Tag Archive for 'wedding ring'

Engagement Ring Shopping Is Twice The Fun!

Published on January 11, 2012 in Diamonds, Engagement Rings, Proposals and Wedding Jewellery. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Way back when, long, long ago – okay, not really that long ago – traditionally, it was a man’s responsibility to find the perfect diamond engagement ring for the woman he wanted to spend eternity with. The problem was that snooping inside of their girlfriend’s jewellery boxes, eavesdropping on her friend’s conversations and trying to learn a woman’s fashion sense could be physically exhausting and mentally overwhelming to most men.

As time has moved along, so has the way men used to shop for engagement rings.

Diamonds are timeless, classic and elegant and when making this purchase, it literally represents the most sacred choice you and your significant other will ever face. If the wrong engagement ring is chosen, men will forever remember the look of disappointment on their girlfriend’s face or else women will feel incredibly awkward and possibly forced to wear a ring they dislike, forever.

This is exactly why more and more women are choosing to shop WITH their boyfriends to pick out the perfect engagement ring together.

But gentlemen, this doesn’t mean that the element of surprise needs to be taken out! The proposal can be everything you’ve dreamed and much, much more this way.

You can still surprise her with a box containing a starter engagement ring, the dinner, the bending down one knee or whatever romantic idea it is that you’ve. The only difference is that the ring is still in the store and not yet on her finger.

As anyone knows, women love to be understood more than just about anything else! Shopping together for her input will make your woman feel incredibly important and extremely valued because she can contribute to the whole decision-making process about the ring that will be worn forever with pride and love.

Choosing an engagement ring together might sound a little strange to some people but think about it for a few minutes: It’s practically a foolproof situation! You get to give her the story of her life to tell everyone she knows while she gets the ring she’s dreamed about since she was a little girl.

Men get to spend less time going from store to store stressing out and women can have the ring resized and looking just right all in one go. Both parties are much more at ease making this experience a memorable one, not to mention, the end result is phenomenal!

You’ll worry less about what she might think of the engagement ring you’ve chosen and be able to put more time and effort into the whole proposal. Your better half will feel nothing but happiness and surprise, leaving no room for that awkward silence of accepting a ring they hate – assuming, that is, she wants to say yes.

Buying these rings are definitely not a light purchase to be made which is why diamonds are always considered an investment no matter their size and not just another ring to wear to the latest gala.

Not only that, it’s much more common to look at choosing your engagement ring together than you think! Out of all women who are proposed to, 75% of them receive a diamond engagement ring and from that, a whopping 53.7% of couples chose the engagement ring together. That’s more than half!

As the numbers continue to increase, some worry that this could mean a decrease in sales for diamond engagement rings but in Australia, jewellers say that their sales has remained exactly the same while the U.S. reports only a $600 decline as of 2008.

Shopping for engagement rings together has become the new trend of diamond wear and hopefully will continue to be so for the decades to come.

Are you one of those couples who have shopped for your engagement and wedding rings together? If so, we’d love to hear your story – leave a comment below for me!

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Why Do Men Attend Weddings?

Published on April 17, 2011 in Bridal Jewellery and Wedding Jewellery. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

When a man decides that he wants to be social, it usually doesn’t involve a wedding with frilly cakes, tuxedoes and bridal jewellery. Instead, their idea of a social event typically includes a couch, television, snacks and an occasional beer with a few of his buddies.

If you’re a married man, part of the groom’s party or a family member, there will be very little that can be done to turn down a wedding invitation with a pathetic excuse. Even worse, this happens to include the entire population of men since brides and grooms tend to invite family members, married or coupled friends and their closest companions.

Statistically, this means that men, overall, dislike weddings, which makes one wonder, what is the REAL reason behind men going to weddings?

Just for a little bit of fun, take a look at this graph and see if you happen to fall under any of these categories:

Deciphering Your Colours

If you fall under the green category, you may be the guest who has fallen asleep during the wedding ceremony. In return, you can expect a lot of pictures to be posted on whichever social network you belong to, a grumpy wife/girlfriend and a lot of ribbing from your guy friends. Let’s just hope you aren’t the colours green and blue at the same time!

If your colours are blue and/or orange, chances are, you’ll be the first in line for the open bar trying to get rid of the bachelor party hangover. Remember that you’re in the spotlight throughout this entire occasion and will be in almost all pictures – which apparently last a lifetime so party carefully!

If you fall into the pink AND red slices of this wedding pie, then you may be in a completely different category of what is commonly known as wedding crashers. Wedding crashers might pretend to be an ex-roommate from college or a very distant family member who only sneaks in for the free booze, food and women.

  • Drink the misery of having to leave your precious couch behind to come to the wedding
  • Prepare yourself for your girlfriend who’s now expecting an engagement ring
  • Hit on the ladies
  • Sing karaoke
  • Celebrate the wedding being over

Now that you’ve been colour-coded, here’s an ironic little fact: Guys will never admit this is true but there comes a point where most men do turn over to the dark side of actually enjoying weddings!

Once a man places an engagement ring on their girlfriend’s finger and they’re the one at the alter exchanging their vows and wedding rings, you can bet that they’ll have a completely different point of view!

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Choosing Wedding Rings Together

Published on March 6, 2011 in Bridal Jewellery, Diamonds, Engagement Rings, Eskae Private Jeweller, Jewellery, Mens Jewellery, Platinum, Wedding Jewellery and White Diamonds. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , .

There was a time that it was popular for men to save every cent of their hard-earned money to secretly buy an engagement ring while believing they were concocting the perfect surprise. After hiding the brand new, dazzling wedding ring set in their jacket pocket for a couple of weeks, they would then plan a romantic date, the next hour was filled with stuttering and nervous fidgeting before finally bending down on one knee and giving his fiancé the surprise of her life: A marriage proposal.

Ironically, since females tend to have a lie detector implanted in their brain at birth, covering up surprises isn’t the easiest feat to pull off. Because of this, women feign their surprise and reply with, ‘How did you-when did you-I swear I had no idea!’ before bursting into tears. In all actuality, it’s the true emotion of being proposed to that turns their tear ducts into waterfalls and causes shouts of joy and unfortunately, not the element of surprise.

As this cat was slowly let out of the bag, men and women began picking out their wedding rings together. When the emotional aspect of the proposal was over, it was discovered that when looking down at their new engagement ring, most women didn’t fancy their wedding ring set at all. It became a taboo subject to broach since it sounded entirely ungrateful of all the hard work that their beloved went into finding what they believed to be the perfect ring; but, to wear something intended to be worn for a lifetime – well, that’s just a fashion catastrophe for a woman!

As more and more couples are beginning to pick out their wedding ring sets together, the ‘surprise’ wedding rings purchased have dropped down to a mere 19% as of 2007,[1] changing the proposal scenario a little bit. While men may still try to scheme the perfect proposal, the ring part of this performance is saved for when both partners can go ring shopping together.

Going to shop for a ring together may sound as though the woman will choose her wedding ring while the man chooses his wedding ring. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Call it old-fashioned but men enjoy having a large amount of their choice being included with the final cut (pun intended) of which wedding ring his fiancé chooses.

Women, not to be outdone, also enjoy getting to have her thoughts and ideas incorporated into her significant other’s wedding ring. After all, it’s what says to her; ‘You’re mine – now and forever,’ allowing her to always be reminded of its significance.

Because the newly-engaged pair’s thoughts and feelings lie within the wedding rings, it’s important to understand how each of their ideas can be integrated while keeping each other’s needs in mind.

Ladies first:

Tips On Choosing Wedding Rings For Women – The Men’s Guide:

Find Your Inner Fashion

That’s awful sounding to a man but its intent was to get your attention! The real ploy is to take notice of the colour metal your fiancé wears most often. If she wears silver toned jewellery a lot, the obvious choice would be a platinum wedding set. For yellow gold, then stick with yellow gold. Simple enough, right?

The trickier part is helping to decide what type of wedding and engagement ring design to go with. When noticing which metal your fiancé favours, also notice the style in which she’s wearing jewellery: Is it a lot of dangly jewellery, chunky jewellery or simple studs, gemstones and fragile looking chains?

For women who wear dangly jewellery, this can be incorporated into the wedding ring set by the amount of stones and the settings in which they’re placed in. She’ll already know exactly the style she’s looking for so don’t stress out too much!

Women who like wearing over-the-top, big jewellery then obviously, the size of the diamond (or precious gemstone) they’ll be looking for will follow suit. If the cost is too high, both you and your woman may be able to compromise on distributing some of the stones into a multiple stone cluster setting rather than a single high carat gemstone.

Then there is the simple woman who wears just enough jewellery to subtly enhance her features. A simple diamond or coloured gemstone will suffice, along with a smooth, metal band.

Find The Right Sized Ring

How many times has your girlfriend-turned-fiancé come asking for your opinion on how something makes her look? Chances are, she most definitely has. It’s not to be confused with low self-confidence, rather, that your thoughts are the thoughts that count and matter the most to her.

This is the reason why your input for her wedding and engagement ring is so important to her. The ring your sweetheart finally chooses will be something that she’ll want to display to make a statement of the man she’s marrying. Your fiancé may want to wear something large to show off to friends and family but it may not look the best on her. It’s up to you to rein the excitement in and help her choose a wedding ring set that flatters her, not outweighs her.

Women’s hands are much smaller than men’s hands meaning that her wedding bands should remain a smaller width than his. There are generally four shapes female fingers go by:

  • Long Fingers – For women with long fingers, keep away from marquis and oval shaped cuts. Other than that, any sized stone and band width will do. Just keep in mind that going too large can weigh the hand down while going too small will appear even smaller.
  • Wide Fingers – If your fiancé has wide fingers (never say this aloud to a woman, I guarantee you she’s aware!), stay away from round and rectangular cut stones since this can make fingers look even shorter. Nudge her in the right direction of wearing elongated stones such as teardrop cuts, marquis cuts and pear shaped stones to lengthen the finger by giving it a slimmer shape.
  • Narrow Fingers – Much like long fingers, narrow fingers are more forgiving to any shape or width of wedding and engagement rings. With narrow fingers, big stones look stunning! Cluster rings, which have become extremely popular lately, go perfectly on narrow fingers because it leaves little skin showing on either side, maintaining a full sense of balance.

Find A Sense Of Patience

Women are sentimental and emotional creatures. Already on cloud 9 from a near impending marriage on the horizon, they will take their time looking at and inspecting ALL wedding and engagement rings. It will need to be the perfect size, perfect metal and perfect design since this will be the most valuable possession she’ll treasure for the rest of her life.

Putting aside the shopping aspect, now your gal gets to tell everyone her story of how she got engaged while introducing her new fiancé to everyone within eyesight. The time spent together shopping for wedding rings will not only be cherished but stored away into her mental lockbox. Impatience can bring out the strongest of emotions and allow your soon-to-be-bride to break down into tears or worse, cause a quarrel that will forever change this historical memory of a great experience.

