Weighing 228 Carats, 'The Rock' Could Fetch Up to $30MM at Christie's Geneva

Billed as the largest white diamond ever to appear for sale at auction, "The Rock" will be the top lot at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva on May 11. The 228.31-carat, pear-shaped gem — which was unveiled to the press at Christie's Dubai on Friday — carries a pre-auction estimate of $20 million to $30 million.

“The Rock will join the very best of legendary gemstones which have passed through Christie’s global salerooms since 1766," commented Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s International Head of Jewelry. "The market for diamonds is particularly vibrant and we are confident that this sensational gemstone will capture the attention of collectors across the globe this spring season.”

This exceptionally rare gemstone was mined and polished in South Africa more than two decades ago. About the size of an egg, the G-color, VS1-clarity diamond has passed through the hands of only three previous owners, Kadakia told The Robb Report. He also noted that Christie’s has known about The Rock for a long time because the auction house was involved with the first transaction of the stone, which had been sold privately.

The Rock is accompanied by a letter from the Gemological Institute of America stating that it is the largest existing D-to-Z color, pear-shaped diamond ever graded by the laboratory.

The previous auction record holder for the largest white diamond was a 163.41-carat gem, which sold at Christie’s Geneva in November 2017 for $33.7 million. That emerald-cut, D-flawless stunner was set in an emerald-and-diamond necklace designed by de Grisogono.

The extraordinary diamond, which was cut from a 404.20-carat Angola-sourced rough named “4 de Fevereiro,” had been dubbed “the most beautiful diamond in the world.” The necklace attained celebrity status as it toured Hong Kong, London, Dubai and New York before returning to Geneva for the high-profile sale at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues.

The asymmetrical necklace features cascading pear-shaped emeralds on the left side and cool, white emerald-cut diamonds down the right. The company chose to use emeralds in the design because the green color symbolizes good luck.

The Rock can be seen at Christie’s Dubai through March 29. The tour will make stops in Taipei and New York City, before settling in at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues Geneva from May 6 to May 11.

Kadakia told AFP why Dubai was chosen as the first stop of the tour.

“The Middle East has always had such a great appreciation for important jewels and gemstones,” he said. “We thought it would be nice for us to launch the diamond in an area where there are so many great collectors for important gems of this nature.”

Credits: Images courtesy of Christie's.

Music Friday: Bob Seger’s Sweetheart Is ‘Looking So Right in Her Diamonds and Frills’

Welcome once again to Music Friday when we bring you fabulous songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. In the 1978 classic, “Hollywood Nights,” Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bob Seger tells the story of an unsophisticated Midwestern boy who moves to the West Coast and falls for a bejeweled beauty.

Seger sings, “And those Hollywood nights / In those Hollywood Hills / She was looking so right / In her diamonds and frills.”

In the end, the girl who had “been born with a face that would let her get her way” abandons our hero, leaving him brokenhearted and unsure whether he should pack up and return home.

Seger told the Detroit Free Press in 1994 that he was inspired to write the song while living 2 1/2 months in a rented house in the Hollywood Hills.

“I was driving around in the Hollywood Hills, and I started singing ‘Hollywood nights / Hollywood Hills / Above all the lights / Hollywood nights.’ I went back to my rented house, and there was a Time magazine with [model] Cheryl Tiegs on the cover. I said, ‘Let’s write a song about a guy from the Midwest who runs into someone like this and gets caught up in the whole bizarro thing.'”

Seger noted that the power behind “Hollywood Nights” comes from the use of two distinctively different drum sets playing different patterns and then dubbed over one another. Drummer David Teegarden played one pattern for the initial session, and then recorded a second pattern using a different snare, kick-drum, hi-hat, etc.

“Hollywood Nights” was released as the second single from Seger’s album, Stranger in Town. It reached #12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and became an instant favorite among concert-goers.

