CULTURAL GEMS SPEARHEAD A NEW TREND

LOVE it or loathe it, there’s no denying that Damien Hirst’s infamously engraved diamond encrusted human skull is one of the most talked about pieces of the modern age.

Yet whilst its $100m price tag continues to encapsulate an audience, the significance of the piece is understated and nothing short of priceless courtesy of its historic African origin.

Unbeknown to most post-festive high-street shoppers, and perhaps even Hirst himself, what was once seen as a rather contentious and outlandish piece of art is now finding its way into an increasingly more common lore marketplace.

Recent genetic and fossil data available (source: National History Museum) suggest humans originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago. This provides more evidence to suggest that modern human behaviour, such as art, symbolism and complex burials, originated in Africa earlier than previously thought and did not reach Europe until much later.

It also shows that long lasting and widespread bead and skull-working traditions associated with early modern humans extended through Africa to the Middle East well before comparable evidence appeared in Europe. But for on-line retailer, faithjewellery.co.uk, the industry is on course to go full-circle and return to its cultural roots with new faith gemstones increasingly becoming ‘big business’. What’s more, it’s a trend that’s set to stick around for quite a while.

“Fashion designers are continually inviting us to be more individual, and the affordable prices of some retailers allows that to be possible,” says David Fenton, co-owner of faithjewellery.co.uk. “In today’s retail market, there is a growing desire to accessorise everything, so buyers’ are looking for something a bit different.

“The great thing about new faith gemstones is that they offer style, innovation and help people to engage with their friends or colleagues without others feeling as though they’re preaching to them.

“So much about people’s faith as oppose to their fashion preference is misconstrued, which is why a new form of spiritual artwork has been born to represent a wider market.”

ABOVE: A Faith Jewellery skull pendant crafted in contemporary white gold and encrusted with 26 points of real black and white diamonds

Appetising examples of new faith gemstones have already been seen on music icon Madonna, who was recently boasting an impressive diamond skull and crossbones pendant. Whereas former England footballer David Beckham was photographed wearing a skull necklace - both further evidence in a move away from more traditional high-street pieces.

By any admission, Hirst’s dazzlingly diamond skull offering may neither be affordable or practical, yet it remains at the forefront of lavish gemstone creations. What’s more, it remains one-step ahead of Marie Antoinette’s seemingly sumptuous pearl necklace, which failed to capture the same interest at Christie’s before Christmas [2007].

Diamond Jewellery

Diamonds are forever, but they are no more only the woman’s best friend. Men have befriended them too as never before and diamonds are now a fashion, wealth and style statement that speaks volumes about the wearer. Catch the sparkle of diamonds and you know right away that you are in tasteful company.

Rings and bracelets, pendants and necklaces studded with diamonds are ruling the fashion world. Jewellery and jubilations, happiness and celebrations go hand in hand. What is of note however is that religious jewellery is sported with all the fervor of fashion and religious symbols like the cross and crucifix, skulls and rosaries are now frequently embellished with the glitter of precious diamonds.
The purity and worth of Diamonds is governed by the four Cs: diamond colour, clarity, cut and carat weight. The best combination of all these four factors give you the best there is in Diamonds. A range of different sized diamonds of varying shapes is first selected prior to being incorporated in specific designs to get some very exclusive jewellery.

The demand and fascination for Diamond jewellery is increasing by the day. Diamond rings, ear rings, bracelets and necklaces are a perfect compliment to celebrations. Diamonds can be set in gold, silver and platinum too and of course the popular option of white gold as it is known today. People who invest in diamonds look out for quality, great design and true value for money. Diamond Jewellery being ageless and timeless, it is typically a mix of culture blended with contemporary design and taste. Undisputedly, Diamond jewellery makes the best ever gift that equals none other.

Diamonds bring a lot of pride to the owner and they can be encrusted along with pearls and other precious gems to create some very fascinating jewellery pieces. In the olden times, only emperors and kings boasted of Diamond studded crowns and queens and princesses owned Diamond jewellery. Now, with the narrowing divide between classes and masses, Diamond Jewellery can be owned by commoners as well as royalty.

There’s something incredibly romantic about a diamond engagement ring and it is every betrothed couple’s dream to sport a diamond ring and the bride who has a diamond ring to speak of her engagement feels that much more special. Expressed or unexpressed, the desire to own Diamond Jewellery lurks in every heart, young as well as old.

Online Jewellery Store UK

Navigating through heavy traffic, sweating it out while huffing and puffing one’s way to High Street, spending hours finding one’s favorite piece of jewellery to suit individual budgets and styles, is now history. The search for dream baubles, diamond encrusted jewellery pieces, pearl necklaces, stone fitted bracelets and a lot more can now be made from the comfortable precincts of one’s home, seated in an armchair and sipping from that cup of hot coffee while browsing through millions of web sites that sell jewellery on line in UK.

An online jewellery store is a virtual shop window that is dressed with all types of jewellery covering an entire range by way of material used, varying purity, cost, design and ethnicity. Jewellery is available in gold, silver, titanium, platinum, pearls and precious gems and of course, diamonds. The cost of these can vary according to the gradient in purity. Designs are area specific and one would want to own jewellery that is recognized as a signature of the area from which it originated; for example Egyptian jewellery has a character that is all its own and so does jewellery from Italy. Coastal areas boast of precious coral and pearls while gems are timeless. Imagine having the pleasure of browsing through all these designs before making a choice.

