In Francis Ford Coppola's newly released sci-fi thriller, Megalopolis, Aubrey Plaza portrays a scheming enchantress named "Wow Platinum." Since the 85-year-old master filmmaker and storyteller is renowned for his meticulous attention to detail and symbolism, his decision to call Plaza's character Wow Platinum left a lot of fans scratching their heads.



But just after Megalopolis was released on September 27, Coppola set the record straight during a Q&A he hosted via the official Megalopolis X (formerly Twitter) account.

"Hi Mr. Coppola, What was the idea behind naming a character “Wow Platinum”???," wrote X user @mrhenrywaffle.

Coppola responded, "I met a southern young lady who told me her great grandmother was so beautiful that her name evolved as 'WOW.' I asked if she had a picture of her. A while later I heard back from her and she attached a photo of a painting and when I looked at it I said, 'Wow!'"

By combining "Wow" with "Platinum," Coppola was not only describing a woman of extraordinary beauty, but also one who embodies many of the precious metal's characteristics. She's awe-inspiring, timeless, strong, rare and desired — a character destined to leave an enduring legacy.

"Wow Platinum was a name meant to spark a feeling of wonder and admiration, reflecting the character's ability to captivate those around her," wrote Alexis Zaccaria on screenrant.com. "Plaza's Wow Platinum is designed to embody that sense of awe, leaving a powerful impression on the audience, much like the Southern great-grandmother whose beauty inspired the writer/director to carry her story forward in his own way."

The film follows the ambitions of architect Cesar Catilina (portrayed by Adam Driver), who wants to rebuild a dystopian city into a utopian New Rome after a disaster. The glamorous and scheming Wow Platinum is Catilina's former lover, who masterminds a power grab by marrying Cesar's rich uncle, bank CEO Hamilton Crassus III (played by Jon Voight).

In describing her powerful character, Plaza told The New York Times, "Even in the car on the way to that set, I would transform into Wow. I would go, 'OK, I'm terrified right now, I'm having a nervous breakdown as myself, but Wow's not. She can handle anything.' And I would switch like a lightbulb: 'It's Wow time.'"

Coppola, who is best know for directing The Godfather (1972) and Apocalypse Now (1979), is a 14-time Academy Award nominee and a five-time Oscar winner.

Credit: Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

At 8 a.m. on Friday, September 27, an amateur prospector arrived at Crater of Diamonds State Park eager to find a precious gemstone at the only diamond site in the world that is open to the general public.



For $15, the visitor rented a "Basic Diamond Hunting Kit," which included an army shovel, screen set, and 3.5-gallon bucket. This searching method is called wet sifting, and involves washing dirt from diamond-bearing gravel through two screens.

The screen set features a large, quarter-inch mesh above a fine, 16th-inch mesh. The two screens work together to separate gravel by size, enabling the user to process a lot of dirt at one time.

After a few unsuccessful hours of wet sifting, the visitor decided to take a different, less strenuous tack.

“If I find a diamond today," the visitor told park officials, "it will probably be right here on the surface.”

And the conditions for surface searching happened to be ideal on September 27.

Not only was it a beautiful sunny day, allowing the sunlight to reflect off a diamond just right, but the search area had recently been plowed and had received rainfall just two days before.

“We periodically plow the search area to loosen the diamond-bearing soil and promote natural erosion," Assistant Park Superintendent Waymon Cox said. "As rain falls on the field, it washes away the dirt and uncovers heavy rocks, minerals and diamonds near the surface.”



While scouring the ground just west of the covered North Wash pavilion, the guest spotted something sparkling on the surface.

“From far away it shined so clearly,” the visitor said. “I thought it might be a piece of trash or a bug. It was so much shinier than anything else out there.”

After a quick inspection, the prospector realized it was not a bug or a piece of trash, but a glimmering stone. The guest had it checked by park staff at the Diamond Discovery Center before leaving for lunch.