Born in Detroit in 1945, the multi-talented Robert Clark “Bob” Seger is a singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Among his many hits are “Night Moves,” “Turn the Page,” “Still the Same,” “We’ve Got Tonight” and “Against the Wind.” He’s also credited with co-writing the Eagles’ chart-topper, “Heartache Tonight.”

In all, Seger has sold more than 75 million albums. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012.

In the video, below, Seger is joined by country star Jason Aldean in a live performance of “Hollywood Nights.” The lyrics are also here if you’d like to sing along…

“Hollywood Nights”
Written by Bob Seger. Performed by Bob Seger and Jason Aldean.

She stood there bright as the sun
On that California coast
He was a Midwestern boy on his own
She looked at him with those soft eyes
So innocent and blue
He knew right then he was too far from home
He was too far from home

She took his hand and she led him along that golden beach
They watched the waves tumble over the sand
They drove for miles and miles
Up those twisting turning roads
Higher and higher and higher they climbed

And those Hollywood nights
In those Hollywood hills
She was looking so right
In her diamonds and frills
Oh those big city nights
In those high rolling hills
Above all the lights
She had all of her skills

He’d headed west cause he felt that a change would do him good
See some old friends, good for the soul
She had been born with a face
That would let her get her way
He saw that face and he lost all control
He had lost all control

Night after night
Day after day
It went on and on
Then came that morning he woke up alone
He spent all night staring down at the lights on LA
Wondering if he could ever go home

And those Hollywood nights
In those Hollywood hills
She was looking so right
It was giving him chills
In those big city nights
In those high rolling hills
Above all the lights
With a passion that kills

In those Hollywood nights
In those Hollywood hills
She was looking so right
In her diamonds and frills
Oh those big city nights
In those high rolling hills
Above all the lights
She had all of her skills

Credit: Photo by Adam Freese - Mitchell, SD, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Royal Mint Employs New Method to Extract 99% of Gold From Electronic Waste

Utilizing a patented, transformative technology, The Royal Mint will be able to extract 99% of the precious metals contained within electronic waste – in seconds, at room temperature.

The Canada-based company called Excir is credited with developing the innovative, ethical and sustainable way to separate gold and other precious metals from the circuit boards of discarded laptops, tablets and smart phones.

The Royal Mint will employ the new technology in a first-of-its-kind recovery plant in South Wales. The facility will create a new source of high-quality, sustainably sourced precious metals for The Royal Mint's core products, which include coins and bullion bars.

When fully operational in 2023, The Royal Mint's facility will process up to 90 tons of UK-sourced circuit boards per week – generating hundreds of kilograms of gold per year. Embracing the principles of a circular economy, the plant will be able to process the entire circuit board, helping to reduce the environmental impact of electronic waste and foster new skills and employment in the UK.

Previously, 99% of the UK's circuit boards would be shipped overseas to be processed at high temperatures in smelters.

Commenting of The Royal Mint's initiative, Scott Butler, executive director of Material Focus, told Sky News, "Our research has indicated that if all the unwanted electricals we hoard or throw away every year in the UK were recycled, we'd have enough gold to make over 858,000 rings."

Of the more than 50 million tons of electronic waste that is generated globally each year, less than 20% is currently being recycled. If nothing is done, this number is set to reach 74 million tons by 2030.

“We are transforming our business for the future — expanding into areas which complement our expertise in precious metals, champion sustainability and support employment," said Anne Jessopp, Chief Executive of The Royal Mint. "Our investment in a new plant will see The Royal Mint become a leader in sustainably sourced precious metals and provide the UK with a much-needed domestic solution to the growing problem of electronic waste.”

Credit: Image courtesy of The Royal Mint.

Houston Women Take Control of Their Relationships in 'Marry Me Now' Reality Series

OWN just premiered Marry Me Now, an unscripted reality series that follows eight Houston women who have run out of patience and refuse to wait any longer for their clueless partners to pop the question.

Each week, love and life coach Rebecca Lynn Pope will guide one woman as she takes the reins in her relationship, secretly constructing all of the elements for a surprise wedding — including selecting the rings — and culminating with a surprise public proposal to her unsuspecting groom-to-be. And it all happens in just three days.

