Music Friday: Fresh Artist Matt Palmer Sings His First Single, 'Diamond Love'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you super songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, we introduce you to a song that qualifies on all accounts. It's "Diamond Love," the first single released by New York City-based singer/songwriter Matt Palmer.

The storyline goes something like this: Palmer implores the girl of his dreams, his "perfect sapphire," to dump her current boyfriend because he is taking her for granted. Our hero compares the girl to a "diamond in the rough" and if she gives him a chance, he'll "let her shine."

"Diamond Love" is the lead track to Palmer's debut album, Let Go, which released at the end of 2010. The album, which incorporates contemporary pop and electronic dance elements, marked the artist's transition from a songwriter to singer/songwriter. Said the 25-year-old artist, "I could have been scared about how I’d be perceived as an artist and remain a songwriter only, or I could put myself out there and see what happens."

Enjoy the "Diamond Love" video at the end of this post. The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along.

"Diamond Love"

Written and performed by Matt Palmer.

How long has it been,
Since he started taking you for granted
It's gotta be a sin
And nobody wins
I can't believe I let him have it
Girl you must not know, oh
How far you could go, oh
Without him riding on your coat
You should take it off
Tell him to get lost
It's 'bout time you know

[Chorus: x2]
You're one of a kind
You take a lifetime a lifetime to find
You're a diamond in the rough
Baby you should be mine
And I'll let you shine
You're my diamond lover

[Verse 2:]
The best that I've seen
Straight out of my dreams
The perfect sapphire
A piece saved for me
The most beautiful ring
With me girl you can fly
Girl you must not know, oh
How far you could go, oh
Without him riding on your coat

You should take it off
Tell him to get lost
It's 'bout time you know

[Chorus: x2]
You're one of a kind
You take a lifetime a lifetime to find
You're a diamond in the rough
Baby you should be mine
And I'll let you shine
You're my diamond lover

[Bridge:]
And if you could see my love
All the things we could be my love
We could walk out across the ocean
Part the seas my love
And if you could know my love
You're like silver and gold my love
When I'm with you girl I lose all control

[Chorus: x4]
You're one of a kind
You take a lifetime a lifetime to find
You're a diamond in the rough
Baby you should be mine
And I'll let you shine
You're my diamond lover

Beyoncé's $1.8 Million Emerald Earrings Turn Heads at Inauguration

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter headlines our blog again today, and it's not because we want to chime in on whether the diva's stirring rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at Monday's presidential inauguration was sung live, lip-synched or enhanced by a backing track. No, Beyoncé is the subject of this post because of the dazzling green earrings she was wearing.

It was hard for viewers to take their eyes off the vibrant green gemstones set in a flower motif as the TV cameras zoomed in for Beyoncé's closeup in glorious HD. Then we wondered... Could these be emeralds?

Designer Lorraine Schwartz used Facebook to set the record straight. The green baubles she designed for Beyoncé were, in fact, fine emeralds. The earrings boasted a total weight of 80 carats and a price tag of $1.8 million. The matching ring worn on the index finger of her right hand featured an emerald weighing 50 carats.

Schwartz knew the earrings would be clearly displayed during Beyoncé's big solo in front of a global audience. "It needed to be something important but understated at the same time," a representative of the designer told The Daily Mail. "These earrings were perfect for Beyoncé because they are modern and classic just like she is!"

The designer was right on the mark as the bright green hue stood out against Beyoncés loose blonde waves and black embroidered Emilio Pucci gown.

Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings Finally Receive Their Rings

It was worth the wait. In a ceremony delayed more than three months by an NHL lockout, the Los Angeles Kings finally raised their first Stanley Cup championship banner to the rafters of the Staples Center and claimed their hard-earned Tiffany & Co. rings.

The emotional ring presentation prior to the team's home opener on Saturday celebrated an historic 2012 season when the Cinderella team made an unlikely playoff run and became the first eighth-seeded team to capture the Cup.

