Taj Mahal Replica Is Clad in Gold and Silver and Sparkles With 50,000 Gemstones

The majestic Taj Mahal — one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World and arguably its greatest monument of love — required 20,000 laborers, 1,000 elephants and 20 years to complete. By comparison, it took 45 days for 15 artisans to craft a shimmering silver- and gold-clad replica studded with 50,000 diamonds and cubic zirconia.

Called “Wow! Jewel Taj,” the nine-foot-tall replica was presented by the organizers of the Sparkle International jewelry show in Surat, India, to showcase the brilliance of Indian design and craftsmanship.

Organizers boasted that more than 40 pounds of silver and 3.3 pounds of gold were used to adorn the impressive replica, which mimicked the main mausoleum and four towering minarets of the actual Taj Mahal. A Thailand-based firm donated 35,000 cubic zirconia in 8mm, 9mm and 10mm sizes to support the project.

The “Wow! Jewel Taj” artisans were inspired by their visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra, a 42-acre marble mausoleum complex built in the early 17^th century by a grief-stricken Emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial to his beloved wife, Queen Mumtaz Mahal, who died during childbirth.

According to legend, with her dying breath Mumtaz asked her husband to build her a mausoleum more beautiful than any in the world. Six months later, the foundation was laid for the Taj. The tombs of the Emperor and his wife are aligned side-by-side inside this beautiful piece of architecture.

Its original design featured precious gems embedded in its walls. The valuable stones were plundered and looted by the foreign invaders, but the structure remains magnificent. Often called the “Jewel of India,” the Taj Mahal is recognized worldwide as a tribute to unconditional love. More than four million people visit the site every year.

“Wow! Jewel Taj” was intended to be auctioned off to benefit a girl’s education program of the state government, but no bidder was able to meet minimum price of 125 million rupees (about $200,000).

‘Big Bang Theory’ Star Kaley Cuoco’s New Year’s Eve Nuptials Were All About The Bling

“Big Bang Theory” star Kaley Cuoco’s New Year’s Eve nuptials were all about the bling. From her scintillating halo-style engagement ring and twin wedding bands to her bedazzled finger nail and jeweled upside-down chandelier cake, there were so many facets flashing during the reception that new hubby Ryan Sweeting should have been wearing his shades.

Cuoco flaunted her fashionable wedding bands for the first time while seated next to Sweeting on Celebrity Row during the LA Lakers basketball game on Friday. The paparazzi was able to zoom in on the pretty diamond-studded eternity bands that now complement her halo-style engagement ring. It appears Cuoco chose to separate the normally stacked bands so they could flank each side of the engagement ring.

The engagement ring, which we detailed in a September 2013 post, features a 2.5-carat princess-cut center stone in a halo setting. Round accent diamonds are set half-way around the white-metal band and the ring is valued at $65,000.

Attentive to every detail, the 28-year-old Cuoco accessorized her new bridal bling with a point-tipped manicure and a super-studded accent nail on her ring finger. StyleBistro.com reported that Cuoco’s nail artist used a slipper-pink hue on the bride’s fingernails and then applied a glittery silver shade on the nail of her ring finger. Over the silver, she applied 35 rhinestones.

And there was more… Cuoco hired The Butter End Cakery in Los Angeles to build a six-tier wedding cake — dripping with purple rhinestones — that would be suspended upside down from a crystal chandelier. No, this was not your typical upside-down cake.

The size, weight and logistics of hanging (and eventually serving) a six-tier wedding cake upside down required six weeks of planning and execution. The cake designer actually used sandbags to simulate the weight of the cake to test whether or not the chandelier could hold the load.

The only things marginally conventional about the cake were the flavors: Almond with toasted almond cream cheese buttercream frosting on one half and chocolate almond cherry with cherry cream cheese buttercream frosting on the other.

On Twitter, Cuoco thanked baker Kimberly Bailey for creating her “magical chandelier cake.” “Literally hanging above us,” she wrote. “EPIC.”

Also on Twitter this week, Cuoco changed her name to Kaley Cuoco Sweeting.

