GIA offers no-cost confirmation service

(CARLSBAD, Calif.) - GIA continues to work closely with its database support contractor TCS and the Indian police to further the investigation of this fraud against the trade.

The two former TCS employees who made the unauthorized changes to the GIA grading information database were arrested and GIA has suspended the client accounts through which the diamonds in question were submitted. The police investigation continues; GIA will share new information about the investigation that arises.

(IDEX Online News) – It’s never too early to start planning the perfect Christmas dinner, and what better way to celebrate the festive season than with a set of six luxury Christmas crackers. But forget paper hats and a joke, these crackers each contain a valuable cut diamond.

Available through VeryFirstTo, the precious prices include a 3-carat oval-cut E / VS1 diamond valued at £113,000 ($171,000), a 3-carat F / VS1 princess-cut stone worth £127,000 ($192,000), an F / VS 3.5-carat step-cut stone priced at £137,000 ($207,100), a round E / VS2 stone valued at...

(WASHINGTON) - Holiday shoppers were on their feet and online early over the Thanksgiving weekend as millions of people grabbed their friends and family and made the trek to their favorite stores, or sat down with their lists ready for some serious online shopping.

According to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) Thanksgiving Weekend Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, more than 151 million people said they shopped either in stores and/or online over the weekend. This compares to the 136 million, who in a mid-November survey, said they planned to shop over the weekend. Specifically, nearly 102 million people say they shopped in stores over the Thanksgiving weekend, and more than 103 million say they shopped online.

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With Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Small Business Saturday now in your rear view mirror, you’re probably wondering what momentum is going to carry you through the last 5 weeks of the year and make your holiday season merry and bright.

If you think it’s all down hill from here, don’t despair. According to a recently published article from IDEX Online, analytic company ShopperTrak has put together a list of predictions on the 10 busiest shopping days for the holiday season, and you still have 7 of them ahead of you.

Police in rural Montana are questioning a man previously convicted of aggravated kidnapping in connection with the murder of an elderly woman and her son who disappeared just ten days after they came into possession of a bar of gold worth almost half a million dollars.

The bodies of Beverly and Greg Giannonatti were found in a dump site in Powell County, Mont., Sunday night — a month after the mother, 79, and son, 57, vanished without a trace.

Powell County Sheriff Scott Howard identified David Wayne Nelson as a “high person of interest” in the case, the Montana Standard reported Monday, though he has not been charged with anything. Nelson has a Deer Lodge address and is being jailed without bail on a 72-hour investigative hold, Howard said at a news conference .

Old Homestead Steakhouse, a New York staple in the Meatpacking District since 1868, has issued a press release that they’re serving a $45,000 Thanksgiving feast this year, targeted towards men looking to pop the question.

Marc Sherry, who co-owns the Homestead with his brother Greg, came up with the idea after seeing so many couples get engaged on Thanksgiving. “Why wait until Valentine’s Day,” Marc said in the press release. “She’ll never expect it on Thanksgiving.”

So in addition to the typical turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce, diners will also get a very special surprise — a two-karat emerald cut diamond engagement ring — hidden in the stuffing.