Music Friday: Aaron Watson Pens a Love Letter to His Little Girl in 'Diamonds and Daughters'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you awesome new songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, country star Aaron Watson pens a love letter to his little girl in "Diamonds and Daughters."

Released in February of 2017 as the 16th track from his Vaquero album, "Diamonds and Daughters" is a sentimental, "makes-you-wanna-cry" tune that's already breaking into wedding day playlists across the country. Using precious symbols, Watson pledges his life-long devotion to the daughter who had him crying like a baby the moment he first saw her face. He knows he'll cry again when he walks her down the aisle.

He sings, "I found fortune like diamonds / In the love of a daughter / Worth more than all the gold in the world / And they say that a son / Is the pride of a father / But my heart belongs to my little girl."

Watson revealed that he wrote "Diamonds and Daughters" after scoring an earlier hit with "The Underdog" — a song inspired by his sons.

"When [my daughter] found out that her brothers got a song and she didn't, she was not happy with me," Watson told The Boot. "Even though I wrote that for Jolee Kate, I wanted all daughters... to hear that song and just know that they're special."

Vaquero, which is Watson's 13th album, was a commercial success, topping out at #2 on the U.S. Billboard Country chart.

When his album The Underdog reached #1 on the Billboard Country chart in 2015, Watson became the first solo male artist to accomplish that feat with a self-released, independently distributed and promoted studio project.

Born in Amarillo, Texas, the 40-year-old Watson is proud of his slow and steady climb to national success.

"I'm independent not because I'm not good enough," he said. "I'm independent because I'm unwilling to sell out on my music or my fans... I'm independent by choice."

Please check out the audio track of Watson singing "Diamonds and Daughters," and be sure to have a few tissues on hand — just in case you start to tear up...

"Diamonds and Daughters"
Written and performed by Aaron Watson.

First moment I saw your face
I was moved by amazing grace
And I cried like a baby
Just like I'll do walking you down the aisle
I found fortune like diamonds
In the love of a daughter
Worth more than all the gold in the world
And they say that a son
Is the pride of a father
But my heart belongs to my little girl

Diamonds and daughters
Precious and few
Diamonds and daughters
Timeless and true
Don't you ever forget that your heart is divine
You belong to the one who made you sparkle and shine
Diamonds and daughters

And I'll be there for you
Every step of the way
From your very first breath
Until my dying day
And the women I see
In that white wedding gown
Is just my little girl
Saying daddy won't you spin me around

Diamonds and daughters
Precious and few
Diamonds and daughters
Timeless and true
Don't you ever forget that your heart is divine
You belong to the one who made you sparkle and shine
Diamonds and daughters

Diamonds and daughters
Precious and few
Diamonds and daughters
Timeless and true
Don't you ever forget that your heart is divine
You belong to the one who made you sparkle and shine
Diamonds and daughters

First moment I saw your face
I was moved by amazing grace

Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com

Recutting Pays Off as 'Pink Promise' Fetches $31.9MM, Setting Record at Christie's Hong Kong

Described by its auctioneer as the "Picasso of the pink diamond world," the 14.93-carat "Pink Promise" set a record yesterday when it fetched $31.9 million at Christie's Hong Kong. The $2.13 million per-carat selling price was the highest ever paid for a pink diamond larger than 10 carats.

The oval-shaped pink diamond — which had been trimmed down from 16.10 carats to improve its visual intensity and value — boasts the ultra-rare color grade of Fancy Vivid, near-perfect VVS1 clarity and Type IIa purity, the finest of all diamond types.

After an exciting three-minute bidding process, auction watchers learned that The Pink Promise had narrowly missed the world record per-carat price for a pink diamond of any size. In 2009, Christie’s Hong Kong had sold a 5-carat Fancy Vivid pink, cushion-cut diamond for $2.15 million per carat.

The 16.10-carat pink diamond that would become "The Pink Promise" had been graded Fancy Intense pink (a grade lower than Fancy Vivid pink), and was visibly "washed out" in some areas, according to Silicon Valley-based haute jeweler Stephen Silver, who had purchased the stone in 2013.

Working with a master gem cutter for three years, Silver plotted a way to recut the gem to achieve its ultimate color potential. It was a risky move, because millions of dollars in carat weight would be trimmed away and there was no guarantee that the stone would earn a higher color grade.

The gamble paid off as the Gemological Institute of America affirmed that the new, improved Pink Promise would have the highest possible color grade of Fancy Vivid pink — boosting the value of the diamond dramatically.

"The work we did on this particular diamond was the most challenging recut in which I have been involved, due to the technical difficulty and large financial risk," Silver said. "It is a privilege, however, to work with a world-class team and have my name associated with one of the world's great gemstones."