Tips On Choosing Wedding Rings For Men – The Women’s Guide:

Find A Manly Ring

This doesn’t mean picking the biggest and heaviest wedding ring out on the market. Men worry about their looks just as much as women do; they’re just quieter about it and jewellery isn’t a rule to that exception!

Because rings can easily look too feminine or too gaudy on a man’s hand, take some time to get familiar with the size and shapes of his hands and fingers. If your fiancé has smaller shaped hands with lean fingers, think proportional – not too small and not too wide. Going on the heavier side of the ring will weigh the hand down; going too small will make the hand look overtly feminine – which is never a good thing for a man!

For men with heavy palms and thick fingers, thinner wedding rings are better . Without going too small in the band width, keep it on the slimmer side of measurement. A neat trick-of-the-trade is if choosing a diamond or coloured gemstone to place into his wedding band, have the stone set in vertically which also helps lengthen the finger!

Men with medium sized hands and long fingers should opt for a heavier, thick or average-sized wedding band that will help keep a balanced look.

Find The Right Level Of Comfort

Comfort is a MUST for men, whether it’s clothes, shoes or jewellery – especially for men who don’t like wearing jewellery in the first place, such as, active men who play sports or men who work with their hands. Wearing a wedding ring that has the feeling of impending normal physical activity can cause annoyance and cause wedding rings to be found on the bathroom sink or left on dressers.

To determine the correct level of comfort, there are several factors to take into consideration:

  • The edge of the wedding ring – Different wedding ring designs call for different styles of edges. The best option is having a ring with a soft curve on the inside edges of the ring for maximum comfort level. While this edge is more commonly found in yellow gold wedding rings, it can also be placed in other rings with different metals used or different designs.  Another option is having a comfort curve placed on the inside of the ring. Talk with your jeweller about options available to soften the wedding ring’s curve so that your guy is getting both the style and the comfortable feeling he’s looking for.
  • The width of the ring – Although wedding band width can vary in size according to men’s tastes, the average size of the width is between 5mm and 7mm.[2] Obviously, the smaller you go, the more comfort he’ll feel but remember, going too small can make the ring appear too feminine on a man’s hand!
  • The depth of the ring – This part of the ring is known as the ‘wall thickness’ defining the distance from the inside of the ring to the outside of the ring.[3] Because the depth of the ring determines the weight of the wedding ring, this is considered as more of a comfort to your fiancé’s bank account but it can also factor in the overall feeling of his wedding band.

Find His Fashion Sense

With new styles of male wedding rings more present than ever, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the selections available. While yellow gold was always the most popular choice of metal for men, platinum, tungsten carbide and titanium has risen to meet its match.

Not only is there a bigger selection of precious metals to choose from, there’s also the choice of designer work, engraving and precious gemstones to add to the assortment. Have your fiancé share his ideas with you before going shopping together for that stylish wedding ring. Portray his ideas to your jeweller, who can then present both of you with an array of wedding rings as described, minimizing your fiancé’s stress level.

Keep Emotions In Check

Picking out wedding sets can generate excessive tears and emotional swings between stress and happiness. Remember that your soon-to-be-husband may not necessarily enjoy shopping as much as you do and by remaining calm, he’ll participate more and have as much fun picking out your ring, as you do his.

Also, because you’ll most likely be choosing two rings instead of one, planning ahead on which style to look for or perhaps looking up different styles online from home before heading to your jewellers will decrease his amount of time spent wedding ring shopping.

References:

[1] http://www.yourtango.com/2007945/study-finds-that-more-women-picking-out-their-engagement-ring.html

[2] http://www.man-wedding-ring.com/mens-wedding-band-01.htm

[3] http://www.weddingrings-direct.com/guidance/profile_guide.php#http://www.weddingrings-direct.com/images/category_images/plat_wed_cat_7b.jpg

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Designer Rings And Men – Squashing Stereotypes

Published on February 13, 2011 in Designer Jewellery, Diamonds, Eskae Private Jeweller, Jewellery, Mens Jewellery, Platinum and Wedding Jewellery. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

It’s natural for most people to automatically associate women with jewellery because women are generally dainty creatures who love wearing beautiful diamonds and gems which enhance their femininity. While most men won’t always be as flamboyant about their love of jewellery, it doesn’t mean they don’t admire and appreciate jewellery just as much as women do.

Many times, when all a man wants to do is slip on a ring, he feels self conscious because whether it’s talked about or not, most men feel certain stigmas about wearing jewellery. They think other men may find it too feminine, perhaps it looks too flashy or the simple fact of just not knowing how to wear it properly will make them look gaudy.

Saying that, it may be hard for some folks to imagine that men’s designer rings are, in fact, the most booming area in men’s jewellery today! Some might not believe this to be true but herein is where the stereotype lies: Just because men are not as vocal about displaying their jewellery as women are (putting aside our bling-flaunting rappers) doesn’t mean they aren’t collectors and admirers of exquisite jewellery, especially rings. Men and designer rings have quite the history together for the simple fact that rings were initially worn to display wealth and status. As time went on and jewellery progressed, women started to wear them more fashionably for social acceptance and less representative of familial status whereas men continue to this very day, to keep rings as a symbol of accomplishment and manhood. Just to give a few examples – aside from wedding rings – of other men’s designer rings include:

  • Masonic rings
  • High school sports rings
  • College rings
  • Rings that represent countries, i.e., Super Bowl rings, Armed Forces rings
  • Signet rings

