Sunday, March 8, 2009

Body Diamond

Youngsters yearn to look different. They follow all the fashion tips religiously to enhance their personality. It's not just about the clothes but also about accessories. Labret jewellery is the in thing today. The youth is crazy about it. This kind of jewellery is available in various designs. You can choose the one that goes with your personality.

A labret is one form of body piercing. Labret jewellery is basically inserted into labret piercings, which are located in the centre of the lower lip. Generally, the term refers to a piercing that is below the bottom lip. It is also referred to as a "tongue pillar." There are numerous labret jewellers available in the market. Jewellery designers can help you get the best type of labret jewellery designs. You can also look online for various kinds of labret jewellery designs. You can choose from a range of labrets. There are numerous shops offering a wide range of labrets. You can buy these jewelleries at discounted prices......Read More

Thursday, February 12, 2009

history of South Sea pearl cultivation By David-John Turner

The history of South Sea pearl cultivation transformed the modern pearl industry.

South Sea pearls had been sourced from the silver-lipped and gold-lipped, 'Pinctada Maxima' oyster of Australia's waters since the dawn of time. For thousands of years, Aboriginal fishermen had dove for these naturally occurring South Sea pearl oysters using their meat, shell and pearls for trade and tribute. Unfortunately, as with all things precious, by the late 1800s the modern world had all but depleted Australia's natural South Sea pearl resource. However, off the north-eastern coast of Australia, a method was being unearthed that would not only revitalize Australia's South Sea pearl industry but pearl production the world-over.

The British marine biologist, William Saville-Kent, served two posts as Australia's Commissioner of Fisheries, one in Queensland and one in Western Australia. In 1891, while on Queensland's Thursday Island, Saville-Kent experimented with grafting one oyster's mantle tissue, inserted with a nucleus of shell, into another oyster's mantle. This caused the formation of a pearl sack which produced nacre covering the nucleus to form a spherical pearl.

Pioneering the technique, William Saville-Kent, acting as scientist and Commissioner freely passed the method onto other interested parties working in Australia's north-eastern pearl industry. At that time, Australia's pearl industry comprised of tens of thousands of people, including Aboriginal Australians, Europeans, Chinese, Malaysian and Japanese; amongst who were Tatsuhei Mise and Tokishi Nishikawa.

It should be noted that many cultivated pearl industry texts on the web wrongly credit the Japanese entrepreneurs Tatsuhei Mise, Tokishi Nishikawa and Mikimoto Kokichi, with the invention of the nucleated cultivation technique. To this day, William Saville-Kent is not officially recognized as the father of this procedure and the resulting cultivated round pearl.

In 1907, both Mise and Nishikawa applied for the patent of Saville-Kent's method, but realizing that they were now competing against each other they unified to patent and name it the 'Mise-Nishikawa' method. That same year, quite probably in search of sponsorship, Nishikawa wrote to Mikimoto Kokichi telling him of his discovery; "...I have found the cause of Japanese pearl formation, i.e. the reason why and how the pearl is produced in the tissue of the oyster..." (G.F Kunz: 'The Book of the Pearl' 1908).

In 1916, Mikimoto and Nishikawa joined forces and went into large scale production using Saville-Kent's original technique, using it to cultivate the Akoya 'Pinctada Fucata' pearl oyster. The implementation of this ground-breaking procedure marked the beginnings of a boom in Japan's pearl industry. By 1935 Japan was producing more than 10,000,000 cultured pearls every year.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Valentine With Diamond

If you're like most men, Valentine jewelry shopping for your girl can be a frustrating experience. What does she like? Where can you get it? How do you know that what you're buying is the right one? There are so many questions to ponder and there seems to be no straight answers especially if your mission is to buy engagement rings.
Don't worry. There's no shame in getting a bit confused. In fact, majority of men find jewelry shopping a bit of a challenge. 

Your pre-Valentine jewelry excursion need not be a disaster. Here are some signposts to point you in the right direction: 

Do some recon first: figure out what she likes. 
Just because it's expensive, and within the latest fashion trend, doesn't mean she will wear it. Some women like small and subtle accessories; other go for the loud, huge and flamboyant. Some women like things formal and classy; others a bit experimental and playful. And then there are preferences for particular materials. There are gold lovers, silver lovers and copper lovers. There are women with long-standing love affairs with certain stones. 

How to know what she likes? Don't rely on the store owner; he doesn't know your girl! Start by checking out what she wears often. Raid her jewelry box. Snap a picture of her typical get-up complete with all the adornments and shows a copy to the saleslady. You can also ask her fashion-savvy best friend. If you can pull it off, accompany her as she window shops and observe what gems she gravitates to. 

