Tampa Treasure Hunters Recover Engagement Ring Lost in the Surf for Six Days

After six days of scouring the surf at Egmont Key on Florida's Gulf Coast, a brokenhearted Isliany Rawshdeh was nearly ready to give up her quest to find her cherished engagement ring — an irreplaceable custom keepsake that was lost on Memorial Day.

But, instead of throwing in the towel, the St. Petersburg, FL, resident acted on a tip and reached out to the West State Archeological Society, a Tampa-based club comprising amateur treasure hunters dedicated to preserving Florida history. Utilizing their keen skills and advanced equipment, the team was able to rescue the young woman's ring.

Rawshdeh couldn't have imagined that a joyful Memorial Day romp at the beach would be quickly turning into a nightmare. She had been playing volleyball in about five feet of water when her engagement ring went flying off her hand.

“I was like ‘Oh my God, no! I can’t believe this is happening.’ I told everyone not to move. ‘Please don’t move. We are going to find it,'” Rawshdeh told Tampa-based CW44.

Nearby beachgoers assisted in the search, but their efforts were in vain.

“People were snorkeling. We even got someone with a metal detector right quick and we couldn’t’ find anything,” she said.

Rawshdeh's determination to find the ring was motivated by what the one-of-a-kind ring symbolized to her and her family. It was custom made by her husband and his design included many special elements.

“Like everything has a meaning in the ring, so we were really devastated,” said Rawshdeh.

Jim Thobe, the president of the West State Archeological Society, acknowledged to CW44 that finding an engagement ring was a unique challenge for his group. They most often search for historical artifacts and coins.

Thobe assembled his members and they worked as a team to find Rawshdeh's ring. After a few hours on the scene, metal detectorist Mike picked up a signal and dug the ring out of the sandy bottom.

Mike gave the ring to Rawshdeh's husband, who saw this as a great opportunity for a surprise second proposal.

Rawshdeh explained how it went down… “He sat next to me and he kissed me and he says, ‘Sometimes life just smiles at you,' and put the ring on my finger again."

Credits: Screen captures via CW44 Tampa Bay.

54-Carat 'Chrysler Diamond' Edges Out 'Dancing Sun' As Top Lot at Christie's NY

Framed by an oversized graphic of New York City's iconic Chrysler Building, auctioneer Rahul Kadakia slammed his hammer down to close out the bidding on the top lot at Christie's Magnificent Jewels event on Tuesday. It was 1:25 in the afternoon, and the 54.03-carat "Chrysler Diamond" — Lot 136 — had just fetched $5.07 million, narrowly edging out the 204.36-carat "Dancing Sun" diamond, which earned $4.95 million 90 minutes earlier in the session.

Based on Christie's choice of background graphics, the New York auction house clearly anticipated that the Chrysler Diamond would be the star of the high-profile event. The internally flawless diamond had been owned by Thelma Chrysler, the daughter of industrialist Walter Chrysler, who self-financed the 1,046-foot-tall Chrysler Building, an Art Deco marvel that was, for a short time in 1930, the tallest building in the world.

As the heir to the Chrysler fortune, Thelma became a prominent figure in New York high society. Her wardrobe was so spectacular that much of it was bequeathed to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art before her death in 1957.

Among Thelma's prized possessions was the pear-shaped Chrysler Diamond, which was then known as the Louis XIV diamond and weighed 62 carats. Later, under the direction of luxury jeweler Harry Winston, the Chrysler Diamond was recut to achieve the highest potential color and clarity of D-flawless. At 58.6 carats, the newly trimmed stone was mounted as the centerpiece of a tiara, which included six pear-shaped diamonds totaling 22 carats and 233 smaller diamonds weighing 120 carats.

Christie's reported that the opulent headpiece was exhibited in 1962 at the Louvre in Paris as part of the museum’s "Ten Centuries of French Jewels" exhibition.

Just a year later, the Chrysler Diamond was removed from the headpiece and paired with a second diamond weighing 61.08 carats. The pair of diamonds — now called "The Geminis" — were made into matching earrings and sold to Canadian socialite Eleanor Loder. During this time, the original Chrysler Diamond was recut to its current size of 54.03 carats.

In 1983, the earrings were acquired by a private collector, who chose to separate the Geminis and, instead, highlight the Chrysler Diamond as the centerpiece of a regal necklace adorned with 43 brilliant-cut, pear-shaped diamonds.

Bidding on the Chrysler Diamond started at $2.6 million and edged up in increments of $200,000, finally topping out at $4.2 million. With the Buyer's Premium, the final price was $5.07 million.