Unlike women, the majority of men aren’t window shoppers and instead, tend to go straight to the jeweller to have their rings designed for them. Because men do heavier lifting and more physical work than most women, their rings tend to carry the brunt of  misfortunes making a simple gold ring an easy target of daily wear and tear. Instead, durable, precious metals like platinum, titanium, palladium and tungsten are used to endure dings and scratched surfaces. Diamonds and gemstones are channel set into the ring to forego claws breaking or bending for the same reason. As always, how men wear jewellery is all about style and execution. Because wearing rings on certain fingers can look more feminine than others, it’s important to know the significance each finger represents. The commonly known international reasons for what wearing rings on each finger symbolizes goes a little something like this:

  • Thumb – Generally no ring
  • Index Finger – Means he/she is unmarried but looking for a steady relationship
  • Middle Finger – Shows he/she is in love with a fixed person
  • Ring Finger – Means he/she is engaged or married
  • Pinky Finger – Shows his/her determination for avoiding marriage from the cradle to the grave

For women, this formula can be applied since wearing designer rings is more sentimental and is usually based upon feelings and love. However, in ways that men’s rings are created differently than women’s rings, men wear their designer rings for different significant reasons which then changes this theory of wearing rings to a more updated, masculine formula:

  • Thumb – Historically worn on both, nowadays worn on one which allows the designer ring to portray a statement of self, sexuality or fashion
  • Index Finger – Wearing your designer ring here shows dominance, energy and power
  • Middle Finger – Similar to what showing the middle finger implies, wearing a designer ring on this finger shows rebellion, decadence and irreverence
  • Ring Finger – Universally shows marriage
  • Pinky Finger – Historically used to imprint their signet ring on a stamp or seal, nowadays is most commonly worn to show fashion; although some men also choose the pinky finger to beef up the gangster/mafia look or to show reference to gambling

Most men don’t wear rings on index and middle fingers but to each person, goes their own style. Wearing a ring on the pinky finger is commonly seen and recommended by all jewellers since it’s the fashionable and proper way for men to wear designer rings. Not to mention that it brings out one of a man’s most attractive features! It’s a well know fact that studies prove one of the most attractive physical traits women find in men are their hands.

An interesting trend that’s recently been on the rise is women proposing to their boyfriends with male engagement rings. Before your mind stereotypically wanders off, remember that it’s a man’s ring! It won’t hold a high diamond setting with lots of frilly highlighted details; it will be a customised thick band sometimes including a channel diamond, etching or even a two-toned band for those who wish to add some pizzazz. While men and their rings have a lengthy history together, the mindset is changing as more and more men are accepting designer rings, not only as a form of symbolism or another trophy to add to their collection, but as a fashionable statement of self that’s shows confidence and class. The bottom line is that designer rings are as equally desirable for men as they are for women and there’s nothing stereotypical about that!

Sam Kritsotakis

Eskae Private Jeweller

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The 5 Most Common Mistakes Brides Make When Choosing Bridal Jewellery

Published on January 30, 2011 in Bridal Jewellery, Coloured Diamonds, Designer Jewellery, Diamonds, Engagement Rings, Eskae Private Jeweller, Gemstones, Jewellery, Wedding Jewellery and White Diamonds. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

With so many things to do before a wedding, it’s easy to overlook problems you may run last minute on your wedding day. Considering jewellery plays a crucial role in your big day, you’ll want to know the about most common mistakes brides make in order to prevent these unwanted disasters from happening to you!

Mistake #1:

Choosing An Ultra Trendy Engagement Ring

Trends come and go but engagement rings are designed to last a lifetime. Unless you’re having an engagement ring custom designed for you according to your own personal taste, you may want to think twice before choosing the next ‘It’ engagement ring.

For example, the latest trend in the engagement ring market is replacing the classic, white diamond with a birthstone. There’s no mistaking that this is a fantastic idea but remember to ask yourself if you want to be reminded of your birthday every day or your future husband.

Also keep in mind that your coloured birthstone may not match all of your clothing. If you were born in April (diamond birthstone) or June (pearl birthstone), then you can easily get away with this dilemma but if you were born in a colourful month like July (ruby birthstone) or August (peridot birthstone), your engagement ring may not flow as well with all of your pink or orange clothing.

Engagement rings can be an investment and the last thing you’d want to do is look back five years later and realize your wedding set has long gone out of style leaving you wanting a new set. It could possibly hurt your bank account as well as your spouse’s feelings.

The Fix:

If you’ve already chosen your trendy ring, enjoy it! If, however, in a couple of years, you decide that you’d like something more classic or updated, there’s always the option of having your jeweller make the changes necessary to keep you enjoying your ring forever.

For those who are 100% certain of putting colour into your engagement ring, think about opting for coloured diamonds instead of birthstones. Not only will they remind you of your most memorable day, they’re 58 times harder than the next hardest mineral on earth making them almost indestructible – that is, unless you plan on putting your ring into a fire of 1405 degrees Fahrenheit.[1]

If you’re still in the process of choosing your custom designed engagement ring or having it designed, the best selection would be a timeless wedding set that, 25 years later, you’ll never grow tired of admiring its beauty.

Mistake #2:

Picking The Bridal Jewellery BEFORE Picking The Wedding Dress

Once a woman receives her engagement ring, the frantic planning for the race to their dream wedding day begins. Because there is so much pre-wedding planning to do, it’s easy to lose order during the chaos.

Picking the wedding dress beforehand allows the bride-to-be to pick the bridal jewellery that emphasizes the gown rather than hiding under it or worse, clashing with it. The last thing any bride needs is to look just as chaotic as they felt when pulling together their wedding. By creating the wrong fashion statement with something as simple as the wrong choice of necklace, it will ensure that their wedding will be remembered for all of the wrong reasons!

