In some cultures people would swallow pearls whole to relieve sickness
The largest pearl ever found was 14 pounds
Tiffany and Co. engagement rings had a price tag of $40 in 1896
The Queen of England's jewelry collection is worth an estimated $57 million dollars.
The Heart of the Ocean, from James Cameron's "Titanic" was not completely fictitious – it is believed that a rather large sapphire went down with Titanic on that fateful night.
All diamonds turn to graphite over an extremely long period of time
While diamonds are one of the hardest substances in nature (although recent research has proved otherwise), synthetic nanomaterials have been created that are much harder.
Although diamonds are hard, they are not strong. If you hit one with a hammer it will shatter.
Engagement rings were declared necessary for marriage by Pope Nicholas I in 860 A.D.
Opals can actually be up to 30% water
Cartier introduced platinum to jewelry in 1896
Extremely high quality emeralds are more valuable than diamonds
Pure gold is always yellow and changes color when different metals are added to it
One of the largest sapphires is known as the Star of Asia, which is currently housed at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
All the gold ever mined in the history of the world can be compressed into an 18-yard cube, roughly 1/10 of the Washington Monument
There are 10 billion tons of gold in all the oceans
Pearls are only formed in 1 out of every 10,000 oysters
One in a million mined diamonds become jewelry
The U.S. is the world’s largest consumer of diamonds
3 out of 4 American brides receive engagement rings with gold and diamonds
All diamonds are over 3 billion years old
The most expensive piece of jewelry created for a movie was Nicole Kidman’s necklace in Moulin Rouge. It is expected to sell for $1 million.
The twelve birthstones came from the twelve tribes of Israel
Wedding bands are worn on the “ring finger” because people used to believe that there is a vein connecting to the heart within it
After millions upon millions of years, it is assumed that the Sun will become one large diamond-star!
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#17 in pearl-farming, the number is much better, else they'd go out of business. IIRC they add a bit of shell and a piece of mantle from another oyster to every oyster on the farm. it causes great irritation, hence a reason for the oyster to lay down heavy amounts of nacre to coat the stuff.
Little more info on the diamond graphite thing.
side note: rogan had NDT on?? i hope joe realises what a lucky dude he is...!