Select a design: hearts or not? 
Hearts are common this time of the year and they are always a good choice. They fit the occasion and they can be worn across seasons. A heart also symbolizes the feeling that goes with the gift. By choosing heart-shaped jewelry, you are sending your message of affection loud and clear. 

But note that you are not obliged to choose a heart shaped jewelry just because it's Valentines Day. Also, some women are not keen on wearing anything with hearts in them. If your girl is like that, scrap the idea. Valentine gem gifting rules are flexible; you don't have to stay with the motif. 

You can pick something that is practical, one she can wear regularly to work like a reliable pair of silver earrings. You can go for something that symbolizes her personality like a violin pendant if she plays the instrument. You can choose a design that tells a story about the relationship you two have, like journey pendants with engraved initials. There are many possible options available. 

Canvass. 
You don't have to buy from the first store that you find. The more stores you check out, the better are your chances of finding something that's a good match to her taste (and your wallet!). It's always a good idea to shop ahead of time; it gives you the liberty to be choosy. 

Don't limit yourself to the typical stall in the mall. Find a vintage shop, browse online or look for those small family-based businesses that make custom jewelry setting an art form. If you're on a budget, check out the local pawnshop. You can also check if family heirlooms can be resized or modernized. 

Wherever you buy, make sure that your purchase has a certification of authenticity. This will help ensure that what you are spending your hard-earned cash on is the real deal. 

Leave her have the choice. 
Now if the shopping really has you stumped, here's an idea: why don't you just let her choose? Depending on how you package it, making them pick what they like can still be really romantic. If you're worried about revealing your budget, befriend the store owner beforehand. Give your range and have him prepare a selection for your girl that she can view in a private room. It's actually romantic for the two of you to choose together.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Some Famous Diamonds


Star of Africa (Cullinan 1) This is the largest diamond in the world, at 530.20 carats. It is now in the Royal Scepter in the Tower of London. This diamond was cut from the 3,106-carat Cullinan—the largest diamond ever found. 

Kah-i-Nur: (Mountain of Light) This diamond has the oldest recorded history, since 1304. Originally, the legend is that the Mogul emperors possessed this diamond, but upon the breakup of the Mogul empire, the diamond made its way into India, and thence to Afghanistan, where it traveled back to India. There, the East India Company took it and presented it to Queen Victoria. 

Hope Diamond: This diamond is ironically named after 1830 purchaser Henry Thomas Hope. It is thought to be a part of the Blue Tavernier Diamond found in 1692. The Hope diamond was purchased by King Louis XIV of France (whose sad history many of us know). Stolen during the French Revolution, it surfaced in 1830 when Hope bought it. Hope’s son lost his fortune after inheriting the diamond, and it was sold to an American widow, Mrs. Edward McLean. After the purchase, her child was killed, her family broke up, the widow became destitute, and then committed suicide. When it came up for auction, potential buyers wouldn’t touch the diamond. It now resides in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington. 

Belgium Culture

Antwerp has been very prominent in diamond cutting for five hundred years—the first written mention of diamond cutting is in Antwerp in 1550. Located in the Flemish section of the country, Antwerp is on the northwest coast of Belgium. In the very early years of European development, Antwerp was over-shadowed by Brugge in terms of international trading, but became the absolute center of Belgian trading when Brugge was struck by the plague.


Diamonds arrived in Antwerp when the Portugese discovered a direct route to India (the prime diamond producer in the world at those times). Diamonds had been taken to Venice by way of Aden, Ethiopia and Egypt or Arabia, Persia, Armenia and Turkey, but with the advent of the direct route to India, Antwerp was ideally situated to receive vast quantities of diamond from Lisbon and Venice.

In 1585, however, the Spanish attacked Antwerp. The arrival of the Spanish conquerors sent the diamond cutters scuttling to Amsterdam, whose liberal civil policies also accepted Jewish diamond-cutters fleeing religious prosecution. Thus, Antwerp was forced to become a non-player in the world diamond market. This was only a fleeting exodus, though, because when the Spanish pulled out of Antwerp, the diamond-cutters floated back in.

Today, Antwerp is the diamond capital of the world. More diamonds pass through Antwerp than any other city in the world, and the world’s most highly-regarded cutters reside in Antwerp. Antwerp holds a 60% part in the world diamond trade, and employs 27,000 people in the diamond business alone. What Antwerp specializes in is the cutting and polishing of high-quality diamonds. The examples of the most common cuts are below.

