Tay Dome Basks in the Glow of Oval-Cut Diamond Ring From Actor Taylor Lautner

More than a week after accepting a romantic marriage proposal from Twilight star Taylor Lautner, newly engaged Tay Dome was still basking in the glow of her oval-cut diamond engagement ring.

"I can get used to this view," she captioned an Instagram selfie of her outstretched left hand, against the backdrop of her famous fiancé.

The 29-year-old actor had popped the question to his registered nurse girlfriend on 11.11.21 and celebrated a few days later at the DAOU Vineyards in Paso Robles, CA. Both Lautner and Dome shared photos of their romantic getaway, and in a number of photos the ring was front and center.

In one photo, Lautner is holding a wine glass with his left hand while pointing at the 23-year-old's ring with his right hand. His fianceé smiles as she looks straight into the camera with her ring finger extended straight up. In his caption, Lautner shared with his 7.1 million Instagram followers just how much Dome has changed his life.

He wrote, "Cannot wait to spend forever with you @taydome You love me unconditionally. You don't put up with my [stuff]. You calm me when I'm anxious. You make me laugh way too much. You make every single day spent with you so special. And most importantly, you make me a better person. I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve brought to my life. I love you forever."

The November 11 proposal took place at Lautner's home in a room strewn with rose petals and lit by a fireplace and white candles. A pink neon sign above the fireplace spelled out "Lautner" in script.

Lautner posted a pic of the scene and captioned it, “11.11.2021 … And just like that, all of my wishes came true.”

According to People.com, Lautner and Dome went public with their relationship three years ago during the Halloween season. Lautner posted to his Instagram page a photo of the couple wearing matching costumes.

Credits: Images via Instagram.com / taydome.

Lawmaker Sponsors Bill to Make Amethyst the Official Gemstone of Pennsylvania

Lawmaker Thomas Mahaffie is advancing a bill to make amethyst the official gemstone of Pennsylvania. Twenty-seven of the 50 states currently have a gemstone to call their own, and the state representative from Dauphin County believes that The Keystone State deserves one, as well.

In a legislative memo, Mahaffie outlined why amethyst is the best choice.

"Pennsylvania is well known for its variety of vast mineral deposits and the mines that work them," he wrote. "Among these is quartz, the most beautiful type of which is the vibrant, purple gemstone, amethyst."

Mahaffie also noted that amethysts are featured in the tiara used to crown the winner of the Miss Pennsylvania pageant. The tiara boasts 92 carats of amethysts, including a keystone-shaped primary jewel weighing 37 carats. The tiara is the subject of great pride because the gems and gold used to fabricate it were contributed by jewelers throughout the state.

"The official symbols of the Commonwealth are important because they help to differentiate our state from others," he continued. "Most states have an official state dog, tree and flower, etc., all of which help to show what is important to that state."

Mahaffie added one more piece of purple passion to his argument.

“Coincidentally, the state plant of Pennsylvania is Penngift Crownvetch, commonly known as “‘Purple Crown,’” he wrote. “How fitting that Pennsylvania is represented by the beauty of the attractive purple blooms of the state plant ‘Purple Crown’ and the radiant purple amethyst gemstones of the ‘Purple Crown’ worn by Miss Pennsylvania.”

According to Thoughtco.com, 27 states currently claim an official gemstone. New Hampshire has smoky quartz, Idaho has star garnet and Maine has tourmaline, to name a few.

If the measure — HB 777 — passes through the House and Senate, Pennsylvania will become the second state to anoint amethyst as its official gemstone. The other is South Carolina.

Also included in Mahaffie's bill is a proposal to make celestite the state's official mineral. First discovered in Pennsylvania in 1791, the pale blue mineral gets its name from the Latin word for "celestial."

"I believe that denoting celestite, more commonly referred to as celestine, as the state mineral will not only pique the interest of school children across the state to learn more about Pennsylvania and its rich environment, but will also help educate the public about a uniquely beautiful mineral," Mahaffie wrote.

