Is Dereck Jeter Getting Married to Minka Kelly?
9/1/2009 by the New York Post
The New York Post's Page Six celebrity gossip feature reported in it's Thursday editions that Yankees captain and long-time bacheolor Derek Jeter and girlfriend Minka Kelly are "secretly engaged." The Post reported that an "insider" told Page Six that the couple is "telling close pals to 'save the date' for nuptials in the fall. The wedding is being planned and will take place after baseball season is over." The Post item also reported that a Kelly representative said, "There is no fall wedding planned to Derek Jeter." There was a fan with a banner at Thursday's game between the Yankees and Rangers congratulating the pair.
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Bond Girl Gemma Arterton can't stop flashing her engagement ring
8/27/2009 by dailymail.co.uk
Bond Girl Gemma Arterton can't stop flashing her engagement ring 8/27/2009 by dailymail.co.uk While most of us are just waking up at 5.45am , Bond girl Gemma Arterton is just wrapping up her night. The Quantum Of Solace actress spent the morning hours partying at the favourite celebrity haunt Bungalow 8, where star Jason Statham was hosting a party. As the theme of the bash was 'Death By Daylight', she must have known it was going to be a late one, . It's the third gathering of its kind, and has been so popular that there was barely a square inch of standing room, right up to the break of down. Facing the paparazzi on your way out, is still a danger. However, Gemma carried it off, and couldn't resist flashing around her favourite new accessory - her diamond engagement ring. The 23-year-old met her fiancé, Stefano, while filming the latest 007 movie, Quantum of Solace. Rumor is he proposed after a whirlwind romance. It's not the first time Gemma has been romantically linked to a fellow cast member. Gemma starring alongside Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace, the movie on which she met her fiancé, body double Stefano.The British beauty met Spanish stuntman Eduardo Munoz last year when he was taught her to ride a horse for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The Kent-born star has been back-to-back filming of late, having finished Clash Of The Titans in Greece and the sequel to Saint Trinian's: The Legends of Fritton's Gold.
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Renee Zellweger and Bradley Cooper are officially engaged. Is Jennifer Aniston upset?
8/25/09 By: Examiner.com
Renee Zellweger and Bradley Cooper are officially engaged! Renee’s been spotted wearing a simple but elegant diamond ring this week. The couple has been going public with their relationship while in Spain recently. Bradley Cooper (34) just took Renee Zellweger (40) to meet his parents in Jenkintown and announce their engagement. Renee and Bradley are costars who will appear in the upcoming flick “Case 39” together. Zellweger and Cooper have both been briefly married in the past. Renee wed country singer Kenny Chesney in January 2005, the marriage lasted seven months. Bradley was married to actress Jennifer Esposito for four months in 2007. Us Weekly is reporting that Jennifer Aniston is feeling rejected after Bradley Cooper chose Zellweger over herself. Aniston "doesn't see what Renee has that she doesn't." |
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Team in Angola to check against 'blood diamonds'
8/24/09 By: AFP (http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gxKlPfkaUIqC0iN1Kl_IuWX0P_ag)
LUANDA — Angola's diamond industry comes under scrutiny this week as a team of inspectors begins Monday a review of the country's compliance with the Kimberly Process, set up to stop conflict diamonds. The mission, the first to Angola since 2005, will check if the country is following Kimberly Process rules, confirm that diamonds are registered and not not smuggled out, and that all gems have a clear paper trail. A timetable by the mines ministry, seen by AFP, said the team would begin its meetings at the ministry before heading northeast to the diamond-rich Lundas, on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The team will meet with representatives from the Angolan National Police, private diamond companies and the state-owned diamond firm Endiama. During the latter stages of Angola's three-decade civil war, the main opposition party UNITA (Union for the Total Independence of Angola) used diamonds to bankroll its fight against the ruling MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola). Since the war ended in 2002, the industry has been regulated and Angola is now the world's fifth-biggest diamond exporter. But international organisations remain critical of how Angola treats the artisanal miners, who work casually in alluvial river deposits and whose gems account for around one-tenth of output and a quarter of overall revenue. Many of these miners, known as "garimpeiros" in Portuguese, enter Angola illegally from DR Congo but they are hunted down by Angolan police and border guards and regularly expelled. In a recent report the United Nations estimated as many as 115,000 people had been deported to DR Congo in the previous seven months and there are allegations of brutal treatment and mass rapes. Civil society observers have been invited to accompany the Kimberly Process delegation during their visit. Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. |
The mission will check if the country is following Kimberly Process rules Map
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Hot rocks: Heist nets $65 million in jewelry
Putin promises to buy up diamonds
Friday, 21 August 2009 - BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8213980.stm)
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has promised to buy up diamonds, as part of a $1bn (£605m) support package for diamond miner Alrosa.
