St. Louis Cardinals players received their 2011 World Series championship rings at Busch Stadium before their victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday. And these rings are heavy on the bling. Each 14-karat white gold ring weighs 73 grams and features 103 round diamonds with a total weight of 2.62 carats.
The rings are steeped in symbolism, and even the infamous Rally Squirrel is immortalized in precious metal.
Highlighting the face of the ring are 50 custom-cut rubies: 28 rubies make up the “STL” on one side, eight rubies form the “11″ (signifying their 11 World Series wins) on the other, and 14 rubies make up the plumage of the cardinal sitting on a 14K yellow gold bat on face of the ring.
Also on the face of the ring are raised letters spelling out the words “World” and “Champions” hovering over a ground of small diamonds. One side of the ring includes the player’s name and jersey number, and the Rally Squirrel makes a cameo appearance as he streaks across the space just above the home plate emblem.
For those who don’t remember the story, the little varmint interrupted a Skip Schumaker at-bat during the playoffs and became a mini marketing sensation.
The underside of the band lists all the years that the Cardinals won the World Series.
The interior of the ring recounts the Cardinals’ series wins against the Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers and the Texas Rangers. Also in the interior is the slogan, “Happy Flight,” which was coined by shortstop Rafael Furcal that signified success in getaway day games and also became part of the Cardinals’ experience.
The rings were designed by Bill DeWitt III, president of the Cardinals, and crafted by Jostens.
Yesterday marked the 100-year anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, a tragedy immortalized by the 1997 blockbuster film, Titanic, which was just re-released in 3D and has surpassed $2 billion at the box office.
Fans may remember that the Heart of the Ocean was the heart-shaped blue diamond necklace that Kate Winslet as Rose wore when she was having her portrait drawn by Leonardo di Caprio, playing Jack, in one of the movie’s most memorable scenes. The ill-fated lovers are separated in the icy waters of the North Atlantic, as Rose is saved but Jack is lost.
At the end of the film, a 100-year-old Rose, played by Gloria Stuart, is recruited by treasure hunters looking to return to the scene of the tragedy. At night, Rose goes to the stern of the ship and opens her hands to reveal the necklace, which she has kept all of her life. She lets the necklace fall from her hand and into the water, sending it back to the Titanic.
Although the blue diamond in the movie was fictional, many believe that director James Cameron was inspired by an actual Titanic love story. According to an account by WashingtonTimes.com, it turns out that there was a diamond and sapphire necklace on board that fatal night, given to a young girl, Kate Florence Phillips, 20, by her married paramour, Henry Samuel Morley, 40.
Phillips had been an assistant to Morley in one of his London confectionery shops, and the two were secretly sailing on the Titanic as second class passengers to begin a new life together in America.
On the tragic night of April 15, 1912, as the couple left their cabin and scrambled to the lifeboat area, Morley had quickly put the necklace around his lover’s neck. Phillips was saved when she got into Lifeboat No. 11, where she would spend the next eight hours. Morley was lost to the sea.
Phillips lived in New York after the rescue, but then returned to England after four months when she had discovered that she was pregnant with Morley’s child. The baby, Ellen Mary, was born on January 11, 1913. Kate later remarried.
When Ellen was grown, she worked for years trying to have Henry Morley’s name added to her birth certificate, but she was never successful. The sapphire necklace, named “The Love of the Sea,” was a highlight of a Titanic display in Belfast for some years, but when Ellen fell on hard times in the 1990s, she sold the necklace to a buyer in Florida, who still possesses it. Ellen died in 2005 in Worcester, England.
An amazing collection of jewelry amassed by billionaire socialite and philanthropist Lily Safra is set to hit the Christie’s auction block on May 14 in Geneva. The auction house estimates that the 70 items, including the largest single-owner selection of jewels by JAR ever to be offered at auction, should fetch more than $20 million and will benefit 20 charitable institutions.
Camellia flowerhead brooch: 173.09 carats of rubies, set in sterling and gold. By JAR Paris. Estimated: $1.2 – $1.5 million.
Rectangular-cut diamond ring: 34.05 carats, with shield-shaped diamond shoulders, set in platinum. Estimated: $3.6 – $4.6 million.
The Brazilian-born Safra is considered to be a connoisseur of fine jewelry, as she has collected statement pieces for five decades. According to Forbes, her jewelry reflects her refined taste, and includes important diamonds, rubies and sapphires, as well as an outstanding array of fine antique and period jewelry.
Emerald, pearl and diamond ring: set in platinum. By JAR Paris. Estimated: $500,000 – $700,000.
Fancy intense yellow oval-shaped diamond ring: 15.75 carats, set in platinum. By JAR Paris. Estimated: $400,000 – $600,000.
