Photo: iStockphoto

If you missed Phillips du Pury's seminal bling auction, Hip Hop's Crown Jewels, you are in luck, for another seminal auction of bling in its purest form takes place next week. Over 600 diamonds seized by authorities investigating an international money-laundering scheme hit the block on Friday, March 20. Previews of the lots, which you can view here, take place on Wednesday and Thursday next week. Is this auction destined to be the emptiest in the land? Or could it turn out to be a great opportunity to get diamonds at rock-bottom prices, pun intended, because no one's buying plain diamonds these days — does anyone ever buy plain diamonds in this fashion? Jewelers are closing stores in These Times too, after all. Might criminals turn up and buy back the jewels? Or just a chinchilla-clad J.Lo and her personal jewelry designer? Lady Gaga could make an excellent set of panties out of them.

Diamond Auction U.S. Treasury [Rick Levin]