Well, at least I hope that’s the word I hope Linda used when she realized that she may have added her mother’s ring to a batch of fudge she made for bake sale.

Apparently Linda Vancel, from West Lafayette (go Boilers!), IN, took the ring off while making a batch of fudge and when she was done she couldn’t find the ring. Fortunately for her someone she knows at work had bought the fudge. A quick email discovered that her work acquaintance’s sister-in-law’s father, it’s a midwest thing, had noticed something hard when he bit in to the fudge and decided to look at it rather than assume is was just hard fudge and keep chewing.

The ring has been reunited with Linda and I’m hoping she bakes up a fresh batch of fudge to replace the crunchy fudge she made last time.

I can’t believe I missed this one. It did happen before I started the blog, so I’ll blame that for now, but this is a very cool way to raise money for the Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Bruster’s waffle cone masterpiece was created by diamond manufacturer, Lazare Kaplan International Inc., and consists of nearly 20 troy ounces of 18k white and yellow gold, 548 round Lazare Diamonds, 87 Lazare square emerald cut diamonds, and one breathtaking 5.63 carat Fancy Intense Yellow radiant cut diamond. The 152.16 carat total weight one-of-a-kind piece has a retail value of $1 million and is for sale!

“At Bruster’s we’re dedicated to providing a superior ice cream product in a fun, social environment,” said Jim Sahene, CEO, Bruster’s Real Ice Cream. “Bruster’s creation of a $1 Million Cone symbolizes the outstanding quality of our ice cream, and its sale provides the platform to speak about the positive impact of one-on-one mentoring relationships like those cultivated by Big Brothers Big Sisters.”

Bruster’s, which recently announced a corporate sponsorship of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, will donate its proceeds from the sale of the $1 Million Ice Cream Cone to the mentoring organization.

“Our partnership with Bruster’s began just a few months ago, but in that time we have been so impressed with the company’s commitment and dedication,” said Judy Vredenburgh, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters. “Bruster’s $1 Million Ice Cream Cone will certainly draw a lot of attention and increase awareness about the importance of one-to-one mentoring in helping children achieve their potential.”

All I know is that I didn’t like ice cream very much before I saw this. I think I may have to change my position on that.

http://brusters.com/

As a child of the ’80s I saw these rings and the first thing that came to mind was, COOL!!!

All I really know about  them is that they are made in sterling, with rhodium plating, and they are made in Italy. After that things get a little hazy, sort of like standing in an arcade in the 80’s. There are some other neat toy related pieces on their website, too bad it’s not geared toward helping people learn more about them.

Toy Me Collections: http://www.toyme.it/Toy_Me_Milano/Collections.html

The Crater of Diamonds State Park produced its 1000′th diamond for the year when Denis Tyrrell found a rectangular, 3.82ct, light brown diamond. It marks the 131st diamond he has found in the nine months he has spent digging at the park.

This is the first time that the park has produced 1000 diamonds in a single year since 1994. The largest diamond found at the park was the 16.37-carat Amarillo Starlight, a white diamond found by a Texas visitor in 1975.

Crater of Diamond State Park.
(AP Photo/Crater of Diamonds State Park, Kim Garland)

For the girl that has everything, how about a ring box the reminds her of everything leading up to her ring? Euri Inc. has developed a new ring box, the Euricase. The Euricase comes with a built-in 2 inch LCD display screen that can be loaded with 500 pictures or up to 60 minutes of your favorite videos and can be pre-set to play music when the box is opened and an elegant mood light enhances the look of the ring.

Coming in a variety of colors and metallic finishes, the system operates on a lithium rechargeable battery and files can be transfered to the Euricase from a PC via a USB cable. All for about $100 per box. For more information about the Euricase, visit Euricase.com.

A little more of a traditional elegance than a tech geek? Not to fear, Vivian Alexander has a collection of egg shaped jewelry boxes for her. Also coming in a variety of colors and styles, the Vivian Alexander eggs evoke a Fabergé Egg look without the cost. Available in a stand alone footed version, and a Christmas tree ornament style, the eggs can cost between $250.00 and $300.00 depending on the style.

Ok, I understand that jewelry is meant to be fun, and an accessory that no one “really” needs. But come on, 14k gold and diamonds bars to put on your shoe laces on your latest pair of K-Swiss Kicks?

Kickbars from www.kickbars.com come in a variety of colors so that you can color co-ordinate your foot wardrobe. 14k with white diamonds, black diamonds, or even this one called “Fruity” (don’t get me started).  Each pair has 2ct total weight in G color VS1 diamonds and sells for $7,500.. I can’t think of a better way to pump up the value of those $80 New Balance walking shoes.

I’ve always loved deconstruction and raw materials. It’s a hold over from my architecture days when it was important to me to let wood be wood, and rock be rock. So it’s no real surprise that when I saw Todd Reed’s jewelry I instantly fell in love with it.

Todd started using raw diamond cubes as a way to question society about the idea of perceived value. The world’s most perfect diamond may just be the way it comes out of the ground and not after it has been manipulated and polished to reveal something else. A self taught goldsmith, Todd Reed’s work can be seen at select galleries around the country or at his website.

Sharon Osborne, caught up in the spirit of the moment tossed a $60,000 diamond ring, from her own finger, in to a crowd at a fundraiser for the Elton John Aids Foundation as part of the 20th anniversary of World Aids Day at London’s G-A-Y club.

The host had already thrown her red Aids awareness ribbon into the crowd, before pulling the ring off her finger and yelling, “Here, have the diamond as well.” Osbourne’s spokesperson Gary Farrow, says, “The ring was worth £30,000. It was a spontaneous gesture. Sharon was in a great mood, there was a great crowd and it was a poignant event.