When Halle Berry appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on February 5, the Oscar-winning actress shared more than relationship news — she unveiled a striking engagement ring that perfectly reflects one of the biggest shifts in bridal jewelry today: the move toward bold, vintage-inspired, deeply personal design.



Berry confirmed that she is engaged to Grammy-winning musician Van Hunt after nearly six years together, flashing a distinctive diamond ring that immediately caught the attention of jewelry insiders. The piece features a white diamond center stone — estimated at roughly 1 to 2 carats — surrounded by an architectural grid of dark accent stones that experts believe could be black diamonds, deep blue sapphires or onyx. The geometric cluster sits atop a substantial yellow gold band, giving the ring both visual weight and a strong vintage character.



The overall effect is quietly dramatic — less red-carpet flash and more heirloom-inspired elegance. With its structured layout, bezel-style setting and bold use of negative space, the ring evokes early 20th-century design while feeling unmistakably modern.

Jewelry professionals say the piece aligns with several major engagement trends for 2026. Vintage-inspired rings continue to surge in popularity as couples gravitate toward styles with history, character and a sense of permanence. At the same time, chunky, gold-forward designs are making a strong comeback after years of ultra-delicate bands dominating the market. Berry’s ring also taps into the growing appetite for maximalism — statement pieces that stand apart from the predictable diamond solitaire.

Perhaps most importantly, the design reflects a broader cultural shift toward individuality. Today’s couples increasingly seek rings that feel one-of-a-kind, whether through mixed gemstones, unconventional layouts or sculptural forms. Berry’s ring, with its moody color contrast and architectural structure, embodies that desire for something distinctive and deeply personal. Experts estimate the value of the custom piece could exceed $100,000, with some placing the setting and craftsmanship alone near the $200,000 mark.

The engagement marks a meaningful milestone in Berry’s relationship with Hunt. The couple met in 2020 during the early months of the pandemic after being introduced via text by Hunt’s brother, who worked with Berry’s menopause and wellness brand, Respin. They spent months getting to know each other by phone and message before meeting in person, later making their relationship public that September and debuting together on the Oscars red carpet in 2021.

Hunt had previously revealed in 2025 that he had already proposed and was patiently waiting for Berry’s answer. On Fallon’s show, the actress clarified the outcome with a smile: “Of course, I said 'Yes.'”

Both partners are thriving professionally. Berry, 59, is starring in the upcoming thriller Crime 101 and continues to expand her production company, HalleHolly, with multiple projects in development, including an Apple TV+ adaptation of The President Is Missing. She is also growing her Respin wellness platform. Hunt, 55, an acclaimed singer-songwriter and producer, released his EP A Heart Full of Questions in 2025 and continues to create music through his independent label.

Credits: Screen captures via YouTube / The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

When the final whistle blew and the confetti settled, the Seattle Seahawks capped their Super Bowl 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots with one of sports’ most iconic moments: the presentation of the Vince Lombardi Trophy. As Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold lifted the gleaming prize high above his head during the postgame ceremony, he was holding a 6.7-pound masterpiece of sterling silver — a symbol of football supremacy and a triumph of American craftsmanship.



Standing 20.75 inches tall, the Vince Lombardi Trophy depicts a regulation-sized football poised in a kicking position atop a sleek, tapered three-sided base. The words “Vince Lombardi Trophy” and the LX Roman numerals for the 60th Super Bowl are engraved along its polished surface, while the National Football League shield adorns the base. Elegant in its simplicity, the design has remained virtually unchanged for six decades — a testament to the timeless vision behind it.

That vision famously began in 1966 with a sketch on the back of a cocktail napkin.

At the time, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle was preparing for the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game and wanted a trophy that reflected the league’s ambition to present the sport as a first-class spectacle. He turned to Tiffany & Co., which arranged a meeting between Rozelle and its head of design, Oscar Riedener.

There was just one catch: Riedener, a native of Switzerland, knew nothing about American football.