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The state-controlled miner has $3.6bn in outstanding debt and state support will help service it, during what Mr Putin called a "difficult period". Diamond sales have lost their sparkle during the global recession. Alrosa produces 25% of the world's rough diamonds and is the main rival to De Beers, the South African company. "We understand that this sector, which gives serious revenues to the federal budget and regional budget, is in a difficult situation and needs support due to the global market situation," the Russian prime minister said. "To support the sector, the state has agreed to significantly increase state purchases of diamonds," he added. Diamonds are one of the biggest sources of income in Russia's Yakutia region, with gem sales making up 30% of local government income. Alrosa's importance to Russia and Yakutia makes it a prime candidate for government help as Russia endures its worst recession since the 1990s, analysts said. Dull demand Alrosa, which sells more than half its polished diamonds in the US market, is not the only diamond company to have been knocked by the recession. Profits at De Beers, the world's biggest diamond producer, have slumped in the "most difficult" economic environment in decades. In the first six months of 2009, it made a profit of $3m , down from $316m a year earlier. While demand is weak in the US, De Beers said that many in China and India are still buying gems. |
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Vote on the best setting for Hope -- the Hope Diamond that is
8/20/09 By: Adam Tschorn (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/)
You will never own it or touch it and there's a chance you may never even be in the same room with it, but until early September you can have a say in what happens to the 45.52-carat blue diamond -- famously known as the Hope Diamond.
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You will never own it or touch it and there's a chance you may never even be in the same room with it, but until early September you can have a say in what happens to the 45.52-carat blue diamond -- famously known as the Hope Diamond. The House of Harry Winston has created three possible new settings, and, in conjunction with the Smithsonian Channel, is asking the American people to cast their vote for their favorite here. The voting runs through Sept. 7, and the result will be announced sometime this fall. The newly set diamond will be revealed in conjunction with the world premiere of the Smithsonian Channel's documentary "Mystery of the Hope Diamond" in March 2010. But if your design doesn't win, don't despair since this Hope is fleeting too -- by the time 2010 ends, the diamond will be back in its original setting (below). |
Photos: At top, the three proposed temporary settings for the Hope Diamond and, at bottom, as it looks today. Credit: Smithsonian Institution
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Rockwell Diamonds Generates $4M in July Sales
Posted: 08/18/09 By Avi Krawitz (http://www.diamonds.net/news/NewsItem.aspx?ArticleID=27676)
RAPAPORT... Rockwell Diamonds generated sales of about $4 million in July reporting that prices for rough diamonds mined at its South Africa-based operations continued to rise, particularly for smaller stones. The junior diamond mining company conducted two sales in July, at the beginning and end of the month.
photo: USA Today
The first tender generated sales of $1.8 million, from a parcel of 2,485.78 carats, achieving an average price of $722.18 per carat. The second sale garnered $2.2 million from 1,809.38 carats, at $1,224.58 per carat. Rockwell explained that sales prices in late July showed an increase of approximately 10 percent for small rough stones below 0.75 carats, and about 5 percent for diamonds of 0.75 to 2.49 carats. The category of diamonds between 2.50 and 4.79 carats achieved similar prices to the previous sale, the company said.
The average price achieved at Rockwell tenders has been on the rise. Rockwell noted prices at $531 per carat in March, $585 a carat in May, $700 a carat in June and $1,225 per carat in late July. These increases follow a 50 percent decline in prices towards the end of 2008 as demand shrank with the onslaught of the economic downturn. In response, Rockwell suspended diamond sales between December and February and scaled back operations. The company reported that there has been stronger interest and attendance at its diamond tenders since June with numbers in July “approaching the levels apparent in 2008.”
Rockwell noted good demand in the 2 to 10 carat rough diamond range, with the strongest buying focused on 2 to 5 carat stones. It added that demand and prices for 3 carat rough has been extremely strong since March while 10 carat stones and larger have remained subdued.
Company chief executive officer (CEO) John Bristow said he foresees a steady overall improvement in prices for Rockwell’s production during the remainder of 2009, “albeit staying well below the highs of 2008.” Rockwell’s production across its three operating alluvial mines in South Africa – Holpan, Klipdam and Saxendrift - totaled 8,747.93 carats. Bristow said the company is considering resuming operations at the Wouterspan mine as the market strengthens.
Bristow recently overcame an attempt to oust him and two other senior managers by major shareholder Pala Investment Holdings due to weak performance of the company’s share. The stock closed Monday trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange at 5 cents a share, down 76 percent from a year ago. After failing in its takeover attempt, Pala reduced its stake in Rockwell from about 20 percent to 8.7 percent.
Bristow stressed that with monthly production of 2,400 carats, continued average prices above $1,000 a carat and given that the company is cash flow positive, “as prices improve further, Rockwell will return to profitability.
