On the other hand, they're not good enough to detect between real diamonds and those synthetic ones that diamond companies like DeBeers can't even catch with their obviously more sophisticated equipment, so it's only good enough to get the really cheap stuff. [Kassoy via Microkhan via Boing Boing Gadgets]

A company called DiamondPure takes any photograph you want and then, using a "revolutionary" nano-photograph process, etches the visage into any size diamond you want. Though they're normally invisible, you can view them using GemmaView, a proprietary portable viewing device.

Cute, right? Yeah, not so cute when the recession forces you to take that gem to the pawn shop and the guy gives your rock a one over only to chortle and maybe make some joke about you being better looking in real life before throwing it back in your face. [Born Rich]

The backstory:

In February 2003, Notarbartolo was arrested for heading a ring of Italian thieves. They were accused of breaking into a vault two floors beneath the Antwerp Diamond Center and making off with at least $100 million worth of loose diamonds, gold, jewelry, and other spoils. The vault was thought to be impenetrable. It was protected by 10 layers of security, including infrared heat detectors, Doppler radar, a magnetic field, a seismic sensor, and a lock with 100 million possible combinations. The robbery was called the heist of the century, and even now the police can't explain exactly how it was done.

Josh's meeting with Notarbartolo:

Notarbartolo sits down across from me at one of the visiting room's two dozen small rectangular tables. He has an intimidating reputation. The Italian anti-Mafia police contend he is tied to the Sicilian mob, that his cousin was tapped to be the next the capo dei capi-the head of the entire organization. Notarbartolo intends to set the record straight. He puts his hands on the table. He has had six years to think about what he is about to say.

"I may be a thief and a liar," he says in beguiling Italian-accented French. "But I am going to tell you a true story."

The Cops:

Peys and De Bruycker lead the Diamond Squad, the world's only specialized diamond police. Their beat: the labyrinthine Antwerp Diamond District. Eighty percent of the world's rough diamonds pass through this three-square-block area, which is under 24-hour police surveillance and monitored by 63 video cameras. About $3 billion worth of gem sales were reported here in 2003, but that's not counting a hidden world of handshake deals and off-ledger transactions. Business relationships follow the ancient family and religious traditions of the district's dominant Jewish and Indian dealers, known as diamantaires. In 2000, the Belgian government realized it would require a special type of cop to keep an eye on things and formed the squad. Peys and De Bruycker were the first hires.

De Bruycker called headquarters, asking for a nationwide alert: The Antwerp Diamond Center had been brazenly robbed. Then he dialed Securilink, the vault's alarm company.

"What is the status of the alarm?" he asked.

"Fully functional," the operator said, checking the signals coming in from the Diamond Center. "The vault is secure."

"Then how is it that the door is wide open and I'm standing inside the vault?" De Bruycker demanded, glancing at the devastation all around him.

The Safe:

The Door
1. Combination dial (0-99)
2. Keyed lock
3. Seismic sensor (built-in)
4. Locked steel grate
5. Magnetic sensor
6. External security camera

The Vault
7. Keypad for disarming sensors
8. Light sensor
9. Internal security camera
10. Heat/motion sensor (approximate location)

The story goes into the exact detail on how they got around all the various security measures. Amazingly, no one found the security breach til the weekend was over, but by then, the thieves were long gone. They would have made it, too, if not for one slip up on the side of the road. Read on. [The Untold Story of the World's Biggest Diamond Heist]

*Tip of the hat to the unsung heroes, Josh's editor, Mark Robinson, and all the designers, photographers and top editors and fact checkers on this one.

Why oh why people would like to pay for this horror, this pinnacle of bad taste deep fried in 18-carat yellow gold and 160 diamonds, with a huge 6.6-carat diamond as a home button? And why is it called "Kings Button"?

Whoever buys it, please call us, fly us to your palace, and let us slap your face. Then, please invite us to a two year vacation in your yacht and we will forgive you. Maybe. [All Techno Blog]

Lonsdalite, similar to diamonds that its made from carbon, is formed during asteroid impacts, and is 58% harder than its cousin. Wurtzite boron nitride is formed during heavy volcanic eruptions and can be up to 18% harder than diamonds.

Both are exceedingly rare in nature, and both form under crushing, searing conditions. Lonsdaleite is a
cousin of the diamond, a hexagonal arrangement of carbon atoms that's 58% stronger than its shimmering relative, according to a computer simulation of its behavior. It's forged in nature during asteroid impacts.

The other mineral, wurtzite boron nitride is even more enigmatic. It comes together in especially punishing volcanic eruptions, and has flexible atomic bonds. When placed under stress it hardens until it is 18% stronger than a diamond.

Both materials are exceedingly rare. [Discovery News]

And new Chemical Vapor Deposition method means they
Are also more defect free-ee.

OK...I'll stop and explain properly. A team at the Carnegie Institution have come up with a way of improving the artificial diamonds that are used in numerous applications, from surgical cutting edges to quantum computing. Artificial diamonds have been grown for ages, but can possess in-grown defects that have to be removed by annealing. To avoid "graphitising" and de-sparkling the diamonds, this high-temperature process has to be done at high pressures, which makes it expensive and limits diamond sizes.

