Archive for November, 2009

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Why Many Couples are Going for Gemstone Engagement Rings

November 26th, 2009

In the traditional way of doing things, engagement rings were usually made of diamond. Indeed, in some circles, it came to be assumed that engagement rings had to be made from diamond.

In recent days, however, we have seen the emergence of a trend where more and more couples are opting for gemstone engagement rings, rather than the traditional diamond engagement rings. This begs the question as to why these couples are turning their heads on tradition, which seems to favor diamond engagement rings, and instead opting for the gemstone engagement rings.

Two main factors can be identified, as being behind this trend.

One is the fact that gemstone engagement rings offer more freedom in terms of colour – seeing that they come in so many different colours (and their various colours are in fact easily available). True, diamond engagement rings also came in quite a variety of colours too. But besides the clear or white colour, the others (like pink or black), tended to be rather hard to find: so that couples who cared more about aesthetics, as expressed in colour, and less about tradition, found the diamond engagement rings somewhat stifling. Thankfully, this ‘stifling’ is done away with in gemstone engagement rings.

Second is the fact that gemstone engagement rings, while considerably elegant, tend to be more affordable than diamond engagement rings. Thus, as the world goes through turbulent economic times, even diehard traditionalists, who would have preferred to go for diamond engagement rings are finding themselves unable to afford them. In most cases, where they find diamond engagement rings unaffordable to them, the gemstone engagement rings tend to be a reasonably good ‘fall back option.’ Indeed, many of these couples end up loving the gemstone engagement rings than even the diamond engagement rings they were so keen on initially.

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Why Princess Cut Rings are So Popular

November 19th, 2009

For people shopping for gold and platinum engagement rings, the princess cut is one of the most popular.

This popularity of princess cut rings is attributable to a number of factors.

One of the reasons as to why princess cut engagement rings are so popular is the beauty of the princess cut. Truth be told, very few gold and platinum cuts can parallel the princess cuts’ beauty. Given that a woman wants nothing but the very best for her wedding, people preparing weddings have been known to go to great lengths to get very beautiful rings for the occasion, and more often than not (especially where gold and platinum are the chosen metals), the princess cut tends to be the chosen style.

Another reason as to why princess cut engagement rings are so popular is their ‘exclusivity.’  Truth be told, the princess cut does not tend to come very cheap, which is (paradoxically) a good thing in jewellery. The lowest priced of them tend to run into thousands of dollars. The net effect is that they tend to be beyond the reach of the ‘masses’ – but still affordable to the person who is ready to pay a little more for the ‘prestige.’ The fact that they don’t come exactly cheap, of course, means that they offer a way for a man to show his woman that he really cares for her (so much that he is ready to spend huge sums of money on her), to buy her an exclusive ring. This makes the princess cut wedding popular among people shopping for prestigious/exclusive rings, who happen to be in the majority, seeing that prestige is a valuable attribute in jewellery.

So in the final analysis, we have their beauty, and their ‘exclusivity’ (which is a function of their pricing), as the main factors behind the popularity of princess cut wedding rings.

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Why Ruby Engagement Rings are So Much Loved

November 18th, 2009

It is an established fact, in jewelry rings circles, that ruby engagement rings are among the most sought after color of rings. What may not be very well established, though, are the reason as to why those ruby engagement rings are so much loved. So why are ruby engagement rings loved that much?

Well, in order to understand one of the reasons (and probably the most important reason) why ruby engagement rings are so much loved, we would first have to acquaint ourselves with the reason as to why engagement rings are bought, and who the recipients of the engagement rings are, in the first place. Turns out that engagement rings are typically bought by men, and presented to women, who are supposed to wear them to signify that they are engaged to the men who bought them the rings, anticipating a later marriage. From this background, it turns out that although men are the greatest buyers of engagement rings, the intended recipients for them are supposed to be women. And seeing that for most rocks that are used in making engagement rings, ruby is the natural closest color to pink (which is termed as the color of feminity) that can be obtained – without having to actually paint the rings and ’spoil the look,’ it is not hard to see why the ruby engagement rings would be so popular, as men would be keen to buy these ‘pinkish-looking’ rings for their women to show their appreciation of their women’s feminity.

