Music Friday: Tom Jones Belts Out His 1970 Interpretation of the Timeless Love Song, 'I (Who Have Nothing)'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you amazing tunes with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. “I (Who Have Nothing)” is a timeless love song that has been covered by dozens of artists, both male and female, for the past 50 years.

The version we like best is performed here by none other than Sir Thomas John Woodward (better known as Tom Jones), whose powerful interpretation launched the song to #14 on the Billboard charts in 1970.

In “I (Who Have Nothing),” a poor man makes an impassioned plea to win the heart of his love interest. Sadly, all he can do is watch from his window as she goes out wrapped in the arms of a wealthy man — a man who can “give her the world,” including “bright sparkling diamonds.”

Jones, whose soulful voice and great looks melted hearts during the 1960s and '70s, has sold more than 100 million records and charted 36 Top-40 hits, including “It’s Not Unusual,” “What’s New Pussycat” and “Delilah.”

The first artists to release “I (Who Have Nothing)” were Ben E. King and Shirley Bassey, both in 1963. Since then, the song has been reinterpreted by singers as diverse as Petula Clark, Luther Vandross, Liza Minnelli and Neil Diamond.

More recently, a new generation of music lovers was introduced to “I (Who Have Nothing) when it was performed by American Idol Season 6 winner Jordin Sparks.

We invite you to enjoy the riveting performance of Tom Jones at the end of this post. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along.

“I (Who Have Nothing)”
Written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Performed by Tom Jones.

I, I who have nothing
I, I who have no one
Adore you, and want you so
I'm just a no one,
With nothing to give you but Oh
I Love You

He, He buys you diamonds
Bright, sparkling diamonds
But believe me, dear when I say,
That he can give you the world,
But he'll never love you the way
I Love You

He can take you anyplace he wants
To fancy clubs and restaurants
But I can only watch you with
My nose pressed up against the window pane
I, I who have nothing
I, I who have no one
Must watch you, go dancing by
Wrapped in the arms of somebody else
When darling it's I
Who Loves you

I Love You
I Love You
I Love You

Three Highly Coveted Fancy Red Diamonds to Hit the Market; Price Should Exceed $1 Million Per Carat

Three certified fancy red diamonds — the pinnacle of rarity, color and value in the diamond world — will headline Rio Tinto’s annual Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender, an exclusive sale of the mining company’s finest production.

Rio Tinto’s announcement took the gem world by surprise because natural fancy red diamonds are very rarely seen.

"Since mining began in 1983, only six diamonds certified as fancy red by the Gemological Institute of America have been presented for sale at the annual tender,” said Argyle Pink Diamonds manager Josephine Johnson. “To have three of these rare red diamonds in one tender is a very special moment in time."

The highly coveted red diamonds are expected to fetch between $1 million and $2 million per carat when they are offered for sale on October 8.

Argyle Phoenix™ is the largest of the three red diamonds, a 1.56-carat round gem named in honor of the newly commissioned Argyle underground mine in Western Australia.

This year’s Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender of three reds, 58 pinks and three blues, is now on tour. After previews in Sydney, New York and Tokyo, tender viewings will move to Hong Kong and Perth, where bidders will be able to view the gems and make offers for individual stones.

Unlike other colored diamonds – such as blue diamonds that get their color from the addition of boron in their chemical composition, or green diamonds that are impacted by natural radiation – red diamonds are not colored by impurities. Rather, their color is the result of minute defects in the crystal lattice.

Flushed $22,000 Diamond Anniversary Ring Rescued From Mucky Demise by Persistent Wastewater Team

A Virginia woman who accidentally knocked her $22,000 anniversary ring into a flushing toilet is singing the praises of wastewater employees who rescued the diamond keepsake from a mucky demise — four days after it was lost.

It was about 11:30 on a Friday night when Jenna Wolfe, who was visiting relatives, took off her cherished anniversary ring and placed it on the sink’s countertop while she washed her hands. The ring, which features a 2-carat round center stone flanked by smaller round diamonds, was a 10^th anniversary gift from her husband.

According to a report by WAVY-TV, Wolfe used a paper towel to clean up some water that had splashed on the countertop, but the wiping motion accidentally knocked her anniversary ring into the flushing commode. In an instant, the very valuable and sentimental ring was gone.

She called a professional plumbing service, but when the company was unable to locate the ring, Wolfe feared the worst.

On Monday, she contacted the city’s Public Works Division, which promptly sent out a crew to help. After setting a debris trap down the water line, the wastewater employees told Wolfe to run water into all the drains of the house and to flush every toilet in an effort to move the ring into the trap.

Even though Monday’s efforts failed to locate and capture the ring, the crew members were back on Tuesday to try again. This time, they succeeded.

In a glowing note to the City of Hampton, Wolfe wrote, “We cannot express enough gratitude to everyone who had a role in recovering this very special ring for us. It’s not only the monetary value of the ring, but also the sentimental value that could not be replaced… Please do anything and everything you can to acknowledge their dedication, honesty and hard work.”

The persistent wastewater team members each received a $25 gift card as part of the city's program to reward employees who perform above and beyond the call of duty.

100+ Carats of 'Diamond Perfection' Sells for a Record-Breaking $26.7 Million

What do you think 101.73 carats of “diamond perfection” is worth? Would you believe $26.7 million (or $254,400 per carat)?

That’s what the prestige jeweler Harry Winston paid last week at Christie’s Geneva for the largest flawless diamond ever to be offered at auction. The selling price established an auction record for a colorless diamond.

Discovered in the Jwaneng mine in Botswana, the once-in-a-generation gem was carved from a rough diamond weighing a staggering 236 carats. According to reports, expert diamond cutters toiled on the golf-ball-size specimen for 21 months.

The cutters were forced to sacrifice 57 percent of the diamond's original weight to achieve a pear-shape, D-color, Type IIA flawless gem — the best ratings for color and clarity. Forbes.com reported that fewer than 2 percent of the world’s diamonds meet the type IIA criteria for transparency and brilliance.

An auction spokesperson described the diamond as “ultimate perfection” and explained that it was literally “sculpted like a work of art."

Because the magnificent gem is brand new to the auction scene, the purchaser earned the privilege of naming the stone. It will now be known as “The Winston Legacy.”