The Weekly Gems: News and Videos from Around the Web

This week’s news in the gem-and-jewelry world spotlights an exclusive, diamond-encrusted credit card and a recreation of the Imperial State Crown for Jeffrey Archer’s latest novel.

A stone’s throw

Locals scrambled on the streets of the Varachha bazaar, a small market in Surat, India, known for diamond trading, to search for a valuable packet of stones a businessman was rumored to have dropped. The video went viral on X (Twitter).

Online authentication

Online marketplace eBay has expanded its Authenticity Guarantee program in the UK, collaborating with the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) to vet branded and unbranded fine jewelry.

Disco divas

Jewelry writer, author and consultant Beth Bernstein lists some pop-culture trends, from disco to hip-hop, that inspire modern jewelry looks.

Swipe in style

Have you heard about the Billionaire Card? This iced-out Visa was designed for a circle of 150 clients with “considerable net worth.”  Of course, the metal card is gold plated and set with striking pavé diamonds that will sparkle at every transaction.

Real or replica?

When Jeffrey Archer wrote his new book about a brazen raid on the Crown Jewels held at the Tower of London, he tasked jeweler Alan Gard with recreating the Imperial State Crown. You can see both versions here. Try to spot the real one.

Of liquid and gold

Sergio Narciandi, a man working for a water-supply firm in northern Spain, was tasked with finding a water source and ended up unearthing the first of two Iron Age gold necklaces that were likely buried in a hoard about 2,500 years ago.

Main image by David Polak.