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Bentley Reveals Its Latest & Greatest Flagship, The 2010 Mulsanne
8/17/09 By: AutoSpies (http://www.autospies.com/)
Move over, Arnage. The new kid is in town. Today, Bentley unveiled the latest and greatest from the luxury icon: the 2010 Bentley Mulsanne. And, its looks were not exactly a secret as spy shots got a dead-on look at this auto before it's debut.
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According to Bentley, the Mulsanne is designed to replace the aging, decade-old Arnage. Bearing an entirely new platform, that will be produced starting next year, the new Bentley will be constructed within the Crewe, England factory. Although details remain vague on the latest B-car, if history serves as a guiding principle, the flagship will likely use a large displacement V8 capable of 425 - 550 horsepower and an unwieldy amount of torque. Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen, Chairman and Chief Executive of Bentley Motors , spoke about the all-new Mulsanne, saying: “The challenge we set our engineers was to create a new grand Bentley that would stand as the pinnacle of British luxury motoring, offering the world’s most exclusive driving experience . They have responded to this challenge with real passion and the result is a luxury grand tourer that sets new standards in terms of comfort, effortless performance and hand-crafted refinement – the very qualities for which Bentley is renowned.“ |
Look for the 2010 Mulsanne to go on sale in mid-2010. More information about this new model will be coming forward this September at the IAA in Frankfurt Motor Show.
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Hot rocks: Heist nets $65 million in jewelry
London jeweler is robbed for third time in six years
8/12/09 By: Associated Press (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32374044/ns/world_news-europe/)
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This jeweler on London's New Bond Street was robbed last Thursday by two well-dressed men. |
LONDON - Two well-dressed thieves walked into a London Bond Street jewelry store last week and, after brandishing handguns at shop workers, made off with $65 million worth of gems in one of Britain’s biggest jewelry heists, police said Tuesday.
Security camera footage released by police shows two men in crisp suits entering Graff Diamonds’ flagship store Thursday afternoon. It was the third time a Graff store in London had been targeted in a high-profile raid in the past six years.
video: abc news
The men stole dozens of high-end rings, bracelets, necklaces and watches worth 40 million pounds, or $65 million, and fired two gunshots into the ground as they escaped in a series of getaway cars, police said. No one was hurt.
It was among the biggest heists in British history — far outstripping the 1963 Great Train Robbery in which 2 million pounds were lost.
Last week’s theft, however, was topped by the 2006 robbery of 53 million pounds in cash from a security company depot in southern England, and was rivaled by the 1987 theft of an estimated 40 million pounds from the Knightsbridge Safe Deposit Center in London.
Police declined to rank Thursday’s robbery, saying only that it was one of the country’s biggest. Items stolen included a pair of white diamond double hoop earrings, a flowing flower necklace with yellow diamond petals, a platinum white Marquise diamond ring and a Chronograff watch, police said.
Graff’s store, a classical stucco and stone town house in London’s jewelry district, has been targeted by thieves in the past.
The same store lost jewelry worth 23 million pounds in 2003 when it was robbed by jewel thief Nebojsa Denic, a Kosovan Serb and a member of the notorious gang of Balkan robbers known as “the Pink Panthers.” Denic was caught and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
In 2007, another smartly dressed pair was chauffeured to the store’s Sloane Street branch in a Bentley Continental Flying Spur. They whipped out handguns and made off with 10 million pounds worth of gems.
Graff Diamonds declined to give details beyond the police statement.
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Lawsuits Forced Heidi Klum to Discontinue Her Jewelry Line
8/10/09 By: Amy Odell (http://nymag.com/)
Heidi Klum is in search of new licensing deals after her jewelry line folded. Sure, she's being turned into a Barbie and started hit fashion-reality-TV show Project Runway, which paved the way for Top Chef and its model host, Padma Lakshmi. She tells the Los Angeles Times:
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Unfortunately, I did have a partner who ... maybe wasn't as knowledgeable in terms of setting up a business. I worked five years very hard on that. But we stopped because we had a lawsuit with Van Cleef & Arpels — they wanted to have the clover, even though our designs had never matched, I don't know how may designs I had done in five years, maybe 800 different designs — but they just wanted to own the clover motif. So they went after everyone who does that — Louis Vuitton! — they said, "We own the clover." And I was like, "Then who's the person with the clover and the person with the heart?" I think when you're a small company, which we are, we're not a Van Cleef — they have a thousand lawyers. I'm a small fry next to that. |
The appeal of designing a jewelry line is understandable, and it can't be easy for Klum to see Padma prancing around naked in hers, but maybe she should stick to reality TV, which is what she does best. Take Models of the Runway, a spinoff about the Project Runway models, which looks amazing. "They do cry a lot!" Klum assures. So she can either create drama among models or caterpillar earrings. Hmmm.
