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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: diamond

diamond stories: 17 news summaries

 $20M Diamond Found 

Egg-sized diamond ranks among the highest quality gems ever discovered

Sep 30, 09 1:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - A giant diamond experts believe ranks among the top 20 gems ever found has been unearthed at a South African mine. The egg-sized, 500-carat sparkler was found at the same mine where the biggest diamond in history, the Cullinan, was found in the 19th century. The diamond is being analyzed... More »

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mining • South Africa • diamond • gems

UK Police Arrest Third Man in $65M Robbery

Authorities use DNA evidence to find Graff jewelry suspects

Aug 20, 09 12:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - British police arrested a third man today suspected of participating in the biggest jewelry heist in British history, the Times of London reports. Police already have two men in custody, having captured at least one from DNA evidence left at the scene of the crime. Authorities have said that the... More »

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robbery • diamond • heist • jewels • armed robbery • jewel heist

(Newser) - A diamond company plans to turn the King of Pop's hair into bling, the New York Daily News reports. Company officials claim they have a lock of Michael Jackson's hair—obtained from the producer of the Pepsi commercial that set the singer's hair ablaze—and it intends to extract the... More »

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hair • celebrity • carbon • diamond • Michael Jackson • Beethoven • celebrity death

 Ex-Liberian Prez: 
 War-Crimes 
 Charges 'Lies' 

Taylor calls himself 'lover of humanity'

Jul 14, 09 10:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - Former Liberian president Charles Taylor took the stand today in the Hague, calling war-crimes allegations against him “lies,” the BBC reports. “It is very, very, very unfortunate that the prosecution, because of disinformation, misinformation, lies, rumors would associate me with such titles or descriptions,” he said... More »

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torture • terrorism • war crimes • murder • rape • Charles Taylor • Sierra Leone • Liberia • diamond • The Special Court for Sierra Leone • Revolutionary United Front • rebels

 Blue Diamond Sells 
 for Record $8.4M 

Industry hopes sale will stimulate trade slump

May 12, 09 4:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - As the diamond market tumbles, at least it seems a blue one is forever, reports GlobalPost. A 7.03-carat rock unearthed in South Africa last year sold for more than $8.4 million at a Geneva auction today—setting a world record in price per karat for a gem of... More »

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Sotheby's • auction • diamond • gems • Jay-ZTV • blue diamond

GLOSSIES

 Caviar and 
 Other Weird 
 Skincare 
 Ingredients 

Metals and stem cells have the magic touch

Apr 12, 09 11:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - As it turns out, the fountain of youth is flowing with all sorts of strange ingredients, and Forbes reveals the best of a bunch that could keep you looking young and radiant:
  • Caviar isn’t just for your palate: La Prairie’s Skin Caviar Crystalline Concentre uses the fish
... More »

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stem cells • snake venom • diamond • Botox • gold • skin care

 Downturn Dulls 
 Gem Trade's Gleam 

Effects felt worldwide as Americans stop buying bling

Mar 28, 09 2:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - The worldwide slowdown in spending is making for rough times in all facets of the jewelry business, reports the Washington Post. More than a thousand jewelers in the US—which buys almost half the world's polished diamonds—have gone bust, and the effects are being felt from the mines of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
recession • diamond • De Beers • jewels • jewelry • gems • Tiffany's

De Beers to Halt Work
at Diamond Mines

Firm last suspended production during the Great Depression

Feb 24, 09 2:19 PM CST
(Newser) - De Beers has temporarily shut down its diamond mines in Botswana due to low demand for the precious stones, the Telegraph reports. The firm’s Botswana mines account for half of De Beers’ output, and about a fifth of diamond production worldwide. De Beers was not able to sell a... More »

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Africa • diamond • sales • mine • De Beers • Botswana • gems

Spanish King's Rare Blue Diamond Could Go for $13.4M

35.56-carat jewel likely to defy market slump

Dec 9, 08 10:56 AM CST
(Newser) - A rare blue diamond with a rich history could sell for $13.4 million at auction in London tomorrow, despite the international economic slump, Bloomberg reports. The 35.56-carat Wittelsbach Diamond, the highest-valued stone offered by Christie’s International this year, belonged to Spain’s King Philip IV. He gave... More »