Celestite has been found in Pennsylvania's Blair, Juniata, Lycoming, Northumberland, Huntingdon and Mifflin counties. Deposits of amethyst are present in the state's southeastern counties of Lancaster, Chester and Delaware.

Credits: Amethyst image by Marie-Lan Taÿ Pamart, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Celestite image by Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Music Friday Flashback: Seals & Crofts' 'Diamond Girl' Shines Like A Precious Stone

Welcome to another Music Friday Flashback, when we bring you classic tunes with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, we feature Seals & Crofts performing their Summer of ’73 hit, “Diamond Girl.”

Using gemstone imagery to describe a girl who is perfect in their eyes, Jimmy Seals and Dash Crofts sing, “Diamond Girl – you sure do shine / Glad I found you – glad you’re mine / Oh my love, you’re like a precious stone / Part of earth where heaven has rained on.”

The Texas-born Seals and Crofts are famous for their lush harmonies, spiritual lyrics and a string of chart-toppers in the 1970s. Their songs are said to be influenced by the teachings of the Bahá’í faith.

Coming off their success with “Summer Breeze” in 1972, the duo was back in the studio one year later with “Diamond Girl.”

Released as the title track of Seals & Crofts' fifth studio album, the single reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album also was a huge success, as it rose to #4 on the Billboard 200 chart. A second charting single from the album was “We May Never Pass This Way Again,” which topped out at #21.

The duo had a strong run through the 1970s, but disbanded in 1980. They reunited briefly in 1991 and then again in 2004, when they released their final album, Traces.

Seals & Crofts’ fans may not know that Jim Seals is the brother of Dan Seals, who was “England Dan” in the duo England Dan and John Ford Coley (“I’d Really Love to See You Tonight,” 1976). In the early and mid-2000s, Jim Seals toured with his brother under the name, Seals & Seals

Another interesting bit of trivia: Seals and Crofts both belonged to the group The Champs (“Tequila,” 1958) in the late 1950s and early 1960s, before going out on their own.

Jim Seals turned 80 on October 17. Dash Crofts celebrated his 81st birthday on August 14.

Please check out the video of Seals & Crofts performing “Diamond Girl” live on The Midnight Special in 1973. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Diamond Girl”
Written by Jim Seals and Dash Crofts. Performed by Seals & Crofts.

Diamond Girl – you sure do shine
Glad I found you – glad you’re mine
Oh my love, you’re like a precious stone
Part of earth where heaven has rained on

Makes no difference where you are
Day or nighttime you’re like a shinin’ star
And how could I shine without you
When it’s about you that I am

Diamond Girl – roamin’ wild
Such a rare thing – radiant child
I could never find another one like you
Part of me is deep down inside you

Can’t you feel the whole world’s a-turnin’
We are real and we are a-burnin’
Diamond Girl now that I’ve found you
It’s around you that I am

Diamond Girl – you sure do shine
Diamond Girl – you sure do shine
Diamond Girl – you sure do shine
Diamond Girl – you sure do shine

Credit: Image by Warner Brothers Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Ancient Amethyst Ring Unearthed in Israel May Have Been Worn to Ward Off Drunkenness

When an amethyst ring dating back 1,500 years was unearthed in Yavne, Israel, near the site of the largest winery of the Byzantine period (330-1453 AD), archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority were quick to point out the obvious connection.

You see, in ancient times it was believed that amethyst jewelry could protect its wearer from intoxication and ward off the effects of a hangover. The word "amethyst," in fact, comes from the Greek word "amethystos," which literally means "not drunken."

"Did the person who wore the ring want to avoid intoxication due to drinking a lot of wine?" asked Dr. Elie Haddad, the director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. "We probably will never know."

The director noted that the ring was found just 150 meters from the remains of a long warehouse, which was used to store tall wine jars, called "amphorae." These jars had long, narrow necks and handles on each side.