Two hours earlier, bidding on Lot 68, The Dancing Sun, also started at $2.6 million. Bidding accelerated in increments of $200,000, then $100,000 and then $50,000 until the price settled at $4.1 million. With the Buyer's Premium, the final price was $4.95 million.

The Fancy Intense Yellow, cushion modified brilliant-cut, VVS2-clarity gem had been cut from a rough stone called "552," a name that was a nod to its enormous 552.74-carat size. The gem had been unearthed at the Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada's Northwest Territories and has the distinction of being the largest rough diamond ever discovered in North America.

The winner bidders for the Chrysler Diamond and The Dancing Sun were not immediately revealed.

Credits: Screen capture via christies.com; Images courtesy of Christie's.

San Diego Padres' 'Swagg Chain' Honors Home Run Hitters and Player of the Game

Borrowing an idea from college football's Miami Hurricanes, the San Diego Padres recently unveiled the "Swagg Chain," a 10-inch tall, two-inch thick pendant emblazoned with 8,000 yellow and brown semi-precious stones. A player gets to wear the pendant if he hits a home run or is chosen as the Player of the Game. The piece features a spinning "SD" logo.

Made from 3,500 grams (7.7 pounds) of gold-plated sterling silver, the "Swagg Chain" resulted from a collaboration between Padres third baseman Manny Machado and New York-based luxury jeweler Gabriel Jacobs, who owns Rafaello & Co.

Jacobs pitched the idea to his long-time friend Machado during spring training in Arizona.

The jeweler told Fox 5 San Diego that he wanted to bring some swag to Major League Baseball.

"It's the oldest pastime sport in America," he said. "We wanted to give it a little flair, a bit of excitement, you know?"

Jacobs said that he and Machado traded design ideas, sending pictures back and forth. It was Machado's idea to include the spinning "SD" feature.

Back in 2017, the University of Miami football team introduced the "Turnover Chain," a massive, gem-encrusted pendant that was awarded to a defender who made an interception or fumble recovery. The chain featured a diamond-encrusted “U” hanging from a Cuban link chain. Shaped like the state of Florida, the 2020 edition of the chain was dotted with 4,000 orange, green and white sapphires set in 10-karat yellow gold.

In late May, slugger Fernando Tatis wore the "Swagg Chain" after the Padres' 9-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners, a game that included two Tatis dingers.

“Oh man, it’s amazing. We played good, and we deserve to look good,” Tatis said of the new bling. “It’s team bonding. We’re pushing for each other and we’re just having fun so far.”

Despite being pressed by a Fox 5 reporter, Jacobs would not reveal the value of the "Swagg Chain."

Credits: Screen captures via Youtube.com; Instagram.com/rafaelloandco.

Music Friday: A Polished Diamond Is Feeling Kinda Rough in Heart’s ‘There’s the Girl’

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today we feature the incomparable Wilson sisters — also known as Heart — performing “There’s the Girl,” a song about a "diamond" of a guy who keeps returning to a toxic relationship.

The first lines of “There’s the Girl” go like this: “You’re a polished diamond / Now you’re feeling kinda rough / Yes I know how long you been searching / for the perfect touch.”

Co-writers Nancy Wilson and Holly Knight use diamond metaphors to describe a guy who can’t get over an old flame even though she’s a “complete disaster.” He’s a polished diamond (a great guy), and the prospect of reconnecting with his ex-girlfriend has his heart beating faster. But Wilson knows this situation is not going to end well.

At the Albany, NY, Palace Theater in 2015, Wilson explained why she wrote the song for her best friend back in the 1980s.

"My guy friend fell in love with a terribly wrong girl," she told the audience. "And when you're best friends you can't really make the mistake for them. You just have to stand by and watch it happen."

“There’s the Girl” is special to Heart fans because the lead vocals are performed by guitarist Nancy Wilson, not Ann, whose towering voice has been a hallmark of the band since it was established in Seattle, WA, in 1967. In fact, many fans never realized Nancy sang the lead vocals for this song until they saw the music video or were lucky enough to attend a Heart performance.

“There’s the Girl” is the third track from Heart’s ninth studio album, Bad Animals. In 1987, it climbed as high as #12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart — one of 20 Top-40 singles credited to the band. Over their illustrious careers, the Wilson sisters have sold more than 35 million records worldwide. They scored seven Top-10 albums and earned four Grammy nominations. Heart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.

The sisters revealed in an interview that they were both inspired to form a rock band when they saw the Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.

