Music Friday: Beyoncé and P. Diddy Sing About Cruising the World for Pearls in 'Summertime'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you feel-good songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, Beyoncé and P. Diddy sing about falling in love and cruising the world for pearls in “Summertime.”

In this 2003 collaboration, Beyoncé celebrates that special moment when a woman knows she’s finally found her true love — someone who'll really listen, a friend.

In P. Diddy’s rap at the end of the song, he says how much he loves her and how she brings out the best in him. He also promises to take her on a summertime adventure, which includes a search for precious gems.

He sings, “We can cruise the world for pearls.”

Oh, and there's also a surprise engagement. The rap continues, "And that’s your plan, where’s your hand let me ice that / You my heart ain’t no chance you could fight that."

Released on 12-inch vinyl as the B-side to #1 mega-hit “Crazy in Love,” “Summertime” also charted, peaking at #35 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Critics praised “Summertime” as a “breezy dance number” that leaves the listener “on a smooth laid-back high.”

Beyoncé acknowledged early in her career that “Summertime” was one of her favorite songs. It was part of her set list for both the “Dangerously in Love Tour” in 2003 and the “Verizon Ladies First Tour” in 2004. Her performance of “Summertime” in front of more than 20,000 fans in New York City led MTV News to comment that Knowles “stepped in the name of love” during the breakdown of the song.

Born in Houston in 1981, Beyoncé is one of the world's best-selling recording artists, with more than 118 million records sold worldwide. She's captured 28 Grammy Awards, 26 MTV Video Music Awards, 31 BET Awards and 17 Soul Train Music Awards. In 2020, Time magazine included Beyoncé on its list of the "100 women who defined the last century."

Please check out the audio track of Beyoncé and P. Diddy performing “Summertime.” The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along.

“Summertime”
Written by Beyoncé Knowles, Angela Beyince, Sean Combs, Steven “Steven J.” Jordan, Adonis Shropshire, Varick “Smitty” Smith, Mario Winans. Performed by Beyoncé Knowles, feat. P. Diddy.

[P. Diddy]
Yeah
There’s three things I like about the summertime
Drop tops, long hot nights and summer love
Yeah
Hey yo, B
Tell ’em what time it is
Let’ s go

[Beyoncé]
Out of all the guys that approached me
Walking up to me like they know me
You were the one that stayed aside
Waited a while and took your time
You don’t know how impressing
Your curiosity was to me
It was the fourth day of July
Looked in my eyes and saw that I

[Break – Beyoncé]
I wanted more than just a man (man)
I needed a friend (I want a friend)
Someone I can talk to (oh)
Someone who’ll really listen (yeah)
When you touched my hand (yeah yeah)
The sun got brighter then (brighter then)
Trusting you I closed my eyes
And felt our love begin

[Chorus – Beyoncé]
It was the summertime (when we fell in love)
It was the summertime (when heaven shined on us)
It was the summertime (baby there is nothing like the)
Summertime, summertime (ohh)

[Beyoncé]
Now it’s been a year and we’re closer
Fall in love again when I hold ya
I know that God set you aside
For me and now you are my prize
Wanna grow old with ya
Fill a house with ya pictures
Have a son for you, a little girl for me
Together we’ll raise a family

[Break – Beyoncé]
I wanted more then just a man
I needed a friend
You are my best friend (yeah)
Someone I could talk to
Someone who’ll really listen (yeah)
When you touched my hand (yeah)
The sun got brighter then (brighter then)
Trusting you I closed my eyes
and felt our love begin

[Chorus]

[P. Diddy]
Yo let me holla at you for a sec
So what’s in gonna be, him or me? (yeah)
We can cruise the world for pearls
And bare boots for girls
Summertime in the linen, fresh fruit
Livin the life that’s forbidden for just you (let’s go)
No worries you ain’t gotta be stressed out
No hurries you ain’t gotta be rushed out
Sit back relax ma take your time
Now have a taste of the finest wine
Every minute that we have’s a blessing to me
And in your heart you’s a “Child of Destiny” (that’s right)
Them hot summers that we had especially
Love who you is girl, you bring out the best of me
And it’s like that, you know it’s like that (that’s right)
And that’s your plan, where’s your hand let me ice that
You my heart ain’t no chance you could fight that
The summertime, when you hot baby take that, take that
Yeah.

Credit: Image by J.ébey, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Two Out of Three Consumers Wear Jewelry to Express Their Personality and Mood: Survey

A new study confirms what most of us already know — that jewelry plays an important role in our daily lives. Two out of three respondents said that they wear specific jewelry pieces to express their personality and mood. And exactly 64% of respondents believe that — to some extent — the symbols used in jewelry have the power to convey emotion or to protect.

These were just two takeaways from a recent survey initiated by The Plumb Club, a coalition of 45 best-in-class suppliers to the jewelry and watch industries.

