Juice Report

The practice of giving and wearing a wedding ring dates back thousands of years. A wedding ring symbolizes faithfulness and love between two people and are given on the day of a couple joining forces. Before the time that the skill of how to work metal became extensively known, people used such things as plants, grass and even hair to ‘tie the knot’, which is what I think a wedding ring stands for.

These days a normal wedding ring might be made from precious metals such as gold, titanium, platinum or even white gold. Women’s wedding rings often hold a diamond, although sapphires are quickly becoming more prevalent. Men’s wedding rings are often just a plain band of gold. There are many distinctive styles of wedding rings, but the most popular for men is definitely the plain gold band.

For those who want something a bit more flamboyant, there are plenty of examples on the market. A man might want a more ostentatious wedding ring, because it is often the only piece of jewellery that a man wears. Some alternatives to the plain band of gold are the Celtic Knot and the Claddagh gold rings.

It is essential for men’s wedding rings to be made from a robust alloy of gold. Most men do manual labour of one sort or another, even if it is only gardening, so it is a lot to ask of a pure gold wedding ring to last thirty or forty years.

A 14 or 18 carat gold ring will probably manage it, but a 22 carat ring would not. It would just wear away because it is too pure and consequently too soft. Platinum or titanium are much harder, although most people prefer gold.

In most countries tradition dictates that people wear their wedding ring on their left hand, although in a couple of countries such as Germany, Russia and Norway, people wear their wedding ring on the right hand.

Some couples would rather have a unique wedding ring and that is not so hard to accomplish as it might first seem. The easiest way to personalize your ring is to have an inscription like names and a date engraved on it.

Another way, would be to buy a precious stone separately and have the jeweller set it into the ring for you. The best alternative though is to find a jeweller you can trust and have him or her make up a pair of matching rings to your own design. I have done that and it is not a lot more expensive than a good ring.

Wearing matching wedding rings is a notable experience. People see that your ring is ’something different’ and many people ask, where you got them from. It all goes to help make that special day unforgettable for ever.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with theCeltic Knot wedding ring. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

categories: weddings,marriage,love,dating,divorce,traditions,britain,family,culture,spirituality,religion,happiness,politics,other

A very diversified investment portfolio has a minor opening for a position in gold. Some people think that investing in gold means buying gold coins, usually South African Kruger Rands, which are one troy ounce in weight. Other speculators buy gold futures on the commodity exchange.

However, futures contracts are extremely risky because you are gambling that the price of gold will rise or fall in the future. The contract itself requires a relatively small up front payment, but you will have to put up guarantees called margin to take care of daily fluctuations in cost.

The reason investors are attracted to gold at the moment is because often in the past, when the stock market is down, the gold market is up. Weakness in the dollar frequently brings a surge in the price of gold too.

Another route to investing in gold is through stocks and precious metal funds, which can be purchased through a stock broker. However, you will need to select your stockbroker very carefully, because this area of investing takes highly expert knowledge.

The following tips are meant as examples only as you will need up-to-the-minute information, if you are considering investing in stocks, shares and funds. One of the names that will come up in any search is Agnico-Eagle Mines, which trades on the NYSE and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker AEM. They have 30+ year history in the production of gold and In that time, they have produced 4,000,000+ ounces of gold.

Gold has made huge profits for investors in gold since the late 1970’s. However, the secret to making profits from gold is knowledge of the various resistance points in the price and the assessment of the worldwide market for the use of gold. It is used principally in jewellery and electronics and some other kinds of manufacturing.

The biggest markets for gold jewellery is India and other Eastern countries. China’s new-found prosperity is also having an effect on the markets, although manufacturing is still of prime significance there.

You will need a good stockbroker or adviser, because the gold market is so complex. If you are investing in gold as a hedge against a weak dollar, you are taking huge risks and you will need to watch for any strengthening in the dollar like a hawk. A pretty sensible tactic is to set yourself realistic goals. For example, are you content with a 10% profit or are you going to hang out for a 25% gain?

Gold can be affected by seasonal events. Find out when people in India get married. It is seasonal and more or less Christmas time. Then St. Valentine’s Day is a realistic influence too, but you or your adviser will have to examine the trends and the graphs.