The History of Diamonds
The root of the word “diamond” comes from the Ancient Greek term “adamas,” meaning unconquerable and indestructable (“adamas” is the root for the English word “adamant,” and a person who is adamant in his desires truly will not budge from his stance!). “Indestructable” is certainly true; there is nothing on Earth which is harder or more pure than diamonds, and it actually takes another diamond to cut and polish the stones which one sees in rings and watches. The “industrial diamonds” are actually black-colored ones.

Diamonds have been known and used by humans for 3000-4000 years. Original diamonds were not mined—they were found along riverbeds, where the water slowly ate away at the stone in which they were ensconced. The earliest use of diamonds was exclusively for kings. Since diamonds were known for their utter indestructability, kings studded their leather breastplates with diamonds as a primitive and expensive form of bullet- (or sword!) proof vest. The brilliant sparkle also warned away potential assassins, because diamonds were seen as the sole domain of kings, and the magical powers of diamonds were said to turn malicious against those who harmed their bearers.

The phosphorescence of certain diamonds was considered the proof of their magical powers and gave the bearer many enviable virtues, such as generosity and courage in battle. Lawsuits were always said to be considered in the favor of whomever had worn the more powerful diamond. A house or garden touched at each corner with a diamond supposedly protected the garden against lightning, storms and blight. In the Middle Ages, a diamond could heal a sick person if he took it to bed and warmed it with his body, breathed upon it while fasting, or wore it near the skin. If a liar or a scolder were to put a diamond in his mouth, he would be instantaneously cured. Plato and the Greek philosophers believed that inanimate objects, and especially gemstones, were living beings produced by a chemical reaction to vivifying astral spirits. Later philosophers even believed that there were female specimens and male specimens, and that they could marry and reproduce—of course, in a far slower manner than human beings could comprehend.

Diamonds were worn as a talisman against poisoning, but that was not their only function where poisoning was concerned. Diamond powder, ingested orally, is deadly. Catherine di Medici’s favorite means of dispensing death to her enemies was death by diamond powder. Perhaps the this association of diamonds with poison was originally spread about because this legend would certainly prevent mine workers from swallowing diamonds with the hopes of stealing them.
Ancient Greeks considered diamonds to be “splinters of stars fallen to Earth” or “teardrops of the Gods.” This is an entirely beautiful was of thinking of diamonds, but one that is, unfortunately, untrue. Diamonds are pure carbon (with a melting point of 6900 degrees Farenheit), compressed after many millions of years into the hard shapes we see today. 

Diamonds were worn uncut for an extremely long time. An uncut diamond normally resembles a pebble you would throw out without a second glance. There is an extant crown from 1074 made for a Hungarian queen that is set with unpolished, uncut diamonds, and although it is very beautiful, its stones are not nearly as brilliant as those of today. The majesty of diamonds seemed to have spread rather slowly: French and English royalty wore diamonds by the 1300’s.
The use of diamonds to symbolize love (pure, indestructable, and incomparably beautiful) came into being when in 1477, Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy. Contemporary people keep this tradition alive by offering diamond rings to their intended spouses—from which came the saying “Diamonds are a woman’s best friend.” Incidentially, the tradition of offering any ring at all to a loved one comes from ancient Egypt, when men gave their wives rings to place on the fourth finger of their left hands. This is where the “vena amoris” or “vein of love” was said to begin, eventually to end at the heart. Diamond rings took an active step in 16th Century England, when fashionable (and love-crazed!) lovers etched romantic pledges on window panes with their diamond rings. Such rings are called “scribbling rings.”

Until 1725, India was the major source of diamonds for the world. When the diamond source of India eventually petered out, Brazil was the next in line as the diamond center of the world. Then, in 1867, pipes of a substance called “Kimberlite peridotite” (named for Kimberly, its discoverer) were discovered in Africa. These Kimberlite peridotite pipes are volcanic formations which extend under the earth, stretching from South Africa to many more northern countries of Africa. This is the origin of the majority of the diamonds which one buys today. The De Beers company in South Africa controls the export of about 90 percent of today’s diamonds.

Surprisingly, diamonds are not rare, whatsoever! This might come as a shock to a person who has just paid 1,000 dollars for a one-carat stone, but there are enough diamonds in the world to give every man, woman, and child in America a cupful. Although they have the best reputation, diamonds are not the most expensive gemstone, either. A top-quality ruby would be double the expense of a diamond of the same carat. A diamond’s expense comes from a human-imposed drought rather than a true drought. The whole theory of supply and demand plays very nicely here into the hands of the diamond-governing corporations!

