Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Features that Set Cushion Cut Rings Aside

January 11th, 2010

Cushion cut rings are very popular among couples looking for either engagement rings or wedding rings. This is especially so for couples that are interested in the so-called vintage rings – seeing that the cushion cut is considered one such ‘vintage cut.’

There are a number of features that set the cushion cut rings aside from the pack.

First is their elegant simplicity. A properly done cushion cut ring ends up oozing plenty of the so-called ‘unpretentious beauty’ – something that, incidentally, men are usually very keen on as a quality in their lifetime (rather than one evening) partners.

The square and rectangular shapes that make up the cushion cut are alluring to many people – and are in fact part of the package that accounts for the simple elegance of cushion cut rings. Numerous repetitions of these squares and rectangles all over the oval shape of the ‘rock’ on the ring has the effect of making the whole thing look like an overly-filled up seat cushion: hence the name of the cut.

The long history of the cushion cut is another factor that makes cushion cut rings popular, among couples with a liking for things classic and antique. As it turns out, this is a cut whose history goes as far back as the industrial ages: with its popularity having boomed for the whole of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century: when the cushion cut was considered a contemporary cut.

Yet another factor setting aside cushion cut rings is their flexibility, in terms of styling. Granted, the cushion cut (like other vintage cuts), works best as a solitaire. Yet it can still come out reasonably well accented, so that the person opting for it doesn’t end up being constrained in terms of style.

Handy Tips When Looking for Engagement Ring Advice Online

December 28th, 2009

If you are considering going shopping for engagement rings in the near future, you could find yourself first having to seek engagement ring advice, to guide you in the shopping.

As with any sort of advice nowadays, one of the first destination you are likely to end up looking for it is the Internet. The internet, in spite of fast turning into more of a social forum in recent days, has still remained true to the original purpose for which it was originally developed: the purpose of serving as a global ‘information resource centre.’

Still, if you are to get the best engagement ring advice online, there are number of things you will have to do.

One is to approach your search for engagement ring advice with an open mind. This is important, when searching for any type of advice, because our natural tendency is to look for ‘advice’ that confirms our biases, rather than advice which challenges those biases. Yet such ‘advice’ which only confirms what we already know is really not advice. The moral here is to approach your shopping for engagement ring advice with an open mind: a flexible mind that is ready to change in the face of new facts contrary to what was in it before.

Second is to ensure that you get your engagement ring advice from the best resources online. Ideally, websites that have no direct interest in the jewelry industry, but which are only there for the purpose of giving objective advice work best.

Third is to ensure that you actually take the advice you get seriously and act on it. Many people will go to great lengths looking for advice, only to disregard it when ‘action time’ comes. Don’t fall into this trap. Remember, there is no point in looking for advice when you are sure to end up being taken-in by the sweet-talk of a salesman, and ignore the advice when you should be putting it to practice (at purchase time).

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.

Top Reasons People Buy Engagement Rings

September 18th, 2009

Engagement rings are in the category of the most carefully shopped for items, that is, items that people shopping for are typically very keen to get right. But just why do people actually buy engagement rings in the first place?

Well, as the name suggests, one – and probably the main –reason as to why people purchase engagement rings is to signify their engagement to their partners. Traditionally, it is the women who wear the engagement rings, to show that they are engaged to their men, and awaiting to be married to them. In a way, by getting his woman to wear an engagement ring, a man is ‘marking his territory’ in her, showing other men that she is his, and other men should keep off. So here, in this simple explanation, we end up with at least two of the reasons as to why people buy engagement rings, namely to ‘ward off’ other men from their women, while also showing the seriousness of their intent to marry the women in question. Additionally, the woman who gets bought such an engagement ring can show other women (say aunts in some cultures) who might linger about asking her as to when she is getting married that at least, ’she is booked.’

Now all these might sound like very petty things, but they are very important things to the parties involved in them. The man who gives his woman an engagement ring as a sign that he has ‘booked’ her, for instance, can live with the peace of mind of knowing that even if the ring does not deter all prospective suitors looking to usurp him and rob him of her, it is sure to at least deter some faint-hearted suitors. In a similar manner, the woman to whom the engagement ring is presented, especially if it is an expensive ring she has been presented with, can live with the peace of mind of knowing that is much loved and valued – the very things women are always on the lookout to know. And in as much as the engagement ring gets ‘prying’ aunts to stop asking her questions as to when she plans on getting hitched, the woman in question can live with even more peace of mind till actually gets married to her beloved.

Of course, beyond the traditional application of engagement rings described above, we also have another trend where engagement rings are also increasingly bought for their aesthetic value alone. Under this situation, a woman just wakes up one day, proceeds to the nearby ring store (or to her favorite online engagement ring store) and purchases for herself the engagement ring she fancies and starts wearing it for its aesthetic appeal with no absolutely no man anywhere in the wings.

Another possible reason as to why people buy engagement rings nowadays, especially ladies is to ward off unwanted suitors, or at least faint-hearted ones, who are likely to be deterred by the sight of the engagement ring. This, of course, does tend to have a paradoxical opposite effect sometimes, where the sight of engagement rings has been known to awaken the competitive spirit in men, who (especially where the woman in question is a very beautiful one), might decide to try their best, on seeing the engagement ring, to unhinge the lucky chap from his place in the woman’s heart!