gems

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This Rare Gem Could Sell for $50M
This Rare Gem
Could Sell for $50M
Nov 4, 2023 11:30 AM CDT

This Rare Gem Could Sell for $50M

'Bleu Royal' blue diamond is on the Christie's auction block next week

(Newser) - Tuesday's the day for the "Bleu Royal," the biggest internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond ever to go on the auction block. That's when the rare 17.6-carat gem, currently set in a ring, will be up for grabs in Geneva via Christie's , where it'...

One Coronation Crown Jewel Risks Wrath of Prince William

Rod Camilla will hold would go against his anti-ivory stance; plus, other crown jewel controversies

(Newser) - The royal family will be pulling out all the stops for King Charles III's coronation on Saturday, including showing off the revered crown jewels, the gems and other ceremonial objects that are dusted off for crownings of sovereigns and their consorts. Town & Country notes the regalia isn't...

Camilla Won't Wear Controversial Crown at Coronation

The Kohinoor will stay out of the spotlight

(Newser) - A potential diplomatic row has been avoided. The BBC reports Camilla, queen consort, will not wear the crown containing the Kohinoor (or Koh-i-Noor) diamond—which India has argued it should have ownership of—when she is crowned alongside King Charles III in May. That diamond is part of the crown...

Giant Opal Kept in Linen Closet Sells at Auction for $125K

Sellers' target price for 'Americus Australis' was $250K to $350K

(Newser) - Update: One of the largest opals in the world sold at auction Sunday for $125,000—the minimum the auction company had set for bids. That price was a "calculated risk," the Alaska auction house said, intended to be low enough to draw heavy interest from prospective buyers....

Behold the Ring With the Most Diamonds Ever

The 'Marigold,' featuring 12,638 stones, has been recognized by Guinness World Records

(Newser) - Start doing your hand exercises now if you ever want to slip the "Ring of Prosperity" on your finger—it'll be a heavy lift. That's because the piece of jewelry (aka the "Marigold") designed by Harshit Bansal of India's Renani Jewels features 12,638...

This Small-Scale Miner Just Became a Millionaire
With 2 Rocks, Small-Scale
Miner Strikes It Rich
in case you missed it
Jun 28, 2020 10:09 AM CDT

With 2 Rocks, Small-Scale Miner Strikes It Rich

Saniniu Laizer earns $3.4M from sale of 2 largest known tanzanite gems

(Newser) - A miner in Tanzania has become an overnight millionaire with the discovery and sale of the two largest known tanzanite gemstones ever found. Until last week, the largest known chunk of tanzanite—one of the world's rarest gemstones, believed to be found only in a small northern region of...

'Astonishing Gemstone' Found in Canada's Unforgiving North

552-carat yellow diamond was unearthed in the Northwest Territories, just south of Arctic Circle

(Newser) - Gigantic gemstones don't typically emerge out of Canadian mines like they do in South Africa, but a big find in the Northwest Territories has just smashed that stereotype. Bloomberg reports a 552-carat yellow diamond the size of a chicken egg (picture here ) was found there in October, and...

'Chaos' in the Rainforest Over Madagascar's Precious Gems

Environmental group is calling for military intervention over sapphire rush

(Newser) - A sapphire rush has brought tens of thousands of people into the remote rainforests of eastern Madagascar, disfiguring a protected environmental area and prompting calls for military intervention, the AP reports. More high-quality sapphires have been found in the biodiverse area known as Corridor Ankeniheny-Zahamena in the past six months...

Man Finds Huge Diamond, Decides to Give It Up

Gives it to government to fund development in Sierra Leone

(Newser) - A pastor in Sierra Leone has discovered the largest uncut diamond found in the West African country for more than four decades and has turned it over to the government, saying he hopes it helps to boost recent development in his impoverished nation. Pastor Emmanuel Momoh found the 706-carat alluvial...

