A golden wedding band can be much more than a beautiful piece of jewelry. In Randy Travis’s 1985 country classic “On the Other Hand,” it becomes a powerful reminder of love, loyalty and the promises we make — especially when temptation threatens to lead us astray.



Welcome to Music Friday when we highlight songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz, "On the Other Hand" tells the story of a married man who finds himself attracted to another woman. He acknowledges the excitement of a possible romantic encounter but ultimately recognizes that his wedding ring represents something far more valuable than a fleeting thrill.

The song’s central imagery comes into focus with the memorable lines: “But on the other hand, there's a golden band / To remind me of someone who would not understand.”

The wordplay is simple but brilliant. One hand represents the temptation to pursue another romance; the other carries the physical symbol of his marriage. That golden band serves as a tangible connection to his wife and the life they have built together. It is also a reminder that his decisions affect someone who trusts him.

Later, the narrator resolves his internal conflict: “On one hand I could stay and be your lovin' man / But the reason I must go is on the other hand.”

Rather than pretending temptation doesn't exist, the song acknowledges its pull while celebrating the strength to walk away. The ring becomes a moral anchor, transforming a familiar piece of jewelry into an emblem of conscience, fidelity and personal integrity.

Interestingly, the song needed a second chance to become a hit. Warner Bros. Records first released “On the Other Hand” in 1985 as Travis's debut single for the label. It stalled at #67 on Billboard's country chart. After his follow-up single, “1982,” gained traction, the label re-released the song in 1986. This time, “On the Other Hand” climbed to #1, becoming Travis's first chart-topping hit. It also earned the Country Music Association's Song of the Year honor in 1986.

The song helped launch a remarkable career. Born Randy Traywick in North Carolina, Travis moved to Nashville with his manager, Lib Hatcher, and worked as a cook and dishwasher at the Nashville Palace, where he also performed. After years of rejection, he caught the attention of Warner Bros. executive Martha Sharp, who signed him in 1985.

His 1986 debut album, Storms of Life, helped lead country music's return to traditional sounds. Travis went on to win seven Grammy Awards, earn induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016 and sell more than 25 million records worldwide. His enduring hits include “Forever and Ever, Amen” and “Three Wooden Crosses.”

A devastating stroke in 2013 left Travis with aphasia and partial paralysis, profoundly affecting his ability to perform. Yet his connection with fans endures. On his current More Life Tour, Travis greets audiences and celebrates his musical legacy, while country singer James Dupré performs the lead vocals on his classic hits.

Please check out the video of Travis's live performance of "On the Other Hand." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"On the Other Hand"
Written by Don Schlitz and Paul Overstreet. Performed by Randy Travis.

On one hand I count the reasons, I could stay with you
And hold you close to me, all night long.
So many lover's games, I'd love to play with you
On that hand there's no reason why it's wrong

But on the other hand, there's a golden band
To remind me of someone who would not understand.
On one hand I could stay and be your lovin' man
But the reason I must go is on the other hand

In your arms I feel the passion, I thought had died
When I looked into your eyes, I found myself.
And when I first kissed your lips, I felt so alive
I've got to hand it to you girl, you're something else

But on the other hand, there's a golden band
To remind me of someone who would not understand.
On one hand I could stay and be your lovin' man
But the reason I must go is on the other hand
Yeah, the reason I must go is on the other hand



Credit: Photo by Andy1981, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

What do you give a team that has waited 53 years to reclaim the NBA championship? How about a ring that brings its legendary home court to life? The New York Knicks received their championship jewelry Tuesday night before their season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden. Crafted in white gold, the spectacular rings feature a groundbreaking mechanical innovation that transforms each piece into a miniature tribute to the World's Most Famous Arena.



Created by luxury jeweler Jason of Beverly Hills in collaboration with Knicks leadership, the custom rings glisten with 22 carats of diamonds. There are approximately 800 gemstones in all, including round brilliant and emerald-cut white diamonds alongside colorful team-color sapphires. The New York Knicks logo is rendered in orange sapphires on the top with a white diamond border. In the background behind the logo, blue sapphires set in a radial pattern mimic the inside of Madison Square Garden when you look up at the stadium from your seats.