Determined to understand the assignment, the designer visited the FAO Schwarz toy store in New York City and purchased a football. The next morning, he placed it on his kitchen table and studied its shape over breakfast. After finishing a box of cornflakes, Riedener cut up the empty package and fashioned a three-sided base to support the ball. Days later, during a lunch meeting with Rozelle and Tiffany executives, he sketched the concept on a cocktail napkin. The commissioner approved it on the spot — and an enduring sports icon was born.

Today, each Lombardi Trophy is handcrafted by Tiffany & Co. in a painstaking process that spans roughly four months and requires about 72 hours of skilled labor.

The journey begins in the company’s hollowware shop in Cumberland, RI. Sheets of sterling silver are heated to approximately 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, making the metal soft enough to shape. A master spinner then places the heated silver on a lathe and carefully forms it into the distinctive football shape.

Next comes chasing, a traditional silversmithing technique in which artisans hammer intricate details into the surface, including the ball’s seams and laces. At the same time, another master silversmith fabricates the three-sided base, cutting, forming and soldering the components with precision. The assembled piece is then bathed in acid to remove impurities before undergoing extensive polishing and final assembly — a process that gives the trophy its mirror-like brilliance.

Although the Lombardi Trophy is presented immediately after the game, its journey isn’t quite finished. The piece will return to Tiffany’s workshop to be engraved with the names of both teams, the date and location of the game, and the final score. Unlike many championship awards, the Lombardi Trophy is not passed from team to team — each Super Bowl champion keeps its own.

While the trophy’s sterling silver content carries a melt value of roughly $8,000 based on current silver prices, its true worth lies far beyond the metal itself. With a reported production cost of about $50,000 — and immeasurable symbolic value — the Lombardi Trophy represents the pinnacle of achievement in professional football.

Credits: Trophy image by Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Screen capture of the fabrication process via YouTube / The Wall Street Journal.

Welcome to Music Friday, when we spotlight popular songs that sparkle with references to jewelry, gemstones or precious metals. Today’s pick is “Opalite,” one of Taylor Swift’s most luminous recent tracks — a song that uses the language of stones to chart an emotional journey from darkness to self-made joy.



At its core, “Opalite” is about transformation. Swift frames that arc through two contrasting materials: onyx and opalite.

In the chorus, she sings, “Sleepless in the onyx night / But now the sky is opalite.” The imagery is instant and evocative.

Onyx — a deep black gemstone long used in fine jewelry, amulets and carvings — represents her sleepless, sorrowful past. In Swift’s lyric shorthand, it functions perfectly as a stand-in for despair: heavy, opaque and light-absorbing. Opalite, glowing and translucent, becomes the symbol of a brighter emotional horizon.

Opalite is a man-made, opalescent glass designed to mimic the glow of natural opal, shifting between milky blues, pinks and purples as it catches the light. While opalite occasionally appears in fashion jewelry or crystal collections, it lacks the rarity and geological pedigree of fine gems — a distinction Swift leans into deliberately.

In an interview with Capital Official Radio, Swift explained that she had been collecting favorite words and phrases in what she calls her “endless file of lyrics” when opalite caught her attention. She was intrigued to learn that it’s a synthetic material, and that discovery sparked the song’s central metaphor. Because opalite is created rather than unearthed, Swift saw it as a symbol of happiness that can be intentionally initiated and cultivated.

That idea carries personal significance. Natural opal is the birthstone of her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and Swift has long been drawn to the stone’s play-of-color and symbolism. Choosing opalite instead of opal, she said, allowed her to explore the notion that joy, love and emotional clarity are things we actively construct after hardship.

Musically and commercially, the song has resonated just as powerfully. “Opalite” debuted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and quickly landed in the Top 10 in markets including the UK, Germany, Australia and the Philippines. It’s one of the standout tracks from Swift’s album The Life of a Showgirl, which delivered a historic debut: 4 million units in its first week, the largest opening in modern chart history. All 12 tracks from the album charted simultaneously in the Hot 100’s Top 12, a first-ever feat.