Park Interpreter Sarah Reap was stationed at the rock and mineral identification counter when the finder placed it calmly on her desk.

“Even after a few years of working here, I am still surprised when a finder pulls a large diamond out of a pocket so nonchalantly,” Reap said.

Reap confirmed the specimen to be a silvery-white diamond weighing 2.30 carats. The roundish stone has a pitted surface and is the about the size of a pencil eraser.

This is the third diamond over two carats registered this year and the second-largest diamond registered in 2024.

On an average day, one or two diamonds are discovered in the park’s 37.5-acre diamond search area, which is actually the eroded surface of an extinct, diamond-bearing volcanic pipe. Since it opened as a state park in 1972, Crater of Diamonds has welcomed more than 4.6 million visitors, who have unearthed more than 35,000 diamonds.

As of this writing, 548 diamonds — weighing more than 82 carats — have been registered by park guests in 2024.

The largest diamond ever discovered in the United States was unearthed in 1924 during an early mining operation on the land that later became Crater of Diamonds State Park.

Named Uncle Sam, this white diamond with a pink cast weighed 40.23 carats. It was later cut into a 12.42-carat emerald shape. Uncle Sam is now part of the Smithsonian’s mineral and gem collection and can be seen at the National Museum of Natural History.

Nearly 99% of the diamonds discovered at the park fall into one of three color categories: white (clear), brown or yellow. According the Crater of Diamonds’ official stats, exactly 62% of diamonds found to date were white, 20% were brown and about 17% were yellow. Slightly more than 1% were classified as “other.”

Diamonds unearthed at the park average 1/6th of a carat, but about 21 each year will weigh in at 1 carat or more.

Credits: Images courtesy of Arkansas State Parks.

For the sun-worshipping ancient Mycenaeans, precious amber — the golden-colored translucent gemstone formed from fossilized tree resin — represented far more than a colorful fashion statement. It symbolized power, high social status and religious devotion to Helios, the sun god.



In a new study, Professor Janusz Czebreszuk, the Director of the Polish Archaeological Institute in Athens, describes how amber was an indicator of elite status during the heyday of Mycenaean society, which prospered from 1750 to 1050 BC, an era considered the final stage of the Bronze Age in ancient Greece.

As Czebreszuk and his team studied the gravesites of elite Mycenaeans, the one thing each had in common was the presence of amber adornments. Found in the graves of both men and women were amber gems strung into necklaces, fashioned into breastplates and worn as hair embellishments.

The researchers believe the amber artifacts originated from the Baltic region, specifically near the Bay of Gdańsk, which is on the north coast of Poland. Even today, this region is a vital source of amber.

Due to the long distances between the Baltic Sea and Ancient Greece, it became clear to Czebreszuk and his team that Bronze Age elites had access to an extensive trading network that spanned Europe.

“Amber arrived in Hellas (modern-day Greece) with the religious meanings it held in the north,” Czebreszuk told Polish news agency PAP. “In Central Europe, Neolithic artifacts like disc-shaped items with radiating patterns clearly referenced the sun, and amber symbolized the sun’s power.”

In Greek mythology, amber is said to come from the tears of the Heliades, the daughters of Helios.

As the story is told, Phaëton, the handsome mortal son of Helios, asked his dad if he could drive the sun chariot for a day. But during a reckless day of driving, Phaëton scorched the earth, creating its deserts. Zeus, the king of the gods, struck the young man down with a thunderbolt, leaving his sisters heartbroken. The Heliades grieved for four months and then the gods turned them into poplar trees and their tears into amber.

For the ancient Mycenaeans, owning amber was like holding a piece of the sun.

“Whoever had amber, whoever had an amber necklace, in a sense possessed a piece of the sun," Czebreszuk added. "Those who had it, and these were the elites, used amber to legitimize their claims to a superior position in society.”