You can invest in gold mining stocks for fairly small money, but it is not the cost of the share certificate that is essential, it is the yield on those shares. Be wary with small mining companies, because the overheads of exploration are ruinous. Likewise, profits on hitting a big seam would be tremendous for a small company.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Clogau Welsh gold. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

The wedding dress is just about the most crucial item in the wedding ceremony except the vows and the rings. The bride wants to look her best and the groom wants to look his best too. A beautiful wedding dress will help the bride’s dream to look dazzling come true.

Therefore, it is imperative to select the wedding dress with care, as every bride knows. However, there are a few items that are not as clear as the wedding dress just looking beautiful and we will list the most important of these below.

Besides personal taste in fashion, the most important consideration has to be the time of the year. Which season are you going to marry in? What temperature is it likely to be? Could it rain? If it is likely to be cold, you ought to wear a heavier cloth than if it is likely to be hot. You might also permit the season to have an impact on the colours you wear, but that is a matter of personal taste. For example, winter colours might be slightly darker than summer colours.

Another vital factor when choosing the colour of the wedding dress is the skin colouration of the bride. This consideration is also true of the accessories. The bride will also need a head-dress, a veil, gloves and a bouquet, all of which should flatter the wedding dress and the bride’s hair and skin colouration.

Try to get a wedding dress that fits perfectly. This sounds obvious, but it is easy to think that you can make minor changes yourself later on. However, making alterations is not as easy as it sounds and you could end up making matters worse rather than better. In any case, you do not want to be worrying that a stitch you made will break or come undone at the wrong moment. It is far better to get a good fitting wedding dress than to get the precise colour that you want.

It is important to bear in mind the quality of the picture of the wedding dress, if you are buying or hiring from a catalogue or website. You also should leave plenty of time to be able to return the dress if you have to. The fact is that photographs are not always true to life and packers do make mistakes, so if your choice is not what you expected, when it arrives, you will need to have a couple of weeks to return it and receive a new one. Allow at least three weeks for the exchange; longer if you can.

White has always been the most popular colour for first time brides, but it is not a rule. Off-white or pastel shades look very good too and they will set you apart from the norm. Apple white or blush pink are very effective colours for a wedding dress, but as I said before, everything should be colour co-ordinated with the colour of the bride’s skin and hair and the bouquet, if you are dead set on carrying a certain bouquet of flowers, like, say, gardenias.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Celtic Knot rings. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

One’s wedding ring is often a person’s most important piece of jewellery, because of the huge significance that it has for its wearer. It is intended to denote the love that exists between two people. In most countries, the wedding ring is worn on the fourth finger of the left hand – the ring finger, although in Norway, Germany and Russia, it is worn on the fourth finger of the right hand.

It is generally a good idea to have your finger measured by an expert, before buying an expensive ring, because fingers swell and shrink over the course of a lifetime and a good jeweller will know how much leeway to allow. If the change in the size of your finger is likely to be lasting, it is a good idea to have the ring resized, this is so that it will neither cut into you nor fall off your finger easily.

These days a lot of couples like to go shopping for wedding rings together, because they want to buy a pair of identical rings that both of them likes. However, it does not have to be like that. In fact it never was, because the man bought the ring for his fiancee as a surprise. So, if you do not have the same tastes, do not worry about it.

There are hundreds of designs to choose from and several kinds and qualities of metal too. Yellow gold is still the most popular, but there is white gold and specialist golds too like Welsh gold, which is very rare. Besides gold, platinum and titanium are very popular too.

A fast developing trend is for a couple to design or have designed a unique pair of wedding rings. At first, you would think that this would be very expensive, but it is not necessarily so. If you keep your design modest and the stones, if any, equally so, then the rings might only cost 10%-20% more than those off the shelf.

Gold is still the most popular metal for a wedding ring, but silver is starting to gain ground too, although it was always looked on as the poor cousin before. Likewise, diamonds are the still the number one stone of choice, but sapphires are also very popular nowadays. Or you could go for plain bands with something like a Celtic knot design.

Shopping for wedding rings can be enjoyable, but it is easy to go over the top and spend much more than you intended to. You could decide how much you can afford and stick to it, not that that always works either. Expect to pay a lot more for the bride’s wedding ring than the groom’s. This is because the bride’s ring usually contains diamonds, whereas the groom’s is often a plain band of gold.