The Fix:

The two most important considerations to notice before picking the bridal set is the neckline of the wedding dress and also, the embellishments that may or may not have been added. If your dress includes embellishments such as pearls or crystals, you’ll want to follow the theme accordingly with your jewellery.

For the neckline of your wedding gown, you’ll want to consider wearing your bridal jewellery the following ways:

  • Halter Neckline or Backless Dress – These are perhaps the most restricting gowns when it comes to jewellery choices. Wearing only stud earrings and a bracelet would be the perfect selection.
  • Square Neckline or Strapless Dress – These necklines are just the opposite, leaving many varieties open for most types of jewellery to be worn. The best choice would be to wear drop or chandelier earrings with a single or double stranded necklace. Another option that looks fantastic is wearing simple earrings with a fancy bridal choker.
  • V-Neck or Plunging Neckline – Since you’ll want to draw attention to your face, wearing stud earrings with a y-drop or a pendant necklace will do just that!

Finding your dress and picking bridal jewellery afterwards is the common sense approach to take; however, if you’ve already fallen in love with the jewellery that you’ve decided is a must-have for your wedding day, you can always opt to design your wedding around the jewellery. Just remember that that can get a little tricky since the philosophy behind wearing bridal jewellery is to enhance your overall wedding look while bringing your own personal style into play.

Mistake #3:

Not Styling Your Hair According To Your Bridal Jewellery

That sounds a little silly, doesn’t it? But think about it, if you’ve chosen to wear beautiful pearl stud earrings with a matching necklace and have left your hair down, you wouldn’t even see most of your bridal jewellery!

The Fix:

Before going to the salon to have your hair glammed up, check out a few bridal magazines or try your jewellery on while standing in front of a full length mirror to get a feel of how you want to look on your wedding day. Ask a close friend or family member for their honest opinion because most store employees will say anything to get a sale.

Unless your wedding dress is extremely embellished, you’ll most likely be wearing a full bridal set and it’s a safe bet to say that you won’t want to hide it under your hair. By keeping your own personal style, you can incorporate professional styles to elegantly pull your hair up off of your neckline and away from your ears. If you have short hair, sweep either one side or both sides up over your ears to show off your gorgeous bridal earrings.

If you’re unable to decide on your own, much like consulting with your jeweller to pick out the perfect bridal jewellery, you can consult with your hair stylist to pick the perfect up-do meant just for you!

Mistake #4:

Not Matching Your Bridesmaids

Every bride wants to stand out on her wedding day and looking unique is a sure way to do exactly that. Your wedding day should be all about you which means this is the one time it’s okay for you to be selfish about who wears what with of your friends without sounding catty. Much like buying the bridal jewellery set before the wedding dress, you must plan out your bridesmaids’ entire ensemble beforehand so there aren’t any last minute clashes.

The Fix:

Most women prefer to give jewellery as a gift to their bridesmaids but if buying complete jewellery sets are out of your budget, purchase just the earrings, bracelet or necklace for your friends to set the tone of the theme. By choosing the coloured gemstone and/or design for them, they’ll be inclined to follow suit that emphasizes you and doesn’t upstage you on your perfect wedding day!

Mistake #5:

Choosing Your Bridal Set From The Store At The Mall (Gasp!)

Sure, bridal jewellery sets can be costly and after purchasing the wedding gown, wedding ring set, bridesmaid dresses, facility rental, DJ (the list goes on and on), you’ll be feigning to save money when you can. However tempted you may be, jewellery is one area you should never forego quality on.

Bridal jewellery is not always necessarily worn after the wedding day but it either already is or will be a future heirloom to pass down to worthy family members. In other words, bridal jewellery is meant to last not just your lifetime but generations to come.

The Fix:

You can cut down on extravagance to save some dollars but you should never wear cheap jewellery on your wedding day. You’ll want every little detail to be stunningly perfect and guess what? Cheap jewellery can tarnish even the most beautiful of all wedding dresses, not to mention the greenish marks left behind on your skin. To make sure you don’t fall victim to committing this wedding faux-pas, talk with your jewellery designer to use materials that work for your wedding day as well as your budget.

If you aren’t planning on holding onto your bridal set to pass down as an heirloom, discuss options to make your jewellery a part of your life that you can wear to fancy occasions or wear as an everyday piece.

Knowing what you now know to avoid falling into these common little traps, you can put your mind at ease and be rest-assured that you’ll not just look great on your wedding day; you’ll look above and beyond spectacular – you’ll be DAZZLING!

References:

[1] http://didyouknow.org/diamonds/

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50 Top Celebrity Proposals, Part V

Published on January 23, 2011 in Bridal Jewellery, Designer Jewellery, Diamonds, Engagement Rings, Fun Stuff, Jewellery, Platinum, Proposals, Wedding Jewellery and White Diamonds. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Watching celebrities lives unfold can sometimes be interesting. They live their lives in the eyes of the public no matter what the circumstances are. At times these moments can be inspiring while other times can be humiliating. In this last in a series where I examined some of the breathtaking moments when celebrity women become celebrity brides, we’ll look at the last 10 in my list of 50.

1 Kara DioGuardi and Mike McDuddy

Kara DioGuardi is used to life in the public eye as a former judge on American Idol, so it comes as no surprise that her engagement to former school teacher and general contactor Mike McDuddy went public as well. While the two were on vacation in Mexico, Mike decided to pop the question while Kara sat in her thermal pajamas. With lit candles he presented a champagne citrine stone designer ring to Kara.

