "Number Ones: Up Close and Personal."

Born in Los Angeles in 1935, Alpert began trumpet lessons at the age of eight. After graduating high school in 1952, he joined the U.S. Army and played the trumpet at military ceremonies. While attending the University of Southern California in the mid-1950s, he was a member of the USC Trojan Marching Band.

In 1957, Alpert decided to pursue a career in music. He set up a recording studio in his garage and adopted a trumpet style inspired by the mariachi bands of Tijuana, Mexico.

The artist and his band, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, are credited with 14 Top 40 singles, 14 platinum albums and more than 72 million records sold. Alpert has won nine Grammy awards and is the only artist to have a #1 instrumental and a #1 vocal single. He is also the co-founder of A&M Records.

Please check out Alpert doing what he does best in the “Diamonds” music video. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

"Diamonds"
Written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Performed by Herb Alpert, featuring Janet Jackson and Lisa Keith.

You told me you love me
You told me you care

But when I'm around you
It's like I'm not there
I need a reminder
Something I can see

Something on my finger shines so brightly

Don't you know
Diamonds are a girl's best friend

When you go
They stay with me until the end

Don't you know
Diamonds are a girl's best
Best friend

When you go
They stay with me until the end

Don't want your money
Don't want your key
Diamonds - love don't come for free

They say you need some roses
But roses do die

You gave me some candy
It melted
Nice try
I'm not that demanding
I have simple taste
I just want a token that can't go to waste - Diamonds

Don't want your money
Don't want your key
Diamonds - love don't come for free

Don't you know
Diamonds are a girl's best friend

When you go
They stay with me until the end

Don't you know
Diamonds are a girl's best
Best friend

When you go
They stay with me until the end

Don't want your money
Don't want your key
Diamonds - love don't come for free

Credit: Image by General Artists Corporation (GAC)/A&M Records (management and record companies) / Public domain.

Guest User 4/23/20 Guest User 4/23/20

Here Are the Top Baby Girl Names Inspired by Precious Gemstones

The most popular baby girl names in the U.S. are Emma, Olivia, Ava, Isabella and Sophia, according to the Social Security Administration’s latest statistics.

With traditional names all the rage, expectant parents may consider taking a closer look at the symbolic and beautiful baby names associated with precious stones.

It was not unusual in the early 1900s to have a schoolhouse filled with youngsters named Pearl, Opal, Coral and Beryl. Parents at the time believed that children named for precious stones would be anointed with luck and prosperity.

Now, more than 100 years later, six gem-inspired names are ranked in the Social Security Administration’s official list of the Top 1000 Baby Names (The latest stats cover the years 1900 through 2018).

Here we rate the names in descending order along with comparative stats from yesteryear…

820. Opal. A gem associated with love, Opal returned to the Top 1000 list in 2017 after being gone for 57 years. While it ranked #820 in 2018, it's important to note that Opal reached its all-time high position of #81 in 1911 and remained in the Top 200 until 1934.

647. Pearl. Said to symbolize the purity, generosity, integrity and loyalty of its wearer, Pearl was one of the most popular girl’s names in 1900. In that year, it attained its highest ranking of #24, and the name remained in the Top 50 through 1911. It slowly faded from favor over the next 60-plus years, bottoming out at #1000 in 1979. The name Pearl has seen a resurgence recently, ranking #647 in 2018. Perla, a variation of Pearl, also made the Top 1000 at #921.

471. Amber. A beautiful deep yellow gemstone made from fossilized tree resin. Amber was the 13th most popular girl’s name in 1986 and was a Top 20 performer from 1981 through 1993. Amber fell out of the Top 100 in 2005 and slid to #471 in 2018.

377. Esmeralda. The Spanish word for emerald, Esmeralda ranked #377 in 2018, down from its peak position of #133 in 1998. The name has been on the Top 1000 list since 1951, when it entered at #958. This gem symbolizes growth, reflection, peace and balance. (See the Emerald listing below in the section called "Off the Charts.")