Of course, feminity issues aside, there is no denying that the ruby engagement rings are quite beautiful by their own right; so that even in the parts of the world where pink is not taken to be the ‘color of feminity’ people can still find themselves inclined to buy the ruby engagement rings for their own beauty.

Another factor behind the popularity of ruby engagement rings, and besides the feminity of their color, and their beauty, is the distinctiveness of the ruby engagement rings. ‘Distinctiveness’ is being used here to refer to that feature which makes an item to stand out from others. Now this is important in engagement rings, because most women really want their engagement rings to be truly outstanding in the most literal sense of the word. After all, a typical woman is likely to only receive one engagement ring in her life, and if that is the case, then it had better be the best it can be – where ‘best’ refers to among others things color – and where distinctiveness of ruby in this regard makes is a good choice.

Besides the objective factors explored above – the feminity, beauty and distinctiveness of ruby engagement rings, it might also be worthy mentioning that the buzz created around ruby engagement rings (like where they are presented as the ‘very best’) in popular media is also one of the factors that make them appealing to many people, besides the objective factors. What we are looking at here, is the situation where a person ends up buying the ruby engagement rings not exactly because of their beauty, feminity or distinctiveness per se, but rather just because they are said to be the very best.

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Why Pear Engagement Rings are Turning Out to Be so Much Loved

November 11th, 2009

Although they have been with us for quite a long period of time, it is only in recent years that we have seen a huge and remarkable surge in their popularity, with many couples actually going to considerable lengths in search for them. This begs the question as to why the popularity of pear engagement rings has been going up in recent days.

As it turns out, upon exploring the reasons why more and more people are opting for pear engagement rings, is that their greatest attraction probably lies in their simplicity. The truth of the matter is that there are many modest people who adore simplicity, just as there are plenty of people who adore ’sophistication.’ Unfortunately, in days gone by, it was commonly assumed that ’sophistication’ was the only thing worth celebrating, so that all engagement rings were made to ooze such sophistication through and through, often leaving the people who preferred simplicity (and these could very easily be in the majority) frustrated. With the increased awareness of the simple elegance inherent in the pear engagement rings – which are simple, yet decent rings’ – such people who prefer simplicity find themselves with something to embrace, hence the great popularity of the pear engagement rings in recent days.

Talking of the factors behind the popularity of pear engagement rings, it would be worth mentioning the fact that by their very nature, pear engagement rings tend to bring out the beauty of the stones from which they are made from elegantly (and without compromising on the simplicity of course) – and this could be another factor behind their growing appeal. Few people, for instance, would argue with the fact that it is the ‘pear’ shape that brings out the sparkle of diamond most clearly, so that a person shopping for a diamond engagement ring who wants to celebrate the rock’s unique sparkle could find themselves highly drawn to the pear-shaped rendition of it.

Then there is the fact that pear engagement rings come in a huge variety of settings, meaning that they are not setting-specific like most other types of engagement rings. Whether you are ‘traditionalist,’ and your best idea of an engagement ring setting is a solitaire, or you are a ‘modernist’ and your best idea of an engagement setting is the prong or something like the tiffany, you are sure to find a pear in that particular setting. Typically though, most of the people buying pear engagement rings seem to have a preference for the solitaire setting, meaning that is probably the best rendition of the ‘pear’.

Another possible factor behind the recent popularity of pear engagement rings is the discovery that the wearing of these pear shape (which, by definition has one side of it ‘thickened’ with the other side of it ‘elongated’) tends to have the effect of elongating the wearer’s fingers. It would follow, then, that in a situation where people who are keen to visually enhance the length of their fingers would find the pear engagement rings appealing – and indeed this is what seems to obtain in reality, with quite a good number of people buying the pear engagement rings for this ‘elongating’ effect only.

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Which are the Best Engagement Rings

November 10th, 2009

The question as to which the best engagement rings are is a commonly asked question by men who are considering going shopping for such rings. It is not a vain question, really, considering that the stage in a relationship at which a man presents a woman with an engagement ring is a stage at which the woman will typically be still trying to ’size’ him up (in spite of having agreed to his proposal), and a poor choice of an engagement ring could see her come to view him in a somewhat negative light.

So what exactly are the best engagement rings?

Well, there is really no one simple answer the question as to which exactly are the best engagement rings, seeing that ‘best’ in these types of things tends to be a rather subjective matter, varying greatly from person to person, so that one person’s idea of ‘best’ might be very varied from another person’s idea of the same.

