Titanium Ring for a Wedding Ring

Titanium is the perfect choice for a wedding ring today. No other item of jewelry has played such important role in demonstrating affection as the wedding ring. Of the precious metals used to create wedding rings, titanium has merits that supersede gold or platinum in its beauty, quality and value that make it an ideal choice as the symbol of your love.

Why a Men's Titanium Wedding Ring?
While titanium has been known to us for many years, it was originally used in aerospace and salt water projects, becoming widely used in commercial applications and now in jewelry designs during the last two decades. One reason why titanium wedding rings are gaining in popularity, especially with men, is because of its strength that belies its light weight feel.

The style and design of your titanium wedding ring aside, there are some practical reasons why choosing titanium makes sense. Because it is an inert metal, it is ideal for people with sensitive skin. This fact accounts for its use in the production of equipment and tools for medical procedures. You will never have to worry about damage from the elements to your titanium silver wedding ring, unlike silver, it will remain completely tarnish-free.

Whenever you buy jewelry, quality is always the primary concern. The wide spread use of titanium within jewelry industry confirms its quality and its market appeal. In respect to the purity of the metal itself, neither gold or platinum can match titanium. Today, jewelry designers are using titanium for more of their work, taking advantage of titaniums beautiful grey sheen that rivals the look of platinum at a more affordable price.

How to Buy a Wedding Ring
A titanium wedding ring is an investment that brings beauty and aesthetic pleasure. But keep in mind that there is a distinct difference between the shape of the hand of a man and a woman. Some are slender with tapered fingers. For this type of hand, a ring that is designed with a diagonal pattern works well, even with an array of stones. However if the hand is broad and fingers are very thick, a flat design, perhaps with contrasting bands could be a good starting point. With the variety of black titanium wedding ring designs available, you are sure to be impressed. You can find solid titanium as well as titanium rings in combination with gold or platinum.

Buying Rough Gemstones

Rough gemstones are gemstones in their natural cut and phases. Rough gemstones aren't yet cut and designed for jewelry and other accessories. They are literally rough. The overall appearance is unadulterated and isn't yet cut and smoothed for jewelry and design purposes.

Rough gemstones basically look like they are freshly extracted from mine deposits. As a matter of fact, they are freshly sculpted from mines. Thus, the texture is rough and the overall appearance is still unaltered. If you are wanting to buy rough gemstones, you can easily do so.

There are special wholesalers who sell them. You'd also be surprised that such items aren't as pricey as the designed and smoothed gemstones, although the quality and composition are the same.

Jewelers and stone designers are the usual clients and buyers of rough gemstones. They then cut and shape them based on how they will be used and integrated into jewelry. You could opt to buy rough gemstones, turn them over to a jeweler or designer and have your jewelry or accessory customized.

Here are some tips that will help you make a good purchase transaction for rough gemstones.

- Buy only from regulated and accredited sellers of rough gemstones. This will help ensure that your purchase is legal and the items you buy are genuine. Authorities also advise buying from such sellers.

- Look for bargains when buying. You can always bargain for lower prices when buying rough gemstones. If you can make the purchase at lower rates, the better. You can't lose trying.

- Try searching for online sellers of rough stones. There are numerous rough gemstones sellers across the Internet so you can't miss the best deals and discounted prices. Be observant and explorative when looking for online rough gemstones.

- Prepare a significant amount of money for the transaction. Buying rough gemstones can be an important and pertinent deal so expect that prices will be high.

Many experts recommend buying rough gemstones. It is far more advisable to have your jewelry and accessories custom made. So when you want to customize your items, you have the power to choose the gemstones you like. By buying rough gemstones, you will be able to secure and come up with good and more elegantly looking jewelry.

A Guide to Buying Jewelry

Even the most affordable pieces of jewelry are still costlier than most of the everyday things we purchase. Furthermore, its easy for people with untrained eyes to be fooled into paying a lot for fake jewelry. Use the tips below to ensure you're making the smart and the right investment when buying jewelry pieces.

How to Buy Gold Jewelry

Gold is one of the most commonly used materials for jewelry. And as gold jewelry doesn't discolor like silver does, they are ideal for people with allergy concerns. Because of its malleability, gold is mixed with other metals to improve its durability and structure. That's why even 24K gold isn't really made purely of gold.

Gold jewelry is measured by its karat or the amount of gold it contains. 24K gold is the highest karat amount you can look for. The next would be 18K, 14K, 12K, and 10K. Any gold jewelry with a rating lower than 10K is no longer considered gold jewelry. In Europe, the karat rating is shown in percentage. 18K would be .750 because it contains 75% gold. 14K would be .583, 12K would be .500.

How to Buy Jewelry Made of Silver, Platinum, and Other Metals

Other metals beside gold are also used to make jewelry. Platinum is one good example and today's market prices it even more expensively than gold. Platinum jewelry is also rated according to its platinum content.

