Why Jewelry Stores Have Few Tungsten Ring Styles

According to Triton Rings, one of the largest wholesalers of tungsten carbide rings in the world, about half of all wedding bands sold in the United States are now made of tungsten carbide. Many people have heard of tungsten rings by now, but probably didn't realize how immensely popular they are in this country. This is due to their durability and most importantly their affordability. However, anyone who has gone to their local jeweler in search of tungsten weddings bands usually complains that there are only a handful of styles to choose from.
The main reason is jewelry stores stock a few styles of tungsten rings is because they really don't want their customers to buy a tungsten ring. They give a variety of reasons when asked, such as "it isn't really jewelry" and "there is nothing precious about tungsten". The real reason is because tungsten rings are less expensive then platinum or white gold wedding bands so, they make less profit off their customers. Jewelers need to mark up their merchandise, just like any other business and they usually mark it up a percentage. If you have a tungsten ring that is $250 and a platinum ring that is $2,500, you would be right if you guessed the platinum ring would command a higher dollar amount of profit. Just as a car dealer would make less profit selling a Hyundai instead of a Mercedes. Many jewelers reluctantly carry a few styles of tungsten rings because they don't really want to sell it, but in case they can't convince their customers to buy an expensive platinum or gold ring, then they are still able to sell a tungsten ring as a last resort to make some amount of money.
While it is true that tungsten is a cheaper metal and is less rare than gold, however, couples these days don't want to spend a lot of money on their wedding bands and have them damaged rather quickly and then have to spend a lot of money again to replace them. People don't want to worry about something so expensive on their finger that can be lost or damaged easily. Tungsten carbide wedding bands offer customers peace of mind because the metal is so scratch resistant. In fact, no other metal can scratch it. Only certain crystals and diamonds can scratch it. Even if their ring gets damaged, it would be relatively inexpensive to replace them. Some tungsten ring manufacturers even offer a lifetime warranty that will replace the ring in case your finger size changes or replace it if the ring somehow broke. Jewelers like all other businesses in the world need to adapt to changing industry trends and customer demands. By hiding from customers what they want and refusing to change their product selections to reflect consumer demand, many jewelers are ensuring that they will lose sales and might even have to close their businesses.

A Look at Fashion of Diamond Rings

To have a diamond ring, you do not need to be married, wealthy or engaged. This is a luxury that any woman can access. Women choose to wear fashionable ones, not limiting their choice to a type of diamond or a particular style. There are many rings that are fashionable with various kinds of diamonds and different styles, making it easier to find the perfect one for you. Here is a look at fashion of diamond rings:

1. Gemstones: Gemstones, when paired and put together with diamonds, make lovely combinations. They can be used to surround a small diamond as well. The most famous gemstones used in rings are emeralds, sapphires and rubies. This is a classic trend in fashion that will probably never change.


2. Engravings: Engraving your sparkling ring with a special message is the new trend in diamonds. By adding engravings to your ring, you add a lot of emotional value to it besides its financial value. This makes the diamond ring all the more valuable and meaningful.


3. Twisted settings: Twisted settings or bands are one of the latest fashions in diamond rings. You get the comfort of one ring, while creating an illusion of wearing many rings that are stacked together. You can enhance the look of your diamond ring with a good amount of texture so as to match any of your outfits. To make your ring look bold and powerful, put the twisted setting together with a gemstone.


4. Vintage rings: This is one of those fashions that almost never dies out with time. These offer highly intricate and specialized designs along with gemstones and diamonds, and there are no two of the same kind. These diamond vintage rings are available almost anywhere and everywhere. With a rare stroke of luck, you might get it at a very low cost as a few antique shops might not be fully aware of the value of the ring that they are about to sell.


5. Pendants: Diamonds rings are being styled on to pretty platinum and gold chains by many television personalities and fashion gurus. This trend is also catching on with the public now. To add an extra touch of bling, some add two or more rings to a single pendant as well. Make use of a solitaire ring as it has simplicity and forward design that suits this purpose. There are many quality diamond rings that follow these fashions today.

Biker Jewelry - Beautiful Pieces of Art

Biker jewelry is also known as rock and roll jewelry, rocker jewelry or gothic jewelry. They can be identified easily by the masculine look and bold statement they make. The old days when a man could only look forward to wearing neckties and watches as their accessories are all gone. The present days has seen that jewelry worn by the bikers is becoming an important part of any man's wardrobe. And this kind of jewelry today has been transformed from the simple skull rings and classic wallet chains into beautiful, handcrafted, intricate pieces made from precious metals like sterling silver.

Bikers are people who spend a great part of their lives biking, mostly with a group. Their attire and jewelry attract everyone that they pass on the road. These individuals are considered cultural icons who love to live on their own time, ride free and flaunt their own biker style statement without any limits. If you wear biker jewelry, you are telling everyone that you love independence and freedom. The jewelry designs are characterized by boldness. The motifs and designs matter much, with the most common including skull, animal, cross, hearts, fleur de lis, and fire jewelry.

In the previous years, when bikers are put side by side each group, you cannot see any difference in their appearance. But today, with our changing times, you will realize that bikers are showing their individuality through the biker jewelry that they are wearing. It has become a part of their biking lives, enhancing the chic look that is already a mark of their character as bikers. The jewelry of bikers is normally worn with coarse leather jackets, high-heeled boots, bandana and sunglasses. The jewelry augments the dressing of bikers and jazz up their outlook. Bikers even go out of their way to match the model shapes, and designs of their jewelry with their bikes, putting efforts that make them feel they are suitably geared to fit their bikes.