A highlight of the auction will be a grouping of 18 items by JAR, most of which were created specifically for Safra by the renowned Paris-based designer between the 1980s and 2000s.
Sapphire and diamond bangle: 1941-1945, set in platinum. By Suzanne Belperron. Estimated: $80,000 – $120,000.
Five turquoise and diamond necklaces: gold scale body, head and tail in turquoise, mid-19th century. Estimated: $150,000 – $200,000.
“Only a connoisseur with an eye as refined as that of Mrs. Lily Safra could have collected such an ensemble of jewels, and only someone with her philanthropic conviction could have expressed such powerful support to worthwhile causes in all charitable fields,” said François Curiel, international head of Christie’s Jewelry Department.
Emerald and diamond bangle: rose-cut diamond body, rectangular-cut emeralds, round diamonds, set in gold, mid-19th century. Estimated: $100,000 – $150,000.
Diamond brooch: old-cut diamonds, set in silver and gold, mid-19th century. Once the property of a European royal family. Estimated: $80,000 – $120,000.
According to Forbes, Lily Safra has carried on the philanthropic tradition of her late husband, Edmond J. Safra, one of the 20th century’s most accomplished bankers and founder of the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation. Since 2000, she has chaired this foundation, which supports hundreds of projects related to education, science and medicine, religion, culture and humanitarian relief in more than 40 countries.
To what lengths will a young bride go to save her cherished engagement ring from the worst-possible fate – a mucky demise in her city’s sewer system? In the case of the Sarah Parks of Granite City, IL, the newlywed’s quick thinking along with the high-tech assistance of a Roto-Rooter technician combined to save the day, according to KSDK.com.
Late last week, Parks accidentally flushed her engagement ring down the toilet at her Granite City apartment complex, which is located on the east bank of the Mississippi River, just across the border from St. Louis, MO.
Acting quickly, the newlywed contacted Roto-Rooter and a technician was rushed to the scene. Using a fiber optic sewer inspection camera to snake through the pipes of her apartment building, the technician finally spotted the elusive ring 40 feet into the underground sewer pipe, well on its way to the city’s main sewer system.
The technician captured the ring using a wire hook attached to the camera end. Needless to say, Parks and her husband were ecstatic with the outcome. We’re amazed that fiber optic technology is available so readily in today’s high-tech world. Clearly, there’s no reason to ever give up hope when a cherished piece of jewelry accidentally goes down the drain.
Amateur gem hunters Libby and Kevin Barrieault paid $25 apiece to rummage through an aging emerald mine and came away with a 50.5-carat gem worth upwards of $10,000, according to ABC News.
This 50.5-carat emerald was discovered in Hiddenite, N.C.
The next day, another couple working only a few feet from the Barrieault’s find hit the mother lode as they discovered a pocket containing a single 30-carat emerald, 240-carats of smaller emeralds and about 160-carats of high quality “matrix” emeralds, which are commonly embedded in rock. Terry Lofgren and fiancé John Kehoe estimated their haul could be worth $30,000 to $40,000.
The emerald discoveries took place at the sleepy North American Emerald Mine in the town of Hiddenite, N.C. The mine, which had been closed to the public for 40 years, was recently reopened to treasure hunters at $25 a head as a way for mine owner Jamie Hill to make some extra money.
Little did Hill know that the mine was still so rich in precious emeralds.
Known locally as the “Emerald Man,” Hill told ABC News that he had no regrets: “I haven’t had a major find in a number of years,” Hill said. “I figured, if you bring in a whole bunch of recreational miners in here and let them go loose, it’s a great experience for them and they may just find something. It helps me, too, because it leads me to new locations. So it’s win-win.”
Libby and Kevin Barrieault found a 50.5-carat emerald under a rock.
Incredibly, the town of Hiddenite, N.C., was also the source of four remarkable emeralds that an anonymous benefactor donated to the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh only a few days earlier. The collection included the “Carolina Emperor,” a 64.38 carat gem-quality masterpiece that was cut from a 310-carat crystal.
A full six weeks before their official unveiling at Tiffany’s, the NY Giants’ Super Bowl XLVI rings were revealed for all the world to see when images of the design prototypes were tweeted by two Giants players and picked up by NYDailyNews.com.
When they realized their faux pas, Big Blue linebacker Clint Sintim and running back Andre Brown removed the photos from Twitter, but the images were already blasting through cyberspace. And here they are…
It’s not clear whether the rings are designed in white gold or platinum, but it is clear that the Tiffany designers used blue sapphires to contrast the white metal and diamonds. From the photo, one jeweler told NYDailyNews.com that the ring features between 3 1/2 to 4 carats of diamonds and about 10 carats of blue sapphires. He estimated the ring to be worth $25,000 to $30,000.
