jewels

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Big Find Atop French Alps: Jewels

Best guess is that the treasure is from a decades-old plane crash

(Newser) - A very honest mountain climber in the French Alps has stumbled upon an amazing find: a small box crammed with emeralds, sapphires, and other gems, reports the AP . The loot has been valued at about $330,000, but the anonymous climber handed it over to police upon his descent from...

Got $2.5M? This Emerald Is for You

25-pound record-breaker goes up for auction

(Newser) - The biggest cut emerald in the world will be auctioned Saturday and is expected to go for up to $2.5 million. The gigantic green stone weighs 57,500 carats—or 25 pounds—and was discovered at an undisclosed location in Brazil, reports Pravda . The emerald, dubbed Teodora, meaning God'...

Rare Pink Diamond Fetches Record $46M

London dealer snaps up most expensive stone ever sold at auction

(Newser) - An extremely rare pink diamond has cut its way through world records at a Sotheby's auction. The 24.78 carat stone, graded "fancy intense pink," was sold to London jeweler Laurence Graff for $46,158,674, almost double the highest price ever previously paid for a gemstone at...

UK Police Arrest Third Man in $65M Robbery

Authorities use DNA evidence to find Graff jewelry suspects

(Newser) - British police arrested a third man today suspected of participating in the biggest jewelry heist in British history, the Times of London reports. Police already have two men in custody, having captured at least one from DNA evidence left at the scene of the crime. Authorities have said that the...

Scottish Gem Expert Hacked to Death in Kenya

(Newser) - Renowned Scottish gem expert Campbell Bridges has been killed by a mob armed with spears and machetes in Kenya's Tsavo National Park, the Independent reports. The murder is believed to be linked to a feud with squatters stealing gems from a Bridges family mine in the park. The mob set...

Brazen Paris Gunman Grabs $8M in Gems

(Newser) - A lone gunman boldly stepped into a plush Chopard store in Paris and walked out with $8 million in gems yesterday, reports the BBC. The thief, dressed in a suit and fedora, forced the staff to hand over 15 pieces of jewelry, then calmly exited into the aftyernoon sun. ...

Downturn Dulls Gem Trade's Gleam

Effects felt worldwide as Americans stop buying bling

(Newser) - The worldwide slowdown in spending is making for rough times in all facets of the jewelry business, reports the Washington Post. More than a thousand jewelers in the US—which buys almost half the world's polished diamonds—have gone bust, and the effects are being felt from the mines of...

Milwaukee Jewel Thieves Get Robbed Leaving Store

(Newser) - Thieves in Milwaukee knocked off a jewelry store yesterday—only to be robbed of the loot themselves as they made their getaway, the Journal Sentinel reports. Police say the two suspects were confronted and robbed by at least four men as they left the store. Cops managed to arrest the...

Paris: Gem Thief Was No Stranger

Heiress has suspects in mind

(Newser) - Paris Hilton is pretty sure she knows the burglar who stole $2 million in jewels from her home, E! Online reports. “I think whoever did this, definitely has been there before. We have some suspects that I'm thinking of,” said the heiress, adding that many of the stolen...

Paris 'Devastated' Over Diamond Heist

The good news: Burglar who stole millions in baubles was caught on tape

(Newser) - Paris Hilton says she is “devastated” over the loss of more than $2 million in jewelry stolen from her Los Angeles home last week. “I cannot believe someone broke into my home. They took items that had such sentimental value that no one will ever be able to...

Brazen 'Pink Panther' Heists Stir Ire, Admiration of Cops

European thieves renowned for suave, meticulous banditry

(Newser) - A sophisticated cadre of bandits have deserted Serbian battlefields to invade the globe's finest boutiques, the New York Times reports, daringly swiping millions worth of jewels from luxury stores. Interpol has dubbed the crooks—thought to be about 200 ex-soldiers and their relatives from the former Yugoslavia—the Serbian Pink...

Burma's Blood Rubies Lift Junta
Burma's Blood Rubies Lift Junta
Oct 16, 2007 9:42 PM CDT

Burma's Blood Rubies Lift Junta

Sale of gems supports the junta's brutality

(Newser) - Precious Burmese rubies account for 90% of the world's supply, and fund that nation's brutal military junta, according to Der Spiegel. Though some dealers maintain that ruby sales support the opposition, the German paper reports that profits instead go straight to the junta's coffers. Not only that, but gem miners...

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