Jewellery News and Reviews

If your intention is to buy a new watch, you are about to enter a metaphoric minefield, with many potential pitfalls and detonation points. It is such a subjective item to purchase, that what can please you, can have the opposite reaction in the intended recipient.

When searching for designer watches, you have to know what suits you and what doesn’t. Other considerations are the form and functionality. This is irrespective of whether you are looking to buy for yourself of for someone else.

Whether your quest is for ladies watches or mens watches, your task will not be an easy one. Thinking in advance, with the recipient in your mind’s eye can help the situation and eventually save you some money. Before taking the plunge, there are some key considerations to bear in mind.

Personality of the user
It is vital to consider the personality of the person for whom you are intending to buy a watch. If that happens to be yourself, then there is nobody better qualified to know what is appropriate. If you are buying a watch for someone else, you may have to make yourself aware of some important key points such as: whether he or she would be best suited to something showy with a bit of ‘bling’ and or just simple and elegant.

Intended usage
Are you/they going to be using it outdoors whilst taking part in sports, or maybe for parties and evening occasions? Maybe it will be reserved for office use only, or possibly something robust that could cater for all of these scenarios.

Budgetary consideration
Carefully consider the cost of the watch. If money is not an issue, you can please yourself where you go to shop without much of a care. If your budget is tight, remember to always stay within your comfort zone. There would be nothing worse than giving an expensive gift to someone only to reveal that it has financially embarrassed you!

Unfortunately, some believe these famous prizes may carry their own price for ownership. Looking back at the first appearance and their subsequent journeys has put a question in the minds of the superstitious as to whether loose diamonds are cursed or not. Even today there is debate. While myth may be debunked by history, the legend, for many of these diamonds, lives on. But be careful of a beautiful engagement ring, espcially if the diamond looks too good to be true.

Koh-i-Noor Diamond

The Koh-i-Noor Diamond, though perhaps not the most famous of the six gems, has the most recorded history. According to legend, the “Mountain of Light” was stolen from the god Krishna who was asleep at the time and first appeared in Mogul chronicles as part of captured treasure in 1304 where it remained with the emperors until 1739.

Unfortunately, when Delhi was sacked by the Persians, the Mogul emperor at the time attempted, unsuccessfully thanks to a member of his harem, to hide the diamond in his turban. The Persian Nadir Shah took the turban from the neck up and gave the diamond its name in wonder.

The diamond stayed with the Persians for another 110 years before it was acquired by the British East India Company after the Sikh wars. Luckily for Queen Victoria, the the cursed diamond seemed to be having more bad luck for her male counterparts. Since 1911, the now 109 carat stone has been part of the coronation crowns of the Queen consorts, hopefully contradicting any “curse” on the royal males.

Hope Diamond

Possibly the world’s most well known diamond, the Hope Diamond at one time was reported to have weighed in at more than 112 carats. However, the curse on this rare large blue diamond supposedly began after it was popped out of the eye socket of a statue of the Hindu goddess Sita in India. This allegedly caused the diamond to be cursed and any owner to have either death or misfortune befall them.

Legend and history cross paths for the first time at the acquisition of the diamond. According to historical accounts, French Jeweler Jean Baptiste Tavernier traveled throughout India and purchased the large diamond, which was allegedly dug out of the Kollur mine in Golconda. According to the stories, he stole the diamond from the statue and was killed by wild dogs in Russia right after he sold the jewel.

However, according to historical accounts, Tavernier made his way back to France in 1668 with the diamond where he sold it to King Louis XIV along with a large quantity of other diamonds. After being made a nobleman, Tavernier died at 84 in Russia of unknown causes.

From the more than 112-carat diamond, a new diamond was cut to a little more than 67 carats and dubbed the “Blue Diamond of the Crown.” A few generations later, Louis XVI was crowned king with Marie Antoinette at his side. According to legend, Marie Antoinette heads was cut off whilst her neck was adorned with said diamond.

Soon after the French Revolution, the Hope Diamond was stolen with many other crown jewels. The other jewels were recovered, and the Hope Diamond surfaced again in London about 22 years later. By 1823, English jeweler Daniel Eliason owned the gem that was supposedly once the “Blue Diamond of the Crown.”

According to historical accounts, the diamond that Eliason owned was the French royals’ diamond re-cut to 44 carats to hide its origins. And years later, it was once again in royal hands, those of King George IV, when he purchased it from Eliason. It was subsequently sold to pay off debts. The legend continued to grow from there.

Henry Philip Hope was in possession of the diamond very soon, which took his family name. However, the curse supposedly hit many members of his family causing the family to become bankrupt. But according to historical accounts, it was gambling and Francis Hope’s own misfortunes that caused the family’s bankruptcy. Francis, the great grand nephew of Henry, sold the diamond in 1901.

The Hope Diamond was purchased by Simon Frankel, an American jeweler, but wound up in Frenchman Pierre Cartier’s hands years later. Cartier knew of a rich American, Evalyn Walsh McLean, who told him that objects usually considered bad luck turned into good luck for her. After the jewel was once again reset, McLean purchased the diamond.