But the ring's most remarkable feature isn't its gemstone count or diamond total weight. It's the engineering.



A state-of-the-art mechanism allows a miniature recreation of Madison Square Garden's iconic exterior to rise from the core of the ring with a simple turn. The innovation transforms the ring from a traditional championship keepsake into an interactive miniature tribute to the arena known affectionately as the World's Most Famous Arena.



The surprises continue when the ring is opened. Its body twists apart to reveal a detailed miniature recreation of the Garden's lower bowl, while the underside of the removable ring top recreates the arena's distinctive ceiling architecture. Together, these features capture the place where generations of Knicks fans have celebrated, suffered and dreamed of another title.

Jason Arasheben, founder and CEO of Jason of Beverly Hills, said the goal was to "create something truly revolutionary, worthy of an iconic franchise and a city as passionate about basketball as New York."

Bringing Madison Square Garden to life through the ring's moving mechanisms was central to that vision.

The ring also tells the story of the championship season through an abundance of carefully chosen symbols. Jersey numbers representing the entire championship roster wrap around the ring top — representing the team's unity — while each player's ring is personalized with his last name above a diamond-encrusted jersey number.

On the championship side, the year 2026, playoff series results and the Larry O'Brien Trophy commemorate the team's remarkable postseason journey. A 0.16-carat round diamond set into the trophy honors the Knicks' dramatic 16-point comeback against the San Antonio Spurs in the championship-clinching game.

Sixteen emerald-cut diamonds line the inner bezel, one for each postseason victory, while 69 points of round white diamonds spell out “WORLD CHAMPIONS” on the face of the ring, recognizing the team's combined regular-season and playoff wins.



Hidden engravings add an intimate touch. “Knicks in Five” celebrates the team's five-game Finals triumph over San Antonio, while “10 WEEKS” recalls the players' mantra of sacrifice, discipline and total focus on winning it all.

For a franchise whose previous championship came more than half a century ago, the ceremony carried a special emotional resonance. Eighty-one-year-old Knicks legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Walt Frazier was on hand to deliver the rings, connecting the champions of today with the celebrated teams of the past.

Credits: Images courtesy of Jason of Beverly Hills.

A year after introducing its ambitious “Desert Diamonds” initiative, De Beers is bringing the natural diamond concept back into the holiday spotlight with a fresh celebration of warm, earthy colors and timeless jewelry designs. The 2026 campaign reimagines classic diamond pieces in shades of champagne, yellow, ochre, whiskey and brown, inviting a new generation of consumers to embrace natural diamonds as expressions of love, individuality and personal style.



The holiday campaign features familiar favorites, including diamond tennis bracelets, stud earrings, eternity bands and halo solitaire pendants. The designs offer a contemporary twist on traditional diamond jewelry, encouraging consumers to choose pieces that reflect their personalities rather than follow a single definition of diamond beauty. This year's campaign launched with a celebration of Desert diamond tennis bracelets at the US Open, where prominent athletes including Venus Williams, Taylor Townsend and Naomi Osaka appeared wearing the warm-toned gems.



The holiday push arrives nearly one year after De Beers dramatically introduced Desert Diamonds as its first new natural diamond “beacon” in more than a decade. The original launch reached a spectacular crescendo on October 27, 2025, when De Beers declared “Diamond Day” during a rare sports equinox, with the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL all holding games on the same day.



The company bought advertising time across major sports broadcasts in an ambitious “roadblock” designed to make its message virtually impossible to miss. The wider campaign extended across television, digital media, social platforms, outdoor advertising and high-profile New York installations, including a 3D Times Square billboard and a Rockefeller Center subway station takeover.

De Beers describes a beacon as more than a conventional advertising campaign: it is a demand-creation engine intended to inspire interest across the natural diamond category. Early results suggest the strategy made a meaningful impression. Brand-lift studies showed purchase intent for Desert Diamonds more than doubled, rising from 9.4% to 20.8%.