The design incorporates four Lombardi Trophies, symbolizing each of the Giants’ Super Bowl victories, with a marquise-shaped diamond embedded in each football. A diamond bejeweled “NY” logo, trimmed in blue enamel, is positioned below the four trophies.
Already critics of the design have called it tacky and ladylike. One Manhattan jeweler told NYDailyNews.com: “We’re talking the Super Bowl. This looks like a high school ring.” A second jeweler chimed in: “I don’t know if the Giants are going to like this. It’s flowery — for a lady.”
Giants defensive end Justin Tuck clarified that the images tweeted did not represent the final design. “We haven’t decided on the final ring yet,” he wrote. “Still working on it.”
The actual rings will be unveiled at a private ceremony at Tiffany’s on May 16.
Let’s welcome the weekend with our next installment of gem-themed music… It’s “Diamonds on the Inside,” performed by two-time Grammy Award winner Ben Harper. This was the title track of Harper’s 2003 album that rose to #19 on the U.S. music charts.
In Rolling Stone‘s review of the album, critic Pat Blashill wrote: “Even as he invokes folks such as Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix, Ben Harper turns rock clichés inside out until they mean something new again.”
The American singer-songwriter and musician has had commercial success in North America, Europe and Oceania with his eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music. The talented vocalist displays his impressive guitar-playing skills in this live performance from the 2008 edition of Eurockéennes de Belfort, one of France’s largest rock music festivals.
“Diamonds on the Inside”
Written and performed by Ben Harper
I knew a girl
Her name was truth
She was a horrible liar.
She couldn’t spend one day alone
But she couldn’t be satisfied.
When you have everything,
You have everything to lose.
She made herself
A bed of nails
And she’s plannin’ on puttin’ it to use.
She wore diamonds on the inside
She wore diamonds on the inside
She has diamonds on the inside
She wore diamonds
A candle throws its light into the darkness
In a nasty world, so shines the good deed
Make sure the fortune, that you seek
Is the fortune you need.
Now tell me why, the first to ask, is the last one to give, every time
What you say and do not mean
Follow too close behind
She has diamonds on the inside
She wore diamonds on the inside
She had diamonds on the inside
Oh diamonds, oh diamonds
Like a soldier standing under fire
Any change comes as a relief.
Let the giver’s name remain unspoken
For she is just a generous thief.
She wore diamonds on the inside
She had diamonds on the inside
You have diamonds on the inside
Oh diamonds, oh diamonds, oh diamonds
With gold prices at record highs, selling your gold can be a great way to make some extra money or use those proceeds to upgrade to jewelry that is more your style. Here are a few things you need to keep in mind when selling your gold:
Shop Around
Remember, you don’t have to jump at the first offer for your gold. Shop around for a few different bids. Your jewelry may be worth more than its weight when you include workmanship, artistic value, and embedded gems for the piece as a whole.
Know Your Buyer
Check out jewelry stores and gold buyers to find a reputable buyer who can accurately appraise your gold. Find out how long the buyer has been in business. Ben David’s has been buying and selling gold jewelry for over 50 years. Make sure you can trust your buyer in paying the most for what you really have.
Gold buyers are required by law to ask sellers for government-issued identification. This requirement is designed to protect consumers by helping police investigate the sale of stolen property and prevent money laundering. All reputable gold buyers comply with these rules, so if you don’t get asked to show your I.D., take your gold elsewhere.
So How Do You Cash In?
If you’re like thousands of Americans, you go to a gold party, the hottest trend on the block, where you can have your jewelry appraised and get paid cash on the spot.
But not so fast.
With every good deal comes a case of buyer’s and, in this case, seller’s beware, a reminder that consumers should do their homework before selling their jewelry at gold parties or in a local jewelry store.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises consumers that while gold parties may be a fun and convenient way to make some cash, they may not provide you the best deal.
Follow these tips from BBB to make sure you’re getting the best value for your gold.
1: Understand the Scales
The weight of gold helps determine its value, but keep in mind that jewelers use a different measurement standard called a Troy ounce. U.S. scales will measure 28 grams per ounce, while gold is measured at 31.1 grams per Troy ounce. Some dealers may also use a system of weights called pennyweight (dwt) to measure a Troy ounce, while others will use grams. A pennyweight is the equivalent of 1.555 grams. Be alert that a dealer does not weigh your gold by pennyweight but pay you by the gram, a sneaky way for the dealer to pay you less for more weight of gold.
2: Know Your Karats
Pure gold is too soft to be practically used so it is combined with other metals to create durability and color. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires that all jewelry sold in the U.S. describe a karat fineness of the alloy. One karat equals 1/24 of pure gold by weight. So 14 karats would mean the jewelry was 14 parts gold and 10 parts other metals. It is illegal for jewelry to be labeled “gold jewelry” if it is less than 10 karats. It is important to know the karats of your gold to make an informed decision on the scrap value of your jewelry.
