Ruby Ring Brings in Millions

Jewelry hounds, I've found the 'covet of the day' bling for your drooling pleasure.

Recently both Christie's and Sotheby's held successful jewelry auctions, with diamonds, emeralds and pearls exchanging hands for millions. But this particular gem caught my eye - a stunner of a ruby ring once owned by philanthropist (aka: filthy rich) eccentric, Isabella Stewart Gardner.

Mounted in platinum, the cushion-cut ruby ring weighs 8.66 carats and is flanked by single-cut diamonds weighing approximately .12 carats. The piece sold at Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels sale for (wait for it....) $2.098 million (!) with a pre-sale estimate of only $1 million to $1.5 million.

According to Luxist, Gardner was a visionary patron of the arts whose personal collection of fine jewelry and decorative art is housed in her former home, now an esteemed Boston museum, called the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. She was strong-minded and intellectually curious and enjoyed her reputation in Victorian era Boston for leading an avant-garde lifestyle - with a particular penchant for rubies.

This particular ruby was originally purchased with a $50,000 inheritance given to Gardner by her brother when he died as a token of remberance. Now many decades (and quite a few zeros) later, some lucky bidder walked away with her sentimental stone - and let's hope a few body guards for good meausre.

What kind of jewelry would you buy with $50,000? Are you a diamond diva or a gemstone kinda gal? Weigh in!

Naomi Campbell's Diamond Disaster

Saucy supermodel, Naomi Campbell, unwisely added an 'icy' altercation over a diamond to her long list of offenses this week. If you thought that sentence was bizarre wait 'til you hear the details.

Apparently actress/activist Mia Farrow (of all people) told ABC news that Campbell bragged about receiving a blood diamond from one Charles Taylor, a former Liberian strongman on trial for war crimes. When an ABC television reporter broached the subject with the always even-tempered Naomi, well, you can guess what happened:

a. something was hurled
b. someone was hit
c. something was smashed
d. all of the above

The answer this time is only "c" - a camera was the collateral damage of one very angry supermodel who responded before hitting a TV camera and leaving in a huff:

"I didn't receive a diamond and I'm not going to speak about that."

Will Woody Allen's former mate convince Woody Allen's former muse? Stay tuned...

JIC Collects 10 Best Proposals

Jewelry hounds, I've got good news: romance is alive and well in America. The Jewelry Information Center (JIC) just unveiled its nationwide search for the best engagement proposal, and they've collected 10 incredible stories that make the 'Jewelry Store Proposal' I wrote about yesterday look like amateur hour.

One guy took the time to plant tulip bulbs (his honey's favorite flower) that spelled out the words "Marry Me?" when they bloomed - after 6 months of careful primping and pruning! Another fella created a scavenger hunt that culminated with a diamond ring and a gaggle of his girlfriend's childhood chums there to celebrate. And my personal favorite is the dentist who took his Ohio State graduate girlfriend to OSU stadium and proposed to her on the 50 yard line (Go Buckeyes!).

But this is just the tip of the 'ice' berg. The JIC Ultimate Proposal Contest collected over 1200 proposal stories from member retailers like Kay Jewelers, Jared and Osterman Jewelers and listed the top ten on their website for us to vote on. Why vote, you ask? Because the winning couple gets a trip to Santorini, Greece and platinum jewelry courtesy of Platinum Guild International, USA.

And it's just good karma.

So visit www.JIC.org/proposalcontest and weigh in with your favorite story of love. They allow one vote per day - so be sure to go back more than once if the spirit moves you. We have until April 30th to get these guys to Greece!