Jewelry In A Mans World

If anyone ever thought that jewelry is mostly about women, they must not know their history very well. All throughout the ages many men have been just as avid jewelry wearers as women. From ancient times men adorned themselves with necklaces, bracelets and rings of all kinds.

Even back to the days of the cave man they would wear feathers bones, and rocks if need be to present themselves in a more noticeable way, and if the women cared for it fine, and if they did not, well they wore it anyway. Thank goodness fashion evolved through the years and more conventional jewelry replaced the bones and feathers, at least in most cultures. There are remote tribes in Africa and other countries that still find more primitive jewelry perfectly acceptable as well it should be, because if nothing else, jewelry is all about one's individual taste and preferences.

The more modern, fashionable men of today still prefer their own styles. It is hard, as most women know, to talk a man into wearing something, jewelry or otherwise, if he does not like it. Just as with women, there are men with more flashy taste, and men with a more subdued sense of style.

The new metro men seem to possess a little of both. They like to be a little flashy because they have carved out entirely new comfort zones for themselves and it is evidently a brave new world. On the other hand these modern metro men also can hang with the best when it comes to class and tasteful fashion. Dating back to kings and aristocrats, men have worn elegant jewelry.

Some more bold than others. Huge gold chains and gaudy large gemstone rings were extremely common among men of wealth and social status during medieval and renaissance periods. Men were not afraid of bold jewelry statements then.

There is a perfect piece of jewelry out there for every guy. Even those who are not a real stand out type would still probably want to wear a nice wristwatch or wedding band. Necklaces made simply with a small pendant with a significant meaning would likely be worn too.

Men who are a little more out going in their lifestyles and fashion choices are probably very comfortable wearing a ring with a larger diamond or other gemstone. Earrings are even common for the more adventurous man, even the older guys are wearing them to sport their sex appeal, and they probably should.

You know what they say, If you have still got, show it. Thicker necklace chains are done in many styles and are very popular with men too right now. Jewelry is a great gift to give your guy, just know which type of guy you have got, and hopefully for you he is not the bone and feather type!

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Source: http://www.pcwriters.com/Article/Jewelry-In-A-Mans-World/100094

All about White Gold

What is White Gold?

White gold is an alloy of gold and other white metals that has silver, nickel, platinum and palladium. Same as yellow gold, white gold can also be 18kt, 14kt, 8kt or any karat. An 18kt white gold is 75% gold mixed with 25% other material called silver and palladium. The color of this gold is white color.

Properties of White Gold

The properties of white gold would normally vary depending upon the actual metals that are used in it and the proportions that is used in it. So, white gold alloys could even be custom made for any particular purposes; for instance, alloys using nickel are usually very hard and very strong, so it could be used for rings and pins. White alloys using palladium are quite softer and more flexible and could be further used for settings to hold a gemstone.

White gold is actually speaking white; its actual color is grey steel like color that is treated with the metal rhodium which makes the finished white gold to appear white in color.

White Gold Jewelry

You could find all types of white gold jewelry today. From pins to brooches to chains, necklace, bracelets and rings, gorgeous white gold jewelry is very east to find. Further white gold wedding bans and engagement rinds are gaining popularity day by day.

Taking Care of White Gold

White gold rings are coated with Rhodium. Rhodium is same as platinum and also shares many its properties including its white color. Just because the natural color of white gold is light grey, rhodium plating makes white gold whiter. Since rhodium ultimately wears away white gold should be re-rhodium plated every 12 to 18 months.

Whatever white gold you choose, however you choose to purchase it, white gold is extremely beautiful. Get what you want and enjoy!

Source: http://www.postarticles.com/Article/All-about-White-Gold/37871

Jewelry For The Little Girls In Your Life

You could probably ask any little girl anywhere what her favorite prize is, or was, to get out of the bubble gum machines and the answer would probably be the same everywhere from them all. A ring! Well, in this day and age little girls have came a long way baby. They still love the bubble gum machine variety, but they have also acquired a taste for the real thing. And not just rings.

They love it all, bracelets, rings, necklaces, hair jewelry, and even tiaras. Little girls have always loved to play dress up and mama's jewelry box has often been a part of that. The only thing they would love more is a jewelry box of their own. Every little girl should have their own jewelry box and have their own special place to save all those little things that will be precious to them someday.

A lot of mom's have their baby girl's ears pierced at an early age. The ear piercing guns that are used for this today is virtually painless, but it can be a little scary. The tiny little ear studs that are used in them have backings that can not be easily removed. By the time they reach six years old or so, the ear lobes have long since healed, leaving them to be able to change out there own earrings. This will help let them discover a little about their own taste and style.