Viewers will follow the mad scramble to secure the ideal wedding dress, select the flowers, break the news to both families and pick the perfect engagement ring and wedding bands. According to OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, some couples will, indeed, experience a fairytale wedding, while others will be utterly disappointed.

Developed by ITV Entertainment — the creative team behind Queer Eye (Netflix), Love Island (CBS), Hell’s Kitchen (FOX), My Mom, Your Dad (HBO Max), The Chase (ABC) and The First 48 (A&E) — the hour-long relationship series promises to be an unscripted rollercoaster ride of emotions.

Whether or not the couples make it down the aisle, these women will finally get the clarity they need to move forward and live happily ever after.

Marry Me Now premiered on Saturday, March 19, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT, following the OWN network’s big hit, Love & Marriage: Huntsville. The new series will also stream the same day on discovery+.

Check out the Marry Me Now trailer, below...

Credit: Screen capture via Youtube.com / OWN.

World's Most Advanced Diamond Recovery Vessel Gets to Work Off Coast of Namibia

The world's most advanced diamond recovery vessel, the Benguela Gem, was officially unveiled in Namibia on Friday.

The 580-foot-long, custom-built vessel is capable of extracting 500,000 carats annually from the coastal waters off Namibia — boosting Debmarine Namibia’s annual diamond output by 45% and creating 160 high-skilled jobs for Namibians.

Built at a cost of $420 million, the project is a 50/50 joint venture between De Beers Group and the Government of the Republic of Namibia. The Benguela Gem is the seventh ship in the Debmarine Namibia fleet, which recovers some of the world’s highest quality diamonds.

"The investment in this vessel is not just an investment in a diamond recovery vessel," noted Tom Alweendo, Minister of Mines and Energy for the Republic of Namibia. "It is an investment in the future of Namibia."

The recovery process starts 90 to 150 meters (295 to 492 feet) below sea level. The new ship will comb the ocean floor using advanced drilling technology, supported with tracking, positioning and surveying equipment. Sophisticated X-ray machines and other diamond-sorting devices separate the gems from the gravel, and leftover material is returned to the sea bed. Recovered diamonds are securely sealed in containers, loaded into steel briefcases and flown by helicopter to shore.

The Benguela Gem was designed in Norway and Poland, built in Romania and outfitted with proprietary diamond-sorting equipment by De Beers Marine South Africa. Taking two years to construct, it is the most technically advanced diamond recovery vessel in the world, underpinned by high standards of sustainability and safety performance, noted Debmarine in a press release.

The ship derives its name from the Benguela Current, which flows along the coast of South Africa, Namibia and Angola. The current mixes cool water from the Atlantic Ocean with warm water from the Indian Ocean as they converge off the capes of South Africa.

A state-of-the-art dynamic positioning system automatically optimizes the vessel’s performance in changing weather conditions to minimize energy use. The vessel also generates its own fresh water through the use of heat recovery systems and a reverse osmosis plant. Employee wellbeing is reflected in the vessel’s design. The crew has access to onboard entertainment systems, a gym, a hospital and relaxation facilities.

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.

Namibia has more than 3,700 square miles of marine diamond concessions along its southwest coast, which is expected to support the industry for the next 50 years. Debmarine has a license to operate off the coast of the African country until 2035 within a 2,316-square mile area. The diamond sector is the single biggest contributor to Namibia’s economy.

Credit: Image courtesy Debmarine Namibia.

Ammolite Is About to Become the Official Gemstone of Alberta, Canada

The beautiful, iridescent ammolite is about to become the official gemstone of the Canadian province of Alberta. Found predominantly in southern Alberta, ammolite is uniquely associated with the province’s identity.

Ammolite is formed from the fossilized shells of molluscs, known as ammonites, which lived in an inland sea east of the Rocky Mountains. After sinking to the seabed, the mud that covered ammonites hardened over millions of years to become shale. The shell properties, combined with southern Alberta’s unique geology, transformed many ammonite shells into the ammolite that is mined and used for jewelry today.