Six years ago, researchers at the University of Granada, Spain, used a sophisticated technique known as infrared spectroscopy to analyze amber jewelry and other amber ornaments found at archaeological sites on the Iberian Peninsula.

While most of the samples were determined to be of local origin, other samples were linked to amber that originated from Sicily and the Baltic regions. The team reported that the Sicilian amber arrived on the Iberian Peninsula at least 4,000 BC while Baltic-sourced material was dated from 1,000 BC.

The Spanish researchers concluded that amber was circulated through vast exchange networks across the Mediterranean, with the likely path of Baltic and Sicilian amber routed through North Africa.

Today, 90% of the world’s amber comes from Kaliningrad, a Russian territory tucked between Poland and Lithuania on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Due to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Kaliningrad Oblast became an exclave, geographically separated from the rest of Russia.

Credit: Amber image by Oxfordian Kissuth, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Rio Tinto revealed on Wednesday the stars of its 2024 Beyond Rare Tender, a curated collection of pink, red, violet, yellow and white polished diamonds from its storied — but now shuttered — Argyle Mine in Western Australia and its Diavik Mine in the Barren Lands of Northern Canada.



Dubbed "Colour Awakened," this second installment of Rio Tinto's annual Art Series features 48 lots, comprising 76 polished diamonds, weighing 39.44 carats in total. Among the highlights are the following:

— Seven "Old Masters." This group includes round, brilliant-cut pink and red diamonds, ranging in size from 0.60 carats to 2.63 carats;
— 31 exquisite single lots of pink and violet diamonds, as well as one fancy purplish-red diamond;
— 9 artfully matched sets. Two standout stones from this group include a 2.47-carat fancy intense yellow diamond and a 4.04-carat D-color white diamond.



The "Old Masters" were all unearthed at the Argyle Mine more than a decade ago, and, in one case, as far back as 1987. Each of these rare pink and red diamonds were selected from private vaults and handpicked for inclusion in this year’s tender, according to a Rio Tinto press release.

The standout fancy intense yellow diamond and D-color diamond were both sourced at the Diavik Diamond Mine, which is oddly located beneath a frozen lake.

Last year's Art Series was called "Born of This World" and included 46 lots comprising 87 diamonds. The total weight of those offerings tallied 29.96 carats.

The now-depleted Argyle mine was shuttered in November of 2020. During its 37 years in operation, the mine famously produced between 90% and 95% of the world’s pink and red diamonds.

Unlike yellow or blue diamonds that owe their color to the presence of nitrogen or boron in their chemical makeup, pink and red diamonds owe their color to the warping of the gem’s crystal lattice under intense pressure. The distortions in the diamond’s crystal lattice structure affect the way the gem absorbs green light, thus reflecting a pink or red hue.

“No other mining company in the world has custody of such a kaleidoscope of colored diamonds," said Rio Tinto Chief Executive Sinead Kaufman during Wednesday's invitation-only launch event in London. "Four years on from the closure of the Argyle mine, our Beyond Rare Tender platform is a testimony to the enduring prestige of the Argyle Pink Diamonds brand, the quality of production from our Diavik mine, and the ongoing demand for highly collectible natural diamonds.”

The lots will be displayed in London, Australia, Singapore and Belgium, with bids closing on November 18, 2024.

Credits: Images courtesy of Argyle Diamonds Pty.

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you heartfelt songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, former American Idol Scotty McCreery delivers a first-hand account of his mountaintop marriage proposal to longtime sweetheart Gabi Dugal in his 2018 release, “This Is It.”



In the song, McCreery tells the story of a young couple’s life changing moment “at the top of the world.”

He sings, “Girl I know that you’ve been waiting and talking to your friends / Wondering if and wondering where and wondering when / Well I’ve been waiting too, holding on to this ring / For the right words to say, for the right time and place, for me to get on one knee.”

McCreery revealed in an AXS Patio Sessions interview that he and his co-writers collaborated on the song in September of 2017, only two weeks before he had planned to pop the question on Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina.