Pendants made in the image of teddy bears, dolls and other girly things are easily found to go on tiny chains of gold or silver. A sixth birthday is a perfect time to give a charm bracelet to a little girl you love, and adding an additional charm for future birthday's and special occasions will always bring her joy. When she is older it will be a piece of jewelry she will always cherish.

Birthstone jewelry is always a popular choice for girls too. Giving them the gem stone that represents to them the month they were born will make the gift more personalized.Adding an engraving to a piece of jewelry can personalize a gift as well, and we all know how much females love sentiment.

With all the endless toys and gadgets children get these days, it can be a good change of pace to give them a present that they will keep always and actually might remember when they got, and who it was gotten from.

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Source: http://www.pcwriters.com/Article/Jewelry-For-The-Little-Girls-In-Your-Life/100100

Sprucing Up an Older Bridal Set

Let's get right to it on sizing first. Prices will vary from location to location but in our area we generally size a ring down for $23. To size up starts at $28 and there is $10 added for each size after the first size. Keep in mind, the width of the rings will affect the price somewhat. The difference will not break the bank but be prepared for a higher charge for a wide ring band.

What to ask the jeweler or how to be prepared when going to the store? Ok, I will offer a few suggestions which might help you here. First of all, have fingers measured and get an estimate of the price to resize the rings. Then, ask if the jeweler thinks any stones might be loosened in the sizing process and what the charge might be to retighten the stones. This part is important! I have not seen your rings but depending on the resizing needed and the method by which the stones are set, loosening is possible in sizing down. When rings are sized up, loosening of stones can happen but is generally not the case. Since yours need to go up, loosening is likely not to happen but ask anyway.

When done well, the cleaning, polishing, etc. is simply part of the resizing process. You don't really need to ask anything about that. Still, you might ask if the sizing "will show", a common question from many repair and sizing customers who have not used us before.

Altering the rings you have to white and not having the stones put into new white settings means one approach: Rhodium plating. To rhodium plate is a fairly straight forward procedure but you might ask for a heavy plate, heavier than usually done for white gold rings. Since these are yellow and the life of the plating will depend on the thickness of the plate, ask for a double plating or simply that the rings be given a heavy plate. This means keeping the rings in the plating solution longer than usual or doing the job twice. Generally, to refinish and rhodium plate a ring will run about $40 in our area. If we size the rings, the finishing is done already and we would likely rhodium plate for about $25 to $30.

Please keep in mind that even the very hard and inert rhodium will wear off in time. How long will the white color last? That depends on wear and what is encountered in everyday life. If you laid bricks the life span would be much, much less than if you do "white collar" work and perhaps somewhere in between if a homemaker. : ) Give it at least 6 months for a basic plate and longer when your hands are not constantly repeating the same things with the same contact to the rings each day.

Yes, a good jeweler is the first requisite. Look for a reputable business with an "in-house" jeweler (on the premises). If you are really concerned or have a "gentle nudge" from somewhere inside that the conversations at the store are not totally right, ask if you can see a ring they have resized. This is not too much to ask but might surprise a sales person! Look at the ring and see if the work looks like no work was done at all. That is how it should look, with no sanding marks inside the ring and no obvious places where the ring was soldered. All should be finished well, both the bottom and the top of the ring.

Just a side note: Yes, be certain the store has a bench jeweler (like me, the one who actually does the work) in the store. Today, two ladies came in and wanted an engagement ring refinished to like new look for the wedding. We asked where the ring came from and why they did not use that store to do the work, perhaps for no charge while we needed to charge for the work. They said, "They don't seem to know what they are doing." Turns out, the ring came from a large and reputable department store. The jewelry sold there is just fine. But, the rings are sent out to some local person for all the sizing work. This ring was platinum and the work was, well, in a nice way the work was simply terrible! Either the "trade shop" jeweler didn't know how to work platinum or simply worked "volumes of jobs" with little concern for the final finish! We told them the refinishing work would have to include redoing the sizing...simply because the sizing place on the ring stood out and was discolored, with pits and holes in that area. We could not refinish peoperly without doing the sizing over! The inside of the ring looked like a rough file was the last finishing step. This was atrocious work. The ladies did not know the difference and many customers do not know that either.

The department store is a good one and the jewelry department sells good items but the "farmed out work" was bad. So, look for a reputable store with the jeweler in the store. This keeps all responsibility for the work in one location.

Victor Epand is the owner of JewerlyGift.biz, a huge online jewelry retailer featuring the largest and best selection of jewelry including personalizable items...

Source: http://www.postarticles.com/Article/Sprucing-Up-an-Older-Bridal-Set/38482