111. Jade. This deep green gemstone, which is revered in the Orient for its mystical and healing properties, arrived on the U.S. top names chart in 1975 (#900) and has been in the Top 200 since 1992. In 2018, it ranked #111, up slightly from #130 in 2008. Jada and Jayda, two variations of the name, also made the list at #396 and #577, respectively.

74. Ruby. Fiery and captivating, the rich red ruby is known as the stone of nobility and is considered a symbol of passion and power. Back in 1911, Ruby ranked at the 22nd most popular girl’s name and remained a Top 50 name for the next 24 years. The name hit its low point of #401 in 1986 and has been on a rapid ascent ever since. Now ranked at #74, Ruby is the most popular gemstone-inspired name.

Off the charts…
Here are a few gemstone names that failed make the Top 1000 list…

Diamond. Famous for its strength, clarity and brilliance, diamond is the hardest substance known to man and the birthstone for the month of April. As a girl’s name, Diamond dropped off the Top 1000 chart in 2015 after ranking #887 in 2014. As a girl’s name, Diamond’s popularity peaked in 1999 at #150.

Emerald. Often referred to as one of the four main precious stones, Emerald made the Top 1000 list in 2017 after a 15-year hiatus and then fell off again. The name had been consistently ranked in the Top 1000 from 1991 through 2002.

Beryl. Representative of a mineral family that includes emerald and aquamarine, beryl was a marginally popular name in the early 1900s. It ranked as high as #374 in 1920 and fell off the Top 1000 list in 1958.

Coral. A symbol of modesty, wisdom, happiness and immortality, Coral briefly reentered Top 1000 in 1991 and fell off again in 1993. The name had its longest run in popularity from 1902 through 1911, ranking between #739 and #995.

Check out the SSA's informative and fun-to-use baby name website at this link.

Credit: Baby photo by BigstockPhoto.com.

Guest User 4/22/20 Guest User 4/22/20

Gold-Infused Drug Inhibits Spread of Coronavirus, Say Georgia State Researchers

Auranofin, a gold-infused drug originally developed in 1985 and approved by the FDA to treat rheumatoid arthritis, is effective at inhibiting the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to researchers at Georgia State University.

In the preliminary study, human cells infected with the virus were treated with Auranofin, and within 48 hours of treatment, the amount of virus within the cells dropped by 95 percent. Treatment also resulted in significant reduction of coronavirus-induced inflammation.

Like all viruses, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes the disease COVID-19) cannot reproduce on its own. Instead it uses host cell proteins to manufacture copies of itself.

“Effective drugs need to interfere with this replication process, shutting down the virus’s ability to proliferate inside the host,” said Hussin Rothan, a post-doctoral researcher at Georgia State and co-author of the study.

Because the drug has already been approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, it could potentially be fast-tracked to patients in need.

“Drug repurposing is the fastest way to get a treatment for SARS-CoV-2 because it’s already been established that these medicines are safe to use in humans,” said Mukesh Kumar, lead author of the study and assistant professor of biology.

Auranofin is a chemical compound containing particles of gold, an element known to have anti-inflammatory properties for nearly a century.

The Georgia State University researchers explained that Auranofin also dramatically reduced the expression of cytokines — signaling proteins that draw immune cells to the site of infection— caused by SARS-CoV-2. Normally, the immune system works by fighting off invading pathogens and repairing damage to the body’s tissues.

But many coronavirus-infected patients who die do so because of something called a “cytokine storm,” in which the body’s immune response spirals out of control, killing healthy tissue and leading to organ failure.

According to Kumar, the research seems to indicate that the drug not only could inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV-2, mitigating the infection, but also reduce the associated lung damage that often leads to severe respiratory distress and even death.

Precious metal has been used in medicine since ancient times, and more recently, scientists have explored gold compounds as effective treatments for HIV, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders and parasitic and bacterial infections.

Kumar and his team plan to test the drug in animal models to learn more about how it affects infection and illness, and whether it is effective in treating the disease.

The researchers at Georgia State University have made their paper publicly available for the global research and healthcare community on the preprint website bioRxiv.

Credits: Hussin Rothan image courtesy of Georgia State University. Graphic by https://www.scientificanimations.com / CC BY-SA.