Lyrically, “Opalite” fits neatly into Swift’s long tradition of using color and material as emotional shorthand. Where red symbolized passion and chaos, blue conveyed sadness and safety, and lavender haze bathed love in a purple dreamscape, “Opalite” feels like her prism era — refracting pain into something bright and luminous.

Please check out the lyric video for “Opalite.” The words are below if you’d like to follow along...

"Opalite"
Written by Shellback, Max Martin and Taylor Alison Swift. Performed by Taylor Swift.

I had a bad habit
Of missing lovers past
My brother used to call it
"Eating out of the trash," it's never gonna last
I thought my house was haunted
I used to live with ghosts
And all the perfect couples
Said, "When you know you know and when you don't you don't"

And all of the foes and all of the friends
Have seen it before, they'll see it again
Life is a song, it ends when it ends
I was wrong

But my Mama told me, "It's alright
You were dancing through the lightning strikes
Sleepless in the onyx night
But now the sky is opalite
Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh my Lord
Never made no one like you before
You had to make your own sunshine
But now the sky is opalite"
Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh

You couldn't understand it
Why you felt alone
You were in it for real
She was in her phone, and you were just a pose
And don't we try to love love? (Love love)
We give it all we got (Give it all we got)
You finally left the table
And what a simple thought, you're starving till you're not

And all of the foes and all of the friends
Have messed up before, they'll mess up again
Life is a song, it ends when it ends
You move on

And that's when I told you, "It's alright
You were dancing through the lightning strikes
Sleepless in the onyx night
But now the sky is opalite
Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh my Lord
Never met no one like you before
You had to make your own sunshine
But now the sky is opalite"
Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh

This is just a storm inside a teacup
But shelter here with me, my love
Thunder like a drum
This life will beat you up, up, up, up
This is just a temporary speed bump
But failure brings you freedom
And I can bring you love (Love, love, love, love)
Don't you sweat it, baby

"It's alright
You were dancing through the lightning strikes
Oh, so sleepless in the onyx night
But now the sky is opalite
Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh my Lord
Never met no one like you before, no
You had to make your own sunshine
But now the sky is opalite"
Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh



Credit: Taylor Swift image (cropped) by iHeartRadioCA, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Revered for its regal purple hues and rich history, amethyst has been treasured for thousands of years — and one extraordinary example of February's official birthstone resides in the Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection.



The gem seen here is a spectacular 109.66-carat modified rectangular-cut amethyst from Brazil, a vivid purple showpiece that ranks among the world’s finest representations of this beloved quartz variety. The stone was presented to the Smithsonian in 1982 as a gift from philanthropist John W. May, and it remains a standout in a collection that includes more than 10,000 gems and 350,000 mineral specimens.

With its impressive size, saturated color and elegant cut, the Brazilian amethyst offers a perfect reminder of why this gemstone has enchanted jewelry lovers since antiquity.

Amethyst is the most prized gem variety of quartz, a mineral composed of silicon and oxygen. In its pure state, quartz is colorless — but when trace amounts of iron replace some of the silicon atoms within the crystal structure, the gem takes on its signature purple hue. Natural irradiation and geologic conditions deepen that coloration, producing shades that range from pale lilac to rich violet.

Most amethyst forms as crystals lining cavities in volcanic rock, and Brazil and Uruguay remain the world’s most important sources. Fine-quality amethyst also can be found in Zambia, Mexico, Canada, and even parts of the United States, including Maine, Colorado and North Carolina.

Throughout history, amethyst has carried an aura of mystery. Its name comes from the Greek word “amethystos,” meaning “not intoxicated,” reflecting an ancient belief that the stone could ward off drunkenness. According to legend, the Greeks associated amethyst with Bacchus, the god of wine, and wore it to stay clear-headed.

The gem’s purple color also made it a natural symbol of royalty. European monarchs prized amethyst as a stone of power and prestige, and during the Middle Ages it was incorporated into emblems and insignia representing nobility. Even today, amethyst rings are traditionally worn by bishops, underscoring the gem’s longstanding connection to spirituality and wisdom.

