Music Friday: Nissan Ad Boosts Exposure of 'Gold,' Andreya Triana's 2015 Release

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you awesome songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Andreya Triana's 2015 release, "Gold," gets a big boost when Nissan features the song in its commercial for the 2020 Versa.

In this tune about learning to appreciate the simple things in life, Triana finally opens her eyes and is fascinated by the beauty of the world around her.

She sings, "It all feels like gold, gold to me / It might not be diamonds, but it shines for me / It all feels like gold, gold to me / It ain't lost in silence, it's all good to me."

Although "Gold" was originally released on Triana's second studio album, Giants, in 2015, the song got a big boost more than four years later when Nissan used the track in its 60 second commercial for the 2020 Versa. The car's tagline states, "This is tech for a world that never stops."

In the commercial titled "Good Morning, Goodnight," we are introduced to a successful, modern millennial couple making the most of their conflicting work schedules. It's not a diamond-level lifestyle, but it's still gold to them.

The opening scene shows a young medical professional finishing up his shift at 5 a.m. at a local hospital. At the same time, his significant other is waking up to an alarm clock to start her busy day. She gets ready for a pre-dawn jog and adjusts her headphones. He gets into his Nissan Versa and plays his favorite tune. Both the guy and gal are listening to Triana's "Gold." As he arrives home, she is dressed for work and waiting on the driveway. They exchange a warm hug and he says, "Good morning." She says, "Bye." He hands her the keys to the Versa and off she goes.

Hailing from South East London, Triana honed her singing talent by doing open-mike nights as a 17-year-old. In 2006, she earned a coveted spot at the Red Bull Music Academy in Australia, where she developed her improvisational styling and made connections with top producers and musicians. In 2010, she released her debut album, Lost Where I Belong.

The artist will be touring the UK throughout March.

Please check out the videos of Triana performing "Gold." The first is the Nissan Versa commercial, and the second features the full track. The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"Gold"
Written by Dee Adam, Alex "Cores" Hayes, Andreya Triana and Hannah Vasanth. Performed by Andreya Triana.

Lord only knows this heart is free
A brand new day is at my feet
Now sing it low, low and sweet
I give it more soul, I give it all of me

It all feels like gold, gold to me
It might not be diamonds, but it shines for me
It all feels like gold, gold to me
It ain't lost in silence, it's all good to me
Sing it
Yeah, yeah, gold
Yeah, yeah

Simple things that light me up
What a beautiful world, and I see the love
And everything, and everyone
When I'm digging softly
Oh the time will come

It all feels like gold, gold to me
It might not be diamonds, but it shines for me
It all feels like gold, gold to me
It ain't lost in silence, it's all good to mev Sing it
Yeah, yeah, gold
Yeah, yeah

Open my eyes, I see there's so much beauty
There's so much more then I ever believed
Hard touching the sky when the angels keep falling
And it's all good to me, it's all good to me

It all feels like gold, gold to me
It might not be diamonds, but it shines for me
It all feels like gold, gold to me
It ain't lost in silence, it's all good to me
Sing it
Yeah, yeah, gold
Yeah, yeah, gold

It all feels like gold, gold to me (Yeah, yeah)
It ain't lost in silence, it's all good to me (Yeah, yeah, gold)
It all feels like gold, all gold to me (Yeah, yeah)
It ain't lost in silence, it's all good to me (Yeah, yeah, gold)
It's all good to me

All good to me
All good to me
So good to me

The 2020 Nissan Versa commercial here...

Full audio track here...

Credit: Image by NathanCroftonBond [CC BY-SA].

Fancy Pink Diamonds Soar 116% in Value Over Past Decade, Says Research Group

Fancy pink diamonds soared 116% in value over the past decade, outpacing blues (81%) and yellows (21%), according to a report by the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF), an Israel-based group that tracks diamond pricing data in the global trading centers of Hong Kong, New York and Tel Aviv.

While the overall index for fancy-color diamonds — across all their brilliant hues — increased by 77% from 2009 to 2019, it was the pink diamond category that stood out in the report.

Market watchers believe that the strength of the pink-diamond segment is attributed to the expected closure this year of the Argyle Diamond Mine, which has been operating in Western Australia for the past 37 years.

“Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine is the first and only ongoing source of rare pink diamonds in history,” said Rio Tinto Copper & Diamonds chief executive Arnaud Soirat in 2019. “With the lifecycle of this extraordinary mine approaching its end, we have seen, and continue to see, unstoppable demand for these truly limited-edition diamonds and strong value appreciation.”

Two of the world's most famous — and valuable — pink diamonds are The Pink Star (shown above) and the Pink Legacy (shown below).

Back in April of 2017, The Pink Star, a 59.6-carat, flawless, fancy vivid pink diamond, shattered the world record for the highest price ever paid for any gem at auction. The hammer price of $71.2 million at Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite sale in Hong Kong easily surpassed the $57.5 million achieved in May of 2016 by the previous record-holder, the 14.62-carat Oppenheimer Blue diamond.

In November of 2018, the 18.96-carat Pink Legacy was purchased for $50.3 million at Christie’s Geneva, establishing a record per-carat price of $2.7 million for a fancy vivid pink diamond. The previous record holder was the 14.93-carat Pink Promise, which sold at auction for $2.2 million per carat in 2017.

FCRF advisory board member Jim Pounds explained why prices for fancy-color diamonds should remain strong: “From the mining perspective, we are currently experiencing a shortage in high-quality fancy-color rough and we therefore feel quite optimistic about the future.”

Credits: Pink Star image courtesy of Sotheby’s. Pink Legacy image courtesy of Christie's.

Lucara Adds 549-Carat White Diamond to Its Growing List of Massive Finds

Lucara Diamond Corp. just recovered a 549-carat unbroken white diamond of "exceptional purity" from its Karowe Mine in Botswana — a mine that has earned worldwide recognition for producing the 1,758-carat Sewelô, the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona and the 813-carat Constellation diamond. Those diamonds rank #2, #3 and #8 on the list of the largest rough diamonds of all time.

While Lucara didn't announce the value of the rough diamond, we can offer a guess based on the previous sales of similar diamonds. Karowe's Lesedi La Rona, for instance, earned more than $47,000 per carat ($53 million) and the Constellation generated more than $77,000 per carat ($63.1 million). Using $50,000 per carat as a guideline, the 549-carat diamond would yield $27.4 million.

The still-unnamed 549-carat rough stone is the fourth-largest diamond ever recovered from the prolific Karowe mine. It was cherry picked from Lucara's MDR (Mega Diamond Recovery) XRT circuit, a system that uses advanced technology to identify 100-carat-plus diamonds by monitoring the rocky material for X-ray luminescence, atomic density and transparency. Previously, large diamonds might have been mistaken as worthless ore and pulverized during the primary crushing process.

The company has been using MDR technology since 2017, and so far this year, six diamonds weighing more than 100 carats have been recovered at the Karowe Mine. In 2019, Karowe yielded more than 20 diamonds larger than 100 carats. Eight of those exceeded 200 carats.

Despite its impressive dimensions, the 549-carat rough diamond rates only 28th on the all-time list of the world’s largest rough diamonds, just behind Lesotho’s "Letseng Star" (550 carats, discovered in 2011) and just ahead of South Africa's "Cullinan Heritage" (507 carats, 2009). The largest rough diamond ever discovered is the 3,106-carat Cullinan, which was sourced near Pretoria, South Africa, in 1905.

According to mining.com, Lucara is close to completing a feasibility study into how underground production might extend the lifespan of the Karowe mine, which has been in operation since 2012.

Credit: Image courtesy of Lucara Diamond Corp.