Music Friday: Destiny's Child Sings About the Rocks They're Rockin' in the 2000 Hit, 'Independent Women'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you awesome songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today's treat is Destiny's Child singing "Independent Women" from the soundtrack of the 2000 film adaptation of Charlie's Angels. In the second line of this anthem about power, success and self-reliance, lead singer Beyonce Knowles declares, "I buy my own diamonds and I buy my own rings."

"Independent Women" was a huge success when it was released in the fall of 2000. Bolstered by the popularity of the Charlie's Angel movie, the song held the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 11 consecutive weeks. The song also earned the number 18 slot on Billboard's list of the most successful songs of the 2000s.

Destiny's Child is considered one of the greatest musical trios of all time and has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. The video below features a live performance of "Independent Women" by Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child in London in 2001. The lyrics are included if you'd like to sing along.

"Independent Women"

Written by Mark Rooney, Jean Olivier, Samuel Barnes and Beyonce Knowles. Performed by Destiny's Child.

Question: Tell me what you think about me?
I buy my own diamonds and I buy my own rings
Only ring your cell-y when I'm feelin' lonely
When it's all over please get up and leave
Question: Tell me how you feel about this?
Try to control me boy you get dismissed
Pay my own fun, oh and I pay my own bills
Always 50/50 in relationships

The shoes on my feet
I've bought it
The clothes I'm wearing
I've bought it
The rock I'm rockin'
'Cause I depend on me
If I wanted the watch you're wearin'
I'll buy it
The house I live in
I've bought it
The car I'm driving
I've bought it
I depend on me
(I depend on me)

All the women who are independent
Throw your hands up at me
All the honeys who makin' money
Throw your hands up at me
All the mommas who profit dollas
Throw your hands up at me
All the ladies who truly feel me
Throw your hands up at me

Girl I didn't know you could get down like that
Charlie, how your Angels get down like that
Girl I didn't know you could get down like that
Charlie, how your Angels get down like that

Tell me how you feel about this
Who would I want if I would wanna live
I worked hard and sacrificed to get what I get
Ladies, it ain't easy bein' independent
Question: How'd you like this knowledge that I brought?
Braggin' on that cash that he gave you is to front
If you're gonna brag make sure it's your money you flaunt
Depend on no one else to give you what you want

The shoes on my feet
I've bought it
The clothes I'm wearing
I've bought it
The rock I'm rockin'
'Cause I depend on me
If I wanted the watch you're wearin'
I'll buy it
The house I live in
I've bought it
The car I'm driving
I've bought it
I depend on me
(I depend on me)

All the women who are independent
Throw your hands up at me
All the honeys who makin' money
Throw your hands up at me
All the mommas who profit dollas
Throw your hands up at me
All the ladies who truly feel me
Throw your hands up at me

Girl I didn't know you could get down like that
Charlie, how your Angels get down like that
Girl I didn't know you could get down like that
Charlie, how your Angels get down like that

Destiny's Child
Wassup?
You in the house?
Sure 'nuff
We'll break these people off Angel style

Child of Destiny
Independent beauty
No one else can scare me
Charlie's Angels

Woah
All the women who are independent
Throw your hands up at me
All the honeys who makin' money
Throw your hands up at me
All the mommas who profit dollas
Throw your hands up at me
All the ladies who truly feel me
Throw your hands up at me

Girl I didn't know you could get down like that
Charlie, how your Angels get down like that

Emotional 70-Year-Old Man Finally Reunited With His Beloved High School Class Ring After 31 Years

Retired coal miner Charles Krouse of Robinson, Pa., could barely contain his emotions as he slipped his United High School Class of 1964 ring back on his finger for the first time in 31 years. The 70-year-old had misplaced the onyx and gold ring during a shopping trip in 1981 and lost hope of ever seeing it again.

The ring had held a special place in Krouse's heart because of the great memories it represented and how hard he worked to obtain it. “It was a big deal for me back then,” he told TribLive.com. “It cost $38 and it took me a year to pay for it.” Krouse's family couldn't afford to buy the ring for him, so the high school student worked part-time at a local bowling alley to scrabble together enough money to make the purchase.

Krouse, who struggles with serious health issues and must undergo dialysis three times a week, remembered that he lost the ring in 1981 while shopping for men's shirts at a local variety store. Fortunately for Krouse, a then-teenage Kelly White had found the ring the same day while arranging clothes at that store. “I turned it into their lost-and-found, but after 30 days, when no one claimed it, they gave it back to me,” she told TribLive.com. “I’ve had it since 1981. I always intended to give it back.”

For more than 30 years, White held onto the ring, hoping that she could eventually find the rightful owner. White had moved to Phoenix, Ariz., with her husband, but on a recent trip back to Pennsylvania she decided to use the Internet to solve the mystery once and for all.

