http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/africa/7628475.stm

"Miners in Lesotho have discovered a huge gem stone which may become the largest ever polished round diamond....could sell for tens of millions of dollars..."

I guess the question I have is...how, in a rational world, could a li'le piece of rock be worth THAT much money? It's a piece of frickin' carbon guys, c'mon!

So...what's the most you've ever spent on a chunk o' crystal?

Shame it is probably a blood diamond.

However, I wouldn't turn it down if I found it in my Christmas stocking.

The only gemstone I have ever paid for was for an amethyst and diamond ring for £140, which I don't even wear!

thats a corker. i would prefer to have it uncut to be honest. uncut gems look far nicer. pigeon blood rubies are the way forwards - they have some in the vault here at the NHM and they are beyond stunning in thier uncut form.

lee

Haven't spent any money myself on sparkly things, though I've been fortunate enough to have been given sparkly stuff, most notably my Eternity Ring from Vert

I always liked Welsh Cariad rings but never bought one.

The most precious I have is my Great Gran's ruby engagement ring. I love rubies and diamonds as a combination. She also left me a clouded amber bead necklace from Mesopotamia which I used to sleep wearing when I felt blue.

Oooh, though my ex bought be a stunning moonstone necklace once - truly beautiful and one of the few pieces of jewellery I still carry around hoping for a chance to wear. It's right up there with my hand-made seashell necklace

Snowflake obsidian was always a weakness - I think I bought an obelisk for about £10 at a pagan fair once. Bastards. Ever notice the trap there? You walk in feeling flush and walk out flat broke...

I have no bling.

I have nothing shiney, I have nothing in the precious or semi-precious stone range. In all honesty I'm not into shiney. I find most rings and things like that kinda garish. Simple metal appeals to me more, but I dont have any of those either I once saw an engagement ring that I thought was beautiful. But I've never owned one and can say with an almost 100% certainty, never will.

The most I've spent on myself is probably...£25? My mum spent about £60 on a pair of antique moonstone earrings for my 21st birthday, which I picked out, along with a labradorite ring that was about £30, though.

It turned out I'm allergic to the earrings, which is a bit of a bummer. Mum bought me an almost identical pair (silver, this time, instead of gold - which I prefer) as a gift after I had my son to replace them. They cost considerably less...

My engagement ring and the ring I inherited from my gran are probably the most expensive pieces I own. Both are platinum and diamond. My granny's ring is insured for £1,500, not sure what Mr Seren spent on the engagement ring.

And you can burn it away to nothing...
I've got no bling. I do like sparkley things but I prefer cheap glass ones. That way I don't feel too bad if I lose them. As I often do...
BM
xx

I spent £80 on a quartz ball ( about the size of a tennis ball ) but I do love it.

I think the most I've spent on jewellery was £90 on a cabochon amethyst ring, and about the same for a pink and green tourmaline pendant which looks a bit like a chrysalis. I do love jewellery but mainly symbolic stuff, only silver and only semi-precious stones. Diamonds do nothing for me at all - too Liberace

I have tons of jewellery and stones, I have magpie like tendencies towards anything sparkly, colourful or shiny and as far as I am concerned I can never have enough

I am always skint though, so I don't have anything really expensive. I don't think I have ever spent more than about £20 on a single item, perhaps my fluorite sphere which was £21.50, but it is a fair size... about 5 inches in diameter maybe, and a good couple of kilos in weight. That was the trade price though, cos I was buying for our stall at the same time, I would never have paid the retail price for it, lol

Some of the rocks and stuff I have lying around I have found when out and about, and some I have bought - but I never pay much for them.

As for jewellery, I buy myself the cheapo tat that costs a couple of quid but it isn't the end of the world if I lose it. I have made a fair bit of stuff out of silver myself, I didn't keep any of my gold work but I do have a platinum and sapphire pendant I made - never got around to having it hallmarked though, couldn't afford the fee after I bought the materials, lol

I do have some nice jewellery, but that is mostly pressies. My mum worked in a good jewellers for years so I have a lot of stuff from there. I think my favourites would be my tanzanite and gold ring which was a 21st present, and the garnet and diamond ring I got a couple of xmases ago.

**Minty likes sparkly things**

Seriously though. I do have alot of really nice pieces, 90% of which are silver (not keen on yellow gold, I never feel comfy wearing it).

I have a huge silver cuff bracelet, it's about 2.5 inches wide and cost me £90...I love it, it's all filigree and flowers. I love crystals, too...moonstones are my fave and I have some nice ones (a ring and pendants).


