Diana, Princess of Wales, was given a diamond ring by Dodi al Fayed shortly before she died, but the pair were not planning to marry, it was claimed.

Grammy-winning singer Toni Braxton will be performing her forthcoming live shows in style after accepting a diamond encrusted microphone, worth a whopping one million dollars (£500,000).

The form and contents of the proposed GIA certificate on synthetic diamonds was a hotly debated issue at this week’s GIA Symposium in San Diego. The discussion squarely reflects perceived economic interests – and even though every side likes to talk about “protecting consumer confidence”, none of the speakers had done any serious research on what the consumer prefers. Some retailers stressed that a different nomenclature for synthetics would be confusing, but those representing natural diamonds were adamant that different wordings were absolutely imperative.

Mariah Carey has been given $4 million of diamonds by the Sultan of Brunei's son. The singer was stunned when she received a eight-carat, flawless diamond necklace and matching ring from Prince Azim just as she was about to go on stage in New York last Wednesday (23.08.06).

The GemEx Hologram Diamond Viewer (HDV), a new, innovative in-store table mark viewer for diamond manufacturers and retail jewelers, has been developed by GemEx Systems, Mequon, WI. GemEx also developed a personal, pocket-sized version of the viewer, which can be sold for a nominal price to those who purchase diamonds from the retailers as well.