Consumers noted that when it comes to expressing their personality, 44% prefer traditional or classic styling, 20% select a minimalistic approach, 14% like contemporary jewelry and 12% opt for vintage looks. Trendy or fun styling preferences were cited by 9%.

Approximately 8 out of 10 consumers (78%) said that colorful jewelry lifts their mood, and they define "colorful jewelry" as pieces that contain a single hue of gemstones (43%) or a mix of many hues (42%).

When purchasing colored gemstone jewelry, 41% of respondents said they prefer a somewhat neutral color palette that might work for more outfits, while 31% want a brighter color palette of gems. Multi-color and pastel preferences were split, each at 14%.

Survey respondents said they generally prefer white pearls (53%) over color pearls (24%), and when it comes to styling, 52% said they like classic strands, while 37% said they like more modern looks.

In addition to the research related to jewelry style preferences, the survey also sought to learn how the pandemic was impacting consumers' perception of jewelry.

Exactly 30% of consumers surveyed stated that the pandemic positively impacted their jewelry purchasing, compared to 21% who said that it impacted their purchasing negatively. Just under half (49%) said that their jewelry purchasing levels remained steady.

A surge in virtual meetings has more people conscious of how they look online. Exactly 41% of consumers said they were more tempted to wear jewelry that would be seen on the screen during video meetings and online gatherings.

The research, titled "The Plumb Club Industry and Market Insights 2021," was initiated by The Plumb Club with the help of Paola Deluca, The Futurist and Qualitrics. The study was conducted with a sampling of 1,049 men and women, from the ages of 25-60 with a focus on 10 “test markets” across the US. Respondents had all attended some college or higher, had a combined household income of at least $75K/year and claimed to have either purchased jewelry in the past year and/or were intending to purchase jewelry in the upcoming year.

Credit: Image by Bigstockphoto.com.

Did You Know That the Vibrant Red Spinel Is an Official Birthstone for August?

Back in 2016, the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) and Jewelers of America (JA) announced that spinel would be joining peridot and sardonyx as an official birthstone for the month of August.

It was only the third update to the modern birthstone list, which was created in 1912 by the American National Retail Jewelers Association, now known as JA.

“At certain moments in history, when there is a strong call from gem enthusiasts to expand the list of official birthstones, Jewelers of America believes in recognizing the importance of historically significant gemstones and giving gemstone lovers a choice that suits their preferences,” said JA President and CEO David Bonaparte at the time.

Spinel has been called “the great impostor of gemstone history” because some of the most famous “rubies” seen in crown jewels around the world are actually spinels.

“Ancient gemstone merchants revered spinel, and it was widely sought after by royalty," AGTA CEO Doug Hucker added. “It was then known as ‘balas ruby.’ It wasn’t until the late 18th century that we developed the technology acumen necessary to distinguish spinel as a separate mineral from ruby. We are very excited to announce it as the newest member of the official birthstone list.”

According to the Smithsonian, it wasn’t until 1783 that spinel was recognized as a mineral distinct from corundum (ruby and sapphire). Ruby is composed of aluminum oxide, while spinel is made of magnesium aluminum oxide. Both get their reddish color from impurities of chromium in their chemical structure.

For centuries, royal jewelry “experts” could not tell the difference between a ruby and a spinel.

For instance, the 398-carat ruby-red gem that tops the Imperial Crown of Russia commissioned by Catherine the Great in was thought to be a ruby, but turned out to be a spinel. The 361-carat Timur Ruby, which was presented by the East India Company to Queen Victoria as a gift, was also later identified as a spinel. And the 170-carat Black Prince Ruby, which is prominently displayed on the Imperial State Crown of England, was, in fact, an uncut spinel.

While spinel is best known for its ability to imitate the color of ruby, the gem comes in a variety of colors, including soft pastel shades of pink and purple, fiery oranges, and cool hues ranging from powdery gray to intense blue. It is a durable gem with a hardness of 8.0 on the Mohs scale. By comparison, diamond rates a 10 and ruby rates a 9.

The spinel ring shown, above, was sourced in Tanzania and is now part of the Smithsonian's National Gem Collection. According to the Smithsonian, in 2007, several large spinel crystals were found near Mahenge, Tanzania. The 10.19-carat spinel in the ring exhibits the intense pink-red color and exceptional clarity attributed to this locality. The Smithsonian acquired the ring in 2017.

The Mahenge spinel specimens were unique because they seemed to possess an inner glow, even in low-light conditions. The colors of these spinels ranged from orangey pink to vivid pinkish red to cherry red. Miners searched the Mahenge region extensively for larger deposits of this beautiful gemstone, but came up empty.

Spinels are most commonly sourced in Myanmar, Afghanistan, Brazil, Cambodia, Kenya, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

Credit: Ring photo by Greg Polley/Smithsonian.