The mineral composition of ammolite is similar to that of a pearl, and the iridescent, multicolor presentation is reminiscent of a fine opal.

Although ammonite fossils are present in many places around the world, ammolite has been found only in one place, the Bearpaw geological formation in southern Alberta, making it one of the rarest gemstones, according to the American Gem Trade Association.

Ammolite is one of the few biogenic gemstones, which means it is made by living organisms. Others include amber and pearl. Ammolite was given gemstone status by the World Jewellery Confederation in 1981.

Ammolite’s gem quality is based on its color spectrum and brightness, according to Korite, which is responsible for more than 90% of the world’s ammolite production. The ammolite from shallower layers of sediment is of a lower grade and consists of red and green colors, while the higher-grade gems come from deeper layers and include blue and purple hues.

“Alberta is world renowned for its fossil resources," said Dr. Craig Scott, director of preservation and research for the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. "The designation of ammolite as Alberta’s official gemstone adds to this reputation, and speaks to the remarkable history of ancient life recorded in the rocks throughout the province.”

Ammonite shells have been collected by Plains First Nations for a thousand years, and are still collected by Blackfoot communities for sacred purposes.

Alberta’s government is introducing an amendment to the Emblems of Alberta Act to designate ammolite as the official gemstone of Alberta. Passing the amendment will recognize ammolite alongside other official emblems, such as the official bird (great horned owl), official mammal (Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep), official fish (bull trout), official tree (Lodgepole Pine) and official stone (petrified wood).

Credits: Photo of ammonite shell with ammolite. © Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology via alberta.ca; Ammolite jewelry photo by Korite International. Licensed under CC By-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Music Friday: Peggy Lee Wants a 'Ring, Ringa-Linga' in 'Baubles, Bangles & Beads'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you wonderful tunes with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today’s magic carpet ride down Memory Lane finds Peggy Lee singing “Baubles, Bangles & Beads” — a widely covered tune from 1954’s Tony Award-winning production of Kismet.

The Broadway success of “Baubles, Bangles & Beads” inspired a number of top singers of the day to prospect for Kismet gold — as in gold records. Four artists, including chart-toppers Peggy Lee and Frank Sinatra, recorded the song in 1954 alone.

In Lee’s version, she sings about how jingly gifts can sometimes lead to an engagement ring: “Someday he may buy me a ring, ringa-linga / I’ve heard that’s where it leads / Wearin’ baubles, bangles and beads.”

The Sinatra version is slightly different to accommodate the gender difference. He sings, “Someday I may buy her a ring, ringa-linga.”

Lee is credited with the best-selling version of the song, and over the years it has been covered by no fewer than 40 artists. The Who’s Who list includes Liza Minnelli, Julie Andrews, Benny Goodman, Johnny Mathis, Mel Torme, Sara Vaughan and Dionne Warwick.

Set in the year 1071, Kizmet tells the story of how a poor, but clever, street poet named Hajj follows his “kismet” (fate) and rises to become the Emir of Bagdad, while his beautiful daughter Marsinah falls in love with the handsome, young Caliph. In the final scene, Hajj wins the heart of one of the Baghdad’s greatest beauties.

Kismet opened on Broadway in 1953 and won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1954. MGM released a film version in 1955.

Lee had a successful career that spanned six decades. She was a singer, songwriter, composer and actress. She won three Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999. She died three years later at the age of 81.

Check out the video of Lee’s live performance of “Baubles, Bangles & Beads.” The clip was shot in Sweden in 1964 (the video quality is poor, but the audio is excellent). We've also got the lyrics, below, if you'd like to sing along. Enjoy!

“Baubles, Bangles & Beads”
Written by Robert Wright and George Forrest. Performed by Peggy Lee.