You could further personalize your wedding rings with a dedication and a date. Personalized, or unique wedding rings often get handed down through the generations. Maybe, yours will too. Or, if you want to wear your grandmother’s handed-down ring, you could personalize it in some way, so that it is both old and yet something of you as well.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Celtic Knot rings. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

Most people have aspirations for the future. Some people plan out their lives in elaborate detail from an early age, while others just pray that their dreams will come true. I think that that depends on the attitude to life you have as much as your personality. I definitely remember that when I was a boy, some of the girls I knew were planning what they would do when they got married to so and so movie star.

They did not know much about marriage or what being married was like, they were just role playing, but some of those desires might have stuck.

None of the boys I knew thought about their future much at all. I did not either really although I knew that I wanted to go to university and travel after that. I studied French and German for three years and passed my exams.

After finishing university, I began working for an international firm and did some traveling. I have always liked jewellery although I do not wear a lot at the same time. I suppose I collect jewellery, but I like to wear it as well.

It was a custom of mine to buy a piece wherever I went, if I saw something I liked and if I could afford it. Anyway, I met a young woman while I was in America and I told her about my craze for collecting jewellery and rings in particular. I showed her a couple of rings that I had taken with me. One was a ring with a Celtic Knot design and another was an Irish Claddagh ring.

Anyway, we got on well and so she offered to take me to a jewellers that she knew. We went to a small back street jeweller, who had a choice of rings I had never heard of before. They were called Black Hills Gold Rings and they looked very distinctive. They have quite a range, including a lot of the common designs, but they also have a few kinds that I had never seen before. I was hooked and wanted one.

My friend really fell for a women’s wedding set. She had seen it in the window for months, but did not have anyone to give it to her. The engagement ring had two leaves and a grape cluster with a small diamond nestled in the middle of it, while the wedding band had two additional leaves and a grape cluster. This meant that when worn together, the two rings would fit together to surround the diamond completely. It was very beautiful.

I had to grant that it was very beautiful, but felt it necessary to point out that I had not known her long enough to propose. She was a good sort and did not feel offended. I bought a striking white gold ring with the Black Hills gold roses inlaid on the top two thirds of the band, leaving the bottom of the ring plain. It was a lovely addition to my collection. As for my guide, well, she did not get a ring, but I took her for an expensive meal and she seemed happy enough with that.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with theCeltic Knot wedding ring. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

Everyone loves to take advantage of the reduced prices during the holiday sales. In fact, the best day to go looking for special offers is the day after the actual holiday is over.

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and it is the busiest shopping day of the year. You will get huge savings, but you will have to get up early, be ready to queue and jostle.

Another example is jewellery and St Valentine?s Day. Many men buy their wives or girlfriends jewellery during this period as a St Valentine?s Day gift. However, in the weeks after St Valentine?s Day, you can save a minimum of 30% on the very same pieces of jewellery that were on sale a week before. This is a clear indication that we are being hood-winked on these holiday occasions and that we should wait until the actual holiday is over.

OK, it may not seem so romantic to wait, but it must be preferable to be able to get 30% more gold for your money or to give the same gift, and be able to go for a meal as well. If I were a woman, I know which option I would choose!

Or, instead of a nice silver or gold ring, you would be able to afford gold instead of silver or white gold instead of yellow. You could get a exquisite Celtic knot or a Claddagh ring instead of a simple band.

Striking Easter clothing is also expensive before Easter. However, why not buy the items you want after Easter and either make use of them next year or use them for parties, special occasions or church? You can save a bundle of money in this way, just by using a little forward planning.

In order to help cut down on how much money you spend on Christmas presents, why not try buying them all year long as and when you find something appropriate in the sales? How many times have you seen something in a sale and said to yourself: ‘that would be the perfect gift for so-and-so’? It is better to take advantage of these chances and keep the items aside for when the right occasion comes up.

Then there are those post Christmas sales as well. The Boxing Day sales are a great opportunity to pick up items that you can give as presents later in the year. And why not buy something for yourself too while you are at it? You can save a fortune on your favourite scents. Buy enough to last you the rest of the year!

You can make your funds go a lot further if you take advantage of the after holiday sales. Rely on serendipity. Buy opportunistically and you will not only save yourself a lot of money, but you will never be stuck for a present at the last minute either.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with theCeltic Knot wedding ring. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

There is a very large number of wedding rings to be had in the shops these days. In fact, you have the world of wedding rings to choose from. The high street shops in a large town have a very good selection, but the Internet lays the best jewellers and the best styles out for your inspection.

So, it is very important that you take your time when choosing one. Maybe the enormous choice of wedding rings makes that more difficult not easier. Diamond wedding rings have been the most popular since ordinary working people could afford them, before that a plain band of gold had to suffice, for people who could afford that much.