The face of the championship rings includes 104 round brilliant diamonds pavé set in sterling silver. The Los Angeles Kings crest sits atop a bejeweled Stanley Cup, and the raised text, “STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS,” is set around the bezel.

The LA Kings iconic crown and player name in raised letters appear on one shank; and the LA Kings team name, the NHL logo, 16-4 record and the year 2012 appear on the opposite shank. The inside of the band is engraved with the Kings' win-loss record against its four playoff opponents.

This is the first time Tiffany & Co. has created an NHL championship ring. The company's choice of sterling silver was unusual for this type of ring, which typically is crafted in karat gold. A source close to the team confirmed that the rings are stamped AG925 (sterling silver) under the Tiffany & Co. logo.

Aussie Man Using Metal Detector Discovers Massive 12-Pound Gold Nugget

Armed with a $6,000 metal detector, a self-employed Aussie man hit the jackpot last Wednesday when he unearthed a 12-pound gold nugget worth close to a half-million dollars near the historic gold rush city of Ballarat in Southeast Australia.

Responding to a faint beep from his detector, the treasure hunter's initial hunch was that the glistening metal resting barely two feet below the surface was a gold-colored car part. What emerged, however, was a life-changing, T-shaped nugget of pure gold.

The prospector, who wishes to remain anonymous, delivered his find to the Ballarat Mining Exchange Gold Shop, where owner Cordell Kent confirmed the good news. "It’s extremely significant as a mineral specimen," Kent told Adelaide Now. During his 20 years in business, Kent had never certified a nugget this large.

''We have 800 prospectors on our books and only a couple of those have ever found a nugget over 100 ounces,'' he said.

Gold was first discovered in Ballarat in 1851, and a subsequent gold rush attracted 20,000 miners to the city by 1853. "We are 162 years into a gold rush and Ballarat is still producing nuggets — it’s unheard of," said Kent.

The impressive size of the nugget had newscasters wondering if this chunk of gold rivaled the largest ones ever found. The answer is "not even close." Last week's Ballarat find is tiny compared to the Holtermann Nugget, which was discovered in 1872 about 260 miles to the northeast in New South Wales.

That nugget weighed in at 639 pounds, was 59 inches tall and contained 5,000 ounces of pure gold. Considered the largest single mass of gold ever found, the Holtermann Nugget is named for Bernhardt Otto Holtermann, a German-born gold miner and businessman who is credited with making the extraordinary discovery.

There is speculation that the rare 12-pound Ballarat nugget will be sold to a private collector or a museum rather than be melted down.

Likeness of Civil Rights Icon Martin Luther King Jr. Is Carved Into 4,180-Carat Black Sapphire

Today we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with a review of a very special exhibition at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. For a limited time, a work called Martin Luther King in Sapphire is headlining the museum's Konovalenko Collection, the fascinating and whimsical gemstone carvings of Ukrainian-born Vasily Konovalenko, who many consider to be one of the best gem carvers the world has ever known.

Carved in 1984, Martin Luther King in Sapphire is a regal rendition of the civil rights leader’s bust carved into a 4,180-carat black sapphire. This carving is extraordinary because it is the only instance in which Konovalenko carved the image of a real person in a gemstone, and because the likeness was rendered from a single piece of sapphire.

A Denver Museum press release explained that Martin Luther King in Sapphire is on loan from Kazanjian Brothers, a jewelry dealership in Beverly Hills, Calif. The extraordinary tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., is on display in the Konovalenko Gallery on Level 3 of the museum.

Konovalenko, who passed away in 1989 at the age of 60, is a darling of the museum, which has about 20 of his carvings in its holdings. This is the largest collection of Konovalenko carvings on display outside of Russia.

The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is currently working on The Konovalenko Project, the museum’s ongoing effort to systematically photograph and publish all of the artist’s sculptures. Archaeology curator Stephen Nash and photographer Rick Wicker are overseeing the project.