Over the centuries, amethyst has been linked with sincerity, protection and deep love. Farmers once believed it could shield crops from hail and locusts, while Leonardo da Vinci reportedly claimed the stone could “quicken intelligence” and calm troubled thoughts.

Whether admired for its beauty, history or symbolism, amethyst remains one of the most fascinating gemstones in the jewelry world.

Credit: Photo by Chip Clark / Smithsonian.

As the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks prepare to meet again on football’s biggest stage, jewelry lovers have a different kind of matchup on their minds: How enormous will the championship ring be this time and will it set a new record?



Super Bowl LX, set for February 8, 2026, is a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX, when the Patriots edged Seattle 28–24 in a thriller that still stings in the Pacific Northwest. But beyond the quarterbacks and playbooks, there’s another tradition quietly at play — an unwritten NFL rule that says the more championships you win, the more extravagant your ring can become.

It’s not an official policy, of course. The league provides a standard allowance — roughly $7,000 per ring for about 150 rings — but owners frequently go far beyond that number when history is on the line. And few franchises have embraced the concept of “bigger is better” quite like the Patriots.



New England enters Super Bowl LX with six Lombardi Trophies, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most in NFL history. All six were earned during the Tom Brady–Bill Belichick era, and their rings have grown steadily more elaborate with each victory.

By the time the Patriots claimed their sixth title in Super Bowl LIII, the jewelry had reached then-record-setting proportions. That Jostens-designed ring featured 422 diamonds totaling 8.25 carats, along with 20 blue sapphires weighing 1.60 carats. It was billed as the largest Super Bowl ring ever created — essentially a wearable monument to dynasty-level success.

So if New England captures a seventh championship — the most ever by any team — it’s hard not to imagine the next ring crossing into cartoon territory. At some point, you have to wonder: If it gets much larger, will it need to be worn on two fingers?

Seattle, on the other hand, would be designing its second championship ring. The Seahawks’ lone title came in Super Bowl XLVIII, a dominant 43–8 win over the Denver Broncos, commemorated with a ring that balanced luxury with symbolism.

Designed by Tiffany & Co., Seattle’s ring was crafted in white gold and packed with meaningful details: the Seahawks logo formed from 65 round brilliant diamonds, highlighted by a neon-green tsavorite “eye.” A background of 87 pavé diamonds added extra sparkle, while 40 blue sapphires circled the ring in the team’s signature blue.

Of course, ring designs today aren’t driven solely by championship totals. Modern Super Bowl jewelry has become increasingly massive across the board, fueled by owner ambition and a competitive desire to out-bling the past. 

The Super Bowl LVI rings presented to the Los Angeles Rams’ players, coaches and staff in 2022 sparkled with 20 carats of white diamonds, along with custom-cut blue and yellow sapphires set in white and yellow gold. The Kansas City Chiefs' fourth championship rings (2024) featured 528 diamonds and 38 rubies, totaling 14.8 carats.

On February 8, the Patriots and Seahawks will battle for football glory — and the right to create the next great masterpiece of championship bling.

Credits: Patriots' ring photos courtesy of Jostens. Seahawks' ring photo courtesy of Tiffany & Co.

With the Winter Olympics set to launch in Milano and Cortina, Italy, later this week, attention is turning not only to the athletes, but also to the beautiful medals they’ll be competing for.



As with every Olympic Games, the gold, silver and bronze medals carry enormous emotional and symbolic weight. But for jewelry lovers, there’s always one irresistible question: What are these awards actually worth in precious metal?

The newly unveiled Milano Cortina 2026 medals feature a striking design unlike any before. For the first time, the Winter Games will be co-hosted by two cities, and the medals reflect that partnership through two interlocking halves — a bold metaphor for unity between Milan’s modern elegance and Cortina’s alpine heritage.

One half is textured, the other smooth, symbolizing contrasts coming together: city and mountain, athlete and supporter, Olympic and Paralympic spirit. One side bears the Olympic rings, while the other displays the Games’ logo, with each medal engraved for its specific sport and event.

