Archive for November, 2010

A Mexican distillery recently crafted what they’re hoping will be the world’s most expensive bottle of tequila. The extravagant bottle is encased in platinum and encrusted with four thousand diamonds. The bottle, named “Diamond’s Law” by the distillery, is estimated at 3.5 million dollars and took over twenty people to make. The bottle’s diamonds total over 300 carats.

The distillery, Hacienda La Capilla in Capilla de Guadalupe, hopes to break their old Guinness record for the World’s Most Expensive Tequila Bottle for a bottle that sold for $225,000 in 1996. “Diamond’s Law” is set to go on display in a massive world tour that includes destinations like Spain, Switzerland, London, Paris, Monaco, and Dubai. Upon following the bottle’s tour, the tequila bottle will go up for auction to the highest bidder.

While this diamond-encrusted tequila bottle may look stunning behind any bar, we ordinary drinkers and diamond collectors are just fine with loose diamonds.

In an age where machines and robots make much of what we see around us, the creation of a ring is a delicate and painstaking process that involves many steady hands. “Lost wax” casting, the technique illustrated in this video, is thousands of years old and is even mentioned in the works of Pliny the Elder. Although a machine or two make a few of the steps easier, the core process is basically unchanged.

Many stages of craftsmanship go into each and every diamond ring, and this video follows actual artisans as they create an 18 karat gold diamond ring, from its design to its casting in gold. The film is easy for a layman to follow, with clear and pleasant narration, and any new terms are immediately explained so there is no distracting jargon.

The one on one attention given to each ring is staggering in view of the volume of rings bought and sold every day, and the pride these artisans take in their work is plainly apparent. This video is a fascinating, eye-opening look into the world of fine jewelry, and it will give anyone a new appreciation of that tiny bit of gold that curls around their finger.

People born in April are blessed with the king of gemstones, the diamond. There is much history behind the birthstone of the diamond as well as all of the other birthstones. Legend has it that religious men wore breastplates containing twelve gems. Each of the gemstones were connected to the Zodiac signs and each is associated with a specific month. It became custom for people to wear the gem associated with their own birth month all year long. The diamond is Aries Zodiac Gemstone for birth dates between March 21 – April 19.

Many famous kings and rulers often were seen wearing diamonds. This may be due to the diamond being the hardest natural substance on earth. However, they held Diamond in the highest regard. King Tut was buried wearing diamonds. Diamonds are often worn by the rich as well as a symbol of status.

The history of the diamond shows that the diamond has not only been considered a prized possession, it has also been viewed as a curse. The Hope Diamond, a blue diamond housed in the Smithsonian Institute, is said to have been cursed for centuries. It is feared by some and also said that some have been killed or poisoned by the diamond.

Many myths can be found about diamonds. There’s even a myth that states that Cupid’s Arrow was tipped in diamonds. This might explain why April’s Birthstone is a symbol of beauty, trust, creativity and love. A diamond just makes one feel good.

The diamond is the hardest natural substance known to man. For this reason, there’s no doubt why this particular gem is used for wedding sets and engagement rings today. The diamond is a symbol of the endurance of love and the diamond itself is truly everlasting.

The sparkle and beauty that can be seen in diamonds will never fade. It has often been described as being like a thousand stars in the sky. Perhaps this is why the American National Association of Jewelers selected diamond as the official birthstone for the month of April in 1912. Some have said it was purely for commercial reasons, however this hasn’t stopped millions of people from wanting a diamond regardless of their birth month.

Diamond has been around for millions of years. The diamond starts out as a piece of pure carbon, but Mother Nature’s force and power transform the rock into a beautiful, amazing gem. For those with their birthday in late March or the first two-thirds of April, they are very lucky indeed

It could have been the fact that it was freezing outside or maybe jus

t a case of the jitters. Regardless of the reason, Travis Pittman, a producer for KING 5 News station, popped the question to his girlfriend during a trip to the Washington Pier close to the Des Moines Marina last Saturday evening.

The setting was beautiful and everything was going well until he, on accident, lost the ring by dropping it into the Puget Sound.

The classic diamond ring was a half-carat on a white gold band with small diamonds inlaid into the band. At first, he tried to tell his bride to be, Kim Hopper, that he wanted to get married but did not have enough money to buy her the perfect diamond ring. He then proposed and presented her with the beautiful diamond ring. It did not take her long to say yes to his proposal. As he was slipping the ring onto her finger it came off and fell into the water.

Pittman is hoping that the ring is found safely and returned to him.

During medieval times, it was widely believed to be unlucky to wear pearls because they represented tears. Diamonds, on the other hands, was considered to show a sign of power and great luck, keeping all evil things like witches away. It was also believed to keep the wearer from experiencing a sudden onset of a mental illness such as going insane. So if a bride was seen wearing pearls on her wedding day instead of diamonds, the community would deem the marriage cursed and condemned to unhappiness.

Wearing silver earrings were once thought to keep the evil spirits from possessing an individuals body. Silver earrings were seen to create a protective barrier about an individual so that no evil spirits could penetrate exposed orifices. Also wearing silver earrings were thought to keep the devil away from the wearer. So sporting a simple pair of hoops could keep your body possession free while the wearer is being stylish.

The superstition of the engagement goes as is, if you have a ring on your ring finger don’t remove it, if you don’t have one there don’t put one there. It was considered bad luck if a woman removed her engagement ring for any reason before her wedding day. The reason for this was because of the fear that the wedding may never take place. It was also a big no no to let another woman try on your engagement ring. It was said that if that occurred, the woman that tried on the ring would steal the soon to be husband away. For the single ladies, it is considered bad luck to display a ring on the proposed engagement ring finger. If a woman was to wear a ring on that finger, she would be cursed to be alone forever.

Some believe that it is bad luck to wear a birth stone that isn’t yours. If that were the case, every bride in the world would be cursed unless their birthday fell in the month of April.