Nowadays, Western people have become more adventurous and they are choosing other stones like the stunningly beautiful blue sapphire. Some even deciding not to have a stone at all, going back to tradition, so to speak. However, there are plenty of examples of not so simple bands of gold too.

There is the Irish Claddagh ring with its distinctive two hands holding a crowned heart symbolizing love, friendship and loyalty; and there is the Celtic Knot with its intricately interwoven strands twisting and turning without end, standing for eternity and eternal love despite the twists and turns and difficulties of daily life.

So, selecting a wedding ring is not just a question of picking a beautiful wedding ring, you should be choosing one that says what you want it to say. You could look up on the Internet what the different metals and various stones indicate traditionally. If you cannot find a ring that says what you want, consider having one made. It is not as expensive as you might think.

Tradition is a good thing when it comes to wedding rings. After all, you want your ring to express your everlasting love and devotion for the person you are giving it to and your marriage could last fifty or sixty years, especially with people living longer these days. With a bit of luck, you will wear this ring for the rest of your life, so pick a style that seems timeless to you.

Picking a wedding ring is not as straightforward as it looks, because you are going to be wearing your ring every day for the rest of your life, so it should be something that you will not get tired of in a couple years. You should look at and try on many rings in order to get one that feels comfortable. You will want a ring that does not look out of date in ten years time. The simplest method of doing that is to go for a traditional style, because those styles have already stood the test of time.

One last piece of advice is to ask the jeweller to verify the total carat weight of the stones in the ring and the weight of each individual stone and the quality and weight of the metal (although it should be hallmarked) on paper, then if it gets lost or stolen you have something to show the insurance company.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with the Celtic knot wedding ring. If you have an interest in gold rings, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

The growing trend of popularity of wine has led to a boom in things to go with wine like corkscrews, stoppers, coolers, napkins, pouring baskets, decanters, candles, thermometers, bottle jackets, hydrometers and dozens of variations of each accessory from electric versions to manual ones. Needless to say, a lot of these accessories will be used until the novelty wears off and then left at the back of the cupboard.

However, there is one category of wine drinking accessory that no wine drinker should be without and that is wine glasses. They are indispensable, I am sure that everyone would agree. But the good thing about wine glasses is that they are decorative when they are not in use too. A set of six lead crystal wine glasses is a fine-looking sight. And a fine set of glasses correctly shaped for the wine you are drinking will greatly enhance your enjoyment of that wine.

This is because the shape of the glass is very influential on the drinker’s capacity to savour the taste and the aroma of wine. Therefore, it is necessary to use the correct glasses for the type of wine being served.

Red wines benefit a lot from contact with air, so, aside from opening the bottle an hour before drinking it, you could decant it. The older and heavier the wine, the more air it needs. The next step is to serve the red wine in large glasses. This is not so as to be able to get as much wine in there as possible! A full, normal size bottle contains six servings no matter what glass you use, but a large glass allows you to swirl the wine around the glass, thereby increasing its contact with air.

A large tulip shaped glass is a good example of this kind of wine glass and any dark red wine would benefit from being drunk out of such a vessel. Try a Rioja or Bordeaux, for instance.

White wines, on the other hand, do not need to breathe for as long as red wines and are best served slightly chilled. Therefore, the wine glasses tend to have a smaller bowl and a longer stem. The bowl is smaller, because swirling is not essential and the stem is longer, so that the warmth from your hand does not warm the wine up prematurely. Try a Chardonnay, a Sauvignon or a German wine in these glasses.

Champagne glasses are called champagne flutes because the bowl is long and narrow, which allows the bubbles to float through more of the wine than if the bowl were short. This is beneficial for the wine, the taste and its appearance. The stem is also long as with other white wines to diminish heat transfer.

The last main kind of glass is the sherry schooner, which is also used for port. Sherry and port are both heavy reds and so need to breathe, which is one of the reasons why they should be decanted. However, a schooner has hardly any stem, because the warmth from your hand is required to keep the wine at the correct temperature.

Apart from the shape of the bowl and the length of the stem, the next most important factor is the quality of the glass and its design. Some people like hand-blown glass and it can be very beautiful, but it also tends to be light and fragile. I prefer to use lead crystal glasses, which are a lot heavier and can take a deeper pattern.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Waterford crystal vases. If you have an interest in Irish crystal or wedding rings, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

The most frequently used element for wedding rings and engagement rings is gold. White gold is even more exclusive. Gold wedding rings look good whether the design is just a simple, plain band or an engraved band like a Celtic Knot. Gold rings can be given on other occasions too of course. Some people give their children a gold ring for their coming of age birthday.