The jewelry worn by bikers, for certain, does not belong to the faint hearted people. There are boots that secretly have boot bladders, hand gloves that turn into knuckle dusters, and wrist bands that serve as a wearer's shield. Customized jewelry for bikers can also be found on sale, and offered to certain group of bikers. This customized jewelry will make them easily identifiable as members of such group of bikers. There are also several types of jewelry that can match whatever the biker desires. They are available in an unthinkable collection of chains, trinkets, wrist bands, arm bands, earrings, belts, boot cutters and more in every shape, design and size.

Tokyo and Los Angeles are the popular cities for biker jewelry, the most famous around the world. The United States has a vast market for biker jewelry and other products. The US, Germany, UK, Japan and Taiwan are popular countries for this kind of jewelry. However, it will be more practical to buy biker jewelry online; you can find many websites selling these items, and good news is that you can compare prices and find the lowest offer in a very short time. Normally, prices are very affordable, but may differ according to the materials used, the country of manufacture, the weight, the kind of carvings, and delivery to country of recipient. You also have the ability to modify the jewelry to fulfill your desire.

How to Buy Cast Iron Antiques Without Burning a Hole in Your Pockets

If you need to spruce up your home and make it look much better, you could decide to buy cast iron antiques. These are pieces of art that are very good at transforming even the drabbest of rooms into very elegant spaces. It's very hard for one to go wrong with cast iron antiques, since almost any piece can fit in any environment. This means that even if you are not very good at interior design, you can easily find one that fits your room or house without having to go through the uncertainty of wondering whether it will fit in with the rest of the house.
Depending on where you live, you may find that these cast iron antiques are very expensive. In these cases, you may still buy them without having to feel the pinch of spending too much on them. All you need are a few tips on how to go about finding a vendor who sells quality pieces at affordable rates. There are several ways of doing this, and some of these are outlined below.
For starters, you could decide to buy what you need online. This is the first solution that most people look to when they want to buy anything cheaply, and with good reason. When you use the web to shop for anything, you can find it at a cheaper price than when you buy it in a brick and mortar store. This is the result of many factors, including the fact that it's cheaper to do business online and that you also have a wider variety to choose from when you buy online. A very good example of where you can try to find the cast iron antiques is on stores such as eBay, which normally offer great deals on some of these products.
When you are trying to buy the cast iron antiques online, you need to find out a few things before you go ahead to make your purchase. For starters, you need to make sure that you check your country or state laws regarding importation of such items. There are a few jurisdictions which may impose restrictions on the importation of these items, and others may charge very high taxes or duties when you import the art. In these cases, you need to find out how much it would cost you to buy and ship the products, as well as pay taxes and duties for them. If the final price is one that you can live with, then you can go ahead and buy the cast iron antiques.
If not, however, you may have to resort to buying the cast iron antiques from your local vendors. In order to reduce the cost of buying them, you could compare the different vendors and then choose to buy from the cheapest. You could also decide to buy the cast iron antiques one by one, as this means that you would have to spend the money in bits instead of in one lump sum when you are buying multiple items.

Interview With Vivi Devereaux

It has taken a fair amount of time and phone calls in order to have the chance to do an interview with Vivi who happens to be an extremely difficult man to get hold of (understandable) but I believe it was well worth the effort. Arriving early at a cafe in downtown LA I sat to wait for him to arrive, admittedly nervous, twirling my pen between my fingers and playing with my iPad and voice recorder hoping I wouldn't screw anything up! But first a little background.

Vivi Devereaux is a South African born actor who made a move from modelling to theatre and film after being inspired and realising that this was the career he was meant to be in. He moved to Los Angeles after the recommendations of his agents and managers in the UK and RSA and has hit the ground running. He is very tall, insanely handsome, and very eloquent with a presence that is just amazingly tangible (man crush moment over). I have had the pleasure of watching a few of his play productions and I'm looking forward to his film debut.

He finally arrived at our meeting with a minimum of fuss (I was early) and a smile that immediately puts you at ease but with eyes that flash intensity and make you really alert. I stood up and shook his hand and it was like I was talking to someone extremely grounded yet with a large amount of forward drive and momentum. It was infectious. After a strong espresso (he ordered a latte, go figure) and some small talk we got down to the serious bit of the interview!

Nigel: Man you are tall! Do you think some people find you intimidating?

Vivi Devereaux: *laughing* Oh I get that occasionally! Most of the time they look up at me with eyes that seem more confused than anything else. But I'm not even that tall! 6 ft 4 is pretty standard isn't it?

N: No not really but it does make me feel pretty small in comparison! So tell me what made you choose this as a career? Had you always wanted to be a star?

VD: No I honestly didn't think this would be my career choice. I had actually studied for a degree in financial management and I was working a project manager for a construction firm. Then I got scouted a shopping mall by a modelling agent and I ended up doing that. Soon thereafter I was being invited to audition for TV presenting, films and theatre! But when I look back, I can see that my whole life had been guiding me to this as a path.

N: When you say guided? Explain? Is it like a diving force out there speaking in a voice? (Sometimes I hear that, but its usually my wife)

VD: Haha no not quite. What I mean is the people you meet and the events that life throws at you. And after a while you think you are going crazy but then you find your niche and realise that everything and everyone you have met has in some way shaped you to become who you are.

N: Who would you say have been your most influential people?

VD: Oh wow its difficult to nail down just one. I take away an experience from everyone I meet and I never stop learning. From teachers, to friends and family, each one has left a little bit of them inside me and I walk with their blessings and well wishes.

N: I wrote an article a while ago on the state of Hollywood today, What is your opinion on the status quo?

VD: Its difficult to say. I think that creativity is something that needs to be recognised a bit more in the industry but considering the global economy and how difficult it is to actually make a living, one can understand the industry calling on the established players to see them through this tough time. I'm looking forward to being part of some amazing projects in the near future.