Big Diamond in Little Lesotho

There's been a deluge of diamond delights for the jewelry hound to bite into lately - from the Wittelsbach/Hope display at the Smithsonian to the rare pink diamond that's sure to set price records at Sotheby's later this month.

So it was almost too much to read about the whopper of a rough diamond found in the small African kingdom of Lesotho this week. Like eating a pint of New York Super Fudge Chunk is too much after a pizza delivery. Or watching Joan Rivers on E! is too much after ....actually, I'll just leave it at Miss Joan.

But I don't MAKE the diamond news, folks - I just drool over it.

So, listen. Can you imagine unearthing a 185-carat diamond and just, like, handing it over to your boss at the mine? Well, some poor Lesotho subject did just that last week - and Gem Diamonds got to boast of their second big diamond find in as many months.

According to miningweekly.com, Gem Diamonds' Letšeng mine has produced a number of exceptional diamonds since they acquired the operation in 2006 - including the 603-ct(!) Lesotho Promise, the 493-ct Letšeng Legacy and the 478-ct Light of Letšeng that sold for $12.4-million, $10.4-million and $18.4-million, respectively.

Pass the New York Super Fudge Chunk, Mary. I need to sit down.

This particular stone is expected to yield top color and top clarity once polished, the company said in a release - and could yield between $7 million and $10 million.

I'll have a large pepperoni, extra cheese - - and...yeah, throw in the cheesy bread....

Jewelry Trend Alert: The 'Eyes' Have It!

Does it get any more extreme than Kanye West replacing his entire bottom row of teeth with real diamonds? Yes, jewelry hounds. Yes, it does.

A new trend has emerged that has diamond divas putting real platinum gems - on their eyeballs.

(And you thought vajazzling was the final frontier.)

According to Trendhunter, eye surgeons at the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery have been implanting tiny pieces of jewelry called “JewelEye” under the surfaces of eyes as far back as 2004.

The procedure involves inserting a 3.5 mm (0.13 inch) wide piece of specially developed jewelry (the range includes a glittering half-moon or heart) into the sclera - or the white part of the eye. And here's the heart-warming video to prove it.

But there is plenty of other 'eye candy' available that doesn't involve the pleasantries of peeper piercing.

Dutch designer Eric Klarenbeek has an eye catching line of bejeweled contact lenses. And I mean 'eye catching' literally.

And D-lister divas, Lisa and Brittny Gastineau, have a popular jewelry line with the Hollywood set that features the eye shape throughout.

Or you can eyeball these little ditties for your next night at the asylum...um, I mean...on the town.

 

So. What do you guys think of the eye candy trend? Edgy or 'Ay, yay, yay'?

Heidi Klum's Halloween Hangover

Halloween in Hollywood means one thing: Heidi Klum's annual Halloween bash. And while the D-list dared to dress-up in droves this year, I'm still looking for a crazy jewelry juggernaut costume like Paris Hilton's diamond display from last year.

Alas.

Here are some of the photo highlights - including my favorite art-imitating-life-imitating-art entry: the Napster co-Founder, Sean Parker, dressing up like Justin Timberlake. Clever.

Yes. That's Heidi Klum in a Transformer-inspired get up on stilts.