The campaign generated more than 1 billion impressions across channels during the final quarter of 2025 and drove more than 2.7 million store visits across more than 1,600 locations. Searches for colored diamonds rose 19% during the quarter, while participating independent retailers reported a 16% increase in the value of colored diamond sales.

Broader market figures also offered encouragement. According to Tenoris, sales of natural diamond jewelry priced above $1,500 increased 3.4% in units and 9.7% in revenue.

In early 2026, De Beers extended the concept into bridal jewelry, bringing the earthy palette to engagement rings and wedding designs. More than 200 new bridal designs were previewed, giving couples alternatives to traditional colorless diamonds and a way to express their own stories through champagne, honey, blush and cognac hues.

Credits: Video screen captures courtesy of De Beers Group.

Kylie Jenner made a dazzling Victoria’s Secret runway debut on October 18 in Los Angeles, wearing a jewel-encrusted $50 million Fantasy Bra that sets a new record for the lingerie brand’s most valuable creation. Designed in collaboration with luxury jeweler Jacob & Co., the extraordinary piece features 4,410 natural diamonds totaling 1,373 carats, anchored by a spectacular 75.54-carat Fancy Vivid yellow diamond valued at $22 million.



The record-setting price tag is more than triple that of the previous champion, Gisele Bündchen’s $15 million Red Hot Fantasy Bra, unveiled in 2000. Jenner’s appearance also marked the first time the Fantasy Bra had returned to the Victoria’s Secret runway since 2018.

Graded VS2 by the Gemological Institute of America, the natural Fancy Vivid yellow diamond dangles below two round brilliant white diamonds totaling 11.85 carats. The surrounding diamonds showcase seven different cuts, including radiant, pear, round brilliant, heart, oval, marquise and designer Jacob Arabo’s proprietary Angel-Cut.



The design also incorporates 91 large natural white diamonds, ranging from 5.01 to 18.59 carats, selected in E-F color and VVS2-VS1 clarity grades. Smaller diamonds fill the spaces between the larger stones, creating a brilliant, continuous display of light.

The Angel-Cut carries a personal meaning for Arabo and his wife, Angela. Its 37 facets symbolize the couple’s 37 years of marriage, adding a romantic touch to the spectacular craftsmanship.

Yet the most remarkable feature may be what the Fantasy Bra lacks: fabric. Instead, the piece is built from 18-karat white and yellow gold, with 3,218 individually designed components engineered to articulate with the body. The structure was developed through pencil sketches, a full-scale chipboard model and detailed computer-aided design, then cast using the traditional lost-wax method. Each element was assembled and set by hand.

A team of 15 artisans devoted more than 1,000 hours to the project, carefully balancing the weight of the precious materials with the flexibility required for a runway performance. The finished creation weighs just under four pounds, yet its articulated diamond fringe swings with movement, allowing the piece to catch the light as its wearer walks.

“I wanted to create the most expensive Fantasy Bra ever made, but value alone was never enough,” Arabo said in a statement released by Victoria’s Secret. “For me, it had to be about the diamonds, the light, and the movement.”

The Fantasy Bra tradition began in 1996, when Claudia Schiffer modeled the first creation. Over the years, the designs have transformed lingerie into extraordinary showcases for rare gemstones and jewelry artistry.

Credits: Photos courtesy of Jacob & Co.

For the first time, holiday retail sales in the United States are expected to top $1 trillion, with consumers continuing to prioritize gifts and celebrations despite inflation, rising gasoline prices and an uneven economic outlook. The National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasts that November and December sales will reach $1.013 trillion, a 4.2% increase over 2025.



The projection marks an acceleration from last year, when holiday sales increased 3.1% to $972 billion. If the forecast holds, this year would deliver the strongest holiday sales growth since 2021, when sales surged 12.6%.

“This year’s forecast reflects our confidence that consumers will prioritize the holiday season even as they remain mindful of their budgets,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said.