3: Keep Your Karats Separate
Don’t let jewelry of different karat value be weighed together. Some dealers will weigh all jewelry together and pay you for the lowest karat value. Separate your jewelry by karat value before attending a gold party.
Gold Buying for Charity
A new twist on the gold buying party allows non-profit organizations and charities to receive proceeds from gold buying events. Partner with us to host a gold buying event where your attendees will bring their old or unwanted gold, platinum, and diamonds to sell to us for cash. Your organization will receive a portion of the profits. Contact us for more information – (434) 792-6561.
What About Other Jewelry?
Ben David’s also purchases single diamonds of 1/2 carat or greater, platinum jewelry, and also antique or estate jewelry. Not sure you want to sell your older jewelry due to sentimental value, even if it’s not your preferred style? Allow our custom design department to work with you on ways to reinvent sentimental items.
Why Ben David Jewelers for Your Gold Buying?
In addition to meeting the gold buying standards mentioned above, Ben David’s offers a special incentive when you choose us to buy your gold: Accept a Ben David Gift Card rather than cash when selling your gold and we’ll increase the sales price by 50% of what the typical cash value would be. Don’t miss the opportunity to sell your old jewelry and find something new.
The “Beau Sancy” is one of the most celebrated and coveted diamonds of all time. With a lineage that links the royal families of France, England, Prussia and the House of Orange, the diamond chronicles the history of their fluctuating fortunes for more than 400 years.
And now you can own a piece of European history, as the 35-carat modified “pear double rose cut” diamond will go on the auction block at Sotheby’s Geneva on May 15. It’s expected to fetch up to $4 million, according to ibtimes.com.
The diamond was originally acquired during the 1500s by Nicolas de Harlay, Lord of Sancy, and was subsequently purchased by French King Henri IV and gifted to his second wife, Marie de Medici. Famously, she had the Beau Sancy set in her crown for her coronation as the Queen Consort on May 13, 1610.
Henry IV was assassinated the next day.
After years of rivalry between Marie and her son King Louis XIII, she was eventually exiled in disgrace in 1631. To settle her debts, her possessions were sold, including the Beau Sancy, which was acquired by Prince Frederick Henry of Orange-Nassau.
In the early 1700s, the diamond had made its way to the Prussian monarchy and become the principal ornament of the new royal crown of Prussia.
The diamond remained in Berlin after the last king of Prussia fled to exile at the end of World War I, and at the end of World War II it was transferred to a bricked-up crypt for safe-keeping.
British troops found the stone and returned it to the estate of the House of Prussia, where it had remained ever since.
The Beau Sancy will go on an international tour before the Geneva auction, according to Sotheby’s.
Here are the dates and locations of the public exhibitions:
We can’t get enough of these awesome engagement proposals, and the fans of YouTube seem to agree. Our most recent find – the super creative scheme of Olympian Matt Grevers proposing to fellow U.S. National Swim Team member Annie Chandler on the medals stand during a recent competition – is nearing 2.7 million views.
What makes this marriage proposal so special is that Grevers had to earn a spot on the medal stand in order to carry out his clever plan. You see, Grevers had arranged with the Missouri Grand Prix’s organizers to allow his girlfriend, Chandler, to present the medals to the winners.
Fortunately, the 26-year-old Grevers won the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke and the plan was put into action.
As you will see in the video, Chandler, 24, placed the medal on Grevers, gave him a quick kiss, and walked out of the way as the ceremony continued. Then, she returned to the medals stand after the silver and bronze medalists cleared the platform. Chandler then rejoined her boyfriend on the platform, where Grevers dropped to one knee. The crowd went crazy and her reaction was priceless.
What sparked Grevers to go to such lengths to make this a memorable proposal?
Grevers told AZCentral.com, “It was my dad who was pretty outspoken, saying, ‘You need to do something you’re going to remember. This is a story you want to tell your grandchildren.’”
Both Grevers and Chandler will attempt to qualify for the London Olympics at the U.S. trials, June 25-July 1 in Omaha, Neb.
Ben David Jewelers' Superstore on Mount Cross Road in Danville, Virginia has been created to present the area's largest selection of diamonds and fine jewelry in a setting that is elegant, yet homey. It features a lovely sitting area with a plasma television, fireplace, warm cookies, and complimentary beverages for your comfort and enjoyment. We are guy-friendly and ready to help you with your jewelry needs.
459-A Mount Cross Road Danville, VA 24540
Monday - Thursday 10am to 6 pm
Friday - 10am to 7pm
Saturday - 10am to 5:30pm
Sunday - Closed Local: (434)-792-6561
Toll Free: 1-888-433-4104
Visit Ben David Jewelers on Facebook