“I told my co-writers the story and we just kinda wrote the song around that,” he said. “It’s very visual and paints the picture of how the engagement went down.”

Writing the song before the proposal was a tad risky for the North Carolinian. Although he had all the “wheres and whens and hows” mapped out perfectly, there was still a possibility that something could go awry.

“If things hadn’t gone to plan and we hadn’t gotten to the mountain, I probably would have had to scrap the song,” said McCreery. “But luckily it all worked out.”

Scotty McCreery told Billboard that he had the ring hidden in the closet for four or five months.

"I was waiting for the right time, but I was scared she might open the closet and do some clothes hunting," he explained. "I had it in a shoebox, in a shoebox, in another shoebox, so she would've had to been really looking for it."

Friends since kindergarten, McCreery and Dugal, a pediatric nurse, had been dating since their senior year in high school. They tied the knot on May 16, 2018, and McCreery sang "This Is It" at the wedding reception.

“This Is It” is the sixth track from McCreery’s fourth studio album, Seasons Change. The song was certified "platinum" with combined streams and sales of one million units. The song rose to #3 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and #2 on the Billboard Canada Country chart.

A native of Garner, NC, Scott Cooke McCreery has the distinction of being the youngest male ever to win an American Idol competition. He was only 17 when he prevailed during the Season 10 finale in May of 2011.

Please check out the official video of McCreery’s “This Is It,” which includes actual footage from his wedding service, reception and related events. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“This Is It”
Written by Scotty McCreery, Frank Rogers and Aaron Eshuis. Performed by Scotty McCreery.

Way up in the mountains, four thousand feet high
There’s a trail through the trees to a cliff where Carolina meets the sky
Oh, and there’s a view I just can’t describe
No, I’m not there yet, just a few more steps, baby wait
Okay, you can open your eyes

This is it, this is now, this is what I’ve been talking about
Looking out, can’t you see forever?
Take my hand, just take it in
This is a moment we won’t forget
On top of the world, here, together
If there ever was a time for a perfect kiss, this is it

Girl I know that you’ve been waiting and talking to your friends
Wondering if and wondering where and wondering when
Well I’ve been waiting too, holding on to this ring
For the right words to say, for the right time and place, for me to get on one knee

This is it, this is now, this is what I’ve been talking about
Looking out, can’t you see forever?
Take my hand, just take it in
This is a moment we won’t forget
On top of the world here together
If there ever was a time for a perfect kiss, well this is it
This is it

Now you’re walking down the aisle
And I can’t help but smile

This is it, this is now, it’s what I’ve been talking about
Looking out, I can see forever
So take my hand, just take it in
This is a moment we won’t forget
On top of the world, here, together
Surrounded by our family and our friends
If there ever was a time for a perfect kiss
This is it



Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com / Scotty McCreery Official.

With gold hovering near an all-time high at $2,680 per ounce, let's take a look at the US states where you're most likely to find this coveted precious metal.



Gold is present in 32 of the 50 states and there are a combined 32,722 gold locations scattered throughout the top-10 gold-bearing states, according to SD Bullion's analysis of US Geological Survey (USGS) data. California claimed the top spot with 10,373 locations, or 66.59 per 1,000 square miles. Alaska came in second with 5,264 locations and Nevada ranked third with 3,393.

These stats tell only part of the story because when it comes to gold output, Nevada is the undisputed king.

According to the USGS, domestic gold mine production in 2023 was estimated to be 170 tons with an approximate value of $10 billion. Of that tonnage, Nevada accounted for a whopping 73% of total production, followed by Alaska at about 13%.

The USGS reported that the bulk of gold production in the US was derived from 40 lode mines in 11 states, at several large placer mines in Alaska, and at numerous smaller placer mines (mostly in Alaska and in the Western States). The top 27 operations yielded about 97% of the mined gold produced in the US.

