The day Putin packed plenty of bling - but was he supposed to?

[emad]

The day Putin packed plenty of bling - but was he supposed to?
By James Bone
Our correspondent reports on the strange case of the Super Bowl diamonds



AN INTERNATIONAL incident was averted last night when an American tycoon agreed to give President Putin the diamond-encrusted Super Bowl ring that the Russian President pocketed during a recent business meeting.

The ultimate piece of “bling”, the American equivalent of the FA Cup winner’s medal, slipped into Mr Putin’s pocket when he met several US tycoons, including Robert Kraft, the owner of this year’s Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. The two hours of private talks at Konstantinovsky Palace, near St Petersburg, were also attended by top executives from IBM, Intel and Citigroup.

At a press conference, Mr Kraft, who made his fortune in paper products, is said to have been urged by Sanford Weill, the chairman of Citigroup, to show Mr Putin his flashy 2005 Super Bowl ring. The 14-carat white-gold ring, awarded to all members of the winning team, weighs more than four ounces, making it the heaviest so far, and is studded with 124 diamonds arranged to form the team ’s logo and the words “World Champions”.

When Mr Kraft presented the Super Bowl rings to his team two weeks ago, the club boasted: “These rings pack plenty of bling.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1674635,00.html

[Igel]

1. I wonder how to apply the Russian proverb here:

Ne poiman, ne vor.

(If you're) not caught, (you're) not a thief.

On the other hand, it would make Putin a white-gold wielder.