Speaking during an October 15 media call, Shay emphasized that Americans have consistently made holiday spending on loved ones a priority.

“They’ve repeatedly shown that the holidays and spending on loved ones are priorities,” he said.

Still, the record-breaking forecast comes with an important caveat: Not all households are experiencing the economy in the same way. NRF leaders described a K-shaped spending pattern, in which higher-income consumers continue to drive a disproportionate share of retail growth, while households with tighter budgets remain more cautious.

NRF Chief Economist and Executive Director of Research Mark Mathews said rising financial wealth is supporting spending among affluent households, while higher gas and food prices are putting greater pressure on moderate- and lower-income consumers. In some retail sectors, Mathews noted during the call, the top 10% of spenders account for as much as 70% of sales.

The forecast offers reason for optimism, particularly among shoppers with room in their budgets for meaningful gifts. Consumers are expected to remain deliberate and value-conscious, making attractive designs, compelling price points and thoughtful gift options important throughout the season.

US retailers are preparing for the demand by planning to hire between 325,000 and 375,000 seasonal workers, roughly in line with last year’s estimated 356,000 hires.

NRF also expects artificial intelligence to play a larger role in holiday shopping, as consumers increasingly use AI tools to research products and compare options.

The NRF defines the holiday season as November 1 through December 31 and excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants from its retail-sales calculation. Holiday sales have accounted for approximately 19% of annual retail sales over the past five years.

Credit: Image by The Jeweler Blog using aichatapp.ai.

In Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Arrows,” David Crosby reflects on hardship and transformation through these memorable lyrics: “I have a thing about arrows / And diamonds and coal / Pressure turning carbon to jewels.” These opening lines offer a powerful reminder that life’s most challenging experiences can become the raw material for personal transformation. Just as pressure can turn carbon into a diamond, adversity can force a person to confront painful truths, discover inner strength and emerge with a renewed sense of purpose.



Welcome to Music Friday, when we highlight songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics.

For Crosby, the metaphor carried a deeply personal resonance. The song’s imagery of arrows turned inward suggests that growth begins not by blaming others, but by examining one’s own choices and weaknesses. Its uplifting message — “You can turn it around” — offers hope that even after hitting bottom, a person can find a path to the top.

Co-written by Crosby and acoustic guitarist Michael Hedges, “Arrows” appeared as the ninth track on Crosby, Stills & Nash’s sixth studio album, Live It Up, released in June of 1990. Although the song was never issued as a commercial single, the album reached No. 57 on the Billboard 200.
The timing of the song is significant. By the mid-1980s, Crosby’s long struggle with cocaine and heroin addiction had devastated his health and career. In 1986, he began serving a prison sentence in Texas for drug and weapons offenses. Without access to drugs or musical instruments, he endured a painful withdrawal and was released on parole later that year.

Crosby would later describe prison as an experience that helped save his life. His path to recovery was neither simple nor painless, but it marked the beginning of a remarkable comeback. By the time Live It Up arrived, he was sober and had begun rebuilding his personal life, including marrying Jan Dance in 1987.

Against that backdrop, the song’s diamond imagery becomes more than a poetic flourish. The coal represents a person’s darkest moments; the pressure represents the difficult work of facing them. And the jewel represents the possibility of becoming stronger and wiser without pretending the past never happened. The arrows turned inward are not weapons of self-destruction, but instruments of honest self-examination.

Crosby’s journey gave this message particular weight. A founding member of the Byrds before joining Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, he helped shape the harmonies and sound of a generation. Crosby, Stills & Nash became one of the defining supergroups of the late 1960s and 1970s, earning a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1970. With Neil Young joining them at various points, the expanded lineup became Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Across their different configurations, the musicians sold tens of millions of records and left an enduring mark on rock music. The trio was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Crosby died in January 2023 at age 81, but Stills and Nash remain living links to the group’s extraordinary legacy.