2 Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin

While True Blood costars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer were heating it up on screen, they were also secretly heating it up off screen. The pair managed to keep their relationship out of the public eye for quite some time before going public with their engagement. Stephen proposed to Anna in Hawaii on the beach while vacationing with friends.

3 Jeff Francoeur (Atlanta Braves) and Catie McCoy

The “beauty” Catie McCoy found true love with her “beast” when Jeff Francoeur proposed to her during a production of “Beauty and the Beast” in Atlanta. While in the theatre Jeff got down on one knee and gave Catie a diamond engagement ring. Hopefully this marriage ends just as the movie.

4 Nick Cannon and Selita Ebanks

Vitoria’s Secret model Selita Ebanks and Actor/Musician Nick Cannon had a night of magic when he proposed to her on May 7, 2007. After leaving the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala in New York, the couple headed to Times Square via limousine. On the JumboTron screen the words “Selita, will you marry me” appeared for her and the world to see.  After Selita answered with a yes the couple celebrated with friends and relatives at Butter. Unfortunately, the party may have lasted longer than the engagement. The couple broke up in October of 2007.

5 Tiffani Thiessen and Brady Smith

Former Saved By The Bell and Beverly Hills 90210 actress Tiffani Thiessen had a dream engagement to actor Brady Smith. Brady presented Tiffani with a scrapbook he handmade that showed their relationship step by step. Their wedding took place in July of 2005 in Montecito, California. Some of the celebrity guests included Jeannie Garth, Tori Spelling and Jason Priestley.

6 Travis Barker and Shannon Moakler

Tattooed rocker Travis Barker became engaged to actress Shannon Moakler on December 24, 2003 while on the Haunted Mansion ride in Disneyland. The couple got married in October of 2004 in California. Their wedding was inspired by the movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and was full of Goth inspired décor’. Two kids and a reality series later, the couple filed for divorce in 2006 and reconciled in 2007. After officially breaking up again the couple reconciled for a second time. It sounds like their marriage is still on the Haunted Mansion roller coaster.

7 Brendon Fraser and Afton Smith

Funny man Brendan Fraser had big plans to propose to actress Afton Smith. While on a vacation to Paris the couple was having a Polaroid picture taken of them. Right before the camera snapped the picture Brendan opened his coat to reveal a note that read, “Will you marry me, Afton?” Once the picture was developed he realized the words were too small so he had to open his coat a second time to reveal the note. The couple married in late 1998 and now has two sons.

8 Faith Hill and Tim McGraw

“Spontaneous Combustion” was the title of the tour and has since become the headline of the lives of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. The couple met on tour in 1996 and Tim proposed to Faith right before a performance. Since Tim didn’t have time to hear what her answer was she wrote her answer on a mirror for him to see when he came off stage. The rest has been made history. The couple and their children lead the picture perfect lives.

9 Neve Campbell and John Light

British actor John Light and actress Neve Campbell had a romantic evening when he proposed. John recited lines from Shakespeare while on bended knee. Neve said yes and the couple married in Malibu in May of 2007.

10 Jake Pavelka and Vienna Girardi

We’ve all probably watched “The Bachelor” at one point in time, but the engagement of Jake Pavelka and Vienna Girardi was beautiful. While on the island of Saint Lucia Jake presented Vienna a three carat, princess cut, Neil Lane diamond platinum ring. While in her one shouldered teal dress Vienna said yes to Jake as he knelt on one knee. We all had hoped their romance would be as breathtaking as the engagement ring but it seems already to be over.

Celebrity proposals are not always what we think they will be. Some are corny and some are romantic, but one thing is for sure; it is always fun to see how the lives unfold of those whom we see in the public eye.

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50 Top Celebrity Proposals, Part IV

Published on January 16, 2011 in Bridal Jewellery, Diamonds, Engagement Rings, Eskae Private Jeweller, Fun Stuff, Hand-made Jewellery, Proposals and White Diamonds. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Most celebrities have fabulous weddings that the public rarely gets to see, and proposals can be just as much fun. From the first date to the I-Do’s sometimes the relationships can be kept hush-hush. I have been reviewing the top proposals in a series of posts and here are 10 more that made the top 50.

1 Chris Bosh and Adrienne Williams

After dating for one year Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat and Adrienne Williams got engaged in Miami just outside of their home. After the proposal they partied with friends where Adrienne was seen sporting a large diamond ring.

2 Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Basset

Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Basset were atop the Space Needle when he popped the big question. Hank wasn’t originally going to propose that day but decided that it would be a huge surprise so he made the decision to do it anyway. After taking family pictures with both families Hank got down on one knee to propose. He presented her with a 2 ¼ carat diamond mounted with sixty diamonds and white gold. Sources say Kendra was extremely shocked and very happy.

3 Simon Cowell and Mezhgan Hussainy

American Idol’s former make up artist Mezhgan Hussainy and former judge Simon Cowell met on the set while filming episodes for the show. The couple starting dating in 2008 during filming. The engagement ring Simon presented her with is almost bigger than life. It is reported to be six carats and approximately $750,000. The age difference between the two (fourteen years) has not slowed them down.

4 David Walliams and Lara Stone

Finding your engagement ring in a hamburger may not be your idea of glamour; but if it was a $100,000 art deco ring from Tiffany’s you may think twice. This is how model Lara Stone found her ring from comedian David Walliams. Apparently David thought that since Lara always removed the top bun from her burger to remove items she didn’t want it would be a clever way to present her with the ring. After Lara accepted his proposal they went on a romantic vacation to Mexico.

