Latest news with #Bruning
Fox News
10-04-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Rare 10-carat blue diamond among $100M worth of gems going up for auction
In a sea of jewels, one particular stone has been stealing the show. A rare 10-carat Mediterranean blue diamond from South Africa was on display in an exhibit featuring $100 million worth of the world's rarest diamonds. The Sotheby's exhibit showcased eight diamonds totaling a weight of over 700 carats in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), as The Associated Press (AP) reported. Sotheby's is expecting to auction off the massive blue stone for around $20 million in May. Also on display were red, yellow, pink and colorless diamonds. Quig Bruning, Sotheby's head of jewels in North America, Europe and the Middle East, said the exhibit's location was intentional, as the nation is known for its high interest in diamonds. The UAE took the title as the world's largest trade hub for rough diamonds in 2021, according to the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre. "We have great optimism about the region," Bruning said, according to AP. He added, "We feel very strongly that this is the kind of place where you have both traders and collectors of diamonds of this importance and of this rarity." The blue diamond shown in the exhibit is considered to be one of the most important blue diamonds ever discovered, according to sources. Nearly $23 billion worth of rough stone was traded in 2021. In 2023, over $38 billion in the value of trade of rough and polished diamonds was recorded in the UAE.
Arabian Business
09-04-2025
- Business
- Arabian Business
Sotheby's unveils $100mn diamond collection in historic Abu Dhabi exhibition
Sotheby's has unveiled a $100 million diamond exhibition in Abu Dhabi, marking its first public showcase in the emirate in over 15 years. The exhibition, hosted in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) at the Bassam Freiha Art Foundation on Saadiyat Island, features several rare diamonds, including the 'Mediterranean Blue' – a 10.03-carat Fancy Vivid Blue diamond expected to fetch $20 million at an auction in Geneva next month. Sotheby's diamond showcase 'This is one of the best and most incredible exhibitions dedicated to diamonds of this caliber ever done in the world,' said Katia Nounou Boueiz, Sotheby's Deputy Chairman for the Middle East, during the launch event. Quig Bruning, Senior Vice President and Head of Jewelry for the Americas, Europe, and Middle East, emphasised the rarity of the collection: 'If you took all of the blue diamonds over 10 carats in the world, you could probably put them in your pocket.' The ' Mediterranean Blue ' is particularly significant as 'there was not a single vivid blue diamond over 10 carats that came on the market at all last year,' according to Bruning. Other pieces include: 'The Red Diamond': A 5.05-carat Fancy Brown-Red Diamond – the second largest red diamond known to exist 'The Desert Rose': The world's largest vivid orangey pink diamond (31.68 carats) 'The Golden Canary Necklace': The largest internally flawless diamond (303.10 carats) 'The Ultimate Emerald Cut': A flawless 100.20-carat diamond ring The decision to launch in Abu Dhabi reflects the region's growing influence in luxury markets. 'We've chosen the Gulf as the location of this global unveiling due to the extensive and deep-rooted relationship we have with clients, collectors, and consigners in the region. This confirms that the region has truly become one of the most dynamic drivers of the luxury industry globally,' Bruning said. The exhibition is open to the public until April 10, running daily from 10 AM to 8 PM with free admission.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Spring means increase in littering across Ohio: How you can help
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Your closets and cars aren't the only things that could use a spring cleaning. So could the streets. The Ohio Department of Transportation says that at the start of spring, more cigarettes, cans and other trash appear all over the roads each year. 'It's disgusting out there. It's embarrassing. All of us as Ohioans should be embarrassed at the level of trash that is out there along our roadsides,' said Matt Bruning, press secretary for the Ohio Department of Transportation. All of the cigarette butts, cans and more is left for crews like ODOT to clean up. The same employees tasked with picking up your trash are also the ones who spent all winter plowing roads. So after a busy season, they're met with an overwhelming amount of litter. 'We all can do a little bit to keep one person from having to do a lot,' Bruning said. Red Robin reveals intentions for rest of central Ohio locations after Easton closure Each year, around $10 million worth of taxpayer money goes into litter clean up, money that could be going elsewhere. 'Our Safe Routes to School program which builds infrastructure and programming to help kids get to and from school safely walking and biking has been around $10 million. We could double that program with what we'd save,' he said. Littering is a misdemeanor in Ohio. It can be punished with up to a $500 fine and 60 days in jail. Still, Bruning said it doesn't stop people from throwing their trash out on roadways. 'I think it's hard to fix it because it's a culture change. Just like drunk driving, distracted driving it's a culture change that has to be made,' he said. If you want to help out, the city is hosting the first major clean up event of the year on Saturday. Organizers said if you're interested in volunteering, meet at 10 a.m. at the Wolfe Park Shelter House on 105 Park Drive. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Jordan Times