Please check out the audio track of Crosby, Stills & Nash performing "Arrows." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"Arrows"
Written by David Crosby and Michael Hedges. Performed by Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Arrows turned inward are good for the soul
I have a thing about arrows
And diamonds and coal
Pressure turning carbon to jewels

Slowly they aim at my iron mark
Flaming healing arrows
They beat at my heart
Angels turning metal to tools

I don't care what you think has got you down
You can turn it around
I don't care what you think, turn it around
Turn it around, turn it around

Times that I knew I could never get through
That's when I grew up the most
And alone sounds so sad
But alone I found the best friend I had

I don't care what you think has got you down
You can turn it around
I don't care what you think, turn it around
Turn it around, turn it around

Arrows turned inward are good for the soul
Piercing through every callus
They always get through
My target is a heart no one fools

Turn it around, turn it around
Turn it around, turn it around



Credit: Photo by Eddi Laumanns aka RX-Guru, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

For families across the American heartland, a giant pile of corn kernels can be the perfect place for little ones to dig, scoop, tumble and play while Mom snaps adorable fall photos. But amid the pumpkin patches, hayrides, apple cider donuts — and corn pits — there’s a surprising hazard that can turn a carefree autumn outing into a jewelry owner’s nightmare.



Here's the problem: When thousands of kernels rub against one another, they release a fine, powdery residue of corn starch. As children and adults plunge their hands into the corn, that dust coats their fingers and reduces the natural friction that helps keep rings in place. An engagement ring that normally fits securely can suddenly become slippery enough to slide off without its owner even noticing.

Add the constant motion of digging, scooping and reaching through a deep bed of kernels, and a precious ring can disappear in a blink. Cooler autumn temperatures may make the problem worse if fingers shrink slightly in the chill, leaving a ring with an even looser fit.

The danger isn’t theoretical. In October 2023, Gull Meadow Farms in Kalamazoo County, MI, reported that a visitor had found an engagement ring in its 1,500-square-foot Corn Crib. The farm appealed to the public for help locating the owner, carefully withholding a photo so the rightful owner would have to identify the ring.

Meanwhile, in Minnesota, Jess Tran’s diamond wedding ring vanished during a family visit to Waldoch Farm. She didn’t realize it was missing until she and her husband were preparing to leave with their three young sons. The ring had disappeared into what must have seemed like an endless sea of corn.

Tran rented a metal detector and returned to the farm before it opened. After searching, she recovered her ring — along with another person’s earring and some stray coins. Her relief was enormous. As she told the Star Tribune, “My heart just started pounding.” She said she began screaming and crying, feeling as if she were being proposed to all over again.

At Twin Cities Harvest Festival and Maze, also in Minnesota, jewelry losses were so frequent that the operators kept metal detectors on hand. Rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, keys and cellphones all found their way into the kernels.

Finding a lost ring in a corn pit is no easy task. Kernels shift and settle, concealing jewelry beneath layers of nearly identical pieces. Even if a farm has a metal detector, recovery can mean a painstaking search — and there’s no guarantee the ring will be found.

Fortunately, the simplest solution is also the most effective: remove engagement rings, wedding bands and other loose jewelry before entering a corn pit. Store them securely at home or in a safe place before the family outing begins. Check for warning signs at the entrance, too.

Corn pits are meant to create happy fall memories, not heartbreaking jewelry mysteries. With a little preparation, parents can focus on the giggles, the photo opportunities and the pumpkin-spiced treats — without worrying that a family heirloom might vanish beneath the kernels.

Credit: Image by The Jeweler Blog using aichatapp.ai.

For nearly 600 years, a small ceramic jug buried near Moscow held a secret fortune in silver. When archaeologists unearthed it in the historic Russian city of Kolomna, they found more than 2,600 medieval coins, including more than 350 previously unknown varieties that are expanding researchers’ understanding of the region’s money supply in the 1420s.



Archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences uncovered the jug in a shallow natural pit in Kolomna’s medieval settlement, near the city’s Kremlin. The vessel itself is an intriguing artifact, described by researchers as a small, elegant ceramic jug decorated with engobe, a colored clay coating applied to its surface.