Christie's had estimated that The Pink Promise, which is set in a platinum ring and surrounded by smaller white diamonds, would sell in the range of $28 million to $42 million.

Credit: Image courtesy of Stephen Silver.

Meghan Markle's Engagement Ring From Prince Harry Has a Sentimental Connection to Princess Diana

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle officially announced their engagement at Kensington Palace on Monday afternoon. In a subsequent interview with the BBC, the couple explained that the three-stone diamond engagement ring designed by Harry himself has a special connection with his late mother, Princess Diana.

"The main stone is from Botswana," said Prince Harry, "and the little diamonds on either side are from my mother's jewelry collection — to make sure she's with us on this crazy journey together."

Added Markle, "It's beautiful and he designed it. It's incredible."

The 33-year-old prince said that he chose to have the diamonds set in yellow gold, "because that's [Markle's] favorite." The ring was fabricated by Cleave and Company, official jewelers to Queen Elizabeth II.

The two smaller diamonds were once part of a brooch worn by Princess Diana, who tragically died in 1997 at the age of 36.

The larger center stone was sourced from Botswana because the couple enjoyed their time there in August.

“I think everything about Harry’s thoughtfulness and the inclusion of [Princess Diana’s stones] and obviously not being able to meet his mom, it’s so important to me to know that she’s a part of this with us,” Markle told the BBC. “It’s incredibly special to be able to have this [ring] which sort of links where [Harry comes] from and Botswana, which is important to us. It's perfect.”

Prince Harry joked, "Make sure it stays on that finger.”

The couple revealed that Prince Harry's marriage proposal took Markle by surprise a few weeks ago at the prince's family cottage. They were roasting a chicken during a cozy evening together, and then he went down on one knee. Markle said she had barely let him finish his proposal and she was already saying "Yes."

Born in Los Angeles, the 36-year-old Markle is an actress, model and humanitarian. She best known for her portrayal of Rachel Zane on the USA Network legal drama series Suits.

The couple had met through mutual friends in the summer of 2016. The royal wedding is scheduled to take place in the spring of 2018.

Exactly seven years ago, royal sibling Prince William popped the question to Kate Middleton using the 12-carat Ceylon sapphire engagement ring that was originally worn by Princess Diana. Prince William and Middleton tied the knot in 2011.

Credits: Screen captures via YouTube.com/CNN.

Welcome to the Start of 'Engagement Season' — the Most Romantic Time of the Year

Thanksgiving Day marked the start of the "engagement season," a romantic time of the year that stretches all the way to Valentine's Day. The period accounts for 23% of the calendar, but proudly claims about 40% of all marriage proposals.

According to WeddingWire.com, Christmas Day is the most popular day to get engaged, followed by Valentine's Day, Christmas Eve and New Year's Day.

These statistics are affirmed — in a slightly different order — by Facebook, whose 2 billion-plus active users (yes, that’s billion with a “b”) love to report their “relationship status.” Facebook rates Christmas Eve as the #1 time to pop the question, followed by Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Valentine's Day.

Facebook has previously reported that about 2.5 million of its 214 million U.S. users change their status to “engaged” in an average year. WeddingWire.com reports that 18% of all marriage proposals take place during the festive month of December.

There’s a very good chance that somebody in your Facebook world will be changing his or her relationship status from “in a relationship” to “engaged” in the near future. There’s sure to be an engagement ring selfie captioned with a romantic note colorfully tagged by a string of engagement ring, diamond and heart-shaped emojis.

Experts believe that the winter engagement phenomenon is attributed to two factors: the romantic nature of the season… and convenience. Suitors likely choose December to pop the question because they love the magic of the holiday season. And, certainly, there’s no better time to propose than when all the family is in town to celebrate with the newly engaged couple.

Here are the Top 10 days of the year to get engaged, according to WeddingWire.com.

#1. Christmas Day. It's the biggest day of the year for gift-giving, so it makes perfect sense that this, too, would be the biggest day to give the ultimate gift — a diamond engagement ring.
#2. Valentine's Day.
#3. Christmas Eve.
#4. New Year's Day.
#5. New Year's Eve.
#6. Day Before Valentine's Day. We wonder if this day cracked the Top 10 because getting engaged on Valentine's Day may be too obvious, so jumping the gun by 24 hours may be a strategy to preserve the element of surprise.
#7. Saturday Before Christmas Eve.
#8. Two Saturdays Before Christmas Eve.
#9. December 23rd (Day Before Christmas Eve).
#10 Fourth of July (Independence Day). It's fun, festive, patriotic and the only date in the Top 10 list that finds itself outside of "engagement season."

Credit: Image by Bigstockphoto.com