12-03-2025
- Science
- Jordan Times
Settlements of Jebel Qurma: Uncovering Jordan's ancient desert dwellings
The Jabel Qurma range contains thousands of petroglyphs accompanied with safaitic script (Photo courtesy of Jabel Qurma Archaeological Landscape Project) AMMAN — In northeastern Jordan, the rough and rocky Harra begins about 30 kilometres east of the small oasis town of Azraq. This basalt desert has been a home to different settlements and was occupied from the time immemorial. 'The Black Desert is characterised by basalt-capped table-mounds and plateaus that alternate with extensive gravel plains, mud flats of varying size, and low limestone ranges,' noted Merel Bruning from Leiden University. Bruning added that the hyper-arid and difficult-to-cross uplands have an average annual precipitation of less than 50 mm and are known as Jabel Qurma. "It is named after the prominent mound at the south-western edge of the Harra expanse, where Wadi Rajil debouches out of the basalt into the Hazimah plain. The site of QUR-595 is situated on small and low limestone hillock measuring about 45 m long, 20 m wide and 1–1.5 m high," said Bruning. The researcher added that it lies at the northern foot of the mound of Jebel Qurma and directly along one branch of Wadi Rajil. 'The 2013 survey and 2015 excavation at the site were carried out as part of the Jabel Qurma Archaeological Landscape Project, which seeks to address local settlement and quotidian activities from a multi-disciplinary and multi-period perspective, and investigates how these relate to the diverse landscapes and environment,' said the professor Peter Akkermans from Leiden University. Akkermans added that the project takes place under the auspices of the Faculty of Archaeology of Leiden University, and in close collaboration with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. "The excavation in 2015 made clear that the site had three [possibly four] roughly round or oval-shaped, stone-walled installations built against each other at the top of the limestone hillock. These structures are named A to D in this contribution for matters of convenience," Akkermans noted. "It seems that Structures A and B were constructed first as free-standing structures, with the smaller Structures C and D added afterwards," Akkermans underlined, noting that the buildings range in diameter from about 5.6 m (Structure A), to 5.9 m (Structure B), and 1.7/1.3 m (Structure C). Less clear is the outline of Structure D, although its stone concentrations suggest some irregular walling: This comprises an area about 2.3 by 1.3 m, Akkermans underlined. The professor noted that each structure was bounded by low (maximum 40 cm tall) and wide (between 40 and 80 cm) walls, which consisted merely of loosely piled heaps of basalt rocks, the outlines of which were often difficult to establish. "In general, the amount of basalt stones uncovered in and around the structures is too limited to account for any substantially raised walls." "The only undisputed remains of walling were found on the north side of Structure A, in the form of a relatively narrow wall made of basalt blocks carefully stacked up to three courses high [ca. 40 cm]," Akkermans said. However, it is highly likely that this wall is a (much) later addition to Structure A, not only because of its better state of preservation, but also because it seems to block the original entrance to the structure, Bruning said. Structures A and B were originally accessible through openings in their northern walls, while the later Structures C and D had passages in the south-east (C) and south (D), Bruning continued, adding that none of the buildings preserved evidence for intentionally made floors or any form of roofing. "Most likely the low structures were simply open to the elements or they had superstructures made of perishable materials [such as hides or brushes]," Bruning concluded.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
‘A lot of blowing and drifting snow;' Over 1000 ODOT crews treating snow-covered roads
Several Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) crews continue to treat the roads after Sunday's accumulating snowfall. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Matt Bruning, ODOT Spokesperson, said on social media Sunday that over 1,000 crews were out across the state treating roads. As previously reported by News Center 7, parts of the Miami Valley saw as much as three to four inches of snow on Sunday. TRENDING STORIES: STAY INFORMED: Schools announce delays after wintry weather moves through region 1 in custody after large police presence in Huber Heights neighborhood Deputies rescue 'severely malnourished' horses, goats; man facing animal cruelty charges In addition to snow showers, the winds presented a challenge to ODOT crews. 'Crews are dealing with a lot of blowing and drifting snow,' said Bruning. He posted two photos that showed drifting snow on U.S. 127 south of U.S. 40 south in Preble County. Bruning also asked drivers to give ODOT crews room to work and check for travel information. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