Inside were more than 2,600 silver dengi, the principal coin denomination circulating in the region at the time. Each coin was worth half a kopek. The word dengi, the plural of denga, eventually became the modern Russian word for money.

The coins date primarily to the reigns of two Moscow grand princes: Vasily I Dmitrievich, who ruled from 1389 to 1425, and his son Vasily II Vasilyevich, known as "the Blind," who ruled from 1425 to 1462. The latest coins were minted during the second half of the 1420s, helping researchers establish when the treasure was probably buried.



What makes the discovery especially exciting is its remarkable variety. More than 350 previously unknown types of Kolomna coins have already been identified. Many were minted locally during the final years of Vasily I’s reign and feature an unusual image of a bird in flight. Such coins are exceptionally rare in hoards discovered elsewhere, and some specimens are so rare that they are absent from the collections of Russia’s largest museums.



Tiny differences in coin designs can reveal which dies — the engraved tools used to strike coins — produced them. By examining these variations and connections between dies, specialists hope to reconstruct the sequence of coin production in Kolomna over at least 15 years. The hoard may also help identify the final issues of the city’s distinctive bird-design coins.

For archaeologists, the coins are more than a buried fortune. Preserved together in their original grouping, they provide an unusually detailed picture of the money changing hands in medieval Kolomna — and a remarkable opportunity to recover a lost chapter of Russia’s economic history.

The collection’s composition offers a glimpse into Kolomna’s economic importance. A major center of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the city was second only to Moscow itself in significance within the principality. The predominance of grand-princely coins reflects the region’s distinctive monetary system.

So, who owned the treasure? Its considerable size suggests a wealthy individual, perhaps a high-ranking official serving the grand prince, a local administrator or a successful merchant. Yet the owner apparently never returned to retrieve it.

Researchers believe the jug was buried in the late 1420s, a period when epidemics swept through the cities of medieval Rus’. They suggest its owner may have died during an outbreak between 1425 and 1427, leaving the fortune hidden underground. This remains a theory, however. No evidence has identified the owner or established exactly what happened.

Credits: Photos courtesy of The Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

A dazzling 24-carat pink diamond with a remarkable 70-year family history is preparing for its first-ever auction appearance. Known as "The Bulgari Pink," the emerald-cut gem will headline Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva on November 10, with an estimate of $12 million to $18 million. Its story spans India’s legendary diamond fields, the glamour of postwar Rome, and generations of private ownership by a distinguished European noble family.



According to family lore, the rough diamond was acquired in India during the 1950s by the current owner’s great-grandfather. Its precise origin has not been confirmed, but Christie’s notes that its exceptional qualities evoke historic diamonds from India’s fabled Golconda mines, which supplied some of the world’s most celebrated gems. The stone was subsequently entrusted to Bulgari in Rome, where it was transformed into the elegant ring we see today.

The diamond’s Fancy Intense Pink color grade is a major part of its appeal. Pink diamonds owe their distinctive hue to distortions in their crystal structure that affect how light travels through the stone. The Bulgari Pink’s rectangular step cut, commonly known as an emerald cut, gives it a sophisticated architectural appearance, with broad, mirror-like facets that showcase its color and clarity.

It is also classified as a Type IIa diamond, a chemically pure category representing less than 2% of gem-quality diamonds. Its 24-carat size, pink color and refined cut make it an extraordinary combination. Fancy Intense Pink sits just below Fancy Vivid Pink, the highest color-saturation grade in this classification, adding another intriguing dimension to the gem’s auction prospects.

Bulgari’s role in the diamond’s transformation connects it to one of jewelry’s most glamorous eras. During the 1950s, Rome emerged as an international center of postwar sophistication, earning the nickname “Hollywood on the Tiber” as major film productions attracted movie stars to Cinecittà Studios. Bulgari’s boutique on Via Condotti became a social and cultural meeting place for celebrated couples, including Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer.