5 Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush

With twenty bouquets of roses and five hundred candles on a tennis court, actor Chad Michael Murray proposed to actress Sophia Bush. The couple held an outdoor wedding overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica. Unfortunately, their marriage didn’t burn as long as the candles and they were separated just five months later.

6 Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan

Channing Tatum proposed to Jenna Dewan on an island in Maui. Channing invited their closest friends to view the proposal without Jenna knowing anything was going on. The couple met during the filming of the movie “Step Up” but didn’t begin dating until after filming was completed. The engagement ring was purchased from Neil Lane but no other details of the wedding were being disclosed.

7 Bill Rancic and Giuliana DePandi

In a helicopter ride over Chicago with pizza and champagne, season one winner of The Apprentice, Bill Rancic popped the question to E! News co-host, Giuliana DePandi.  The couple who had been dating for one year returned to Bill’s apartment which was filled with roses and chocolate cake. Their wedding took place in Italy in 2007.

8 Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott

With a horse drawn carriage ride that leads to a Christmas tree farm in Canada, Dean McDermott proposed to Tori Spelling. Lights led the way to a table for two in the middle of the trees. The couple soon wed and could not be happier. On every anniversary Dean presents Tori with a new wedding ring. She says it reminds her of the day she first became his wife. She says she looks forward to the day when she can pass on her large wedding band collection to her children.

9 Howie Dorough and Leigh Boniello

Backstreet Boys Howie Dorough found that singing in front of 40,000 people was easier than proposing to his girlfriend Leigh Boniello in front of the family. Howie made sure to ask Leigh’s family for permission; included in this were her parents and grandparents. The couple met in 2000 while she was working as Webmaster for his band. The relationship was kept quiet at first but  they decided it was time to share the news with the world right before the wedding. The ring was one round diamond surrounded by two smaller round diamonds that Howie designed himself.

10 Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford

Superman Brandon Routh wasn’t so brave when he asked girlfriend Courtney Ford for her hand in marriage. While the couple was painting a mural for a charity he asked her to reach into his pocket for his chap stick. Instead, Courtney came out with an engagement ring. Brandon said he was afraid he would say something dumb so he chose to do things the easy way.

Join me next time when as I take a look at 10 more celebrity proposals.

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The History of the Wedding Band

Published on December 12, 2010 in Bridal Jewellery, Eskae Private Jeweller, Gold, Jewellery and Wedding Jewellery. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

In an earlier post, I took you on an exploration of the romantic history of the engagement ring. With such an intriguing past and blended foundation, I knew there had to be an equally interesting story attached to the history of the wedding ring. After doing some research, I discovered that this history is both rich and vast.

The concept of the wedding ring is said to have originated along the fertile flood plains of the Nile River in North Africa. Plants that grew alongside the riverbanks provided the material for the first wedding rings. The circle shape was viewed by ancient cultures as a symbol of eternity as it had no beginning and no end.

It is such associations that led to the use of the ring to symbolize love and marriage as the individuals involved hoped their love would match the characteristics of the circle, capturing eternity and never ending. The promise of love and commitment should have no end and in many cultures, the circle ring was the symbol of this promise.

Interestingly, this is not the only history associated with the wedding ring. I discovered another theory that suggests the ring’s shape has more to do with religion than a symbol. Some historians argue that the wedding ring actually represents two halves of a united whole. When the circle is complete, the primitive man has completed his religion. This belief is not widespread and appears to have only been dominant for a short time, but is part of the history none-the-less.

The wearing of the wedding ring on the fourth finger was not put in place at the very beginning of the wedding ring’s use. Earlier cultures used rings around the extremities to exercise superstitious beliefs about keeping the spirit in place. This attempt at protecting or prolonging the life of a new bride did not have quite the romantic appeal that wedding bands today hold for the betrothed.

Egyptians and Romans later introduced the use of the fourth finger as they believed a vein ran from the fourth finger to the heart. As a result, this finger was the only logical location for a ring that would symbolize something so precious as marriage. By the time science disproved this theory, the fourth finger was already a well-worn tradition.

Interestingly, there are elements that exist within the traditional wedding vows that relate to ancient practices that have less to do with love and more to do with laws and rituals. Is it said that ancient Romans did not use the fourth finger to demonstrate love, but rather possession. The ring symbolized ownership and the woman rarely had a say in the decision to become owned by the man. Once captured and ringed, the woman was married to the man, forced to always obey.

A tradition in the Far and Middle East that was put in place to ensure a woman was faithful was the use of puzzle rings. These collapsible rings would fall apart if the woman removed the ring. The “puzzle” could be put back together, but only by those who knew the correct arrangement of the pieces of the puzzle and the husband rarely divulged such information to the wife.

Puritans often believed that jewellery was frivolous and therefore wedding rings were an extravagance that was not necessary. Instead, young couples exchanged “wedding thimbles”. As the Puritans often viewed thimbles as a practical gift, such an exchange was considered to be acceptable. For some young brides, however, a ring was still desired and once the wedding was complete, she would cut off the bottom of the thimble to create a ring.

As time passed and more modern times emerged, the modern ring began to take shape. Always a circle, the wedding ring has been made of leather, aluminum, stone and metal. Interestingly, even as the human approach to love and marriage was evolving, wedding rings were largely something worn only by a woman until World War II.

It was during the war that men in the military were in fashion if they wore their wedding bands to remember wives waiting for them back home. This practice increased during the Korean War and is still growing today as more men throughout the world readily demonstrate their commitment to another.