The new process however uses chemical vapor deposition to grow the synthetic diamonds at low pressure (which results in "dirty" brown diamonds), and then the gems are annealed using a microwave plasma technique that heats them to around 2000K at pressures below atmospheric...turning them clear or pinky.

The result is rapidly-grown, low-defect, optical quality diamonds. Why should we care? Well for one thing one team member notes the technique may allow "kilocarat diamonds of high optical quality". Which is just cool. And for another: diamonds are used in many more applications than you may realize. [Physorg]

The TV was shown at IFA recently, where it garnered a good chunk of interest.

And its price? Allegedly $130,000. One hundred and thirty thousand smackeroos. That's almost as much as the 150-inch Panasonic plasma TV, and this one is, what, 37-inches? And that's absolutely stark, raving bonkers. [Aving via Luxury Launches]

[Luxury Launches]

The car has 2,700 blue, black, and white diamonds covering its 18-karat white gold frame. The blue diamonds are used to mimic the Hot Wheels Spectraframe blue paint, while black and white diamonds cover the underbelly and for the engine. For the brake lights, they used rubies.

Hot Wheels® Kicks off 40th Anniversary with Unveil of Diamond-Encrusted Car at New York Toy Fair

Year-Long Celebration Activities Include Designer's Challenge™ Die-Cast Car Line, Cross Country Road Trip and Auction of One-of-a-Kind Jeweled Car

American International Toy Fair 2008
EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Hot Wheels® today announced its year-long plans to celebrate the brand's 40-year heritage at the 105th American International Toy Fair®. Anniversary activities were kicked off with the unveiling of a custom jeweled 1:64-scale Hot Wheels® car, designed by celebrity jeweler Jason of Beverly Hills. This one-of-a-kind car, the most expensive in Hot Wheels® history, was made to commemorate the production of the 4 billionth Hot Wheels® vehicle.

The diamonds on the custom-made jeweled car, valued at $140,000, total more than 2,700 and weigh nearly 23 carats in total weight. The car is cast in 18-karat white gold with the majority of the vehicle detailed with micro pave-set brilliant blue diamonds, mimicking the Hot Wheels® Spectraflame® blue paint. Under the functional hood, the engine showcases additional micro pave-set white and black diamonds. The Hot Wheels® flame logo found on the underbelly of the car is lined with white and black diamonds. Red rubies are set as the tail lights, while black diamonds and red enamel create the "red line" tires. The custom-made case that houses the jewel-encrusted vehicle also holds 40 individual white diamonds, signifying each year in the legacy of Hot Wheels®.

"Collaborating with Mattel on the jeweled Hot Wheels car was a dream project for me," said Jason Arasheben, president & CEO of Jason of Beverly Hills. "The car is truly spectacular and will be a brilliant addition to anyone's collection."

The vehicle was unveiled by multi-platinum recording artist and car enthusiast, Nick Lachey, who grew up playing with the die-cast car line. In late 2008, this unique Hot Wheels® vehicle will be auctioned off to benefit Lachey's charity of choice, Big Brothers Big Sisters.

"Since its introduction, Hot Wheels has revolutionized boys' toys and inspired automotive trends," said Tim Kilpin, general manager and senior vice president, Boys and Entertainment, Mattel Brands. "The historic activities we have planned are a fitting tribute to the brand's heritage and will allow us, and our fans, to celebrate this milestone year in true Hot Wheels style."

[Daily Stab]

It turns out there's a guy in Connecticut, John Reznikoff, who collects the hair of famous dead people, and has locks from a variety of celebrities from bygone days, including Albert Einstein, Napoleon and Abraham Lincoln. Reznikoff's collection is listed on the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest. The collection also has modern day hair samples from Princess Diana, Elvis, John F. Kennedy, George Harrison and even a bit of horsehair from Triple Crown winner Secretariat. Now if they could just extract DNA from those hairs, they could re-create all these luminaries, and perhaps put together a rock band or political party. Or a blog. [Telegraph]

Adding even more expense and tawdriness to the equation are diamond-encrusted headphones. Although it's hard to decipher the Scandinavian language in which this is described, it looks like there are 430 diamonds festooning this otherwise utilitarian and screenless digital audio player. The irony doesn't escape us; at least they could've waited for the new iPod nano, and gussied that up with diamonds. Oh, wait, someone's probably going to do that, too. [e24, via LuxuryLaunches]

''A perfect gift for a 60th wedding anniversary, as diamond is the traditional gift for this event, it is also a great choice for a 50th wedding anniversary, as Gold is the traditional gift for this event!''

Product Page [Via OhGizmo!]

Bling! Bling! [CNN via SlashPhone.com]

As far as the cellphone's specs go, they actually aren't too bad: 2.0-megapixel camera, 100MB of built-in memory, Bluetooth, music player, etc. Standard stuff, but the cellphone probably is more of a showpiece than anything else. – Nicholas Deleon

Nokia 8800 Sirocco: Diamond Edition [Newlaunches.com]

Yes, nothing says classy quite like outfitting a cellphone with diamonds. – Nicholas Deleon

Diamond KRZR: a real work of art [Mobile-review.com] (in Russian) via Newlaunches.com