Baubles, bangles, hear how they jing, jinga-linga
Baubles, bangles, bright shiny beads
Sparkles, spangles, my heart will sing, singa-linga
Wearin’ baubles, bangles and beads

I’ll glitter and gleam so
Make somebody dream, so that...

Someday he may buy me a ring, ringa-linga
I’ve heard that’s where it leads
Wearin’ baubles, bangles and beads

Baubles, bangles, hear how they jing, jinga-linga
Baubles, bangles, bright, shiny beads
Sparkles, spangles, my heart will sing, singa-linga
Wearin’ baubles, bangles and beads

I’ll glitter and gleam so
Make somebody dream, so that...

Someday he may, buy me a ring, ringa-linga
I’ve heard that’s where it leads
Wearin’ baubles and bangles and beads

Baubles, bangles, baubles and beads

Credit: Peggy Lee photo by General Artists Corporation (management), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Mercury's Surface May Be Covered With 16 Quadrillion Tons of 'Shock Diamonds'

Take a look at the surface of Mercury and you'll probably agree that this planet could use a round or two of dermabrasion. With no significant atmosphere to deflect asteroids and comets, the diminutive planet closest to the sun is completely pocked with craters and imperfections.

On the bright side, however, any one of those blemishes could mark an infinite bounty of "shock diamonds," according to Kevin Cannon, a geologist at the Colorado School of Mines, who presented his latest findings at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston last week.

Mercury's composition is high carbon (in the form of graphite), so when high-speed foreign objects smash into the surface, the perfect recipe of heat, pressure and carbon results in a diamond byproduct.

“The pressure wave from asteroids or comets striking the surface at tens of kilometers per second could transform that graphite into diamonds,” Cannon noted. “You could have a significant amount of diamonds near the surface.”

According to wired.com, Cannon modeled what was likely to happen to Mercury's crust after being pummeled for billions of year. The geologist theorized that the graphite on the surface of Mercury could be more than 300 feet thick and that the impact pressure from asteroids would have produced enough energy to transform 30% to 60% of that material into "shock diamonds."

If Cannon's math is correct, there could be 16 quadrillion tons of diamonds on the surface of Mercury.

Sadly, it would also be nearly impossible to mine them because Mercury is an inhospitable place. Daytime temps can reach 800 degrees Fahrenheit, while nighttime temps can drop to -290 Fahrenheit.

What's more, the shock diamonds are likely to be very small, widely scattered and of poor quality.

“You’ll end up with a messy mixture of graphite, diamond, and maybe some other phases, as well, so you won’t have nice, beautiful crystals that you could polish up and put on a ring,” Cannon told wired.com.

We will learn much more about Mercury when the BepiColombo mission launched in 2018 finally arrives at that planet in 2025. A joint effort of the European and Japanese space agencies, BepiColombo is equipped with high-resolution cameras that could end the speculation of whether or not diamonds are littered on the surface.

Mercury fun facts:
-- Mercury is just a little bigger than Earth’s moon.
-- It is the closest planet to the sun, but it’s actually not the hottest. Venus is hotter.
-- It takes 59 Earth days for Mercury to make one full rotation.
-- Mercury completes one revolution around the sun in just 88 Earth days.

Credit: Image by NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Lost Diamond Pops Out of Vacuum Cleaner at Panama City Beach Apparel Store

In an uncanny stroke of good fortune, a Panama City, FL, resident was reunited with her lost engagement diamond, thanks to the honesty of a Good Samaritan at a women's apparel store and a vacuum cleaner that happened to get clogged at the most opportune time.

A few weeks ago, Haley Breitenbach was enjoying an average day in and around Panama City Beach. She attended a baseball game with her daughter, did a little shopping at Pier Park, picked up some essentials at Target and then zoomed back home to fix dinner, finish the laundry and pack a suitcase for an upcoming trip.

When her engagement ring got snagged on a blanket, she realized something was terribly wrong. The diamond center stone that she had worn for 20 years was gone. She and her husband, Charlie, searched the house in vain.