Today, we see wedding bands made up of mainly gold or platinum, although some wish to express their individuality with a tattoo or the use of titanium. Whatever your interest, you cannot dispute the wide-reaching and interesting history associated with the wedding ring.

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Eskae Private Jeweller – apprentice weeks 7/8.

Published on October 28, 2010 in Bridal Jewellery, Designer Jewellery, Diamonds, Engagement Rings, Eskae Private Jeweller, Gold, Jewellery, Platinum, Wedding Jewellery and White Diamonds. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Well hello again, I’m back!

And what a busy two weeks it has been for me at Eskae Private Jeweller. I have been busy learning tricks of the trade in making and creating engagement rings, finishing touches, fusing gold, perfecting using various pliers and how to protect stones when heat is applied to a piece of designer jewellery.

One of the first techniques I learnt over the last two weeks was how to begin a half round wedding ring. Instead of filing the shape to begin with, which can remove a decent amount of gold or platinum, therefore you end up with a lighter feeling ring, I was taught a traditional smithing technique. This technique involves hammering the gold or metal on the top corner of the ring whilst turning the ring on a ring mandrill.

A mandrill if you aren’t too sure is a long tapered steel rod, with ring sizes on it. It is one of the tools that really identifies a jeweller and their craft. The mandrill is a great tool for this particular technique as it keeps the ring stable meaning it doesn’t move around whilst you are hammering, as well as keeping the correct finger size whilst you hammer and also giving you a good grip on the ring to enable you to create the curved profile of the ring.

I hit the edge of the metal the whole way around the ring on both corners or edges and then began hitting just inside from the first hammer marks. These two hammered lines soften the edge of the wedding band to eventually create the curved profile. After hammering, you can then use a fine file to create a more smooth and even looking profile for the shape of the ring.

I also learnt how to put finishing touches into very tight crevices. To do this a cratex or ‘brown’ rubber wheel is used to get into the groove and smooth out the surface of the gold. A cratex wheel is a abrasive rubber wheel which can be shaped into various widths and shapes to fit into certain hard to reach areas of jewellery.

One of the most exciting techniques I learnt in the previous week was how to fuse gold together. This technique is similar to reticulation and is where you melt another piece of the same metal onto and into each other – perhaps to fill a gap or even join two pieces together. This was a very important technique to learn as it can be applied to metals such as platinum. The advantage of fusing two gold or platinum pieces together is that the join is made of the same material as the two halves or pieces that are being joined, and not of solder which is not as tough or hard wearing as either gold or platinum is.

Another important technique I learnt last week, was how to protect diamonds and gemstones which are already set in jewellery and need to have heat applied to them. For example when re-sizing a ring. One of the methods I was shown was to place the end of jewellery with the stone in it into a small pot of wet sand. The wet sand acts as a heat-retardant against the heat generated by the soldering torch, which can cause damage to the stone, such as cracking or burning. The other method is to use a special paste which is placed over the stone/s. It acts in the same way as the wet sand.

And finally I practiced using various pliers to bend gold into various shapes. I learnt where the pliers needed to be placed on the metal in order to bend the metal in a particular direction and also how to use your fingers and hands to manipulate the metal around the pliers.

All in all the last two weeks have been very busy for me, learning exciting and new techniques and also applying some of the previous weeks techniques.

Until I speak to you next time, have a fantastic week, if its anything like last week I know I will!

Cheers, Holly

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Eskae Private Jeweller – Apprentice week 4

Published on September 27, 2010 in Bridal Jewellery, Eskae Private Jeweller, Jewellery, Mens Jewellery and Wedding Jewellery. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Hello,

Can you believe it has been exactly one month since I began my journey of becoming a jeweller with Eskae Private Jeweller. I know I can’t! And what a fantastic 1st month it has been.

The most exciting activity I did this week was finishing the silver gents wedding ring I made and told you about in week one. All I needed to do was polish the ring and it would be finished. I would have to say that polishing is not as easy as it looks, Sam definitely threw me in the deep end by letting me create a not so simple wedding band. A plain wedding band would have been a lot easier to polish, as you would essentially need to polish the one area on the outside, but because the design I created had three edges to polish it was quite tricky. I enjoyed the challenge and it was fun to be able to learn polishing.

This was the most important lesson I learnt this week; the angle on which you must hold the ring, to enable you to only polish one particular part of the ring at the one time, and to not curve or smooth the lines I had created by putting a chamfered edge on each side of the ring. What this does is helps me keep the sharp or definite edges in the design of the ring, giving the finished ring more definition.

A chamfered edge is a design feature or technique where we put a 45 degree angle on the outside edge of the ring or any other piece of jewellery. In this piece I put the chamfered edge on to not only give interest and definition to the ring but to learn this essential technique of polishing different areas on a piece of jewellery while keeping the definite edge or line between the surfaces.

Wedding Ring with a Chamfered Edge

The goal here with learning to polish a chamfered piece of jewellery, is to keep the straight edges on the side and to keep the top flat.

I began using a hand polisher and then later used the big mops on the polishing machine. Each process is important to do correctly as it builds up to the next step which will give you the final look and finish.

My lines created with the chamfered edge are still nice and clean after polishing, so as you can imagine, I am very proud of myself as this technique I have been told is not so easy to do when you are an apprentice.

I am very happy that I was able to learn this technique so early on in my jewellery making journey, as I will now be able to apply this technique this week to the cufflinks which I have now finished making and are ready to be polished.

Until I speak to you next week, a very excited apprentice, who has just finished her very first ring, is signing off,

Holly

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