“The lightning bolt came out of the heavens and struck Ann and me the first time we saw the Beatles,” Nancy Wilson told Maura Kelly of Believer Magazine in 2007. “There’d been so much anticipation and hype about the Beatles that it was a huge event, like the lunar landing. That was the moment Ann and I heard the call to become rock musicians.”

We know you will enjoy the official video of “There’s the Girl.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“There’s the Girl”
Written by Holly Knight and Nancy Wilson. Performed by Heart.

You’re a polished diamond
Now you’re feeling kinda rough
Yes I know how long you been searching
for the perfect touch
You better hear what I say
I can tell your eyes are just about to
give you away

Cause there’s the girl
that you were after
Feel your heart beating faster now
There’s the girl that you were after
Can you say that you don’t
want her anymore

Just take my word now
Cause you know it’s true
she ain’t good enough
for the likes of you
You better hear what I say
I can tell your eyes are just about
to give you away

Cause there’s the girl
that you were after
Feel your heart beating faster now
There’s the girl that you were after
And all the time you can’t get past her
There’s the girl that you were after
Broken glass, complete disaster
There’s the girl that you were after
Can you say that you don’t
want her anymore

I believed you once
When you explained
That it wasn’t so tough
To forget her name

Cause there’s the girl
that you were after
Feel your heart beating faster now
There’s the girl that you were after
And all the time you can’t get past her
There’s the girl that you were after
Broken glass, complete disaster
There’s the girl that you were after
Can you say that you don’t
want her anymore

There’s the girl
There’s the girl
There’s the girl
There’s the girl

Credit: Image by Strange euphoria93, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

June’s Birthstone: These Pearls Were a 1840 Presidential Gift From the Imam of Muscat

Back in April 1840, the ship Sultanee arrived in New York Harbor loaded with exotic gifts for President Martin Van Buren. The valuable offerings included two magnificent Arabian horses, a case of rose oil, five demijohns of rose water, four Cashmere shawls, ivory, wild animal skins, Arabian dates, a bale of Persian rugs, a gold-mounted sword and a long string of 148 natural pearls sourced in the Persian Gulf.

The US had recently signed a Treaty of Friendship and Commerce with the Sultanate of Oman, and the Imam of Muscat's generosity was a way for him to curry favor with Van Buren. Oman had always been fiercely independent and feared the encroaching British Empire.

When the lavish gifts had arrived in the US, the Congress debated whether or not Van Buren could accept them at all. The Constitution generally forbids it, so the eventual compromise was that he could accept them — not as a private citizen, but in his official government role.

The cache of natural pearls was fashioned into a luxurious necklace and worn by Van Buren's 22-year-old daughter-in-law, Sarah Angelica Van Buren, who was had been the acting First Lady because the president's wife had passed away in 1819 and he never remarried.

When the incumbent lost his bid for a second term in late 1840, he deposited the pearl necklace at the National Institute Gallery in the US Patent Office.

According to the Smithsonian, about a year later, on December 20, 1841, a thief broke into the “treasure room” at the National Institute Gallery and stole, among other things, the necklace made from the pearls given by the Imam.

The necklace was recovered, but eventually the Patent Commissioner sealed all the valuables in a metal box and deposited it in the U.S. Treasury.

The items were finally transferred to the Smithsonian in the 1880s. Even then, a thief armed with a Bowie knife and chloroform made a failed attempt to overcome a Smithsonian watchman to steal the valuables.

Today, the necklace is part of the historic First Ladies Collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. With more than 1,000 objects, the collection documents the lives and contributions of America’s first ladies (and acting first ladies).

In her official portrait, Sarah Angelica Van Buren is wearing pearls around her neck and on her head. The pearls in the portrait don't appear to match the ones gifted by the Imam.

Natural pearls are among the rarest of all gems. In fact, experts believe the odds of opening a random oyster in the wild and finding a natural saltwater pearl is 1 in 100,000. What’s more, if someone was lucky enough to amass a small collection of natural pearls, there’s hardly a chance that they’d match in terms of size, shape, color and luster. This is why the round and near-round pearls gifted by the Imam more than 180 years ago are so special.

June’s official gemstone — the pearl — is unique among all gem types because it is the only one formed entirely within a living creature. Natural pearls occur when an irritant enters the oyster’s shell. To protect itself from the foreign body, the mollusk secretes layers of nacre, which, over time, become a lustrous pearl. To form a cultured pearl, a shell bead is surgically implanted into the mollusk to induce nacre production.

Credits: Natural pearls by NMNH Photo Services. Portrait of Angelica Van Buren by Henry Inman, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.