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New GIA Sealing Service for Diamonds
August 06, 2009 By Press Release (http://www.diamonds.net/)
RAPAPORT... Press Release - CARLSBAD, Calif. – Aug. 6, 2009: The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) today announced a new Diamond Sealing Service that is now available to customers. The service is offered for D-to-Z diamonds that carry a GIA Diamond Grading Report or a GIA Diamond Dossier®, and colored diamonds holding a GIA Colored Diamond Grading Report.
Donna Baker, GIA president and CEO, made the announcement with Nirupa Bhatt, GIA managing director for India and the Middle East, at the IIJS Show in Mumbai.
The new service seals the diamond with its key grading information in a credit card-sized, tamper-resistant package. The sealed package keeps the stone, its report number and its primary gemological details such as report date, shape and the Four Cs, together in a secure, easy-to-display packet.
The sealed package contains multiple security features, including the GIA hologram. The packet shows that the diamond has been graded by GIA and the information in it matches the stone, which will help prevent attempts to misrepresent the item and its report.
The Sealing Service can be ordered at the time of grading for a fee of $9 per stone. A diamond can also be resubmitted for the Sealing Service for the $9 charge, with an additional grading fee applied.
Baker said, “GIA has been vigorously offering a wider array of services to accommodate the needs of its many different customers throughout the industry and the general public.”
“As we continue to expand globally, we’re providing additional options and finding more opportunities to help solve customer problems in that market,” she added. “In particular, we are interested in offering services that promote worldwide industry standards and reinforce consumer confidence.”
Bhatt said, “As the world’s largest diamond cutting and manufacturing center, India is also a clearing house for many diamond markets, some of which increasingly request this type of benefit. We are pleased to offer it to all our clients in this region and around the world.”
The Sealing Service can be requested at all GIA Laboratory or take-in locations worldwide, as well as online through GIA’s client portal, “My Laboratory.”
For more information, please visit the GIA Web site at www.gia.edu.
About GIA:
An independent nonprofit organization, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is recognized as the world's foremost authority in gemology. Established in 1931, GIA has translated its expert knowledge into the most respected gemological education available. Early in the 1950s, GIA invented the famous Four Cs of Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat Weight. In 1953, the Institute created the International Diamond Grading System™ which, today, is recognized by virtually every professional jeweler in the world.
Through research, education, gemological laboratory services, and instrument development, the Institute is dedicated to ensuring the public trust in gems and jewelry by upholding the highest standards of integrity, academics, science, and professionalism. GIA can be found on the web at www.gia.edu. Media queries contact: Laura Simanton 760-603-4112 or Jessica Sachariason, 760-603-4197.
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New York tops mag's list of best places in U.S. for women to have a career - and child
August 05, 2009 By Stephanie Gaskell (http://www.nydailynews.com/)
Working moms can have it all - especially if they live in New York.
A new study by ForbesWoman magazine found the city is the best place for a woman to have kids and a career.
New York ranked highest among 50 cities based on earnings, unemployment rates, cost of living, crime, access to health and day care, per pupil spending and number of parks.
"It just seems so counterintuitive - everybody thinks New York is a playground for adults," admitted ForbesWoman senior reporter Heidi Brown.
"I know a lot of people who wouldn't want to raise their kids anywhere else."
Brown also said city moms are less likely to feel isolated.
"It's easy to get together with other children," she said. "And commute times are very manageable."
The Daily News got some busy working moms to stop and talk about the challenges of juggling a career and children in the city.
Mya Baker, 35, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, is raising her 11-year-old son while working as an art and film teacher.
"I grew up in Chicago, and we had a yard," she said. "Here, we're restricted. My son doesn't have access to a backyard."
Allison Navas, 45, of Whitestone, Queens, is raising two teenage girls while working in the textile industry. She said many employers in the city are willing to accommodate working moms.
"Morning is the hustle and bustle for me," she said. "I kept coming in late and finally my boss said just come in at 9:30 a.m. It's a big help."
And even though her girls are a handful, she said she's glad they're growing up in New York.
"They're street smart," she said proudly.
Janelle Coleman, 22, of the Bronx, balances a job as a production assistant and a 20-month-old son.
"Day care is convenient, and I got it through the city, so it's affordable," she said. "There are lots of places in the city that are kid-friendly."
Coleman said the city has its ups (the school system is good) and its downs (the subway is hard to navigate with a stroller). Still, she said it's all worth it.
"I was raised in New York City and I think I turned out just great," she laughed.
Austin was ranked the second-best place for working moms, followed by Minneapolis/St. Paul, Milwaukee and Portland, Ore.
Buffalo and Niagara Falls were the only other New York cities to make the list, tying Columbus, Ohio, for 13th place.
For the full list, visit www.forbes.com/forbeswoman.