Measuring 80 mm wide and 10 mm thick, the medals are handcrafted by Italy’s state mint, the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (IPZS), using recycled metals from its own production stream and produced entirely with renewable energy — an eco-conscious touch worthy of a modern Olympic era.

But let’s get to the melt value.

Some of our readers may be surprised to learn that Olympic “gold” medals are mostly silver. Milano Cortina’s gold medal contains 500 grams of .999 silver, plus 6 grams of pure gold. (International Olympic Committee rules mandate that gold medals must contain at least 6 grams of pure gold plating over a pure silver base.)

With silver priced at about $78.94 per ounce, the silver portion is worth approximately $1,392. The gold, at roughly $4,691 per ounce, adds another $990. That puts the total melt value at about $2,382.

(And if it were pure gold? The value would skyrocket to an astonishing $83,727 — a reminder of why solid-gold medals disappeared after the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden.)

This year's silver medal is made entirely of 500 grams of .999 silver, giving it a melt value of about $1,392.

The bronze medal weighs 420 grams and is made primarily of copper. At copper’s current price of about $0.37 per ounce, the bronze medal’s metal value comes out to only $5.47. It's a humbling contrast, considering bronze medals are every bit as hard-earned.

In total, 735 medals (245 of each type) will be awarded across 116 medal events. You can be sure that none of the athletes would consider selling an Olympic medal for its melt value, but when these awards come up for auction, the results can be impressive.

For instance, back in 2013, billionaire Ron Burkle plunked down $1.46 million at SCP Auctions for a Jesse Owens gold medal from the 1936 Berlin Olympics. In 2019, Goldin Auctions offered for sale an Owens gold medal from the same Olympics. That medal was sold to an online bidder for $615,000.

Credit: Image courtesy of Milano Cortina 2026.

A displaced polar vortex has sent record-breaking Arctic air plunging into the midsection of the United States this winter — and along with the brutal temperatures has come an unexpected visual treat: a phenomenon known as “diamond dust.”



While the name sounds like something from a jeweler’s showcase, this wintry sparkle is actually made of microscopic ice crystals suspended in the air, shimmering like glitter when they catch the sunlight and sometimes even creating dramatic evening “light pillars” across the frozen landscape.

Often called “Mother Nature’s tinsel,” diamond dust looks as if someone shook a jar of shimmer into the sky. It can appear even when the weather is clear and blue, which is why it’s sometimes nicknamed clear-sky precipitation.

So how does it form?

Diamond dust happens during prolonged periods of extreme cold, usually when temperatures drop near or below zero degrees Fahrenheit. In these conditions, the air becomes so cold and calm that moisture doesn’t fall as normal snow. Instead, water vapor freezes almost instantly into tiny ice crystals right near the ground.

Because these crystals are incredibly small and lightweight, they don’t tumble down like snowflakes. They hover and drift, sparkling as they move — more like icy confetti than a winter storm.

This phenomenon is most common in the Arctic and Antarctic, where frigid air is a way of life. But during the intense cold spell of late January and early February 2026, diamond dust has been spotted much farther south than usual — even as far as Kentucky, offering residents a rare glimpse of polar-style winter magic.

And the show doesn’t stop with glitter.

Diamond dust can also create one of the most breathtaking optical effects of the season: light pillars.

Light pillars appear in the evening or early morning, when streetlights, headlights, or even the setting sun shine upward through the icy air. The flat, plate-like ice crystals act like tiny mirrors, reflecting light back toward our eyes. The result is an otherworldly vertical beam — a glowing column of light that looks like it’s reaching into the sky.

It’s important to know these pillars aren’t solid beams, but rather an optical illusion, created by millions of crystals perfectly positioned in the air.

Together, diamond dust and light pillars transform ordinary winter nights into something straight out of a fairytale — sparkling skies, glowing towers of light and the sense that the atmosphere itself has been dusted with jewels.