(Lode mining is also known as hard rock mining. Placer mining is the process of extracting valuable minerals from sand, gravel, or other sediments using water.)

About 6% of domestic gold is typically recovered as a byproduct of copper mining. SD Bullion noted that the 18 states with no appreciable gold assets were Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Delaware and Florida.

“The findings reveal promising areas in the United States where the likelihood of finding gold is notably higher," commented Chase Turner, CEO of SD Bullion. "These regions, known for their favorable geological conditions and historical mining success, stand out as prime locations for gold exploration. The data offers valuable insights into the distribution of gold deposits, highlighting key areas for amateur prospectors and professionals.”

Top States by Gold Locations

California 10,373
Alaska 5,264
Nevada 3,393
Oregon 3,015
Idaho 2,350

Top States by Gold Locations Per 1,000 Square Miles

California 66.59
Washington 34.17
Oregon 31.41
Nevada 30.91
Idaho 28.44

Click this link for SD Bullion's full report.

Credits: Image by Chip Clark / Smithsonian.

Today show co-host Jenna Bush Hager revealed the reason why she wasn't wearing her sapphire and diamond engagement ring during last Wednesday's segment called "Social Dilemmas." Hager has been married to Henry Chase Hager for 16 years and they share three children. Was something amiss?



As Hager and co-host Hoda Kotb attempted to provide engagement ring advice to a viewer who was anxious because she expected her boyfriend to propose with his mom's "hideous" heirloom ring, Hager first addressed the elephant in the room — her unadorned ring finger.

"I'm not wearing my ring, but don't worry," she said. "You saw Henry raising me up. We're still happy together, but I broke my finger."

Then Hager went on to describe her own experience with a family heirloom and how Henry "redid a ring" that she believe once belonged to his grandmother.

Then the co-hosts took a crack at solving the dilemma faced by a member of the studio audience: "It's a tradition in [Lance's] family to pass down an heirloom engagement ring whenever the men are going to propose," the person wrote. "His mother's ring is hideous. If he proposes to me using the ring, do I fake like I like it or tell him to get me a different ring?"

Hager took the stance that when it comes to an engagement ring, the bride-to-be needs to be very clear about her likes and dislikes.

"You've got to figure this out way before he proposes to you," she advised. "You don't say, Hey Lance, I don't like the ring. You say, 'This is what I'm kinda into.'"

Then she turned to the studio audience and stated, "You don't think people have those conversations before they get engaged?"

Kotb argued the opposite point of view.

"You just made a commitment for your life," she said. "It shouldn't be about the ring. If something has been in the family for years and years, it means the world to them. She knows the ring has been passed down from generation to generation… so this heirloom [is a] beautiful representation of his family."

Hager shot back, "You leave the heirloom at home and you say, 'I hope we're really going to get married, Lance. I love you so much. And Lance, just to let you know, I love this gold band, just like this. Oh, and look at Susan's ring.'"

"You don't think people drop hints like that when they're getting engaged?" she continued. "They sure do."

"It means a lot to him," Kotb argued. "It's an engagement ring. It means a lot. It means a lot. Take the ring. Say, 'Thank you.' Take the ring, say, 'I love you.'"

Then, pointing at her ring finger, she added, "You're more important than this. There are physical things and there are emotional things."

"What if [the ring] is important to her?" questioned Hager.

With no clear answer, the hosts moved on to the next topic. Please check out the segment at this link. The engagement ring banter runs until the 3:20 mark.

Kotb announced last week that she will be leaving the Today show in 2025 in order to spend more time with her family. She joined the show in 2007 and has been a co-anchor since 2018.

Hager's engagement ring was also the subject of a Today show segment back in April of this year. The co-host had recounted how she nearly lost ALL of her fine jewelry — including her engagement ring — at JFK Airport in New York City.

The 42-year-old daughter of former President George W. Bush recalled how she lost track of a bag of jewelry as she was “racing to a shoot” while on assignment for the Today show.