Guest User 4/21/20 Guest User 4/21/20

Can't Visit the National Gem Collection in DC? Here's the Next Best Thing

More than six million people pass through the hallowed halls of the Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection in an average year. The collection dates back to 1884 and is the home to some of the world’s most famous gems. But, with all the Smithsonian museums in Washington, DC, temporarily closed to support the effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, we will continue to bring you the next best thing: guided virtual tours of the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals.

In today’s tour, we will take you to a section of the exhibit that houses a trio of magnificent tourmalines, the most famous of which is called “The Steamboat.”

Here’s how to get there…

By clicking this link, you will see the first of the many Gems and Minerals exhibits. Click multiple times on the double-arrows on the right of the control panel to toggle to “Geology, Gems & Minerals: Minerals 9." When you arrive, you will see three displays to the left of the screen. The center one houses The Steamboat (see image, above).

You may customize your view by using the directional arrows on the control panel to look left and right, up or down. The plus and minus signs offer closeup and wide views. Clicking on the camera icons in front of the tourmaline exhibits will generate a pop-up snapshot of each specimen.

Standing 11 inches tall and hailing from San Diego County, CA, The Steamboat’s two parallel crystals (which look like steamboat stacks) display a range of vibrant colors that start at vivid reddish-pink at the bottom and transition to a bright bluish-green at the top. The tourmaline crystals rise out of a base of Cleavelandite, which is perched atop a large quartz crystal.

Frank Barlow Schuyler is credited with discovering the fascinating formation at the Tourmaline King Mine in 1907. Three years earlier, Schuyler and a partner, D.G. Harrington, quite literally stumbled upon an enormous pocket of tourmaline crystals while searching for pegmatite in the Pala Chief Mountains.

Schuyler soon discovered that the tourmaline-rich pocket extended 30 feet in length and 10 feet wide, a single zone that would yield about eight tons of beautiful pink tourmaline. Schuyler would eventually sell most of the bounty to the Imperial Chinese government for $187.50 per pound — about $5,148 per pound in today’s dollars.

By 1915, Schuyler was still riding the wave of his tourmaline-based good fortune. At the Panama Pacific International Exhibition in San Francisco, the owner of the Tourmaline King Mine marketed his gems with the slogan, “Wear a tourmaline for luck.”

The Steamboat tourmaline was later purchased by master engineer Washington A. Roebling, who included it in his collection of 16,000 mineral specimens. Roebling was most famous for designing the Brooklyn Bridge. Roebling’s son, John, donated the specimen to the Smithsonian Institution, where it is has been on permanent display at the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals, which is part of the National Museum of Natural History.

Credits: Photos by Penland / Smithsonian. Virtual tour screen capture via naturalhistory2.si.edu.

Guest User 4/20/20 Guest User 4/20/20

World’s Top Diamond Producer, Alrosa, Doubles Spending to Battle COVID-19

Alrosa, the world’s leading diamond producer in terms of carats, has more than doubled its spending to counter the spread of COVID-19 in and around its mining and administrative sites in Yakutia and Moscow. Alrosa announced last week that its initial outlay of 147 million rubles ($1.99 million) has been elevated to 308 million rubles ($4.15 million).

The funds will continue to be used to buy sanitizers, ventilators, medical equipment, medicines and personal protective gear for regional healthcare institutions, corporate healthcare facilities, operating sites and subsidiary offices.

Specifically, hospitals near its mining facilities in Mirny, Lensk and Aikhal will be getting 25 million rubles ($340,000) in financial aid to purchase antibiotics, antivirals and other medicines and materials. The Ministry of Health of Yakutia will be getting 28,800 COVID-19 test kits valued at 23 million rubles ($311,000).

Alrosa Medical Center is slated to get six mobile labs that are capable of running express testing for COVID-19, and 17 thermal imaging cameras will be installed at the company’s production and administrative sites. The cameras can identify workers with fevers.

In Moscow, Alrosa made its former administrative building available to be utilized by the authorities in their counter-pandemic efforts.

