Music Friday With David Guetta's 'Titanium,' Featuring Sia

Welcome to Music Friday, when we bring sensational songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today we bend the definition of "precious metals" just a bit so we can highlight "Titanium," a 2011 blockbuster hit by French DJ/music producer David Guetta, with lead vocals by Australian recording artist Sia.

The single is from Guetta's fifth studio album, "Nothing but the Beat." In total, Guetta has sold more than three million albums and 15 million singles worldwide.

"Titanium" is an international sensation, having earned top-10 positions on the music charts in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.

Sia Furler, better known as Sia, has been on the music scene for nearly 20 years. Her powerful vocals on the anthem-like "Titanium" have made her a household name in the U.S. (Interesting side note: Katy Perry was invited to feature on the song but turned it down.)

The official "Titanium" music video has been viewed on YouTube more than 105 million times. Because the official version is preceded by a 30-second commercial, we've opted for the version (below) of Sia performing live in Vancouver, Canada, in August 2011.

The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along. Enjoy...

"Titanium"

Written by David Guetta, Sia Furler, David Guetta, Giorgio Tuinfort and Afrojack. Featuring Sia Furler.

You shout it loud, but I can't hear a word you say
I'm talking loud, not saying much
I'm criticized, but all your bullets ricochet
you shoot me down, but I get up

I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose
fire away, fire away
ricochet, you take your aim
fire away, fire away
you shoot me down, but I won't fall
I am titanium
you shoot me down, but I won't fall
I am titanium

Cut me down, but it's you who'll have further to fall
Ghost town and haunted love
Raise your voice, sticks and stones may break my bones
I'm talking loud, not saying much

I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose
fire away, fire away
ricochet, you take your aim
fire away, fire away

you shoot me down, but I won't fall
I am titanium
you shoot me down, but I won't fall
I am titanium

I am titanium

I am titanium

Stone hard, machine gun
Fired at the ones who run
Stone hard, as bulletproof glass

You shoot me down, but I won't fall
I am titanium
You shoot me down, but I won't fall
I am titanium
You shoot me down, but I won't fall
I am titanium
You shoot me down, but I won't fall
I am titanium

I am titanium

'Brilliant' Diamond Thief Swallows Fake Stone While Accomplice Flees Undetected With Real One

Last week we learned of a Chinese man who was arrested for consuming a $13,000 diamond at the Facets jewelry exhibition in Sri Lanka. The culprit, Chou Wan, became the punch line of bloggers and news outlets around the world as the humiliated Chinese national was led away in handcuffs, X-rayed to prove the 1.5-carat stone was, indeed, in his belly, given heavy doses of laxatives and watched 24/7 until the stone passed.

Yesterday we learned that it's Chou who may get the last laugh.

The gastric saga took a surprising turn when the recovered "diamond" turned out to be a fake. Now police believe that Chou and an accomplice may have masterminded an elaborate scheme where they exchanged the real stone for a fake one and purposely created a dramatic diversion so the partner could slip away undetected.

"The man with the real stone vanished while all the attention was on the man who was seen swallowing a stone that turned out to be fake," police spokesman Ajith Rohana told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Suresh de Silva, director of the Belgrade International gem store, told AFP last week how two Chinese men approached his stall at the trade show and asked to examine 1.5-carat diamond very closely. De Silva then noticed one of the men putting something in his mouth. "When I shouted," he proudly said at the time, "we managed to catch the man who swallowed the stone."

Not the right man. Not the right stone.

Incidentally, this isn't the first story this year about a thief trying to consume fine gemstones. In May, a Canadian man was arrested for swallowing a $20,000 diamond after switching it for a fake at a jewelry store. In that case, the real 1.7-carat stone passed and the jewelry store was able to get their diamond back.

A Utah jewelry store was not as fortunate. In July, a woman created a distraction when the $4,000 diamond ring she was trying on at a jewelry counter got "stuck." In the confusion, the real diamond ring was swapped for a fake one. Surveillance tape later revealed how the thief switched the rings and swallowed the real one.

During an interview with detectives a few days later, the woman admitted that she had consumed the ring and waited for the “natural digestive process” to occur before pawning the ring for $600.

Futuristic 3D Printers Can Be Used to Make Custom Jewelry With No Design Limitations

A breakthrough technology originally used to create prototypes in the manufacturing industry has made the giant leap to precious jewelry design, according to webpronews.com. It's not inconceivable that the fabulous, free-flowing 14-karat gold pendant you receive during this holiday season will have been born in a 3D printer.

It's hard to believe, but 3D printers now have the ability to convert a CAD file into a three-dimensional object by "printing" and fusing layer upon layer of precious metal powder. Each layer is liquefied and fused using a focused laser beam in a process called laser sintering. The layers are typically 20 micrometers thick (.00078 inches).

This process allows for highly complex geometries to be created directly from the 3D CAD data, fully automatically, in hours and without any special tools.

