Winnipeg Blue Bombers' Grey Cup Rings Tell Story of Back-to-Back Championships

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers received their 2021 Grey Cup Championship Rings Saturday night during a soiree held at the exclusive Pinnacle Club at IG Field. The two-tone rings tell the story of the club's back-to-back championships, as well as its stunning 33-25 overtime triumph against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the title game this past December.

Designed in 10-karat gold by Canadian jeweler Baron Championship Rings, the face of the dazzling keepsakes feature the club's iconic "W" logo outlined in blue enamel sitting atop the diamond-studded Grey Cup and surrounded by a contrasting 10K yellow gold halo with raised lettering spelling out the phrase "Grey Cup Champions."

The bottom section of the Grey Cup includes 33 diamonds to represent the number of points scored by the Blue Bombers in their overtime win. Above the Grey Cup, on the shoulder of the ring, is the number "108" to signify the 108th Grey Cup. The word "Winnipeg," a nod to the team's host city, anchors the shoulder on the opposite side.

The outer edge of the ring is lined with 12 round sapphires, representing the organization's total championship wins. There are six on one side and six on the other, all set in yellow gold and separated by the phrases "Blue Bombers" and "Back-to-Back."

One side of the ring displays the player's name, position and jersey number rendered in diamonds over a gridiron background.

The opposite side includes a unique and detailed etching of a real photo of fans taken during the championship season. The fans — famous for being the CFL's loudest — are framed by the IG Field arches and the year 2021.

The team's season record is etched on the outer shank of the ring, while the inner shank is engraved with a personalized message unique to each player.

Also on the inside of the ring is the final score of the 108th Grey Cup along with the initials "FIFO" and the team's slogan, "For The W."

"FIFO" was written on a sign above the doors in the Blue Bombers’ locker room. When spelled out, the acronym summed up the organization’s philosophy when it came to assembling the right group of football players to deliver a championship. A family-friendly translation of the off-color phrase would be "fit in or find your way out."

Assisting in the design process was a committee that included linebacker Adam Bighill, receiver Nic Demski, defensive end Willie Jefferson and Rhéanne Marcoux, the Blue Bombers' Director of Creative & Content.

Credits: Images courtesy of Baron Championship Rings.

Pure Gold Coin Is the Size of a Small Pizza and Weighs More Than Your 3-Year-Old

The Royal Mint has just produced the largest coin in its 1,100-year history to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's historic 70-year reign.

About the size of a small pizza, the one-of-a-kind Platinum Jubilee coin is made of .999 gold and weighs an astonishing 15 kilograms (33.1 pounds). The coin carries a denomination of £15,000, but the value of the precious metal alone is £776,595 ( $982,000).

Instead of being struck between two dies like a standard coin, this 220-millimeter-wide collectible was cut into a solid gold ingot by a high-speed precision milling machine before the processes of burnishing, polishing and frosting were carried out by hand to highlight key design elements. The process took nearly 400 hours of refinement using state-of-the-art engraving and laser technology.

A private UK collector commissioned the coin, which features a bespoke commemorative design that had been personally approved by The Queen, according to The Royal Mint.

“As the largest UK coin to date, the scale and diameter of the piece has allowed us to push the boundaries of minting to produce an exceptional level of relief and detail," said Paul Morgan, Technical Manager at The Royal Mint. "It is a true testament to the expertise and skills of our in-house design and production teams, and their ability to collaborate with the finest artists. The combination of traditional craftsmanship and modern technology has produced a truly one-of-a-kind piece of art.”

The private collector has been a long-standing customer of The Royal Mint and an enthusiastic investor in coins marking moments throughout The Queen’s reign.

"The latest and greatest in my collection is the Platinum Jubilee coin, designed by John Bergdahl and brought to life in 15 kilograms of solid gold," the collector said in a statement. "The beautiful design stands apart as a fitting tribute to Her Majesty’s service to our nation and the craftsmanship is simply breathtaking, ensuring a once-in-a-lifetime moment will live on in history on a UK coin.”

The reverse side depicts a crowned EIIR cypher surrounded by roses, daffodils, thistles and shamrocks, representing the United Kingdom. It also includes a symbolic privy mark of the St. Edward’s Crown worn during Elizabeth's coronation in 1953, positioned above the number "70," in recognition of Her Majesty’s momentous celebration.

On the obverse side of the coin, a special commemorative design depicting The Queen on horseback is engraved on the precious metal.

The Royal Mint has told the story of The Queen’s reign on UK coins since her accession to the throne in 1952, including five definitive portraits of Her Majesty.

Credit: Image courtesy of The Royal Mint.

Music Friday: Justin Bieber Sings, 'If You Got a Diamond for All of Your Passion'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you awesome songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, a reflective Justin Bieber sings about seizing the moment and pursuing one's dreams in his uplifting treatise, “All In It.”