What is rare, however, is a good diamond. This next part might be bad news for you diamond-lovers out there. If we define a good diamond in general terms as one that has a large carat, is perfectly white, that has no fissures or cracks or clouds, has all of its potential brilliance, and will appreciate over time, less than 25 out of 1000 diamonds sold in the US would be good diamonds. The average person in the US pays twice what they should for their engagement ring, and the average diamond has been laser-drilled, is tinted yellow, and has cracks, breaks or carbon that you can see with your own eyes.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Wedding Ring

So you’ve got the ring. A dazzling, shiny engagement ring. Your next step: picking out the perfect wedding band to complement that ring. First, get something you like. Consider your lifestyle and taste.



There are ways to simplify your diamond investment, says Anne Pokoski, certified gemologist appraiser at Elleard Heffern Fine Jewelers in St. Louis.
Pokoski says the wedding couple’s shopping experience should be fun, exciting and done with confidence.

TIPS FOR DIAMOND WEDING RING



  • Brides today are more interested in wedding bands filled with diamonds than the plain gold or platinum band.

  • If your engagement ring is an emerald-cut diamond, which generally has an understated sparkle to it, consider a wedding band with baguettes or side stones to complement the set.

  • A princess-cut diamond tends to feature geometric styling. It would be ideal to choose a wedding band also with princess cut diamonds.

  • If your engagement ring has a solitaire, pear, oval or marquis-shaped diamond, a round band embellished with diamonds may match best.

TRENDS IN WEDDING RINGS



  1. The round brilliant stone is still one of the most popular diamond shapes.

  2. The oval and princess-cut diamonds are relatively newer cuts, popular among younger brides.

  3. Some brides are showing a strong interest in older cut diamonds such as the Asscher-cut and the Cushion-cut. These styles from a century ago bring back creative looks in platinum.

  4. You may want to consider a wedding set made with colored stones. This new trend has brides and celebrities choosing some of the hottest colors of diamonds in shades of yellow, pink, brown and purple.

REMEMBER THE 4 C’S


Cut: The set of dimensions and angles of the diamond. Cut is the most important factor of the four C’s, because a properly cut diamond will sparkle at its most brilliant, and it will be the prettiest.


Carat: The weight of the stones.


Clarity: Represents the number, size and location of natural birthmarks within the diamond.


Clarity grades range from flawless to imperfect, with flawless being extremely rare.


Color: Amount of color that can be seen by a diamond grader when the stone is viewed lying upside down in special lighting conditions. Color ranges from D, which is completely colorless, up to Z which has strongly noticeable color. Most high-end quality bridal jewelry today is set with diamonds in the colorless to near colorless range from D to K in color.


Ring BAND CHOICES



  • Yellow gold for men and women.

  • White gold for men and women.

  • Platinum for men and women.

  • Titanium for men only.

  • Tungsten carbide.

TIPS TO MAKE DIAMOND CUT SHOPPING PLEASANT



  • Re search the Internet for diamonds choices.

  • Look for jewelers with good reputations. Ask friends and relatives for resources.

  • Select a jeweler who is a member of the American Gem Society or the Independent Jewelers Organization.

Black Diamond In Watch


Hublot has upped the ante on "unique," crafting a white gold and black diamond timepiece that does not reveal a single grain of gold.The "One Million $ Black Caviar Bang" features a completely invisible setting, showing only the black and deep tones of the diamonds.The Swiss watch brand worked in collaboration with setting workshop Bunter SA to manufacture the timepiece, which houses a tour billon and whose case is a one-piece construction set with 322 black diamond baguettes. The watch's dial is set with an additional 179 black diamond baguettes, plus 13 on the crown and 30 more on the clasp.

Hublot's new "One Million $ Black Caviar Bang" features hundreds of black diamonds.

"When each element is crafted individually and in coherence with the one right next to it, this is invisible from the outside but creates a vibration of harmony which is visible and gives rise to emotion in those who perceive it," Hublot Chief Executive Officer Jean-Claude Biver said in a media release.

The timepiece is the latest to join the million-dollar watch club, whose exclusive members have included a limited-edition Corum "Golden Bridge" watch, Patek Philippe's "Sky Moon Tourbillon," a multicolored diamond version from Chopard, a Jacob and Co. diamond stunner and a pearl-set timepiece from Robert Wan.


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