Jewelry Industry Blog

Jason Castro. I think it’s pretty clear by now that this guy, stoner-cutie that he happens to be, is not capable of anything more than he’s been doing: singing flat, mellow versions of whatever song he happens to find the sheet music for. I guess you could call that “making it his own,” but it’s really more like “running another ditty through the bland-o-meter.” Are we ready to admit that his triumphant “Hallelujah” was really about the song, and not about Jason at all?

David Cook. My favorite, he remains. And I think he was brilliant to choose a couple of lesser-known Neil Diamond songs, which he could present as modern-ish rockers without having to borrow something else from Chris Cornell. I suppose I agree with the judges that his second song was better than his first, but I liked them both. And I find that he’s the only remaining contestant who truly puts it on the line when he sings - pushes his voice, pushes his emotions. (David Archuleta can sound emotional, too, but it always feel robotic to me: calculated and a little bit too perfect.)

Brooke White. Argh. “I’m A Believer” is one of my favorite songs of all time, and while I wouldn’t necessarily call her version of it “a nightmare,” it certainly wasn’t good. Really, it showed off all of her weaknesses as an artist: She doesn’t have a very big vocal range, and she absolutely cannot project anything but melancholy. Her happy songs are always near-disasters. So yes, she did a much better job with her melancholy piano version of “I Am…I Said,” but how believable was it, really? After all, she kept smiling about how weird it was to sing about Arizona having a shore.

David Archuleta. Ah, America’s favorite beautifully-singing little robot. I did not care at all for his soft-rock version of the Red Sox Nation Theme Song, particularly since he wasted little time before launching into the cheesetastic “hands…touching hands” part. And yes, I agree with Simon that “America” was a brilliant choice, though he doesn’t need saving like Kristy Lee Cook. Also, I give him extra-super bonus points for not singing “Turn On Your Heartlight.”

Syesha Mercato. As soon as she started her barefoot version “Hello Again,” my heart sank: So soon, we’re back to the wannabe diva stuff? But she redeemed herself with her girl-band take on “Thank the Lord for the Night Time.” And, unlike Brooke, she’s able to sing an upbeat song and look like she’s actually having fun. Yeah, I’ll agree with Simon that it wasn’t transcendent. But it made Jason Castro look like the cute little amateur he is. If she goes before he does this week, I’m going to make my cat wear a little black armband.

Autor:  Joanna Weiss

Accessorizing these days with fancy bracelets and earrings has turn out to be really hip in the past couple of years. A woman might not spend on outfits as much as they do on accessories since it gives an impression of being elegant and cool. Fancy bracelets with big beads, hand engravings, stainless steel, diamond, gold or silver are being purchased by women and a common factor is you have so much multiplicity when it comes to bracelets that we end up buying many of them instead of picking just one. Therefore, stores with shoes and bags prefer keeping fancy jewelry as well to increase their sales.

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Fashion Jewelry is called just that because it is meant to be worn with any fashion design. This type of jewelry is meant to be mixed and matched with any outfit and its purpose is to enhance that outfit. Jewelry can make or break an outfit; even if you have the cutest or trendy outfit that fits you just oh so right, it can be ruined by the lack of, too much of or bad fashion jewelry. Learn what makes an outfit a full complete outfit from top to bottom so that you always look pulled together.

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The upcoming CIBJO Congress, which is scheduled for April 14-16, 2008 at the Grosvenor Hotel in Dubai, will address the issues of corporate and social responsibility in the diamond, gem and jewelry industry supply line.

The Congress’ theme is “Implementing the internationally agreed millennium development goals and commitments in regard to sustainable development.”

The event, which is to be hosted by the Dubai Multi Commodities Center (DMCC), will be attended by a high-ranking minister of the UAE government.

In anticipation of the 2008 Congress, CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri stated: “Over the past few years, CIBJO has taken the lead on raising awareness on CSR in the jewelry industry. It also has broadened its efforts in creating better industry standards for diamonds, colored gemstones, pearls, and more recently also for precious metals and gemology. All together, these issues will make for a very stimulating congress.”

Gold rings started to gain popularity among men during the Second World War, when these rings became the preferred choice for weddings. Today, men’s gold rings are one of the most popular jewelry items among men of various age categories. Besides weddings, men’s gold rings are worn on occasions like engagements, birthdays, anniversaries, parties, and other celebrations. Available in a variety of designs, gold rings vary in prices according to the purity of the gold used, the size of the ring, and the value of any other embellishments like gemstones used in the item. While buying a gold ring, men need to take care of some basic points that help in selecting the more appropriate gold ring for them.

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Yellow gold has never completely fallen out of favor with the fashion crowd, but over the past decade the public took more of a shine to sterling silver and platinum. However, gold’s fortunes had already started to turn when it hit $1,000 an ounce in March.

Even as gold prices come back down, jewelers expect it will remain an attractive accessory for those who want something not everyone can have. Demand for gold jewelry was up 22 percent in 2007 over the previous year, according to the World Gold Council.

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Everyone loves charms! One of the popular charms today is the holding pins charms. You may wonder about how charms can to be. Charms have been around for centuries and this particular type of jewelry dates all the way back to the Neolithic era when early man would carry around pieces of rock. The days of the early Egyptians brought to the world a civilization that had expert jewelry crafters. Precious gem stones and metals such as gold were used extensively for jewelry, carvings, statues and other items.

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Hipsters beware: That naval piercing or nose ring may be hazardous to your health. In rare cases, seizures, organ failure and even death can occur.
That is the message from the California Department of Toxic Substance Control, which is enforcing a new state law that regulates lead in jewelry, especially piercing jewelry.
That law went into effect March 1.
“Body piercings may be particularly vulnerable to poisoning since lead can enter the bloodstream through the pierced areas,” Maureen Gorsen, director of California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control, said in a written statement.

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When you think of snake chains, what do you think of? Well if you said a chain made out of snake, then you are wrong. Snake chains are a type of chain that is made with a cool scale like texture to it. It almost looks as if the chains had scales on them. This gives a different effect that other chains just cannot give. Because of that, many people are into buying the snake chains. However, there is no one type of person that buys the snake chains more than others. Both males and females and people of all ages love the look of the snake chains. Whoever made this chain knew what they were doing.

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I don’t know why, but some bracelets seem better than others. I guess it just depends on the meaning behind the bracelet, and nothing says meaning louder than charm bracelets. The great thing about charm bracelets is that you can make it say something about you. Whenever you are wearing charm bracelets, people are going to see a little piece of what makes you, you. There are not too many different bracelets out there that can do that, but the charm bracelets can. That is why they stand out in my mind as some of the best bracelets money can buy, and at a good price.

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