Co-written by Bieber, Jason Boyd, Mark Jackson, Mason Levy and Josh Gudwin, the 2015 tune reminds us that we all have potential to do great things — if we are willing to put in the extra effort.

Bieber sings, “If you got a diamond for all of your passion / Diamond for your dedication / You could be icy like cake / Icy for every occasion / Gotta go hard, yeah / Still don't condone it / Love is a component / You’re the only opponent / Gotta seize the moment.”

“All In It” is featured as a bonus track on Bieber’s fourth studio album, Purpose. The album, which spawned three U.S Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers, was a tremendous commercial and critical success. MTV called the album “lyrically revealing and sonically appealing.” Fans agreed, as the album made its debut at #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 649,000 copies in its first week of release.

For Bieber, the year leading up to the album's release was a time of soul-searching after a tumultuous period of broken relationships and eyebrow-raising behavior. Throughout the 18 compelling tracks of Purpose, Bieber admits his mistakes and challenges himself to be a better man.

Born in London, Ontario, Canada, in 1994, Justin Drew Bieber loved to perform as a kid. In early 2007, he placed second in a local singing competition. Bieber’s mom, Pattie, posted a video of his performance on YouTube, and then added videos of her 12-year-old son singing covers of various R&B songs. It’s been reported that music executive Scooter Braun accidentally clicked on one of Bieber’s videos — thinking he was watching a 20-year-old doing a cover of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.” The impressive performer was, in fact, the pre-teen Bieber.

Braun tracked down the youngster in Canada, and with the permission of Bieber’s mom, introduced him to singer-songwriter Usher, who soon became his mentor. Bieber was then signed by record executive L.A. Reid and the rest is history.

Now 28 years old, Bieber has sold an estimated 150 million records, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He’s earned two Grammy Awards, 18 American Music Awards, 26 Billboard Music Awards, 23 Teen Choice Awards and a record 21 MTV Europe Music Awards.

We hope you enjoy the audio track of “All In It.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“All In It”
Written by Justin Bieber, Jason Boyd, Mark Jackson, Mason Levy and Josh Gudwin. Performed by Justin Bieber.

Don’t do nothin’ ‘less your heart’s in it
Heart’s in it, heart’s in it
Don’t do nothin’ ‘less you’re all in it
All in it, all in it

If you got a 20 for all of your tries
Twenty for all of the times
The times you got back up, woah
Could be a billionaire in a year
That’s how you gotta think ’til you’re there
On the regular

If you got a diamond for all of your passion
Diamond for your dedication
You could be icy like cake
Icy for every occasion
Gotta go hard, yeah
Still don't condone it
Love is a component
You’re the only opponent
Gotta seize the moment

And don’t do nothin’ ‘less your heart’s in it
Heart’s in it, heart’s in it
Don’t do nothin’ ‘less you’re all in it
All in it, all in it
Come again each time
‘Til the water runs dry
Oh don’t do nothin’ ‘less you’re all in it
All in it, all in it

Oh, oh
Oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
All in it, all in it

If I had a guitar missing five strings
A guitar with only one string
I could only play one song, ooh
A simple melody
Simple enough to make the world sing
Strong enough to make your mood swing
You know what I mean

If you got a diamond for all of your passion
Diamond for your dedication
You could be icy like cake
Icy for every occasion
Gotta go hard, yeah
Still don't condone it
Love is a component
You’re the only opponent
Gotta seize the moment

And don’t do nothin’ ‘less your heart’s in it
Heart’s in it, heart’s in it
Don’t do nothin’ ‘less you’re all in it
All in it, all in it
Come again each time
‘Til the water runs dry
Don’t do nothin’ ‘less you’re all in it
All in it, all in it

Oh, oh
Oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh

All in it, all in it

See, growing up, I
I always felt like I had to be the best at everything
Cause I, I just didn’t think I was good enough
And, and maybe if I was good at something that I’d get recognition from that but
I quickly found out that I wasn’t gonna get the recognition that I wanted or that I needed because
Because people aren’t perfect and by not being perfect you sometimes can disappoint people
And with God it’s like he’s perfect
And he never disappoints
So I just get my recognition from him
And give him recognition

Credit: Image by Joe Bielawa, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

'Cullinan Blue Diamond Necklace' Commemorates Largest Diamond Ever Mined

In 1910, Thomas Cullinan, then chairman of the Premier Mine in South Africa, gifted an elaborate necklace to his wife Lady Annie Francis Cullinan to commemorate the discovery of the largest gem-quality diamond ever mined.

About five years earlier, on January 26, 1905, Captain Frederick Wells was conducting a standard inspection of the Premier Mine when a glint off the wall of the mine caught his attention. At first, he thought it was a shard of glass that may have been embedded there by a miner as a practical joke. But, then he pulled out his pocket knife and pried the object from the wall.