Credits: Diamond dust photo by English: Jacob W. Frank, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Light pillars over London, Ontario Canada, as seen on January 13, 2018, photo by Ray Majoran, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Welcome to Music Friday, when we bring you fun tunes with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today’s sparkling selection comes from the ever-eccentric Swing Revival favorites Squirrel Nut Zippers, who sing about romance, commitment and a not-so-subtle craving for fine jewelry in their irresistible track, “Baby Wants a Diamond Ring.”



Written by bandleader James “Jimbo” Mathus, the song captures a familiar relationship dynamic: One partner ready for forever, the other dragging his feet. The protagonist makes her wishes perfectly clear, pressing her slow-to-commit beau to do the “right thing” — and to do it with diamonds.

She sings, “Baby wants a diamond to have and hold / A diamond ring with a band of gold.”

It’s classic jewelry symbolism wrapped in playful swing-era swagger. The diamond ring here isn’t just decoration — it’s a promise. Diamonds have long represented endurance and lasting love, while the gold band signifies unity and permanence. In just a few lines, the song turns a piece of fine jewelry into the ultimate relationship milestone.

Later in the song, she admits that pearls are appealing — “so nice” — but they won’t seal the deal. Only diamonds will do. That lyrical insistence speaks to the diamond’s cultural power: it’s not merely a stone, but a symbol of devotion, security and status — the kind of gift meant to last a lifetime.

“Baby Wants a Diamond Ring” appeared as the second track on the band’s fifth studio album, Bedlam Ballroom, released in 2000. By then, Squirrel Nut Zippers had already carved out a unique place in modern music history.

Their breakthrough came with the 1996 album Hot, which sold more than 1.3 million copies, earned a platinum certification and gained major momentum through the support of National Public Radio and college radio stations. When Hot hit the airwaves, it didn’t just revive swing sounds — it sparked a cultural bonfire, bringing vintage jazz, blues and Americana back into the mainstream.

The original lineup, including Mathus, Katharine Whalen, Chris Phillips and Stu Cole, created a sound that critics struggled to define. Their music has been described as a fusion of Delta blues, gypsy jazz, 1930s swing, klezmer, rockabilly, and even what one writer jokingly called “30s punk.”

The band derived its name from a 1920s-era caramel and peanut candy of the same name, which was itself inspired by a Prohibition-era bootleg moonshine known as a "nut zipper."

Over the years, they’ve toured with Neil Young, performed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, and appeared on late-night staples such as The Tonight Show and Late Show with David Letterman.

And the Zippers are still going strong. Still led by founder Mathus, the band is celebrating its legacy with a 30th-anniversary “In the Afterlife” tour, playing dates across the US into early 2026, including stops in California, Colorado, Florida, New York, Maryland and Connecticut.

Please check out the audio track of Squirrel Nut Zippers performing “Baby Wants a Diamond Ring.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Baby Wants a Diamond Ring”
Written by James Mathus. Performed by the Squirrel Nut Zippers.

Hey there baby
I have gotten some news for you

You think you’re something out of sight
To take me out every night
Take me out show me everything
But you won’t do the right thing

Baby wants a diamond to have and hold
A diamond ring with a band of gold

String of pearls are so nice
But it ain’t worth a trip to paradise
Your weary romance is much too slow
You gotta give up all that dough

Baby wants a diamond to have and hold
A diamond ring with a band of gold

Baby wants a diamond to have and hold
A diamond ring with a band of gold



Credit: Photo by Bruce Andersen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A dazzling marquise-cut diamond engagement ring stole a share of the spotlight during the Season 24 premiere of American Idol, when TikTok’s famously unseen “Secret Shower Singer” turned his breakout audition into an unforgettable proposal.



Contestant Bryant Thomas, a 26-year-old from Mobile, AL, made his national television debut on the January 26 premiere — though millions already recognized his voice. Thomas has built a following of roughly 110,000 fans through viral TikTok clips in which he sings from the shower while his girlfriend, Alyona Palhof, appears on camera doing her hair and makeup. The twist? Viewers could hear him, but no one had ever seen his face.

That changed in dramatic fashion on Idol. Leaning into the mystery, Thomas began his audition hidden behind a giant pillar as he performed Phil Collins’ emotional 1984 ballad, “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now).”