'Puzzle From Hell': Giant Gem Some Think Is Cursed
'Cursed' Gem
Could Be Worth
$925M—or $100
in case you missed it
Mar 11, 2017 4:49 PM CST

'Cursed' Gem Could Be Worth $925M—or $100

Bahia Emerald has caused folks more trouble than it may be worth: 'Wired'

(Newser) - A 752-pound gemstone that's sat for years in a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office vault has been called "a puzzle from hell" by one of the detectives who brought it in as evidence in a 2008 case. Now Elizabeth Weil takes a crack at the head-scratcher for...

Famed Mine Spits Out 121-Carat Diamond

Petra finds white gem in same mine where British crown jewels diamonds were discovered

(Newser) - From the Cullinan mine in South Africa emerged in 1905 what still ranks as the world's largest rough diamond: the Cullinan diamond , a 3,106-carat gem that was cut down into smaller stones and incorporated into the British crown jewels. Now Petra Diamonds announces it's made another sparkling...

Newly Found 'Star of Adam' Is Worth $100M

It's the largest blue star sapphire ever found

(Newser) - Kate Middleton's $45,000 sapphire ring can't compare to this showstopper: Gemologists in Sri Lanka say they've dug up the largest blue star sapphire ever found at a mine in Ratnapura, known as the City of Gems. The star sapphire—named for the star-shaped reflection that appears...

Suit: $12K Sapphire Ring Worn for 15 Years a $30 Dud

NC woman beside herself over 1999 birthday present that turned out to be fake

(Newser) - For more than 15 years, Mary Ellen Frabizzio showed off her 4-carat pink sapphire ring, a glittering beauty with diamond baguettes and a gold mounting that her husband had presented to her for her birthday in 1999. "I went nuts," she tells the News Journal . "I was...

Owner of 840-Pound Emerald May Finally Be Decided

LA court case of Bahia gem continues, despite claim from Brazil

(Newser) - An 840-pound emerald is still without a clear owner after six years in police custody, but that could be settled soon in Los Angeles Superior Court. Judge Michael Johnson says a case to determine the rightful owner of the 180,000-carat Bahia Emerald, found in Brazil in 2001, will move...

Egg-Sized White Diamond Sells for $30.6M

118-carat gem sets a record at Sotheby's auction

(Newser) - A white diamond the size of a small egg sold for $30.6 million at a Hong Kong auction today, as two phone bidders competed for the 118-carat white diamond from Africa in six minutes of measured bidding in the Sotheby's jewelry auction. The "flawless" white oval diamond,...

Liz Taylor Gem Sale Smashes Records

7 world records fall at $116M sale of fabled collection

(Newser) - The sale of Elizabeth Taylor's legendary gem collection shattered records—and estimates—at Christie's in New York last night. Amid competition so fierce that bids sometimes jumped by a million dollars, the $116 million sale of the late star's gems broke the world record for a private...

Sun-Drop Diamond Fetches $12.3M

Rare yellow gem goes for record price

(Newser) - A dazzling 110-carat yellow diamond has fetched $12.3 million at a Sotheby's auction, a record for a diamond of its kind, and the eighth-highest price ever paid for a diamond. The gem, named the Sun-Drop, was found in South Africa last year and given the "fancy, vivid...

$25M in Gems Found in Paris Sewer

Loot from Harry Winston heist recovered

(Newser) - Stolen gems worth $25 million have been found stashed in a rain sewer in a Paris suburb. Police say the gems—taken in a spectacular $100 million heist in 2008 —were hidden in a plastic container embedded in cement, the BBC reports. The home above the sewer belongs to...

Rare Pink Diamond Fetches Record $46M

London dealer snaps up most expensive stone ever sold at auction

(Newser) - An extremely rare pink diamond has cut its way through world records at a Sotheby's auction. The 24.78 carat stone, graded "fancy intense pink," was sold to London jeweler Laurence Graff for $46,158,674, almost double the highest price ever previously paid for a gemstone at...

$20M Diamond Found
 $20M Diamond Found 
Sep 30, 2009 1:42 AM CDT

$20M Diamond Found

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

(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...

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