What he extracted was the now-famous 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond, which weighed a staggering 621 grams (1.37 pounds) and measured 98mm (3.85 inches) long, 57mm wide and 67mm tall. The chairman sold the diamond to the Transvaal provincial government, which, in turn, presented the stone to Britain’s King Edward VII as a birthday gift in 1907. Wells reportedly received a $10,000 bonus for his discovery.

In February 1908, Joseph Asscher & Co. segmented the Cullinan Diamond into nine major finished stones, each of which was given the name Cullinan and a Roman numeral. Two of the gems are in the British Crown Jewels — the Great Star of Africa (Cullinan I) at 530.4 carats and the Second Star of Africa (Cullinan II) at 317.4 carats. The other seven stones remain in the private collection of Queen Elizabeth II.

Cullinan (1862-1936) was knighted in 1910 in recognition of his contribution to industrial development of South Africa. At about the same time, the chairman presented his beloved wife, Annie (1866-1963), with the Edwardian-style "Cullinan Blue Diamond Necklace" — a feminine and elegant piece set with 243 round colorless diamonds and nine fancy intense blue diamonds. It is said that the nine blue diamonds represent the nine major stones derived from the Cullinan Diamond.

Designed in 9-karat rose gold and silver, the necklace features a detachable double-ribbon bow motif with a dangling pendant that holds the Cullinan Blue Diamond, an oval-cut, natural fancy intense blue diamond that weighs 2.60 carats. The piece's overall diamond total weight is approximately 24.11 carats.

Throughout most of its long history, the Cullinan Blue Diamond Necklace had been bequeathed to the first daughter in each generation of the Cullinan family. That tradition ended in 1992, when Anne Robinson, the great granddaughter of Thomas and Annie Cullinan, sold the necklace to jeweler Stephen Silver, president of Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry, Menlo Park, CA.

The necklace was temporarily exhibited at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, in 1994, and then formally donated by Silver to the National Gem Collection in 2010. The Cullinan Blue Diamond Necklace is currently displayed at the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals, which is part of the National Museum of Natural History.

The Cullinan Blue Diamond and the the Cullinan Blue Diamond Necklace shouldn't be confused with “The De Beers Cullinan Blue,” the 15.10-carat, step-cut, fancy vivid blue diamond that recently came within a whisker of setting a new world record for the priciest vivid blue diamond ever sold at auction.

Now renamed “The De Beers Blue” the stunner achieved a hammer price of $57,471,960 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in late April. That was just short of the $57,541,779 achieved by the 14.62-carat “Oppenheimer Blue” at Christie’s Geneva in 2016.

Credits: Cullinan Blue Diamond Necklace image courtesy of Smithsonian / Chip Clark, and digitally enhanced by SquareMoose. The De Beers Blue diamond photo courtesy of Sotheby's.

Princess Diana's Wedding Tiara to Headline Special Exhibition at Sotheby's London

One of the most memorable tiaras of all time — the one worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, on her wedding day in 1981 — will highlight a Sotheby's London exhibition of more than 50 beautiful and storied headpieces spanning the ages. This is the UK's largest exhibition of tiaras in 20 years and is timed to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, marking her 70 years on the throne.

Dubbed the Spencer Tiara, Diana's wedding day headpiece is described by Sotheby's as a delicate and harmonious series of running scrolls, interspersed with star and trumpet-shaped flowers. Elements of the piece were part of a tiara fabricated for Viscountess Montagu in 1767 and subsequently passed down through generations of the Spencer family.

Diana was said to be particularly found of the heart-shaped section in the center of the tiara because it was given to her grandmother, Lady Cynthia Hamilton, as a wedding present in 1919 when she married Viscount Althorp, the future seventh Earl Spencer.

The current incarnation of the Spencer Tiara was designed by royal jeweler Garrard in 1937 and merges components from the 18th century Montagu jewelry with those from Lady Sarah Spencer’s collection. In addition to wearing the headpiece during her nuptials, Diana reportedly wore it on many subsequent occasions, including state dinners and overseas tours.

Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, loaned the cherished tiara to Sotheby's for the special exhibition. It's the first time the historic Spencer Tiara has been on display in London since the 1960s.

“The Queen’s Jubilee celebrations have given us the perfect opportunity to put on public display an outstanding selection of tiaras from noble and royal provenance, many of which have not been exhibited in decades," noted Kristian Spofforth, head of jewelry at Sotheby’s London. "The sourcing of these jewels has been a labor of love, resulting in an exhibition that showcases the best iterations within the tiara style register, through some of its most famous incarnations – including the much-loved and photographed Spencer Tiara."

Sotheby's exhibition is titled "Power & Image: Royal & Aristocratic Tiaras" and will run from May 28 through June 15 at its London showroom on New Bond Street. Admission is free. The showroom is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and weekends noon until 5 p.m. The exhibition will be closed on June 5.

Credits: Images courtesy of Sotheby's.