Weighing 5.11 grams, the gold ring is bezel set with a cabochon cut amethyst. Despite being buried for more than 1,500 years, the ring and the stone are in remarkably good shape.

The popularity of amethyst dates back thousands of years. The pretty purple stone is mentioned in the Old Testament as one of the 12 precious stones worn by the high priest of the Temple on his ceremonial breastplate.

“The person who owned the ring was affluent, and the wearing of the jewel indicated their status and wealth,” noted Dr. Amir Golani, an expert on ancient jewelry at the Israel Antiquities Authority. “Such rings could be worn by both men and women.”

It is possible that the impressive ring belonged to the owner of the warehouse, a foreman, or simply to an unlucky merchant, who dropped it en route to the winery.

The researchers are still debating when the ring was actually fabricated. The material at the a dig site dates back to the 7th century AD, but it is possible that the ring, due to its beauty and prestige, had been handed down from generation to generation over the centuries. Gold rings inlaid with amethyst stone are known in the Roman world, and it is possible that the ring had belonged to the elites who lived in the city as early as the 3rd century AD.

“The small, everyday finds that are discovered in our excavations tell us human stories and connect us directly to the past," said Eli Eskozido, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority. “It is exciting to imagine that the man or woman to whom the ring belonged, walked right here, in a different reality to what we know in today's city of Yavne.”

Credit: Image courtesy of Israel Antiquities Authority/Dafna Gazit.

Unstable Deep-Earth Mineral Survives Journey to Surface Trapped Within a Diamond

An unstable, deep-Earth mineral that shouldn't be able to exist on the surface has been found inside a diamond.

“It’s the strength of the diamond that keeps the inclusions at high pressure,” Oliver Tschauner, a geochemist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told Live Science.

Before the discovery, davemaoite existed theoretically.

Under extreme pressure and heat, it presents as calcium silicate perovskite, but degrades into other minerals when it moves toward the surface and pressure decreases.

The tiny spec of davemaoite was able to make to 400-plus-mile journey to the surface — and stay intact — because it was trapped within a diamond.

As diamonds form hundreds of miles beneath the Earth’s crust, tiny bits of their surrounding environment can be trapped inside. What’s particularly unique about diamonds is that the inclusions will remain under the same pressure as they were during the time they were encapsulated.

Diamonds can be blasted hundreds of miles to the surface during volcanic eruptions. The vertical superhighways that take the diamonds on their journey are called kimberlite pipes.

“Diamond is a remarkable vessel for sampling the geochemistry of the deep mantle,” Steven Jacobsen, a mineral physicist at Northwestern University, told EOS.org in 2018, “because of its ability to seal off trapped inclusions from the reactive environment during ascent, like a tiny indestructible spaceship.”

Named after scientist Ho-kwang ‘Dave’ Mao, davemaoite was approved as a new mineral by the International Mineralogical Association. Mao is famous for his pioneering discoveries in the field of high-pressure geochemistry and geophysics.

Scientists confirmed the presence of davemaoite in the diamond by using a technique known as synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The researchers focused a high-energy beam of X-rays on the inclusions within the diamond and then measured the angle and intensity of the returning light. Those results revealed a distinctive chemical signature of what was inside. The davemaoite inclusions measured just a few micrometers (millionths of a meter) in size.

While most diamonds are formed under intense pressure and heat at a depth of 93 to 124 miles, the diamond encasing the davemaoite material was likely formed 400-plus miles below the surface. The greenish, octahedral-shaped deep-Earth diamond samples studied by Tschauner and his team had been unearthed at the Orapa mine in Botswana.

Scientists believe that davemaoite is one of three main minerals in Earth’s lower mantle and makes up 5% to 7% of the material in the mantle. Davemaoite is believed to be part of the group of minerals that helps manage how heat moves and cycles through the deep Earth.

Credit: Image by Aaron Celestian, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.