Working with a few clues, such as the word "United" on the front of the ring, the graduation year and initials inside the band, White enlisted the help of United High School's acting principle, Patricia Berezansky. White emailed a photo of the ring to Berezansky, who confirmed it was, in fact, a school ring from her district.

The initials engraved in the ring were “C.A.K.” When Berezansky was able to confirm that Krouse's middle name was Albert, she knew the mystery was nearly solved. When she called Krouse to question him about a possible missing ring, he was able to “describe it to a ‘T,’” she said.

“Good stories like this need to be celebrated,” said the acting principal. “It’s a mini miracle.”

Krouse told TribLive.com that he feels lucky to be alive and that he sees the return of his ring — something he’d never thought possible — as a positive sign. “It’s so hard to believe,” he said.

World-Class Collection of Greek, Roman and Etruscan Jewelry Goes on Display at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts

It's time to schedule a trip to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to see a new gallery that highlights Greek, Roman and Etruscan jewelry dating back to the 4th century B.C. The standout of the collection is a single earring depicting the goddess Nike driving a two-horse chariot. Barely two inches long, the earring is fashioned from more than 100 pieces of gold and is so exquisitely crafted that its tiny wheels still turn even though it's more than 2,300 years old.

Earring with Nike driving a two-horse chariot; Greek, Northern Greek, Late Classical or Early Hellenistic Period, about 350–325 B.C.

The world-class collection is a trove of 150 priceless treasures, including earrings, rings, bracelets, necklaces, pins and wreaths crafted by ancient artisans in precious metals and gemstones. The gallery also showcases more than 100 precious gems from the MFA's distinguished Greek and Roman collection, considered one of the best in the U.S.

Bracelets with baskets flanked by snakes; Greek or Roman, Late Hellenistic or Early Imperial Period, about 40–20 B.C.

The newly opened Gems and Jewelry of the Ancient Mediterranean gallery was designed to present "miniature works so viewers can appreciate the beauty and fine detail,'' Phoebe Segal, assistant curator of Greek and Roman art, told The MetroWest Daily News. A sliding magnifying glass allows visitors to enlarge virtually every piece to observe tiny details barely visible to the naked eye.

Clockwise from top left:

Earring; Near Eastern, Iranian, Persian, Achaemenid, 525–330 B.C.

Necklace mounted with solidus of Emperor Valens; Roman, Early Byzantine Period, A.D. 364-378

Wreath of oak leaves and acorns; Greek, Late Classical or Early Hellenistic Period, 4th century B.C.

Finger ring with snakes intertwined around an emerald; Greek, Hellenistic Period, 2nd century B.C.

Among the fascinating items on display are a gold diadem with a Herakles knot from around 200 B.C., a Roman cameo with the head of Medusa carved from onyx and mounted in gold from around A.D. 250, a gold ring engraved with the scene of a deer hunt from around the time of the Peloponnesian War, and a 2,500 year-old earring of gold, turquoise and lapis lazuli bearing the image of a Persian deity.

Russian Bank’s Top 100 Customers in Kazakhstan Will Get World’s First Diamond-Encrusted, Solid Gold Visa Card

In the world of premium credit cards it's fairly common to see "gold cards" and "platinum cards." At the most exclusive levels, Barclays' Visa Black Card is available to the highest-earning 1% of the U.S. population. And even more select is the American Express Centurion Card (also called the "black card"), which occupies the wallets of only 17,000 people. What all these so-called "luxury" cards have in common is that they're made of plastic. How inappropriate...

   

Stepping out of the box and getting very literal with its ultimate "gold" card is Russia's largest bank. Sberbank is inviting its top-100 customers in oil-rich Kazakhstan to purchase a solid-gold Visa Infinite card embedded with 26 diamonds totaling 0.17 carats, and inlaid with mother of pearl, according to The Wall Street Journal.

This ultimate status symbol does not come cheaply. Each card has an initial cost of $100,000 – $65,000 for the card itself and $35,000 to be held on account. The annual fee starting in year two is $2,000. Because the real gold card does not have a magnetic stripe and cannot be swiped, it actually serves as a "blingy" companion card to a standard plastic one.

“We constantly strive to provide clients with unique and innovative cards," said James Lim, head of consumer products for Visa Asia Pacific, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa. "We are excited to launch the first jewel-encrusted solid gold companion card."

Each gilded credit card weighs about 50 grams (about 1.76 ounces) and is handmade in Russia by a company called Rosan Diamond. If the offering is successful, the precious-metal-and-diamond cards will be rolled out to Visa's most affluent clients in other Asian countries. There are already 400,000 Infinite cardholders in the Asia-Pacific region, with 2,000 in Kazakhstan.

Among the perks that come with the card are luxury vacations, access to the world's top golf courses, fast-track immigration at 280 airports, a 24-hour concierge phone service, purchase protection, health insurance, travel insurance, complimentary iPhone 5 and a Montblanc bankcard holder, according to reports.