“Well, this is the first time we’ve ever allowed one of these to go this way,” judge Luke Bryan remarked as the singer stayed out of sight.

Even from behind the pillar, the judges were captivated. Carrie Underwood praised his raw delivery, telling him, “Your voice is outrageous… Even over there, behind a pillar, you can feel just so much emotion and life in your voice.”

Lionel Richie was equally impressed, declaring, “I think we got ourselves a hit record here. You’ve got star power vocals here, man.”

Midway through the performance, Thomas emerged — his face still partially hidden behind reflective sunglasses — before finally revealing himself fully. The audition earned him three enthusiastic “yes” votes and the coveted golden ticket to Hollywood Week.

But Thomas wasn’t finished surprising the room.



After inviting Palhof and his family onto the stage, he delivered an even more personal moment. Dropping to one knee, he told her, “My journey started with you and is gonna end with you,” adding that the proposal would have happened regardless of the judges’ decision.

His tearful girlfriend responded with multiple “yeses,” marveling at the ring as she exclaimed, “Oh my God, this is beautiful.”

The engagement ring appeared to feature a marquise-shaped center diamond, set on a delicate yellow gold band accented with stations of petite round diamonds — a romantic, modern style that feels both timeless and uniquely personal.

Thomas later reflected on Instagram: “I walked in hoping for one yes… and walked out with four. Three from the judges. One from her.” He punctuated his comment with a diamond ring emoji.

You can check out the video of the audition and proposal at this link…

Credits: Couple image via Instagram / bryant.thomas.band. Proposal screen capture via Youtube / American Idol.

For the 10th year in a row, jewelry is expected to be the top Valentine’s Day gift category by dollars spent, according to the latest consumer spending survey released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics. Shoppers are projected to spend $7 billion on jewelry for Valentine’s Day 2026 — accounting for nearly one-quarter of all holiday spending and outpacing every other gift category once again.



Overall, Valentine’s Day spending is expected to reach a record-breaking $29.1 billion, surpassing last year’s all-time high of $27.5 billion. On an individual level, consumers plan to spend an average of $199.78, up nearly 6% from the $188.81 reported in 2025 and higher than the previous record set in 2020.



“Valentine’s Day is a cherished holiday that resonates with many Americans, as seen with expected record-breaking spending this year,” said Katherine Cullen, NRF Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights. “Much of that growth is driven by middle- and high-income shoppers who are expanding their gift lists to include friends, co-workers and even pets in addition to loved ones.”

More than half of consumers (55%) plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year. Among those participants, 83% will purchase gifts for a significant other, accounting for $14.5 billion. Gifts for family members, such as children, parents and siblings, are expected to total $4.5 billion, reflecting Valentine’s Day’s continued evolution beyond couples-focused celebrations.

That expansion shows up clearly in other categories. One-third (33%) of consumers plan to buy gifts for friends, contributing $2.4 billion in spending. Another 27% will shop for children’s classmates and teachers ($2.2 billion), while 21% plan to purchase gifts for co-workers ($1.7 billion).

Pets are also playing a growing role in Valentine’s Day spending. A record 35% of consumers plan to buy gifts for their pets this year, with spending projected to reach $2.1 billion, up from $1.7 billion in 2025.



While candy remains the most popular Valentine’s Day gift (56%), followed by greeting cards (41%), flowers (41%) and an evening out (39%), jewelry continues to dominate on a dollar basis. After jewelry’s $7 billion share, spending is expected to reach $6.3 billion on evenings out, $3.5 billion on clothing and $3.1 billion on flowers.

Online shopping remains the top destination (38%), followed by department stores (35%), discount stores (30%) and specialty retailers (21%). Even among those not celebrating Valentine’s Day by buying gifts for others, nearly one-third (31%) still plan to mark the occasion with self-care purchases or social gatherings.

The survey was conducted Jan. 2-8 among 7,791 U.S. adult consumers and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.

Credits: Image by BigStockPhoto.com. Charts courtesy of the National Retail Federation.