In a stroke of good fortune, a fellow traveler had spotted the unattended bag and did the right thing.

“Some lovely man who I’ve never met returned it to security,” she said.

Even though the story had a happy ending, Hager never shared it with her husband. He learned about the incident at the same time as the show’s five million viewers.

“I couldn’t even tell Henry because if I lost our engagement ring, it’s priceless,” she said. “So, I harbored a secret from Henry, too, which was hard.”

Credit: Screen capture via YouTube / TODAY with Hoda & Jenna.

A gorgeous example of October's birthstone — a cushion-shaped 5.44-carat Paraiba tourmaline set in a platinum ring — stole the show last week at Bonhams' auction in New York City when it fetched $533,900, which is nearly nine times the pre-sale high estimate of $60,000.



A companion pair of oval-shaped Paraiba tourmaline earclips with a total weight of 5.1 carats achieved $140,200, outpacing its pre-sale high estimate by more than $100,000.



Paraiba is the most prized tourmaline variety. The vivid teal, turquoise and neon blue stones caused a sensation when they were first discovered by prospector Heitor Dimas Barbosa in Brazil’s tropical, coastal state of Paraiba back in 1989.

They were so popular that the limited supply beneath “Paraiba Hill” — an area measuring 400 x 200 x 65 meters — became tapped out within five years.

In 2001, new Paraiba-like tourmalines were unearthed far across the Atlantic Ocean in Africa. Curiously, the African gems boasted the same color and chemistry as the South American-sourced originals.

Some gem experts believe that the uncanny connection can be attributed to continental drift, the theory that the Earth’s continents have moved over geologic time and that South America and Africa were once connected. Paraiba, on the far eastern tip of Brazil, would have been adjacent to the west coast of Nigeria.

Paraiba tourmalines are distinctly different from other varieties of tourmaline because they owe their intense blue color to trace impurities of copper. Others get their color from the presence of iron, manganese, chromium and vanadium. Gem dealers generally refer to copper-infused tourmaline as “Paraiba,” regardless of the origin.

Tourmaline comes in a wide variety of fiery, vibrant hues, such as red, green, yellow, orange, brown, pink and purple. October’s birthstone is even available in bi-color and tri-color versions. The name “tourmaline” is derived from the Singhalese words “tura mali,” which mean “stone with mixed colors.”

Tourmalines range from 7 to 7.5 on the Moh’s scale of hardness, which makes them durable enough to be used in any type of jewelry. Both tourmaline and opal are considered the official birthstones for the month of October.

Credits: Images courtesy of Bonhams.

Welcome to Music Friday when we often bring you fun, throwback tunes with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Let's hark back to the spring of 1958, when a handsome 23-year-old from Tupelo, MS, was dominating the music scene with an unprecedented string of 10 consecutive #1 hits and his latest release, “Wear My Ring Around Your Neck," was making a beeline up the charts.



In today's featured tune, Elvis Presley, the world's most eligible bachelor and the "King of Rock and Roll," asks his girlfriend to wear his ring around her neck. Wearing your boyfriend's ring on a chain during the 1950s was akin to "going Instagram official."

No doubt, countless teenage girls dreamed The King was singing to them.

Here’s the first verse: “Won’t you wear my ring around your neck / To tell the world I’m yours, by heck / Let them see your love for me / And let them see by the ring around your neck.”

Written by Bert Carroll and Russell Moody, “Wear My Ring Around Your Neck” was a big hit, but stalled at #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, narrowly breaking Presley’s string of #1s. All 10 of Presley’s previous chart-toppers had been released during a two-year period.

Born in 1935, Elvis Aron Presley ascended to stardom in the mid-1950s with his good looks, silky voice and outrageous performance style. Not only did he top the charts during the 1950s and 1960s, but he also starred in more than 30 films, including Jailhouse Rock (1957) and Viva Las Vegas (1964).