Common criteria that different people apply in trying to judge which the best engagement rings are include things like the color of the engagement rings, the style of the engagement rings, the shape of the engagement rings, the size of the engagement ring, the material used in making the engagement rings…and so on, with different people having different preferences whichever part of the criterion one is looking at.

Taking a ’simple’ thing like the color of the engagement rings, we are likely to find many people’s idea of the best engagement rings being those that are either pink or ruby (these being colors that celebrate feminity of their women), with some men who are aware that their women hate stereotypes (like the assumption that all women love pink) on the other hand opting to stay away completely from the said colors for that reason.

Turning to something like the shape of the engagement ring, we are likely to find most of the pragmatic people opting for oval engagement rings over say circular or square engagement rings – for the simple reason that oval tends to be a ‘better fit’ – given that the human finger is basically oval in shape. So for pragmatists, such oval engagement rings can be termed as the best engagement rings, but for the more aesthetically oriented, we could find an outstanding shape, such as square being the most preferred.

Looking at the material from which the engagement rings are made from, it would seem that diamond rings are many people’s ideas of the best engagement rings – which is perhaps attributable to the symbolism associated with diamond (for the sentimental couples, who want a ring that ’speaks for them’), the durability of diamond (for the pragmatists, who want a ring that will stay for long without ‘falling apart’) and the beautiful sparkle of diamond (for the aesthetically minded, who want a ring that is truly beautiful as they celebrate the beauty of their women).

So in the final analysis, it turns out that the answer to the question as to which the best engagement rings are is one on which there is really no consensus, one which tends to differ from couple to couple.

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Why Bespoke Engagement Rings are so Highly Regarded

November 6th, 2009

If there is one variety of engagement rings that is highly regarded universally, then it has to be that of the so-called bespoke engagement rings.

By definition, bespoke engagement rings are those that are hand-crafted, that is, as viewed against the machine mass produced variety that is more commonly found. For most people who afford them, especially the people who are more ‘classically minded’ bespoke engagement rings remain the first choice of engagement rings. Indeed, even for many couples for whom getting bespoke engagement rings is quite a bit of a strain financially, an effort is usually still made to find out if it would still be possible to somehow get a bespoke engagement ring whose bill they can somehow foot. Such is the high regard in which bespoke engagement rings are held.

But just why are bespoke engagement rings so highly regarded?

Well, for one thing, they ooze that elegance which characterizes handcrafted items (just like bespoke suits, for instance, do). So a man, knowing that his lady has a liking for items classical, will go to great lengths to get a bespoke engagement ring, knowing that the elegance oozing out of the bespoke engagement rings is likely to appeal very much to his lady, by way of making her feel that she is so highly valued and appreciated. Incidentally, this can turn out to be a further booster to their relationship, seeing that it is an established fact that the bespoke engagement rings don’t come cheap, so that a woman seeing that her man is ready to spend so much on her is sure to feel greatly appreciated.

Talking of expense, another reason why bespoke engagement rings are so highly regarded is the ‘exclusivity’ which their typically higher price confers to them, because the higher price means that not every can get to reach them money-wise. So if exclusivity is something you consciously look for in products, and you happen to be shopping for engagement rings, you would be sure that you have, in a bespoke engagement ring, a product that the ‘masses’ simply can’t ascend to.

The fact that they are made to measure, literally, makes bespoke engagement rings highly attractive to people who don’t like the ‘one size fits all’ approach employed in mass produced the factory-designed engagement rings – of which it is typically difficult to find one that is to your liking in all respects, meaning that you (as an engagement ring buyer) have to compromise on some features.

Of course, the widely held view that bespoke engagement rings are worth of high regard is another factor as to why they are held in such high regard even by people who have not, in all honesty, come across one. After all, good reputation begets even more good reputation, and we are living in an age where our opinions are very strongly influenced by the popular media, so that if the media propagates the view that bespoke engagement rings are distinctive and ‘in a class of their own,’ that is how people are likely to view them, even without getting to question the opinion so expressed.

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Where to Find the Best Jewellery Rings

November 4th, 2009

At first sight, the topic on where to find the best jewelry engagement rings might seem odd, for the simple reason that in most people’s estimation, all rings are jewelry (so that the idea of  there being specialized items known as ‘jewelry rings’ could reasonably look odd).