The Bulgari Pink remained in the same family’s private hands for more than seven decades, never previously appearing at public auction. Christie’s will offer the ring during its November 10 sale at Geneva’s Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, with the jewel scheduled for public viewing November 5–10.

Other Fancy Intense Pink diamonds have commanded impressive prices. In June 2024, the 10.20-carat, internally flawless Eden Rose sold at Christie’s for $13.29 million. In November 2023, the 15.48-carat Pink Supreme achieved $10.81 million at Christie’s Hong Kong.

Fancy Vivid Pink diamonds have reached even more astonishing heights. The 59.60-carat CTF Pink Star sold for approximately $71.2 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2017, setting a world auction record for a gemstone. In 2022, the 11.15-carat Williamson Pink Star brought in $57.7 million, setting a record price per carat for a gemstone.

Credit: Image courtesy of Christie's.

In 1926, a 10-year-old Arkansas girl helping her father hoe weeds in a cotton field spotted something unusual gleaming in the dirt. She picked up what she called a “pretty pebble” and kept it as a curiosity. Little did Alice Taylor know that her pocket-sized treasure was a 27.21-carat rough diamond — believed to be the second-largest diamond ever discovered in Arkansas. Now, a century after its discovery, the celebrated stone has returned to its home state for a special exhibition at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville.



For roughly 20 years after it was found, the diamond remained an unrecognized family keepsake. After Alice grew up and married, becoming Mrs. Pelie Howell, she stored the stone in a small leather pouch in her dresser drawer. Its adventures included an accidental disappearance beneath the family’s porch, where one of her children had dropped it through a knothole. The shiny pebble was recovered about a year later when another child crawled underneath the porch looking for hidden chicken eggs.

The family eventually began to wonder whether the stone might be more than an ordinary rock. One day, Howell accidentally dragged it across her iron stove and discovered that it scratched the metal without suffering any apparent damage. Suspecting it could be a diamond, she and her husband took it to jewelers in nearby Searcy. Their hopes were met with laughter and skepticism.

The objection seemed logical: Arkansas’s famous diamond-bearing volcanic formation is near Murfreesboro, far from Searcy. The two towns are approximately 163 miles apart. How could a diamond have ended up in a cotton field so far from the state’s recognized diamond source?

The mystery has never been definitively solved. One theory suggests that Native Americans may have discovered the stone near Murfreesboro centuries earlier and traded it north. Whatever its journey, the diamond had spent two decades in the Howell family’s possession before its true identity was established.

In May 1946, the stone was sent to specialists, who confirmed that it was a genuine 27.21-carat diamond. Tiffany & Co. purchased it from Howell for a reported $8,500 — a remarkable windfall for a modest family. The money reportedly enabled her to buy a new home and pay off the mortgage on her parents’ farm, the very property where she had found the diamond as a child.

Tiffany chose not to cut or polish the stone. Instead, the company preserved it in its original rough form, maintaining the appearance of the remarkable crystal that had emerged from the Arkansas soil. It subsequently became part of the Tiffany Archives in New York.

Now, the Arkansas Diamond is taking center stage in “Nature Adorned: The Artistry of Tiffany & Co. and the American Imagination,” on view at Crystal Bridges from October 9, 2026, through March 29, 2027. The exhibition also includes two other notable diamonds discovered in Arkansas, alongside exceptional Tiffany jewelry and works from the museum’s collection.



Jewelry highlights include naturalistic orchid brooches created by George Paulding Farnham in the late 19th century, as well as Jean Schlumberger’s elaborate "Hedges and Flowers" necklace and iconic "Bird on a Rock" creations.



The "Hedges and Flowers" necklace (1978-1987) features intense pinkish-red tourmalines, turquoise and brilliant round diamonds set in gold and platinum.



The Bird on a Rock brooch (1965) captures a majestic, hand-sculpted platinum bird accented with 18-karat yellow gold perched atop a vibrant blue-violet tanzanite. The bird is pavé-set with brilliant-cut diamonds and features a bezel-set pink sapphire for its eye.

Credits: Images courtesy of Tiffany & Co. Archives.