Music Friday: Kylie Minogue 'Shines On and On and On' in 2007's 'White Diamond'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you awesome songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Aussie star Kylie Minogue rescues her lover from darkness and despair in the 2007 ballad "White Diamond."

Minogue is empowered by the symbolic characteristics of a diamond — brilliance, strength, timelessness, faithfulness, purity and love — to light the path to his salvation.

She sings, "You're looking out from the darkness / Feeling so alone and you need a flare / Well, I've got the light that's gonna treat you right / And illuminate what's already there / Understand I will be there for you / Understand I'm a diamond for you / A white diamond for you."

Later in the song, she adds, "Like a pure white diamond / I'll shine on and on and on and on."

Minogue co-wrote "White Diamond" in 2006 during her recovery from breast cancer and later performed it on her comeback tour, which she called "Showgirl: Homecoming."

A 2007 documentary film that chronicled that triumphant tour was titled "White Diamond: A Personal Portrait of Kylie Minogue." The song is performed in Act 1 of the tour DVD and is included as a bonus track on the Australian and New Zealand iTunes editions of Minogue's 10th studio album, simply titled X.

The singer had been diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2005, resulting in the cancellation of the Australian leg of "Showgirl: The Greatest Hits" tour. She subsequently underwent successful surgery and radiotherapy, and resumed her touring schedule in November 2006.

Born Kylie Ann Minogue in 1968, the singer, songwriter and showgirl began her career as a child actress on an Australian television series. In 1987, her breakout cover of the 1963 hit, "The Loco-Motion," spent seven weeks at #1 on the Australian singles chart and became the best-selling Aussie single of the 1980s.

To date, Minogue has sold 70 million records worldwide and has earned numerous awards, including a Grammy, three Brit Awards, 17 ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Music Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards. She is the top-selling female Australian performing artist of all time.

Please check out the video of Minogue's live performance of "White Diamond" in New York City. The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"White Diamond"
Written by Kylie Minogue, Babydaddy and Jake Shears. Performed by Kylie Minogue.

I know that it's getting too much, baby
But you don't need the words to say
Sometimes you feel you're at the end of the line
But tonight it's gonna fade away

You're looking out from the darkness
Feeling so alone and you need a flare
Well, I've got the light that's gonna treat you right
And illuminate what's already there

Understand I will be there for you
Understand I'm a diamond for you
A white diamond for you

And just like a burning radio I'm on to you
Your spell I'm under
In the silver shadows I will radiate
And glow for you

What you see and what it seems
Are nothing more than dreams within a dream
Like a pure white diamond
I'll shine on and on and on

Where I'm gonna take you now
Every tear will look out of place
Well, I thought about it but it took until now
To crystallize it into a phrase

Understand I will be there for you
Understand I'm a diamond for you
A white diamond for you

And just like a burning radio I'm on to you
Your spell I'm under
In the silver shadows I will radiate
And glow for you

What you see and what it seems
Are nothing more than dreams within a dreamv Like a pure white diamond
I'll shine on and on and on and on

Credits: Screen captures via YouTube.com.

Newly Released Gold Coin Is So Small It Comes With Magnifying Lenses and a Light

Reflecting its efforts to push boundaries, stretch the limits of technology and achieve something unique, Swissmint issued a gold coin so small that neither image on the minted sides can be discerned with the naked eye. Naturally, Swissmint has that covered by providing magnifying lenses and a light with every purchase.

Billed as the smallest gold coin in the world, the new "1/4-franc gold" measures 2.96mm (0.12 inches) in diameter and weighs 0.063g (0.0022 ounces). The coin is about the size of a match head.

With a bit of ocular assistance, coin lovers will recognize that the obverse of the coin features the famous image of Albert Einstein sticking out his tongue, and the year 2020. The reverse shows the nominal value of 1/4 franc ($0.26) together with the inscription "Helvetia" (the female national personification of Switzerland) and the Swiss cross. Also shown is the alloy mark "AU 999.9" and the weight (1/500 ounce).

In creating the world's smallest coin, Swissmint drew inspiration from Albert Einstein's qualities of determination and patience. From 1895 to 1914, Einstein lived mainly in Switzerland, where he also completed his studies in 1900 at what is today called ETH in Zurich. In 1901, he was granted Swiss citizenship and in 1902 he found permanent employment as a technical expert in the Patents Office in Bern. It was in 1905 that he published what is probably the most famous formula in the world: E=mc2.

The new offering is packaged in a special presentation case, complete with magnifying lenses and light, ensuring that the collector can examine the smallest gold coin while still keeping it safely stored. Designed by Swissmint engraver Remo Mascherini, the new 1/4-franc gold coin is available as a "special minting" of just 999 coins. Swissmint is selling each coin for 199 Swiss francs (about $204).

The record for the largest, heaviest and most valuable coin is held by The Perth Mint's “1 Tonne Australian Kangaroo." Made from 99.99% pure gold, the coin measures 80 cm (31.5 inches) wide and 12 cm (4.5 inches) thick. It weighs one metric ton, which is equivalent to 2,200 pounds or 35,274 ounces. The coin has a face value of $1 million, but at today’s gold price, the precious metal alone is worth $55 million.

Credits: 1/4-franc gold coin image courtesy of Swissmint. 1 Tonne Australian Kangaroo coin image courtesy of The Perth Mint.

Swarovski Introduces Fun, Candy-Colored Collection of Lab-Grown Diamonds

In a black velvet booth at the Ritz in Paris, Swarovski unveiled a fun and colorful collection of lab-grown diamonds, each with a fashionable name related to its hue. These included Gothic Cognac (deep orange), Cubist Sky (sky blue), Androgyny Flamingo (bright pink) and Heavy Metal Cherry (deep red).

The 125-year-old Austria-based company, which is famous for cutting fine crystals, entered the lab-grown diamond business in 2018 with a limited line of white diamonds. The process of creating colored diamonds is far more complex because additional heating, pressure and electro-radiation treatments are required in varying degrees for each color.

"We love to cut. We believe we’re real master cutters, so this category always intrigued us,” executive board member Markus Langes-Swarovski told WWD.

The new project highlights human innovation by re-creating the rarest diamond hues.

The 16 colors will be divided into four pillars, each representing a different creative medium: fashion, art, music and architecture. Each pillar is led by an intense hero color (available as large as 2.5-carats), with the less vivid shades offered in the 0.25-to-1.5-carat range.

The colored diamonds will be presented in six classic cuts: Round brilliant, square princess, cushion, pear, oval and radiant.

Swarovski Created Diamonds have the same optical, chemical and physical attributes as mined diamonds. Both are 100% carbon and have the same hardness, brilliance and fire as natural mined diamonds.

All Swarovski Created Diamonds are certified by the International Gemological Institute (IGI). Since lab-created diamonds can only be distinguished from mined diamonds with sophisticated lab equipment, gems 0.10 carats and larger will be laser engraved to clearly identify them as man-made.

Swarovski has been working on creating an ambitious array of colors, and Langes-Swarovski is optimistic about the possibilities.

“Imagine being able to order a lab-grown diamond to match your fiancée’s eyes,” he told The Telegraph. “By the end of the year, we could have 120 colors. We have the possibilities to create alien colors, colors that have never even been seen before or imagined on this planet. Our vision is to create millions of colors!”

Credits: Images courtesy of Swarovski.