Thursday, February 14, 2008

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].

Thursday, January 10, 2008

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.

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