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London • auction • diamond • Britain • jewelry

$125K Diamonds Are Winona's Missing Friend

Ryder says hotel lost borrowed bracelet; owner calls cops

Nov 30, 08 2:58 PM CST
(Newser) - Winona Ryder can't find a $125,000 bracelet and ring set lent to her by Bulgari for a magazine event, and now the company has reportedly called the cops, the Daily Mail reports. Ryder says she handed the jewelry over to staff at her Madrid hotel, but management says there's... More »

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investigation • diamond • party • jewelry • Winona Ryder

 Mexico Turns Tequila 
 Into Diamonds 

Not quite large enough for jewelry, but crystallized vapor has industrial uses

Nov 13, 08 11:19 AM CST
(Newser) - Mexican scientists have discovered that their national drink is good for a lot more than margaritas, the Guardian reports. Tequila contains hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon in exactly the right proportion to form diamonds when it is heated to a vapor and left to crystallize. The extremely thin tequila diamonds are... More »

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alcohol • Mexico • diamond • tequila • synthetic diamond

Diamond-Inlaid Mastercard? 'I Like!'

Company readies
lavish gold card for
rich Kazakhstanis

Nov 1, 08 7:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - MasterCard hopes that a worldwide recession won't stop shoppers from toting around a gold-encrusted, diamond-inlaid credit card, the Financial Times reports. Later this month, the company will issue VIP customers in Kazakhstan the "Diamond" card—which comes with a personal manager, is trimmed with gold, has a 0.... More »

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ultra rich • Dubai • diamond • Kazakhstan • credit card • gold • MasterCard

 Would You Mind 
 If This Wasn't Mined? 

Lab-created diamonds get ever closer to nature's version—to chagrin of some

Jun 12, 08 12:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - De Beers might like you to think a “diamond is forever,” but try this on for size: “A diamond is for everyone.” In a secret Massachusetts lab, Apollo Diamond is using novel technology to grow diamonds virtually indistinguishable from their mined cousins, the Smithsonian reports. Unfortunately... More »

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technology • diamond • De Beers • blood diamonds • semiconductor • gems • synthetic diamond • industry

Diamonds
Are a Girl's
Best Refund

Class-action suit forces gem giant De Beers to cut consumers a check

Jan 21, 08 10:13 AM CST
(Newser) - If you bought a diamond—any diamond—between 1994 and 2006, De Beers owes you money. The jewelry behemoth recently settled a class-action lawsuit that accused it of driving up diamond prices with monopolistic practices. To compensate, it will pay consumers up to 59% of their bling’s original price.... More »

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lawsuit • diamond • class action • De Beers • settlement • jewelry • monopolistic practices

$7.9M Sale Smashes Record

Rare blue diamond commands $7.98M at auction

Oct 8, 07 7:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - A flawless gem has sold for $7.98 million in Hong Kong and broken the old per-carat sale record, Sotheby's announced today. London's Moussaieff Jewellers snapped up the 6.04 carat diamond at $1.32 million per carat, breaking the last record of $926,000 per carat, set in 1987... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Sotheby's • diamond

Tests Will Tell
if Big Stone
Is Indeed Gem

Could be world’s largest diamond

Aug 31, 07 8:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - A South African mining company will know soon if they’ve found the world’s largest diamond, with tests scheduled for next week. The light-green stone was found several days ago; experts say it may turn out to only a fluorite crystal, the BBC reports. A spokesman for De Beers,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
mining • South Africa • world record • diamond • De Beers

Diamonds
Are a Skull's Best Friend

Platinum cast +
8,601 jewels =
$100M price tag

Jun 2, 07 3:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - The priciest work of modern art ever created is on view at a London gallery, priced at just $100 million. Death-obsessed artist Damien Hirst cast a human skull in platinum and encrusted it with diamonds, creating a piece he calls "For the Love of God." He kept the... More »

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art • modern art • Damien Hirst • White Cube Gallery • skull • diamond

17 Stories


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