However, it may not have been such good luck for her. Her first son, Vinson, was killed in a car accident at 9; her daughter committed suicide at 25; and McLean’s husband was declared insane and confined until he died in 1941.

Upon her death, in 1949 the diamond was sold to pay off old debts to Harry Winston, a New York jeweler. Winston donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institute in 1958. Some people believe it was to avert the curse; others say it was because Winston wanted the rare blue diamond to be the focal point of a newly established gem collection.

Black Orlov

The last of our trio of “cursed” diamonds is the Black Orlov. Known as “the Eye of Brahma,” this black diamond was discovered in India in the early 1800’s. According to legend and like the first two diamonds, the 195-carat Black Orlov was allegedly found in a Hindu idol at a shrine near Pondicherry, India, where it was stolen by a Hindu monk. This action supposedly summoned a malicious spirit to embrace the Eye and the Eye’s owners.

The “cursed” jewel took its name from Princess Nadia Vyegin-Orlov in the late 1800’s. Coincidentally, the diamond was named the Black Orlov because of its “natural fancy blacký color but also to differentiate it from the Orlov Diamond, a 189.6 carat white diamond with its own storied past.

According to an Associated Press article, Orlov leapt from a building in an apparent suicide in Rome, Italy, on Dec. 2, 1947, after leaving during the Russian Revolution and getting rid of her family jewels by selling them.

Russian Princess Leonila Galitsine-Bariatinsky also previously owned the Black Orlov. In a disturbing coincidence in November 1947, Galitsine-Bariatinsky also committed suicide by leaping from a building.

Some fifteen years earlier, J.W. Paris imported the Black Orlov into the United States and after securing the sale of the diamond also leapt to his death on April 7, 1932. After the two Russian princesses committed suicide, supposedly the curse was broken when Charles S. Winson, another jeweler in New York, purchased the Black Orlov on Friday, May 13, 1949.

We’ve all read stories about the coupon-savvy woman who can feed a family of five on $50 a month. What is her secret? She’s perfected the art of couponing. While I won’t promise that you’ll be able to do quite that well, I do guarantee that if you follow the tips below you will be able to slash dollars from your monthly grocery bill.

Know when NOT to use coupons. When is a coupon not a good deal?Knowing this can be as helpful to you as the discount code itself. In most cases, the generic version of what you’re buying is cheaper than the more expensive counterpart even WITH a coupon. You may be asking yourself, “So why even bother? Why not just purchase generics?” You will need to become coupon-savvy in order to recognize when coupons are a good deal and when they’re not. Coupons work best when they’re combined with another deal or are doubled. Carry a small calculator in your purse to help you calculate the price per unit when you’re shopping.

Combine coupons with in store-sales and two-for-ones. I recently bought two boxes of Cheerios cereal. They were on sale at the grocery store for 2 for $3. I also used two $1 off coupons I had, saving an additional $2.My cost per box: only fifty cents. Normally, without the coupon, each box is at least $3. Cool, huh? A lot of grocery stores also offer “in store” coupons. Use your own coupons in addition to these to save even more.

Find a store that will double your coupons. If your town doesn’t have one, it may be worth a short drive to another town to a store that does. If making a special trip, be sure to call in advance to see if the store has restrictions on doubling coupons. Some stores will only double coupons under $.50, some only double coupons on certain days of the week.

Buy the smallest size. Most people are under the impression that you will save more by buying in bulk.When using a voucher, this usually isn’t true. What you will need to consider is the price per ounce. Here is an example of what I mean:

While the price per ounce of the larger size is more economical without the coupon, the smaller size is the better buy with the coupon. Keep a small calculator in your purse or coupon caddy to help calculate the best deal.

Trade coupons with friends and online. Start a coupon group with women in your area. Let them know which items you need coupons for; and offer to trade with them. I have a friend who uses Pampers diapers, so whenever I see a coupon for that item I give it to her. In turn, she looks out for the items I use. To get started, e-mail 5-10 of your “thrifty” friends to see if they’re interested. Have each friend list 10-20 items that she always uses, and print out the lists. Keep the lists handy when you’re clipping coupons, and then pass on the coupons to your friends.

Other coupon sources. Some grocery stores have coupon bins within their store. Look for them near the customer service counter, or in the front of the store. Some libraries also have a coupon swapping bin. If your local library or grocer doesn’t, it doesn’t hurt to suggest it. Coupons are also now available in-store right next to the products themselves from machines sponsored by SmartSource.

Find coupons online. When you think of coupons, chances are you think of the kind that come as inserts in your Sunday paper. With the invent of the internet all sorts of other kinds of coupons are now available. You can download coupons from your computer and print them out. You can even find coupons being sold on eBay.

Organize! Make promo codes easy to file and easy to use. I used to have my coupons clumped together in an envelope in my purse. I could never find the coupons I needed, and I ended up throwing out expired coupons I could have used. I use a large plastic index-card box for my coupons now.I have it divided by categories such as: canned goods, baby products, clothes, cosmetics, cereal, baking, Bed & Bath, books, magazine, dairy, etc. After serious couponing for a few months, you will discover which categories work the best for you.

After using a lot of coupons, you can become a coupon expert for your own.you will become a master and being mastered the art of coupon, you will never buy anything without promo codes.

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