Presley met Priscilla Ann Beaulieu in 1960 and married her after a 7 1/2-year courtship. Presley proposed with a 3-carat diamond ring in December 1966 and the wedding ceremony took place one year later at the Aladdin hotel in Las Vegas.

The King would eventually become one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. His first performance on the Ed Sullivan Show in September 1956 was watched by a record 82.6% of the nationwide viewing audience. Presley is the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music, with more than one billion records sold worldwide. His Memphis home, Graceland, is still a major tourist attraction. More than 20 million people have taken the tour since the site was opened to the public in 1982.

Presley died in Memphis on August 16, 1977, at the age of 42.

Please check out the audio track of Presley singing “Wear My Ring Around Your Neck.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Wear My Ring Around Your Neck”
Written by Bert Carroll and Russell Moody. Performed by Elvis Presley.

Won’t you wear my ring around your neck
To tell the world I’m yours, by heck
Let them see your love for me
And let them see by the ring around your neck

Won’t you wear my ring around your neck
To tell the world I’m yours, by heck
Let them know I love you so
And let them no by the ring around your neck

They say that goin’ steady is not the proper thing
They say that we’re too young to know the meaning of a ring
I only know that I love you and that you love me too
So, darling, please do what I ask of you

Won’t you wear my ring around your neck
To tell the world I’m yours, by heck
Let them see your love for me
And let them see by the ring around your neck

Well they say that goin’ steady is not the proper thing
They say that we’re too young to know the meaning of a ring
I only know that I love you and that you love me too
So, darling, please do what I ask of you

Won’t you wear my ring around your neck
To tell the world I’m yours, by heck
Let them know I love you so
And let them no by the ring around your neck

And let them know by the ring around your neck
And let them know by the ring around your neck



Credit: Image of Elvis Presley by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ6-2067 Location: NYWTS -- BIOG, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Canadian pop star Carly Rae Jepsen took to Instagram on Monday to reveal to her 2.6 million followers the non-traditional ring marking her engagement to Grammy Award-winning music producer Cole M.G.N.



The ring spotlights what appears to be a smoky-grey-blue gem prong set on a simple yellow gold band. Jewelry-industry pundits believe the stone may be a sapphire or spinel.

The shape? That's also hard to tell from the photo, but it's likely a cushion or Asscher cut.



Jepsen, 38, was straight to the point in her Monday post on Instagram. A carousel of nine romantic photos were simply captioned, "Very engaged over here." She punctuated the four-word phrase with an engagement ring and red heart emoji.

The four-time Billboard Music Award winner developed a relationship with Cole M.G.N. (full name Cole Marsden Greif-Neil) while working on her most recent album, 2023's The Loveliest Time.

Ironically, on the track, “So Right,” which was co-written and produced by M.G.N., Jepsen's new fiancé voices the role of a conflicted former lover in a flirty exchange that begins the song.

“Do you really think this is a good idea?” M.G.N. asks.

“I mean no, probably not, but yeah,” answers Jepsen.

“Alright, see you at my place,” he says.

“K, see you soon," she responds.

Jepsen told People, "I would've been too shy beforehand to be like, 'Do you want to do a skit at the beginning?' But now that we're so close, it was just really fun and playful to be like, 'Let's have this very '80s drama skit at the beginning where you ask me if I should come over and I say no, but then I come anyways.'"

While “So Right” was their first collaborative effort, it's not likely to be their last.

“We’ll go traveling somewhere, and we’ll bring a little acoustic guitar,” she told People. “I think you’ll see a lot more of our collaboration together for future projects, but this is our first little baby out in the world. We’re both so excited.”

Back in 2012, Jepsen earned worldwide acclaim with her blockbuster hit, "Call Me Maybe" (20 million copies sold).

The American-born M.G.N. has won six Grammy Awards for his work with Beck.

The couple has yet to announce a wedding date.

Credits: Images via Instagram / carlyraejepsen.