Making a strong play in the jewelry 3D printing arena is the London-based Cookson Precious Metals, which has developed a process called Precious M 080. The process allows jewelers to submit any design, no matter the complexity, and the device will create the final product in less time, more accurately and less expensively than any traditional method. The device also can be used for the mass production applications.

The future of "e-manufacturing" can extend as far as one's imagination and initiative, and if you believe the futurists, this nascent technology has the power to spark the "third industrial revolution" and "change everyday life as we know it."

As more applications emerge and the cost of the equipment comes down, more industries are taking a closer look. These include footwear, industrial design, architecture, engineering, construction, automotive, aerospace, dental, medical, civil engineering and many others.

Judge Rules $20 Gold Pieces Worth $7.59 Million Each Are the Property of the Federal Government

These rare coins give the term "rare" a new meaning. Although 445,500 "double eagle" gold coins were struck by the Philadelphia Mint in 1933, none of them were officially circulated. In the midst of The Great Depression, the federal government that year outlawed the possession of gold coins and nearly all of them were melted into gold bars. Under illicit circumstances at least 20 survived.

On August 29, a federal judge confirmed a 2011 jury decision that said the U.S. government had the rights to 10 "double eagles" discovered by a Philadelphia family at the bottom of an old safe deposit box. The coins were estimated to be worth at least $7.59 million each.

The family of Israel Switt, a coin dealer and jewelry store owner who died in 1990 at the age of 95, had sued to reclaim the coins, but the government argued successfully that Switt had not obtained them legally. The Switt family countered that they were entitled to the coins because there was no sufficient evidence that the coins were stolen or embezzled.

The federal judge, Legrome D. Davis, concluded that since "no 1933 double eagles were ever lawfully issued to the public" they belonged to the government "regardless of... how the coins came into claimants' possession."

The federal government was aware early on that there was a breach in security and that a handful of 1933 double eagles escaped the Philadelphia Mint. The U.S. Secret Service in the 1940s finally traced the leak to George McCann, a Philadelphia Mint cashier, and Israel Switt. The pair was never prosecuted because the statute of limitations had expired.

King Farouk of Egypt and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Before the discovery of the Switt coins, it was assumed that there was only one 1933 double eagle in existence. That coin had been the property of King Farouk of Egypt, who had obtained it in 1944. When the King was deposed in 1952, many of his possessions were liquidated at auction, including his prized 1933 double eagle.

The coin remained under the radar until 1996, when it resurfaced in the possession of British coin dealer Stephen Fenton. He was arrested by U.S. Secret Service agents at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York as part of a sting operation. Fenton testified that the 1933 double eagle was from the Farouk collection and the charges against Fenton were subsequently dropped. The case was settled in 2001 when the defendant agreed to relinquish ownership to the U.S. government and the coin could be sold at auction.

In 2002, the coin was sold to an anonymous bidder at a Sotheby's auction for $7.59 million. The U.S. government and Fenton shared the proceeds.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Mint is currently assessing the best way to securely exhibit the collection of 10 double eagles confiscated from the Switt family and expects to announce plans in the near future.

Sotheby's Hong Kong to Auction Magnificent Jewels Valued at $64 Million

p>On October 9, Sotheby's Hong Kong will present for auction an international fare of magnificent jewels, including flawless diamonds, colored diamonds, Burmese rubies, Kashmir sapphires, Colombian emeralds, natural pearls and much more. In all, Sotheby's will offer 390 lots with an estimated value of $64 million, according to artdaily.org.

One of our favorite pieces from the upcoming "Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite" auction is a fabulous 9.08-carat "pigeon’s blood" Burmese ruby and diamond ring designed by Cartier circa 1956. The ring's classic daisy motif features a center ruby from the famed Mogok Valley mine in Burma. This rare piece has an estimated value of $3-$3.8 million.

Complementing the Cartier ring is a unique suite by American jewelry designer James W. Currens. The cabochon ruby-and-diamond "Fireworks" necklace is comprised of 20 rubies totaling 108.13 carats. The matching earrings are adorned with four rubies weighing 27.39 carats. The necklace and earrings are valued at $2.4-$3.2 million. A matching "Fireworks" bracelet (not shown) features seven rubies totaling 42.55 carats and valued at $640,000 to $900,000.

Another piece expected to draw aggressive bidding is the Riviere Diamond Necklace by Nirav Modi. Exactly 72 D-color, internally flawless diamonds make up this extraordinary piece with a total weight of 88.88 carats and an estimated value of $4.5 million to $6.4 million. According to artdaily.org, the "8s" in carat weight were intended, as they symbolize prosperity and fortune in the Chinese culture.

Fabulous colored diamonds are also on the block. Check out these stunners: a 21.43-carat fancy vivid yellow diamond ring (estimated value: $1.2-$1.4 million) and a 10.15-carat fancy pink diamond ring (est. $2.3-$3 million).