The Chinese Year of the Tiger officially starts on February 1, and The Perth Mint is marking the occasion with a limited-edition, silver proof coin featuring the image of the Chinese zodiac animal rendered in pure Australian opal.
Irregular slices of the bluish-purple precious stone are meticulously arranged to fill out the shape of the tiger, which stands out from the center of a black circular background.
The coin’s outer ring features stylized depictions of cineraria flowers, which are considered to be lucky for those born in the Year of the Tiger. The outer ring also includes the inscription “YEAR OF THE TIGER,” the Chinese character for “Tiger,” the year 2022, the coin’s weight and purity, and The Perth Mint’s traditional “P” mintmark.
Designed by Lucas Bowers, the Aussie coin measures 36.6mm in diameter, which is slightly smaller than a US silver dollar.
The one-ounce, legal tender silver coin is the sixth release in the Australian Opal Lunar Series — a series that launched with an opal rooster design in 2017 and was followed up with opal-adorned Chinese zodiac offerings in 2018 (dog), 2019 (pig), 2020 (rat) and 2021 (ox).
Those born in the Year of the Tiger are said to be brave, competitive, unpredictable and confident. The tiger is the third animal of the ancient lunar calendar.
The obverse of the tiger coin features the Jody Clark effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the weight and fineness, the “1 DOLLAR” denomination, “AUSTRALIA,” and the Queen’s name. The tiger coin will have a limited release of 5,000 units.
The Perth Mint frequently pays tribute to themes that are truly Australian. Opal is the official gemstone of Australia, and the country is credited with supplying nearly 95% the world’s fine opal.
From 2012 through 2014, the mint promoted the Australian Opal Series of five coins depicting native animals, including the koala, wombat, kangaroo, pygmy possum and Tasmanian devil — all rendered in opal.
The gold-clad mirrors of the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope will play a key role in observing galaxies that are more than 13 billion light years away.
In fact, NASA scientists believe that gold's superior ability to maximize the mirrors' reflection of infrared light gives Webb its best chance of seeing the cosmos.
On December 24, a rocket carrying the telescope took off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Its 21-foot-wide primary mirror was so large that it had to be folded — origami style — to fit into the capsule. Then, on January 8, the 18 segments of its primary mirror successfully unfolded in deep space to reveal a spectacular golden array.
The James Webb Space Telescope is designed to look back through time to when galaxies were young, to see light from the earliest galaxies as they formed after the Big Bang. It will also allow scientists to study the atmospheres of planets that orbit distant stars and search for signs of life.
In describing the massive telescope, a NASA spokesperson said in a video posted to Youtube, "The gold mirrors are definitely its most stunning feature. And, yes, that's real gold."
The spokesperson explained that a microscopic layer of gold was applied to each of the 18 hexagonal segments, each of which measures about 4.3 feet across. The area of the assembled mirror is approximately 25 square meters (270 square feet) and the mass is 705 kilograms (1,550 pounds).
Despite the mirror's vast dimensions, the amount of gold needed to coat all of the segments was 48 grams, about the equivalent of five men's wedding bands.
That's because the thickness of the gold layer is 100 nanometers, about 1/1000th the width of a human hair. To protect the precious metal on its journey, a thin layer of glass was applied on top of the gold.
NASA chose gold over other metals because of its high reflective qualities and its durability. Metals, such as aluminum and silver, reflect 85% and 95% of infrared light, respectively. Gold reflects 99% of all the infrared light it encounters. Gold is also one of the most unreactive metals, making it extraordinarily resilient to oxidization or decay during its five- to 10-year mission.
On Sunday, February 6, Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate 70 years on the British throne, and The Royal Mint will be commemorating her remarkable Platinum Jubilee with a series of precious metal coins.
The special obverse design, by esteemed artist John Bergdahl, depicts The Queen on horseback and will be struck on the "heads" side of a new 50p and traditional £5 crown.
Representing Her Majesty’s fondness of nature, the Queen-approved design is reminiscent of the equestrian designs for the 1953 Coronation and 2002 Jubilee crown pieces.
Upon the death of her father, King George VI at age 56, Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1952. She was only 25 at the time. The Queen broke the record as the longest-reigning British monarch in September 2015.
There will be year-long Platinum Jubilee celebrations throughout the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and around the world as communities come together to celebrate The Queen’s historic reign.
The coins of The Queen's Platinum Jubilee will be available in platinum, gold, silver and brilliant uncirculated cupronickel (copper-nickel alloy). Prices vary widely, depending on the metal of choice. For example, the 50 pence coin depicting the "70" logo retails for £1,395 in platinum, £1,095 in gold, £102.50 in silver and £7 in cupronickel.
The precious-metal versions of the coins will be minted in limited quantities, while the availability of the cupronickel version will be unlimited.
The "70" logo on the "tails" side of the 50p coin, which includes the Queen's cypher, or monogram, was conceived by Osborne Ross. The heraldic designs of Bergdahl are displayed on the "tails" side of the £5 coins.
The UK has instituted a special four-day Jubilee bank holiday from Thursday, June 2 to Sunday, June 5, during which the British government has promised a "once-in-a-generation show" that will "mix the best of British ceremonial splendor and pageantry with cutting-edge artistic and technological displays."
Credits: Photo of coins courtesy of The Royal Mint. Queen Elizabeth II (1953) by Associated Press, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Queen Elizabeth II (2015) by PolizeiBerlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today we feature Justin Bieber singing about pearls in the R&B remix of his 2010 release, “Up.”
In this 2011 collaboration with Chris Brown, the Canadian heartthrob refuses to call it quits on a troubled relationship that has nowhere to go but up. He tells his girlfriend that they have the power to make the sun shine in the moonlight and make the grey clouds turn to blue skies.
He also promises to take her around the world and lavish her with pearls sourced from every ocean they encounter.
In the key jewelry line, Bieber sings, “It’s a big, big world / And I’m gonna show you all of it / I’m gonna lace you with pearls, oh / From every ocean that we’re swimmin’ in.”
Originally the 9th track on Bieber’s chart-topping 2010 debut studio album, My World 2.0, “Up” was re-released on Valentine’s Day 2011 as the 7th track of his Never Say Never – The Remixes album. That release — which featured collaborations with Brown, Jaden Smith, Usher, Rascal Flatts, Miley Cyrus, Kanye West and Raekwon — also soared to #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart.
The Canadian-born Justin Drew Bieber started to make his move into the music business in 2007. That's when the adorable, fresh-faced 13-year-old placed second in a local singing competition. Bieber’s mom, Pattie, posted a video of his performance on YouTube, and then added other videos of her son singing covers of various R&B songs.
It’s been reported that music executive Scooter Braun accidentally clicked on one of Bieber’s videos — thinking he was watching a 20-year-old doing a cover of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.” The impressive performer was, in fact, the teenage Bieber.
Braun tracked down the youngster in Canada, and with the permission of Bieber’s mom, introduced him to singer-songwriter Usher, who soon became his mentor. Bieber was then signed by record executive L.A. Reid and the rest is Bieber history.
Bieber has sold an estimated 150 million records, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He’s earned two Grammy Awards, 18 American Music Awards, 21 Billboard Music Awards, six MTV Video Music Awards and a record 21 MTV Europe Music Awards.
The 27-year-old Bieber has 91 million followers on Facebook, 114 million on Twitter and 214 million on Instagram.
Please check out the audio track of the soulful Bieber/Brown collaboration of “Up.” The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along…
“Up”
Written by Adam Messinger, Justin Bieber and Nasri Atweh. Performed by Justin Bieber, with Chris Brown.
It’s a big, big world
It’s easy to get lost in it
You’ve always been my girl, oh
And I’m not ready to call it quits
We can make the sun shine in the moonlight
We can make the grey clouds turn to blue skies
I know it’s hard
Baby, believe me
That we can go nowhere but up
From here, my dear
Baby, we can go nowhere but up
Tell me what we’ve got to fear
We’ll take it to the sky past the moon to the galaxy
As long as you’re with me, baby
Honestly (honestly) with the strength of our love
We can’t go nowhere but up
It’s a big, big world
And I’m gonna show you all of it
I’m gonna lace you with pearls, oh
From every ocean that we’re swimmin’ in
We can make the sun shine in the moonlight
We can make the grey clouds turn to blue skies
Yeah, I know it’s hard
Baby, believe me, ooh
That we can go nowhere but up
From here, my dear
Baby, we can go nowhere but up
Tell me what we’ve got to fear
We’ll take it to the sky past the moon to the galaxy
As long as you’re with me, baby
Honestly (honestly) with the strength of our love
We can’t go nowhere but up
Nowhere but up
Baby, we were underground
We’re on the surface now
We’re gonna make it girl
I promise
If you believe in love
And you believe in us
We can go nowhere but up
We can go nowhere but up
From here, my dear
Baby, we can’t go nowhere but up
Tell me what we’ve got to fear
We’ll take it to the sky past the moon to the galaxy
As long as you’re with me, baby
Honestly, honestly with the strength of our love
We can go nowhere but up
We love to write about romantic marriage proposals, but today we take a deep dive into the murky subject of who gets to keep the engagement ring when a relationship fails and the wedding never takes place.
Although there is no uniform law in the US or Canada regarding the return of engagement rings after a breakup, the Alabama Court of Appeals recently ruled that an engagement ring given on the condition of marriage must be returned to the giver if the relationship fails.
According to court records, an Alabama man proposed to his then-girlfriend on Christmas Eve of 2018 with a ring valued at $32,000. Later in 2019, the girlfriend had a change of heart and broke off the engagement. The ex-boyfriend asked for the ring, but she claimed that she tossed it into the intracoastal waterway. The ex-girlfriend later admitted that she sold the ring for the heavily discounted price of $10,000.
The ex-boyfriend sued to get the value of the ring back, but lost his case at a county circuit court, with that judge ruling that the ring was given as a Christmas present and the ex-girlfriend had no obligation to return it.
That verdict was flipped by the Alabama Court of Appeals, which determined that the woman was "unjustly enriched" at her ex-boyfriend’s expense, while adding that the gift was given on the condition of a marriage. Since the marriage never took place, the court ordered the woman to pay back the $32,000.
Back in 2014, a New York county judge allowed a Valley Stream woman to keep her $10,200 diamond ring even though she broke off the relationship with her fiancé, who was also the father of their child. The woman argued that her ex gave her the ring as a “a gift for being a great woman, a good mother of his child.” The judge agreed, stating that the ring was “given as a gift and not in contemplation of marriage.”
According to an article posted by Virginia-based law firm SmolenPlevy, most states view an engagement ring as a semi-contract, or a “conditional gift.” In this view, the ring is given with the understanding that the couple will get married in the future and symbolizes a verbal contract. Ownership of the ring is not fully transferred until the wedding ceremony is completed.
A few jurisdictions, explained SmolenPlevy, take a slightly different view, calling the ring an “implied gift.” In this case, ownership of the ring is determined by whomever calls off the wedding. If the giver breaks it off, he or she is not entitled to the ring, and it becomes a gift. If the receiver breaks off the engagement, the giver can ask for the ring back.
Ownership of the ring can also be complicated by whether the ring was a family heirloom, or whether it was given as a “gift” on a holiday or birthday, for example.
The non-legal, but traditional, etiquette calls for the engagement ring to be returned to the giver if the recipient breaks the relationship, or if the breakup was mutual. If the giver is responsible for the breakup, the receiver controls the destiny of the ring.
SmolenPlevy recommends that the best way to avoid costly, emotional and drawn-out litigation is to enter into a prenuptial or premarital agreement, which outlines clearly who will get the ring if the wedding never takes place. This agreement also can cover what happens to the ring if the couple gets married but later divorces.
With the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing less than a month away, let's take a close look at the gold, silver and bronze "Tong Xin" medals that will be awarded at the much-anticipated global event.
"Tong Xin" means "together as one" and the circle-in-a-circle design is reminiscent of the themes seen in ancient Chinese jade pendants. The front of the medals feature the Olympic rings engraved in the center with rimmed concentric circles radiating outward. The circles embody the traditional Chinese philosophy of harmony between heaven, earth and human beings. The rings also represent the Olympic vision of building a better world through sport.
The raised rims create a channel effect, and three of the four channels are engraved with traditional Chinese patterns and descriptive information about the Games. The outermost channel contains icons of ice and snow, while the next channel is adorned with cloud iconography. The innermost channel is engraved with the words "XXIV Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022."
"When athletes hold the medals in their hands, they will first touch the details embodying ancient Chinese culture," noted chief designer Hang Hai. "Then if they look closely, they will see the cloud and snowflake patterns on the obverse side, and celestial patterns on the reverse side."
The 2022 medals carry a slight resemblance to the jade-inlaid medals of the Olympic Summer Games that took place in Beijing in 2008. This was done intentionally to emphasize the fact that Beijing is the first city to host the Summer and Winter Games.
On the back of the medal, engraved in the centermost circle, is the emblem of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. The full name of the games written in Chinese lettering is wrapped in a semi-circle underneath. Also engraved on the back is the name of the specific Olympic event for which the particular medal will be awarded.
Contrary to what many people believe, a gold medal awarded at the Olympics contains just 6 grams of gold. The core of the gold medal is actually made of 99.9% silver. Silver medals are, in fact, made of silver, and the bronze medals are made of copper.
There was a time when Olympic gold medals were made of solid gold, but the last ones were awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, way back in 1912.
The Olympic Winter Games in Beijing will take place from February 4-20, 2022. The Paralympic Games begin March 4.
Credits: Images courtesy of Beijing 2022 Olympic Committee.
After being out of the public eye for more than four decades, the "Subway Garnet" is once again the pride of Manhattan.
When the American Museum of Natural History unveiled its completely redesigned, 11,000-square-foot Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals in June of 2021, visitors were encouraged to see the 9 pound 10 ounce reddish-brown crystal of the almandine garnet that had been discovered under Manhattan’s 35th Street in 1885.
(Garnet in all of its varieties — almandine, pyrope, spessartine, grossular and andradite — is the official birthstone for January.)
The Subway Garnet's return to star status reflected a remarkable change of fortune for the unusual specimen. Back in 1968, it had been a top attraction, displayed proudly at the entrance to the museum's Gems and Mineral Hall. Then, sadly, the excitement faded and the Subway Garnet was relegated to a storage drawer on the museum's fourth floor. There it remained, unseen, for nearly 40 years.
The unglamorous — and confusing — history of the Subway Garnet dates back to 1885 when it was discovered by a city worker near the corner of 35 Street and Madison Avenue in New York City. The original story claimed that the stone emerged during the excavation of the New York City subway system. But, those early accounts didn't hold water.
You see, the New York City subway officially broke ground in 1900, 15 years after the discovery of the Subway Garnet. It was much more likely that odd-looking stone with 24 natural facets was found during a sewer excavation. Perhaps, the name “Sewer Garnet” didn’t carry the right ambience for the rare gem.
The New York Times added clarity to the legend in a 2016 article. The publication reported that the massive crystal was, in fact, found eight feet underground during a sewer excavation in August of 1885. At that time, William Niven, the owner of a business that sold gemstones and minerals, claimed that he picked up the garnet as he was passing by the site, just after an unnamed laborer dumped it on the street during the excavation. Dr. Niven then sold it for $100 to mineralogist George F. Kunz.
George Harlow, the then-Curator for the Earth Sciences Department at the museum, told The New York Times in 2016 that he hoped the Subway Garnet would once again see the light of day and regain its old luster.
“Nothing’s been finalized, but I believe plans are afoot,” Harlow said. “I’d certainly like to see it available to the public before I retire.”
Harlow, who has been with the museum for more than 40 years and now holds the title of Curator Emeritus, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Division of Physical Sciences, got his wish in 2021. The seven-inch-wide stone, which has been comically described as Fred Flintstone's bowling ball, is now the highlight of the museum's Minerals of New York display featuring specimens from all five of the city's boroughs.
Fancy-diamond specialist Diacore — the company responsible for cutting the Pink Star, the most expensive gem ever sold at auction — recently purchased an exceptional 32.32-carat pink rough diamond for $13.8 million, or about $427,000 per carat.
Diacore's purchase of the pink diamond was the highlight of Petra Diamond's first tender of goods from its Tanzania-based Williamson mine, which had been shuttered early in 2020 due to COVID and is expected to restart its operations in the first quarter of 2022.
"This rare masterpiece of nature is a natural fit to our unique offering as cutters and marketeers of special diamonds," noted Diacore chairman Nir Livnat in a statement. "Looking forward to work[ing] with the team on a stellar one-of-a-kind gem."
Diacore explained that the rare pink diamond will be analyzed, designed and cut by the company's highly experienced team to unlock its magnificent hidden beauty.
The company is credited with a portfolio of some of the highest-profile diamonds of all time. Among them is the 59.60-carat Pink Star. In April of 2017, the flawless, fancy vivid pink diamond shattered the world record for the highest price ever paid for any gem at auction. Hong Kong-based luxury jewelry retailer Chow Tai Fook bid $71.2 million ($1.19 million per carat) to secure the diamond at Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite sale in Hong Kong.
Diacore was responsible for taking the original 132.5-carat rough diamond and fashioning it into an oval mixed-cut masterpiece — a process that would take two years. The gem had been unearthed by De Beers in Botswana in 1999.
The Geneva-based manufacturer also made news in July of 2021 when it joined with DeBeers to purchase a 39.34-carat blue rough diamond sourced at South Africa’s iconic Cullinan Mine. The price was $40.1 million, or just over $1 million per carat.
Diacore is a multinational diamond company with diversified interests in the diamond industry. It provides rough and polished diamonds to customers around the world and operates manufacturing facilities in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and New York.
Credits: Rough diamond images courtesy of Diacore. Pink Star image courtesy of Sotheby's.
Mining giant Alrosa recently bestowed the name Kyndykan on a newly mined, yellow-brown, 91.86-carat diamond to shine a global spotlight on the indigenous peoples of Russia's frigid Far North territory.
Kyndykan was a little girl who was miraculously found alive 200 years ago by Yakut hunters near the Verkhoyansk Mountains in an ancestral settlement that had been completely wiped out by smallpox. Over time, Kyndykan became a folk heroine — a symbol of the resilience and spiritual strength of the Evens, the indigenous peoples of Yakutia.
Kyndykan is also the name of Alrosa's initiative to preserve the traditions and culture of the inhabitants of the Arctic territory of Yakutia, where 99% of all Russian diamonds are mined.
Measuring about an inch tall, the Kyndykan diamond was found in the Olenyok district, one of the coldest regions in the northern hemisphere, where winter temperatures routinely hit -35C (-31F).
Since the Kyndykan Project was established in September of 2021, Alrosa has been involved in the lives of indigenous peoples, supporting ancestral deer-herding and fishing settlements, training communities in various specialties, creating jobs, organizing ethnic festivals and supplying products to remote villages.
Alrosa currently funds nine districts in Yakutia’s “diamond province,” with a strong focus on supporting the day-to-day needs of the residents in the most northerly districts.
The projects are funded by "Diamonds That Care," an Alrosa initiative that allocates 8% of its revenue to fund social and environmental projects in the regions where the company operates.
"On this occasion, we decided to name a diamond mined in the Far North in honor of the little Even heroine Kyndykan and after a wonderful project, which is doing a lot to ensure that voices of indigenous peoples of the North are heard," said Alrosa's deputy CEO, Evgeny Agureev. "Alrosa has always admired their resilience and strength of character, rich history and age-old traditions. Our common goal is to preserve all of this for future generations and to tell this story to the world."
As the world’s leading diamond producer in terms of sheer output, Alrosa accounts for nearly one-third of global rough diamond production. The company manages mines in Russia’s Yakutia and Arkhangelsk regions, as well as Africa. The mining company generates about 40 million carats of diamonds per year.
A 54-pound Gold Rush-era ingot that was swallowed by the sea in 1857 and recovered 200 miles off the coast of South Carolina in 1988 will be offered for sale at Heritage Auctions in early January.
Assayed in California by Justh & Hunter, the massive gold brick met its watery demise when a hurricane sank the sidewheel steamer while it was transporting its precious cargo to Philadelphia via New York City. Onboard was 30,000 pounds of gold and 578 passengers.
The loss of the SS Central America was reported at the time as the country's worst peacetime disaster at sea. Only 153 passengers survived and all the cargo was lost.
The 12-inch-wide ingot is in pristine condition and stamped with its weight, value, fineness of .892, serial number 4221 and maker's mark. Even though it was underwater for more than 130 years, the ingot looks brand new. This is because gold, as an element, is practically impervious to corrosion.
The single 54-pound ingot seen above was worth $15,971.93 at the time of the disaster, or the equivalent of $1.4 million in today's dollars. The 30,000 pounds of gold aboard the ship would have been worth about $8.8 million in 1857, or the equivalent of about $800 million today.
To put the value of the ingot into perspective, the average carpenter in New York City in 1857 earned $10.74 per week. This single ingot could have paid the weekly wages of 1,487 of these laborers.
For more than 130 years, the sunken steamer known as the Ship of Gold, rested undisturbed in the Atlantic Ocean 1 1/2 miles beneath the surface. Then, in 1988, an inventor named Tommy Thompson spearheaded a recovery operation, which involved sending down a remotely operated vehicle, the Nemo.
Thompson's associate Bob Evans told CoinWeek in 2018, "We dusted off an area where there was a huge concentration of treasure, which turned out to be the commercial shipment area or a portion of it, on the shipwreck, and we just see gold bars and coins carpeting the sea floor. That was just beyond belief… We called it the 'Garden of Gold.' It literally looked like it."
California Gold Marketing Group has owned this unique piece of American history for the past 20 years. The ingot will be offered for sale by Heritage Auctions during its January 5-10 FUN US Coins Signature® event in Orlando.
Credits: Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions, HA.com.
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