“I felt somewhat bare or incomplete even though it’s a possession," Breitenbach told NBC-TV Panama City affiliate WJHG. "It kind of feels weird to say that, but when it’s a part of you, then you just feel naked without it.”

“Her reaction was enough for both of us,” Charlie said.

Armed with a mental map of where his wife had been on the day she lost her diamond, Charlie spent the next day retracing her steps, talking to proprietors and leaving his business card at every stop. It was like finding a needle in a haystack, but Charlie knew it was the right thing to do.

“Not a lot of hope we would find it, but I knew what I needed to do for her and it was the least I could do for her,” he told WJHG.

A week later, Haley got a call from a Good Samaritan who worked at Versona, a women's apparel shop in Pier Park. The chain has more than 100 locations throughout the US.

The worker had been tidying up the store when the vacuum cleaner went on the blink. When she took the vacuum apart to remove the obstruction, the diamond popped out with it.

Haley called the Good Samaritan "the sweetest little thing ever."

"Her honesty and her kindness… there aren’t enough words to express our happiness or gratitude to her,” Haley said.

A news crew from WJHG followed Haley and her husband back to Pier Park, where they delivered flowers and a personal note to Emma, the Good Samaritan at Versona.

In a footnote to the story, a WJHG news anchor said that Haley had dropped off the diamond and ring at her local jeweler so the gem could be reset. Haley can't wait to have it back on her finger where it belongs.

Credits: Screen captures via wjhg.com.

Sale of Snickers 'Hungriest Player of the Year' Bling Benefits AZ Healthcare Workers

In February of 2021, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray donated his high-profile Snickers “Hungriest Player of the Year” necklace to the Arizona Foundation for the Future of Nursing. On Saturday, the necklace valued at $60,000+ yielded a mere $24,000 at Lelands' "Winter Classic 2022" auction.

According to the Lelands website, the unique piece of football memorabilia was a late addition to the month-long online auction (Lot 1196 out of 1201 items) and attracted just a single bidder. From what we can tell, the private bidder got a great deal.

Designed by celebrity jeweler Ben Baller, the pendant features the Snickers "S" logo and the word "Hungry" rendered with a mix of more than 2,300 gemstones, including diamonds (12.83 carats), rubies (8.05 carats) and blue sapphires (10.10 carats). The round, brilliant-cut diamonds average VS2 in clarity and H in color.

The pendant hangs from a 28-inch-long, 15mm wide, 10-karat, yellow-gold, Cuban-link chain that weighs 402 grams (nearly a pound).

Each week during the NFL season, Snickers presented the blinged-out pendant to the league’s “Hungriest Player.” The chain was passed from one top performer to the next, based on their successes both on and off the gridiron.

Murray earned the right to wear the necklace after his momentous 43-yard Hail Mary throw to DeAndre Hopkins to lead the Cardinals to victory over the Bills in Week 10 of the season. With only 11 seconds left to play and down 30-26, Murray had just enough time to make some magic. That pass has become known as "The Hail Murray."

At the end of the season, Snickers invited fans to weigh in on which of the weekly honorees was the hungriest. As the winner of the second annual Snickers “Hungriest Player of the Year” in 2020, Murray was gifted the chain in 2021 and then encouraged to donate it so the proceeds could benefit frontline healthcare workers in Arizona.

Baller had designed the original, simpler, version of the "Hungriest Player" necklace in 2019.

“When Snickers hit me up about collaborating on a chain to honor the hungriest players in the NFL, I was immediately all in,” Baller said in 2019. “The idea of passing this Snickers chain to a different player each week is just crazy, so I knew we’d have to come up with something next level to make sure it served as the ultimate reward for hustle and success.”

Established in 1930, Snickers continues to thrive with annual worldwide sales of more than $2 billion. The brand got a boost in 2012 with its wildly popular “You’re not you when you’re hungry” ad campaign.

Credits: Kyler Murray image via twitter.com/k1. Jewelry images courtesy of Snickers.