Moreover, it is now an open secret that any product goes on adding to its cost as it passes hands down the line from the manufacturer to the retailer till its final cost to the buyer is way, way higher than its original cost. On line jewellery stores make purchases directly from the manufacturer and in bulk which results in considerable reduction of costs to them. This cuts out a lot of middlemen resulting in massive savings for online stores. In order to make the proposition an attractive one for their customers, they pass a major portion of these savings to them.

Buying jewellery on line in UK also allows buyers to avail of the facility of having jewellery custom made as per their own requirement, choice and budget. These pieces do not have the anonymity of mass production as they are hand made.

Most on line jewellery stores in UK have safe transaction systems installed to facilitate on line payments and the products are delivered in specially designed boxes. In the unlikely event of the jewellery being damaged in transit, it is amicably replaced. Making allowances for the slight variation of how the jewellery may appear on actual viewing as opposed to its online image, most websites have an exchange policy in place.

So, whether it is a ring or a pendant, a set of earrings or a necklace, a bejeweled watch or a bracelet, an engagement ring or wedding jewellery that is tempting you, all you need to do is to access that friendly online jewellery store, browse to your heart’s content and go ahead and order with no worry of being taken for a ride.

Diamond Skull Jewellery

Jewellery suggests adornment, beautification and attraction. It is an embellishment that makes a statement about the wearer. It is no more a fashion accessory patronized by women. Of late it has found favour with males as well. Rings, pendants, chains, brooches, chains, bracelets, necklaces and watches have long been decorated with expensive stones and diamonds to enhance their exclusiveness and as a suggestion of finery. Gold, silver and platinum have, since long, held together gems, pearls, diamonds and other precious stones to be owned by buyers with a sense of pride and ownership. Expensive and modern pieces of jewellery do not need to shout to announce the social stature of the wearer. It is obvious.

Diamond skull jewellery is the latest entrant into the arena of fashion jewellery. It is now fashionable to have various symbols, religious and otherwise, depicted through encrusted diamonds on beautifully crafted skulls. It is thus no reason to be surprised if a diamond encrusted skull catches one’s eye while it is on someone’s finger or dangling from a chain or a brooch.

Diamond studded skulls are juxtaposed with religious symbols like the cross and the crucifix, almost like the co existence of good and evil, life and death, sadness and happiness in this world. The Christian context is overtly suggested in the twin depiction of the cross and other symbols along with the skull, a mute statement of the human experience being incomplete without the presence of evil.

Moreover, more and more celebrities from all over the world are sporting these latest pieces of diamond studded skulls thereby contributing to their popularity which results in the rage catching on. Well, there are also some who say that it doesn’t go down well with everybody and that itself contributes to its being exclusive. Not everyone can flaunt it with the same flair and confidence and yet make a style statement with a diamond studded skull.

The fashion-conscious as well as the religiously inclined endorse the latest trends in fashion oriented religious jewellery, thereby giving a fillip to new introductions in jewellery. The world community also comes together by wearing the same symbols and identifying co-brotherhood by displaying their allegiance to the same religion. These symbols can be made obvious by wearing visible and easily demarcated pieces of jewellery that catch one’s eye as well as attention.

Rosaries

Practicing religion is not necessarily a weekly occasion when one visits the Church or one’s specific place of worship with one’s family. Practicing religion is also about one’s conversations with one’s own self. It is also about treating God as one’s friend and confidante, someone who is always by your side, someone you don’t have to travel far to be with. At such times a rosary keeps one connected to one’s Conscience, to The Creator and leaves one feeling secure and cared for.

Wearing or holding a testimonial of one’s practiced faith is a great way to start a conversation and to establish a connection with persons of the same faith in any corner of the world. In a world that is ridden with exhibitionism and vulgar display of wealth, one is much better off exhibiting or proclaiming one’s allegiance to one’s faith wordlessly but surely.

A rosary is a string of beads that is largely carried by people as a mark of their reverence. A set of Rosary beads contains fifty beads in groups of ten [Every ten beads signifying a decade], with an additional large bead before every decade. These numbers are in accordance with the number of psalms, or a third or two-thirds of them. Since longer than can be remembered, the counting of prayers on a string of beads is customary and has been adopted through generations of followers.

In the beginning of the 20th Century Rosaries were at times made from the seeds of the ‘rosary pea’ or ‘bead tree’. Rosary Beads are sometimes made to enclose sacred relics, or drops of holy water. A set of blessed Rosary Beads is a Sacramental.

The beads can be made from a variety of materials like wood, bone, glass, crushed flowers, semi precious stones and even precious materials including coral, glided silver and gold. Traditionally a Rosary is available in the form of a string of beads of varying materials but for easy use it is also seen in other forms like a ring finger, bracelet and the latest from is as Rosary Card which has bumps on it to depict the beads.

In an ever changing world environment, one thing that can only grow stronger is the belief in God and the proof is that one never has to look far and look for long before one spots a Rosary.

Please check out our rosaries http://www.faithjewellery.co.uk/section/0/gold-rosaries.