Until not so long ago, it was customary for the man to give a gold ring when he asked for his girlfriend’s hand in matrimony. However, nowadays it is more usual for the couple to go shopping for the engagement or wedding ring together. This makes good sense, even if it is less romantic, because the wearer can get the design that she likes.

Gold symbolizes purity in many cultures and that is one of the reasons why it is given to brides and brides to be. The symbolism is all but lost though in today’s consumer society in the West. For many people though it still represents the hope that they will stay true to each other, until the day they die. It is a way of showing that the wearer has taken vows and intends to stick to them.

There is a huge variety of gold rings available. However, the variety lies not only in the design but also in the purity of the gold. Naturally, the purer the gold, the more expensive it is. In the UK, most gold rings are either 9 or 18 carat. In the USA, most gold rings are 14 carat, but in Thailand, few people would buy gold that is less than 18 carat and 22 carat is the norm for women. Pure gold is 24 carat, however pure gold is so malleable that you can mould it with your bare hands.

This might sound fine, but it is not. A 24 carat gold ring goes out of shape every few hours, just by you doing what you do every day and then it can pinch your skin. Opening a door can buckle the ring. This means that you can not set stones in pure gold, because they would soon fall out. Pure gold rings are best not even engraved because the design would soon rub off.

Therefore, the best place to begin, if you want a gold ring, is to think about what style you want. Do you want precious stones set into it? Then you should not really go above 18 carat. If you cannot afford 18 carat then 9 or 14 carat is for you. If you want something like a Celtic Knot ring, that is one with an engraved pattern, then anything up to 18 carat for you too, depending on your finances. If you want a pain band of gold, then a thick ring of 22 carat gold would be great, but not if you do a lot of labor-intensive work.

If you really want something special, why not have a gold ring crafted to your own design? It is not so expensive as you might think and you will end up with something unique, especially if you provide your own stone to be polished too. Such a gold ring would become a family heirloom and could stay in the family for generations.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with theCeltic Knot wedding ring. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

My friend has a store that sells glass artwork. My personal favourite glass artwork is paperweights and I have a lot of fun attending art auctions and buying art glass with her. We pay a lot of attention to what our friends and her clients like and dislike.

I usually give people art glass paperweights that I find at art auctions for milestone birthdays and anniversaries. My mother turned seventy last August and I found a magnificent glass paperweight for her.

The art glass paperweight that I found for my mother was made by Baccarat and I was extremely lucky that this was one of the last items auctioned. A lot of people had already left the auction when this item went on the block. My mother appreciated the rose motif because the rose is her favourite flower.

I have a Dutch friend from Den Bosch who loves effigies of frogs. She has managed to decorate her abode very stylishly with her favourite frogs. I have been on the lookout for an art glass paperweight for her for years. I finally found one at an art auction last year. The glass paperweight featured a frog sitting on a lily pad surrounded by blue water. It was really pretty and my friend began using it on her desk immediately.

I also have an aunt who collects art glass paperweights. She has asked me very often to find glass paperweights for her when I am attending art auctions. Of all of the pieces I have bought for her over the years, one sticks out in my memory more than any other.

The prettiest art glass paperweight I have ever won at an art auction has to be one that featured a blue and gold Macaw. Rick Ayotte was the artist that made it and it was even featured in a book of his work. He has created many lovely art glass paperweights.

There is no trouble at all selling art glass paperweights made by Rick Ayotte. His work seems to draw a great deal of interest. My friend tries to win any auction she finds for art glass paperweights made by him. She won one not so long ago that looked like pink roses. They looked so fragile and sweet. I know that this art glass paperweight will sell quickly.

There have been some inquiries at the shop for art glass paperweights by Richard Marquis, although we have not found any in any of the art auctions we have been to recently.

I will keep looking out for art glass paperweights at the auctions I attend, but I will not be going way out of my way to track them down. I now buy every art glass paperweight I can find that was made by Rick Satava. My favorite has to be the coral orange jellyfish that I found at an art auction an hour from my home. It was really beautiful.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Waterford crystal vases. If you have an interest in Irish crystal or wedding rings, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring