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A number of factors affect the appraisal of pearl quality. We recommend that customers learn the basics of selecting fine pearls to make pearl buying an enjoyable experience and to ensure a sound investment.

Pearls Size
Pearl size is mostly determined by two factors: the size of the implanted nucleus and the thickness of the nacre that grows layer upon layer around the nucleus. A large cultured pearl that lacks nacre thickness has a low value, and tends to discolor and crack fairly easily. A pearl with a thick nacre coating will retain its luster and beauty for a lifetime when properly cared for. For pearls of similar quality, the most important other determinant of price is the size of the pearl. The size is generally measured in millimeters.

Pearls Shape
Perfectly round cultured pearls are the rarest. Although most cultured pearls are nearly round, only about 1% is perfectly spherical. To check a strand for roundness, roll it across a flat surface. The strand should move evenly and smoothly.
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Tags: black pearls, jewerly, pearls

The fakes are getting BETTER every day. Rolex replica watches, and other replicas have become inexpensive and most important of all, a high quality, therefore it is very important to chose the right replica retailer. Computer-aided design and high-tech CNC machinery means that the counterfeiters can produce watches that can be NEARLY VISUALLY IDENTICAL to the genuine watch! Without knowing what tell-tale signs to look for, the average watch buyer may fall prey to scammers and fraud. Recently, we’ve seen watches sell for THOUSANDS of dollars that were easily identifiable as fakes.

Rolex and other replicas are available throughout the Internet and search on Google, Yahoo, etc. reveals hundreds of websites that sell replica watches. In order to find out if they are legitimate or if they are nothing but scams. Always be careful when buying a replica watch

The easiest way to tell a Breitling Replica from a genuine one is on the movement. Make sure the movement is automatic AND the chronographs work. How do you tell? An automatic movement has a sweeping second hand. In other words, the second hand does not tick once every second, instead, it sweeps smoothly through a series of very, very fine ticks. To look for genuine chronographs, try to operate them by pressing little buttons on the side. The chronographs should be able to act as stop watches, and NOT just keep track of the seconds, hours and day. Fake chronographs either don’t work, or can’t act as timers.
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Tags: Breitling, Bvlgari, Cartier, Chanel, Co-axil, Franck Muller, gucci, IWC, James Bond, Manchester, Mont Blanc, omega, Panerai, Rado, replica watches, rolex, Seamaster, Speedmaster, St.Dupont, tag heuer

Whatever Happened to Winding?

Depending on your age, you may or may not remember seeing your father wind his watch each night before going to bed. If he did not, he would surely wake to a watch that had stopped. Those days became history with the advent of the automatic watch. What makes it automatic? It still has the same basic mechanism to keep the watch working, but how that mechanism is powered changed the way we cared for our watches.

All mechanical watches work in a similar manner. They require a movement of a series of gears to “tick” of increments of time, which in turn registers as movements of the hands on the face of the watch. A rotor in the watch sits on a staff in the middle of the watch’s movement. It rotates in a circular motion and winds the mainspring which is the source of power in mechanical watches. With an automatic watch the winding of this spiral spring is done automatically with any arm or wrist movement.

Self-winding, automatic watches work great for people who wear the watch each day, but if you do not wear the watch frequently, it needs manual winding about twice a week. Even automatic watches will stay working better if they are wound manually about once every two weeks because this helps keep the watch lubricated. It is a misconception that automatic watches never need any winding, since it all depends on the movement of the arm to keep it functioning well.

A power reserve lets the movement of your watch keep time for anywhere between 10 and 72 hours. There is something called a power reserve, and the bigger the reserve, the longer your automatic watch will keep running without further movement or manual winding.

Rolex was the first watch manufacturer to devise and patent the rotor system that is still used today. They called it the Perpetual and it was part of the popular Oyster line created in the early 1930s. Emile Borer was the Rolex technician who came up with the system, but he was not the first to develop a rotor. That distinction goes to Swiss watchmaker, Abraham-Louis Perrelet as long ago as 1770. This was quite the invention because it wouldn’t be until much later in time that wrist watches were worn and there just wasn’t enough physical movement with a pocket watch to make it a feasible way to move the rotor and wind the mainspring.
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Tags: automatic watches, citizen watches, invicta watches, mechanical watches, orient watches, quartz watches, watches

While this season’s fashions are slim and feminine, jewelry has gone clunkier, chunkier and even a little retro.

Everything from a winter sweater to a little black dress can shine with the help of a few select pieces. So what can we expect to see at holiday parties?

According to Ross-Simons Jewelers, long, layered necklaces that hit the waist are a must. Also big are those that can be wrapped around numerous times at varying lengths so that the same necklace can be used for different looks at different times of the day.

Likewise, beads are back and bigger than ever, the jeweler says. You can wrap your neck or wrist in stunning strands and create an eye-catching accent.

Here are some other trends that can be expected this season:

* Green in all shades, especially olive. Yellow gold also is back in vogue.
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Tags: Hot Jewelry Trends for The Holiday Season