400 Designs by JAR Highlight Colorful, Gem-Intensive Jewelry Exhibition at NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art

Considered a modern-day Peter Carl Fabergé, jewelry designer Joel Arthur Rosenthal is famous for his uncanny ability to “paint” with gemstones. His awe-inspiring sculptural interpretations of flowers, animals, sea life and even a lowly bagel — some 400 works in all — are on display through March 9 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Tulip brooch, 2008. Rubies, diamonds, pink sapphires, garnets, silver, gold and enamel. Private collection. (PHOTO BY JOZSEF TARI. COURTESY OF JAR, PARIS.)

The 70-year-old Rosenthal, who was born in the Bronx, but who has worked in Paris under the name JAR since 1978, has gained an international following for his uniquely off-beat colorful creations.

It’s as if Rosenthal is painting with a palette of gemstones. In some pieces, there is a distinctive division between the colors, and in others, the colors blend seamlessly. He creates this effect with his precision pavé work, where he sets small stones so close together that they appear as a continuous surface of jewels.

Geranium brooch, 2007. Diamonds, aluminium, silver and gold. Private collection. (PHOTO BY JOZSEF TARI. COURTESY OF JAR, PARIS.)

He has never been afraid to mix precious and non-precious stones, and is as comfortable working in platinum and gold as he is in titanium or aluminum. JAR produces only 80 to 90 pieces a year, which makes them even more precious.

“He’s discriminating, but indiscriminate in his use of gemstones,” exhibition curator Jane Adlin told Forbes magazine. “So he’ll mix very, very fine perfectly cut, perfectly flawless gemstones with some that are not. He will use lesser-quality stones. He will use lesser-known stones. But the outcome is this extraordinary piece of jewelry, which if you just put it on your dresser or your coffee table it would, in fact, be a piece of sculpture.”

Poppy brooch, 1982. Diamond, tourmalines and gold. Private collection. (PHOTO BY KATHARINA FAERBER. COURTESY OF JAR, PARIS).

In May 2012, philanthropist Lily Safra auctioned 18 of her beloved JAR pieces at Christie’s to benefit her charity. The sale yielded nearly $11.5 million and was one of the highest-profile events of Christie’s season. One particular item featured Safra’s 37.2-carat diamond cleverly camouflaged by JAR in the twisting stems of two poppies interpreted in pink and green tourmaline.

Butterfly brooch, 1994. Sapphires, fire opals, rubies, amethysts, garnets, diamonds, silver and gold. Private collection. (PHOTO BY KATHARINA FAERBER. COURTESY OF JAR, PARIS).

His 1994 butterfly brooch includes an impressive list of materials, including sapphires, fire opals, rubies, amethyst, garnets, diamonds, silver and gold.

This is only the second time Rosenthal’s work has been on public display. The first was in London in 2002. The pieces in the current exhibition were nearly all lent by private collectors.

Zebra brooch, 1987. Agate, diamonds, a sapphire, silver and gold. Private collection. (PHOTO BY KATHARINA FAERBER. COURTESY OF JAR, PARIS).

Critics commented that the show would have benefited from more documentation about the individual items, such as the rarity or source of the gems. But, Rosenthal wanted his visitors to focus on his creations without being distracted by explanatory captions or audio guides, according to The Economist.

Lilac brooches, 2001. Diamonds, lilac sapphires, garnets, aluminium, silver and gold. Private collection. (PHOTO BY JOZSEF TARI. COURTESY OF JAR, PARIS.)

Rosenthal’s partner, Pierre Jeannet, summarizes JAR’s process this way: “At every step of the making of a piece, he checks and corrects. And if at the end his eye is not happy, we destroy the piece. But the piece, finished, is not yet at home; his last look is to see that the jewel has gone to the right lady. Then he sighs, his work is done.”

Music Friday: Pink Wants You to Check Out Her ‘Gold Diamond Rings’ in 2001’s ‘Get the Party Started’

Welcome to Music Friday when you bring you fabulous songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today we kick off the New Year with Pink’s 2001 international blockbuster, “Get the Party Started.” In the very first verse of this good-time dance anthem, Pink gives a nod to her fashionable jewelry: “I got lotsa style, got my gold diamond rings.”

Described as “near perfection” by Stylus Magazine, “Get the Party Started” charted in 17 countries and reached #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It was the first single from Pink’s wildly popular second album called Missundaztood. The album sold more than 12 million copies and is her most successful to date.

