Deep-sea find
Divers searching for a shipwrecked Spanish galleon have stumbled across a gold combination toothpick and earwax spoon dating back to the late 16th or early 17th century.
The 7.6-cm-long grooming tool, uncovered on May 18, weighs around 28-grams and could be valued around $US100,000+, according to Blue Water Ventures diver Chris Rackley.
Rackley found the object while hunting for the remains of the Santa Margarita, which sank about 64 km off the coast of Key West, Florida, in a violent hurricane in 1622.
"We were on the trail on the Margarita site following the artifact scatter pattern to the north," Blue Water head archaeologist R. Duncan Mathewson told the Associated Press. "This is the furthest point where gold has ever been found, so it confirms we're on the right trail."
Santa Margarita was part of Spain's Tierra Firme treasure fleet carrying goods between Europe and the New World.
In addition to its 143 passengers and crew, the galleon was carrying a plethora of coins, pearls, gold bars, and other treasures.
Experts said the piece was probably worn on a gold chain.
Turning cat into carats
A British woman has had her dead cat turned into a black diamond, believed to be the only black diamond in the world created from a pile of ashes.
Sue Rogers commissioned Chicago-based LifeGem - a company that turns dead people and animals into gems - to transform Sooty's ashes into a 30-point black diamond to wear in a ring.
The diamond was reportedly created by extracting two grams of carbon from 100 grams of the cat's ashes, placing the carbon in a diamond press and exposing it to temperatures of 3,000 degrees Celsius at pressures up to one-million pounds.
Once grown, the gem was placed under electrons for 24 hours - which gradually changed the colour from clear to black - then cut and polished.
50 Cent gets ripped-off
American rap artist 50 Cent fell victim to a snatch and grab of his diamond-set chain while performing live in Africa.
The singer was delivering a concert to Angolan fans when one over-zealous audience member grabbed the jewellery from around 50 Cent's neck.
Video footage of the theft shows the assailant fleeing with the chain as 50 Cent and his entourage chase after him.
According to TMZ.com, 50 Cent caught the thief and is alleged to have punched him before claiming back his prized chain.
Blue diamond hits world record
A 3.73-carat vivid blue diamond has sold at auction for $US4.95 million, or $US1.3 million per carat - a world record per-carat price.
According to a report in JCK, the gem fetched well above its pre-sale estimate of $US2.6-$US3.3 million at the Sotheby's sale of Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels in Geneva on May 15.
"We are absolutely delighted with the results of the sale, which has performed supremely well across the board," said Sotheby's international jewellery department chairman David Bennett. "We've had great success with important stones, and particularly with jewels of noble provenance."
Britain's bling worth £8.6b
A new survey has found British citizens own a collective total of £8.6 billion worth of jewellery.
The poll, conducted by Halifax Home Insurance, shows 34 million British residents keep a total of £52 billion worth of jewellery in their homes, and the average house contains jewels worth a total of £1,986.
The survey also yielded a league table of Britain's "bling" towns. At the top was Northampton, the average person in that town wearing £469 of jewellery every day, followed by Glasgow, whose locals adorn themselves with £468 daily.
England's capital came ninth in the poll with Londoners wearing £286 of jewellery.
Salesman kills robber
A travelling salesman has shot dead an alleged thief outside of a South Florida jewellery store.
According to a report in JCK, the alleged thief and three other men had attempted to rob Leon Rozio of more than $100,000 worth of precious stones.
Rozio believed the thieves were following him and his partner as they made sales calls.
When the two salesmen made an unscheduled stop to pick up a payment in Boca Raton, the robbers trapped Rozio with a silver SUV and smashed three windows in his car before taking the stash of gems.
Licensed to carry a concealed firearm, Rozio scrambled out of his SUV and fired several shots, fatally wounding one of the robbers.
The three other men, all believed to be from South America, escaped.
Rock of a difference for Mariah
US songstress Mariah Carey is the proud owner of a $US2.5 million engagement ring purchased by beau Nick Cannon.
According to reports in JCKstyle, Cannon bought the platinum ring with a total diamond weight of 17 carats from US retailer Jacob and Co., and it features a 10-carat emerald-cut pink diamond flanked by 58 pink diamonds and two half-moon-cut rocks.
Gold and chocolate dessert
A dessert featuring edible gold leaf is now on the menu at a high-class French restaurant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Featuring chocolate egg and hot chocolate sauce, the sweet known as Chocolate Extravaganza is among the dishes at the Shangri La hotel's Bord Eau restaurant in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
According to a report on the World Gold Council website, a reviewer described the pudding as melting into a "gooey moat of molten gorgeousness".
Chocolate Extravaganza is also available with the option of chocolate ice cream.