The most expensive thing I've bought, though was for someone else (my Mum) and it was a huge gold charm bracelet and it cost me nearly £300!

The limit for buying for myself these days is usually £50, and that is my upper limit (unless I have some spare cash, which I never do )

There are definitly some shiny things I like and others I have no use for... for example I really have no love for dimonds or yellow gold and generally big rocks don't do it for me I prefure coloured stones and subtle designs.

I have a few pieces that are heirlooms - gods know how much they are worth as some are really old and / or from places which now don't make such things... amoungst these are some extereamly fine Burmise silver filigree and the ring my Gentleman had refurbished as my engadement ring which has peurls and rubies set in a leaf design ring. But the reality is no matter how much moneiterily they are worth, it compares not at all with thier value as memories and sentimental.

As for items I have baught for myself, I never have gone mad. Most are silver set and only use semi precious stones, I have a tormaline pendant, a few pairs of stud mounted earrings and a v. small labralite (sp) ball - and that is about it.

In part because I am aware of the damage both to land, enviroment and man that the extraction and processing of these things causes, I am reluctant to get more - plus I rarely wear or have place to wear such things.

I did though, commission a piece to be made for my wedding, a broach in the form of gold and silver entwined ivy leaves. Something that for me is full of symbology and probably the most pagan and magical item I own...

Be bright,be bold
Fillionous

Look after that one Storm its worth a small fortune now, the tanzanite is rising in price every year now due to the distint lack of it from the mines

I will definitely be looking after it, it is really good quality tanzanite as it came from the poncey jewellers my mum worked in - we were lucky to be able to buy stuff at trade prices while she worked there, and for quite a long time after she left

When I got it there was nowhere else that sold tanzanite, I was a bit miffed when it started appearing all over the shopping channels, lol, as I do like to have things that are a bit different! But it is a gorgeous ring, and well looked after

I am with you all silver for me too.
most of my jewelry is in the form of hand made beads and things.
my grandmother left me a gold locket, i do wear it but only when i need to look formal.
i recently bought a lorimar [sp] pendent for £28, but didnt get a chain as pennies are tight.
I could however spend a fortune on some sites as the pagan jewelry is both bewitching and beautiful.

I don't look at jewellery sites anymore...I just get depressed at all the lovely things that I can't afford

*whistles* nice piece of diamond there

The most i have ever spent on a crystal/gemstone i think is about £8 which was a huge chunk of malachite.
My hubby bought my engagement ring and only then that was only £20 sterling silver cubic zirconia ring (I am not a fussy lass)

So do we all feel as thrilled about the idea of Taquila Diamonds?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/americas/7725815.stm

"A method of producing synthetic diamonds using tequila - Mexico's favourite alcoholic drink - has been discovered, scientists there say.

The amazing discovery was made by physicists from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and could have many industrial uses.

There is one catch however. The synthetic diamond crystals are too small to be turned into jewellery."

Which is probably a good thing - hardly romantic

Seems like a waste of tequila if you ask me Perhaps if they could produce bigger stones, but there are already plenty of synthetic diamonds out there anyway

Don't do bling myself, but have recently brought my other half a serious rock in a ring when we were in India (as an engagement/handfasting ring) - its a star ruby.

Labradorite (la-bra da ite)


Larimar (Lar-ah-mar)

I don't like gem quality crystals considering the human cost over the years as well as the sheer money cost.

I don't own much valuable in a bling kind of way, I tend to buy them for their energetic or healing properties (some here don't believe in them, but they work for me). Most expensive bit was £45/50 and it was for a friend. Green star Diopside in a ring.

I wouldn't mind some Tanzanite tho.

Most expansive non jewellery tho.... about £250

I own tons of crystal, all different types, shapes and sizes. When it comes to jewellery, I prefer silver to gold and I adore amber, although I do have other gem quality stones in the old jewellery box. The most I have spent on myself for jewellery was £45.00 and that was for an amber ring, custom designed and made for me. The most I've had spent on me for jewellery was £270.00 for my blue Topaz engagement ring, which has been consigned to the jewellery box because the gold (I didn't get a choice) has worn quite thin and the ring would need to be remodelled to make it safe to wear without it snapping again. The most I've spent on a non-jewellery item was £65.00 for a quartz crystal ball, with a stand and a soft velvet cloth bag to carry the ball in. I've priced these up since, so I know I've got a hell of a bargain with that. The shop I bought it from closed down six months later, but that wasn't my fault, I promise! xx