92.5% is the highest rating provided for silver or sterling silver jewelry pieces; it signifies the amount of silver used in the jewelries. Other metals commonly used for jewelry are pewter and vermeil.

How to Buy Gemstone Jewelry

There are two primary types of gemstones: natural and artificial. Natural gemstones are more expensive. Artificial, company-created, or synthetic gemstones are made in the laboratory.

The size and weight are important when buying gemstones. A 1-carat gemstone will weigh 50 points or 1/5th of a gram. At times, gemstones are subjected to certain treatments to change or improve their durability or appearance. The laws require jewelry makers to label their items clearly if they had been treated in any way. In most cases, treated jewelry pieces are less costly than untreated ones.

Commonly used treatments today include bleaching, dyeing, diffusion, fracture filling, impregnating, irradiation, and heating. Bleaching is used to whiten pearls, jades, and other similar stones. Dyeing, diffusion, heating, and irradiation mostly have to do with improving the color of gemstones. Impregnating and fracture filling, on the other hand, make flaws of gemstones less visible.

Gemstones are also appraised according to the same 4C’s used for appraising diamonds, and they are cut, color, clarity, and, which has been previously discussed, carat weight.

Darker gemstones aren't always better. Sapphire that's too dark could have its bluish shade ending up appearing black, and this is considered undesirable by many. Its best to view the color of gemstones at all light levels to judge it more accurately. Ultimately, look for vividness and brightness in colored gemstones.

Clarity refers to the absence of flaws in a gemstone. Imperfections, or inclusions as they're called, are sometimes used to as birthmarks because they indicate the gemstones origins. Other times, they actually increase the value of the gemstone, such as it is in the case of stars in star rubies and sapphires.

Cut doesn't necessarily make a gemstone more expensive, but it could enhance or detract from its appearance.

Gemstones can be classified into several categories. Traditional gemstones are made up of emerald, blue sapphire, and ruby. They were originally called precious gemstones and with the rest merely delegated to semi-precious category. Most of the time, rubies and emeralds are more expensive than sapphires because of their rarity.

New classics refer to currently fashionable gemstones, those on the rise in the industry like aquamarine and tourmaline. Connoisseur gemstones refer to those that are hard to find like alexandrite, a rare pinkish stone, sapphires that have other colors than blue, and black opal.

Collectors gems are rare but affordable and of great beauty like morganite and zircon. Lastly, affordable gemstones are those with high quantity in the market, affordably priced, but with excellent overall value such as amethyst and blue topaz.

How to Buy Pearl Jewelry

Pearls may be natural, cultured (naturally grown but with human intervention), or synthetic. Artificial or synthetic pearls are man-made and produced using plastic, glass, or other similar materials. Pearls are judged according to the skin, luster, shape, and size. Skin refers to the absence of blemishes, luster is an exclusive quality of pearls, referring to its surface glow, and shape places preferences for the most perfect spheres for pearls.

A Charming Beauty

Among the many beautiful stones, emeralds are but one of the most attractive gemstones. It possesses the most intense green color you will ever see. For centuries only the wealthy had this priceless gift. The rare pure green emerald is more valuable than most of the diamonds. But there are some varieties of emerald which can have yellowish or bluish colors.

The name emerald is from the Greek word smaragdos, the name been given among the number of unique stones. In the Zodiac signs, this is the birthstone that has been assigned to Taurus. It is even used as the anniversary gemstone for marriage, because it symbolizes kindness, faith and purity.

Emeralds are known to have a healing ability. Although it isn't directly a replacement for the traditional medical treatment, emerald was used for emotional and physical healing. The refreshing green color quality of emerald can cure eye problems; it is even a good amulet for eye troubles.

Moreover, when emeralds are worn around the neck and fingers of children it can prevent them from having convulsions. Emeralds help patients with ailments of the spine, and it helps fight neurological and mental disorders. It can even be an antidote for most poisons and eases wounds associated with poisons.

Emeralds are believed to have some mystical powers. Some people say that it can drive away evil spirits. Having an emerald with you can make you a man of wisdom, for it is said to bring wisdom to those who have or wear it. The ancients believed that it was a good amulet for those who wanted to have good fortune.

Lastly, emeralds are popularly known to be a symbol of faith and love. It can even discover false friends, because it actually changes color in their presence. As for love, when the emerald fades, that means that love weakens so better check the color.

To achieve a lasting beautiful emerald gemstone, care and treatment is needed. To clean the stone, use a soft, dry cloth to wipe it. Use oil when treating it, never use ultrasonic cleaner, because it can remove the oil that is being used during treatments. Lastly, never soak it in hot water, the color of the stone easily changes when it is strongly heated.

When buying your precious emerald, consult a professional retail jeweler to make sure that you will get the real one. A professional knows about details of the emerald, it is very confusing sometimes to compare a true emerald from a synthetic one.