“Get the Party Started” is considered Pink’s signature song. She often performs it during the encores of live shows.

Alecia Beth Moore (better known as Pink) was born in Pennsylvania in 1979. Originally a member of the girl group Choice, Pink launched her solo career in 2000 with the single, “There You Go.” The rest is history, as she has gone on to become one of the most successful and influential artists of her generation.

"When Alecia Moore debuted in 2000, pop was dominated by long-locked blonds like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson,” wrote Glamour Magazine. “Pink changed the game. Without her, the last 13 years of big-voiced, tough chick music is hard to imagine."

Pink is a three-time Grammy Award winner and was named Billboard magazine’s “Woman of the Year” for 2013. She’s notched 19 top-10 hits in the U.S. and has sold more than 45 million records worldwide as of 2013.

We invite you to slip on your dancing shoes and rock out with Pink as she sings “Get the Party Started.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along. And, yes, this is the family-friendly version of the song…

“Get the Party Started”
Written by Linda Perry. Performed by Pink.

I'm comin' up so you better get this party started
I'm comin' up so you better get this party started

Get this party started on a Saturday night
Everybody's waiting for me to arrive
Sendin' out the message to all of my friends
We'll be looking flashy in my Mercedes Benz
I got lotsa style, got my gold diamond rings
I can go for miles if you know what I mean
I'm comin' up so you better get this party started
I'm comin' up so you better get this party started

Pumping up the volume, breaking down to the beat
Cruisin' through the west side
We'll be checkin' the scene
Boulevard is freakin' as I'm comin' up fast
I'll be burnin' rubber, you'll be kissin' my hands
Pull up to the bumper, get out of the car
License plate says Stunner #1 Superstar

I'm comin' up so you better get this party started
I'm comin' up so you better get this party started
Get this party started

Making my connection as I enter the room
Everybody's chilling as I set up the groove
Pumpin' up the volume with this brand new beat
Everybody's dancing and they're dancing for me
I'm your operator, you can call anytime
I'll be your connection to the party line

I'm comin' up so you better get this party started
I'm comin' up so you better get this party started
I'm comin' up so you better get this party started
I'm comin' up so you better get this party started
Get this party started
Get this party started right now
Get this party started
Get this party started
Get this party started right now

Finest Russian Demantoid Garnets Display Distinctive ‘Horsetail’ Inclusions

Known for their brilliant green color and fiery dispersion, demantoid garnets are unique because their inclusions — usually seen as flaws in other gems — are considered highly coveted aesthetic attributes. Garnet is the official January birthstone.

Distinctive horsetail inclusions that seem to spray out from the center of the stone are markers for the world’s most valuable demantoid garnets, a variety mined in the Ural Mountains of Russia. A beautiful, well-formed inclusion can increase the value of the gemstone considerably, according to the International Color Stone Association.

Demantoid garnet was first discovered in 1886 and became a favorite of Russian royalty and designer Carl Fabergé, who incorporated them into his famous jeweled eggs and other jewelry, such as the pin seen above. Russian mining of demantoid garnet was suspended after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, but finally resumed in the 1970s.

Demantoid gets its name from the Dutch words for “diamond-like.” The stone owes its impressive brilliance to two main factors: A high refractive index and a high dispersion (its ability to separate light into the spectrum of colors). Demantoid's dispersion rating is the highest of all gemstones, including diamond.

The horsetail inclusions are actually golden brown bundles of the mineral chrysotile. They seem to gather in the center of the stone and bend outward like a fireworks display.

Although demantoid garnet is now mined in other parts of the world, including Iran, Namibia, Pakistan, Italy, Madagascar and Canada, the Russian demantoid sets the mark by which all the others are compared.

Demantoid by definition will always be green, but the color range varies from yellowish-green to blue-green. The lighter colors tend to have the most fire and brilliance, but the deeper green colorations tend to fetch the highest prices.

African-origin demantoid tends to be yellowish-green, olive green or brownish, due to higher concentrations of iron. Russian material, on the other hand, is colored by chromium and tends to be vivid green. Demantoid garnets are rarely found in sizes larger than 2 carats.