Alrosa's CEO Sergey Ivanov has led by example. On April 6, Ivanov sold half his shares in the company for 18.5 million rubles ($250,000), which he then donated to the coronavirus initiatives in Yakutia, the home of Alrosa’s main operations and headquarters.

Alrosa is the world leader in diamond mining, accounting for more than 25% in the global diamond production in terms of carats. Alrosa operates more than 20 diamond deposits located in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Arkhangelsk Region of Russia.

Credit: Image courtesy of Alrosa.

Guest User 4/17/20 Guest User 4/17/20

Music Friday: Rob Thomas Tells a Story of Empathy and Love in 2009's ‘Her Diamonds’

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fabulous songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. In his 2009 hit, “Her Diamonds,” Rob Thomas reflects on his wife’s battle with a debilitating autoimmune disease. In this deeply personal song about empathy and love, Thomas uses the phrase “her diamonds” as a metaphor for his wife’s tears.

He sings, “And she says oh / I can’t take no more / Her tears like diamonds on the floor / And her diamonds bring me down / Cause I can’t help her now.”

The former Matchbox 20 frontman revealed in a 2015 interview with The Canadian Press, that “Her Diamonds” was about his wife, Marisol, a former model who suffers from a disease similar to lupus.

“My wife has an autoimmune disease and [we’ve had to] deal with that for the last six or seven years,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s really a song about being empathetic, when the person closest to you is going through something and you can’t do anything to make it better, except to be there for them.”

At the end of the song Thomas expresses his hope that his wife will overcome the disease, singing, “If she can find daylight / She’ll be alright / She’ll be alright / Just not tonight.”

According to Thomas, Marisol provided backup vocals for the track and produced the arrangement.

“Her Diamonds” was the lead single from Thomas’ second solo album, Cradlesong. It zoomed to #1 on the U.S. Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart, topped out at #23 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and peaked at #27 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart.

Thomas found stardom in 1997 when Matchbox 20’s debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You, went multi-platinum and readers of Rolling Stone magazine named Matchbox 20 the best new band.

As a solo artist, Thomas hit the pinnacle of success when “Smooth,” his collaboration with Carlos Santana, topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for 12 weeks and earned three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

We hope you enjoy the video of Thomas’ live performance of “Her Diamonds.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along...

“Her Diamonds”
Written and performed by Rob Thomas.

Oh what the hell she said
I just can’t win for losing
And she lays back down
Man there’s so many times
I don’t know what I’m doing
Like I don’t know now

By the light of the moon
She rubs her eyes
Says it’s funny how the night
Can make you blind
I can just imagine
And I don’t know what I’m supposed to do
But if she feels bad then i do too
So I let her be

And she says oh
I can’t take no more
Her tears like diamonds on the floor
And her diamonds bring me down
Cause I can’t help her now
She’s down in it
She tried her best but now she can’t win it
Hard to see them on the ground
Her diamonds falling down

She sits down and stares into the distance
And it takes all night
And i know i could break her concentration
But it don’t feel right
By the light of the moon
She rubs her eyes
Sits down on the bed and starts to cry
And there’s something less about her
And I don’t know what I’m supposed to do
So I sit down and I cry too
And don’t let her see

She shuts out the night
Tries to close her eyes
If she can find daylight
She’ll be alright
She’ll be alright
Just not tonight

Credit: Photo by R. Cohen.

Guest User 4/16/20 Guest User 4/16/20

'Today' Show Weatherman Al Roker Is Thrilled for Newly Engaged Daughter Courtney

Al Roker was thrilled to announce his daughter's engagement on Instagram this past Sunday. The venerable Today show weatherman shared three pics of his daughter, Courtney, posing with her new fiancé, Wesley Laga, and showing off what appears to be a princess-cut diamond in a square diamond halo setting. The post earned more than 62,000 Likes and generated nearly 1,800 comments.

"I was waiting to get the ok," Roker wrote to his 632,000 followers, "but now that it’s on her insta, we are so thrilled the @djweslaga asked @ouichefcourtney to marry him. #shesaidyes Could not be more thrilled for these two."

Courtney, a trained chef and recipe developer for Chefman, a kitchen appliance company, revealed on Instagram that she and Wesley were supposed to get engaged in Paris, but had to scrap those plans due to the coronavirus pandemic. They were self-isolating when Wesley popped the question.

"Life sometimes takes you in a different direction for a reason," she wrote. "We should have been in Paris, but with how the world is at the moment, it was placed on hold. Instead, Wes brought Paris to me with the music, lights and live cam shot of the Eiffel Tower on our TV."

"I said yes to my best friend last night and I am over the moon!" she continued. "Thank you Wes for making me your partner in crime for life. I love you." She punctuated the post with a red heart emoji.

Roker's NBC colleagues were quick to respond to his post with the following exclamations...

"WOW!!!!!!!!" wrote host Savannah Guthrie.

"Whoohooo!!!!!" noted weather correspondent Dylan Dreyer.

Carson Daly added, "Lezzz goooooo!!!!!"

Courtney, 34, is the oldest of Roker's three children. The others are Leila, 21, and Nick, 18.

Roker, 65, who has been a Today show favorite for more than 24 years, has kept out of harm's way by shooting live feeds from his home. In a post shared on Instagram, Roker described how his makeshift studio was created from two iPhones, an iPad, an LED light panel and a mic combo.

Credits: Images via Instagram.com/ouichefcourtney, Instagram.com/alroker.

Guest User 4/15/20 Guest User 4/15/20

Sanitation Crew Helps GA Woman Rescue 3-Stone Diamond Ring From County Landfill

Gainesville resident Joan Sheffield says that as soon as Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp lifts the state's shelter-in-place order, she will be hosting a luncheon for a sanitation crew that helped find her three-stone diamond wedding ring at the Hall County Landfill.

Sheffield had worn the ring on her left hand for the past 34 years, but accidentally threw it away. The precious keepsake ended up in a giant pile of trash at a landfill facility that processes 339 tons of solid waste every day.

Sheffield told AJC.com that she had been preparing a meatloaf when she took off the ring, wrapped it in a paper towel and placed it in her pocket. The 67-year-old remembered being “in a fog” that weekend because her mom had just passed away and Sheffield was tasked with cleaning out her mom’s apartment and packing up her belongings.

At the end of the day, she noticed that her pockets were filled with old receipts and paper scraps that had to be discarded. And, yes, among those worthless items was her precious ring neatly wrapped in a paper towel.

The ring was irreplaceable because it included her engagement diamond framed by two smaller diamonds that had been gifted to her by her father.

Sheffield didn’t realize her ring was gone until the next morning. By that time, the trash collectors had already come and gone.

“I heard the trash men come and didn’t think anything of it,” she told AJC.com. “As soon as I got out of the shower, I looked down at my hand and realized I didn’t have it.”

It was 8:30 a.m on a Monday when Dan Owen, the city’s superintendent of solid waste and recycling, answered an urgent call from Sheffield. The superintendent was able to intercept the truck that had serviced Sheffield’s neighborhood and ordered its crew to dump the load on a large concrete slab at the landfill facility.

Sheffield and her husband, Tommy, were already at the landfill when the truck arrived.

Owen told AJC.com that he’s received many calls from panicked residents over the years. In most cases, they call too late and the valuable item has already been buried at the bottom of the landfill. Fortunately, Sheffield called just in time.

For about 30 minutes, the couple — assisted by the sanitation crew — rummaged through countless trash bags. Then something caught Sheffield's eye — a distinctive green twist tie that her husband used to close up the trash bag the night before.

“Sure enough, there were four or five smaller bags in there and the third one was the charm,” she told Atlanta’s NBC affiliate 11Alive. “I found it.”

Sheffield described the sanitation crew as “so nice” and “so thoughtful.” She’s looking forward to taking them to lunch as soon as the state’s shelter in place order is rescinded.

“It’s a crazy time with all that’s happening right now in the world,” Johnnie Vickers, Hall County’s solid waste director told AJC.com. “And I’m just glad we were able to help make at least one person’s day a little better. It’s not a glamorous job, but these are the kind of moments that make it all worth it.”

Credits: Ring photo and couple photo by Joan Sheffield. Landfill image by Hall County Government.