Like any celeb, US TV mogul Oprah Winfrey loves wearing diamond jewelry. For the farewell episode of “Oprah,” she wore a pink diamond bracelet by jeweler Lorraine Schwartz, and she was photographed on the cover of O Magazine decked out in yellow and white diamond earrings and a Fancy Yellow diamond ring by London luxury jeweler Graff.
What makes Oprah unique, though, is how many diamonds she gives away.
In 2006, guests at Oprah Winfrey’s Legends Ball, held in honor of 25 African American women in the arts, entertainment, and civil rights, left with one of two styles of diamond earrings – either drops or hoops.
In recent years, the giveaways on the TV host’s annual “Favorite Things” episodes have included an Oprah watch – set with 58 diamonds and featuring two Os on the face – and pairs of diamond earrings (audience members that day also got iPads and Volkswagon Beetles.)
In late 2010, Oprah Winfrey toured Australia and teamed up with mining giant Rio Tinto to give each of the 6,000 members of the Sydney audience a diamond necklace.
Rio Tinto worked with representatives of Oprah’s talk show for two months to design the gift necklaces, each of which features seven diamonds in an O shape – including one rare pink diamond from Rio Tinto’s Argyle Mine in Western Australia.
Jean-Marc Lieberherr, General Manager of Sales and Marketing at Rio Tinto, said the diamond supplier was “delighted” to be a part of the 25th and final season of Oprah’s iconic TV talk show and noted that the event coincided with the Argyle Mine’s 25th anniversary of production.