The truth of the matter, strictly speaking, however is that not all rings qualify to be termed as jewelry rings. The only rings that are considered as jewelry rings (strictly speaking) are those that are made from precious stones like diamond, silver, gemstone and gold, so that the plainer rings – like those made from copper or aluminum cannot be considered to be jewellery rings under this way of thinking.

So having established the basic fact that jewellery rings are those made from the precious stones, we have a standing point from where we can proceed to answer the question as to where to actually find the best jewellery rings.

The answer to question as to where to find the best jewellery rings would be ‘in the stores affiliated to reputable and experienced jewelers.’ Now in this answer, we see two adjective components – ‘reputable’ and ‘experienced’ – that describe the places to find the best jewellery rings.

Taking the reputable part of the stores where you can find the best jewellery rings, we would have to point out that if there is one type of business where the reputation of the other party you are doing business with matters, then it has to be the business of jewelry. This is because authenticity is the first factor that we look at when considering jewellery, and that authenticity is very hard to find; and even where found, very hard to ascertain since genuine and fake items of jewellery look pretty much the same. Seeing that it is likely to be very hard to tell, just by the look of the them, which the genuine jewellery rings are likely to be and which ‘jewellery rings’ don’t make the genuineness test, it follows that it is only by ensuring that you get them from reputable sellers, the variety that is likely to have a reputation and a brand to protect, that you can get at least some level of assurance that you are actually getting genuine engagement rings.

Turning to the ‘experienced’ component of the answer to the question as to where to find the best jewellery rings, where we said that the stores run by ‘reputable and experienced’ vendors are the best such place, it would be worth pointing out that it is only experienced jewelers who are likely to be selling items that pass the other tests, beyond genuineness that go into determining what the ‘best’ jewellery rings are. These other factors include things like cut, style, carat size and so on, and these being extremely delicate things, it takes quite a bit of experience to get them just ‘right’ on the part of the jewellery makers.

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Understanding Engagement Ring Insurance

November 3rd, 2009

Risk is a fact of life, and in as much as we cannot avoid it, we can at least take measures to ‘hedge’ against it; so that when the various elements of it come our way (in the form of misfortunes), we don’t end up feeling too much of the impact. One of the ways of hedging against risk is of course insurance – typically an arrangement where the person taking the insurance cover does so to ensure that they at least have the financial aspect of the various risks they are hedging against covered for. Now in the old days, we had very few and well known types of insurance cover: namely health insurance, life insurance, car insurance and home insurance. Times have, however, changed and today, there is pretty much insurance for everything.

 

One of the novel types of insurance that have come up in recent days is the said engagement ring insurance. At its core, engagement ring insurance can be seen as being born of the appreciation for the fact that engagement rings – especially the more expensive variety (like those made from diamond, which are the most popular), are prone to theft, as thieves know that they have a ready market for them always; hence the need to insure them, so that in the event of their being indeed stolen, the couple in question could have them replaced by the insurance company covering them. So the couple owning the engagement rings purchases the engagement ring insurance policy from a company selling that type of policy, paying a premium that is typically much smaller than the cost of the engagement ring to the insurance company (since the risk of the ring being stolen may not materialize, after all), under the understanding –as mentioned earlier – that the in the event of their losing the ring, the insurance company would compensate them for it.

 

There are two basic types of engagement ring insurance: namely those that are offered on a ‘stand alone’ basis, typically by the insurance companies that specialize in offering jewellery insurance, and those that are offered on an ‘add-on’ basis to the home insurance (seeing that typical home insurance does not tend to cover items expensive items like jewellery, of which the expensive engagement rings tend to be examples).

 

Engagement ring insurance doesn’t usually cost a lot, and through it, a couple in love can save themselves from the trouble of having to purchase another ring with money directly out of their pocket in the event of their ring getting stolen (or simply even getting lost in some types of engagement ring insurance).

 

Once you have identified a company offering engagement ring insurance, getting the policy is usually not really hard, because all you will have to do is to fill in a few simple forms, get a jewellery valuer affiliated to the insurance company to work out the market value of your engagement ring (in order to establish what reasonable premiums for it would be), and upon your paying the agreed premium, live with the peace of mind of knowing that even in the event of your losing the engagement ring, you would not have to finance the purchase of its replacement out of pocket.

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