Bath Oils and Salts for Gift giving Ideas

Bath Oils and Salts
by Nan Wood

One of the joys in life is a comfortable and relaxing bath. Not only is a bath a great way to enjoy an evening after a hard day’s work, but also a great way to care for your body. There are many types of products that go well and can help your body rejuvenate itself during time in the bath tub. Here are some of the more popular bath products available.

Two of the top products available for the bath tub are bath oils and salts. Many people don’t realize that normal tap water can have negative consequences to your body’s skin. Tap water can be base and cause dryness. It is sometimes necessary to indulge yourself and use special bath oils that help your body take in precious oils that will help keep your skin looking extremely healthy and give it a shine.

Bath salts are another great bath product. Many people have plenty of dead skin on their body that must be removed to give your skin that healthy look and shine. Bath salts are the perfect exfoliate. They are usually gentle and remove dead skin without irritation or a fuss. Bath oils and salts are available at many beauty shops and very affordable. If you would like to give your body’s skin the very best, take a look at the following bath oil and salts suggestions.

I believe bath products make wonderful gifts for my family and friends. I buy these items, usually on sale, and combine them with my gift basket items. My female friends love receiving a basket.

Nan is an Accountant, Business Writer and Real Estate Agent affilated with "the Dream Team". She has an information site for gift baskets located at
GiftBaskets

Caring for your diamonds.

How to Care for Your Diamond

Caring for a diamond takes more than
occasional cleanings. Diamonds are forever,
but they can be damaged if you are not
careful. By learning how to properly care for
your diamond, you will ensure that your
diamond does indeed last forever.

First, you should take your diamond jewelry
to a jeweler once a year. Have him check the
mountings and prongs that hold your
diamond in place. Have him make any
needed repairs. This will prevent your
diamond from falling out of its setting and
becoming lost.

Diamond jewelry that is not being worn, or
diamonds that are loose should be stored in
a fabric lined jewel case, or in a jewelry box
where it can be kept separate from other
jewelry. Each piece should have its own
compartment. This will keep diamonds from
becoming scratched and it will also keep
your diamond from scratching other jewelry
as well.

Remove your diamond jewelry when doing
physical work. Diamonds can be chipped
and scratched easily. Also avoid allowing
your diamond to come into contact with
bleach or other household cleansers – this
can damage or change the color of the
settings and mountings, and it may even
irreversibly change the color of the
diamond!

Take care of your diamonds and they will
forever.

Nancy Woodward is an Accountant and Real
Estate Professional affiliated with “The Dream
Team”. She has a longtime interest in jewelry.
Visit her online at
Diamonds

Cards, Baskets and Jewelry

Try pressing some flowers. The process is easy. Gather your flowers, leaves and stems. Lay them between blotting paper. Stack the layers up and then set several heavy books on top.

After the flowers are dried, you can use them to decorate the card for your gift basket. They will add beauty to your craft project and do it so inexpensively.

Put your gifts, I prefer gold jewelry, into your basket and use your card. I've added pictures made with the dried flowers as gifts.

You can create lovely gift items that will mean a lot to the person you give your gift.

Giving Gifts from the Heart

Gifts from the Heart
by Nancy Woodward

I have been the receiving gifts that fall into this category. My daughter, Colleen, is an avid Scrapbooker. She has made me so many absolutely wonderful presents that didn't require going to Macy's.

I've received so many handcrafted cards for every possible holiday, including my birthday. Several years ago she made me and my other 'kids' personal albums. I have this album displayed prominently in my living room.

She began with a calendar theme and just expanded on this subject of our lives. What a wonderful gift to receive. I look forward to opening all the mail I receive from this creative child of mine.

I wish all of you gifts of the heart also.

Nan is an Accountant, Real Estate Agent and Business Writer. She has an information site for research Gifts

Synthetic Diamonds

Synthetic Diamonds
by Nan Wood

The first synthetic diamonds were produced
by General Electric in 1954. A synthetic
diamond is basically a rock that has the
durability, refractive index and hardness of
a natural diamond – but it is made by man.
A synthetic diamond should not be
confused with stimulant diamonds, such as
glass, cubic zirconia, or moissanite.

Although the technology for synthetic
diamonds came into play in 1954, no
synthetic diamonds were ever seen on the
market until the 1990’s. This was due to the
fact that it took many years for General
Electric to produce a synthetic diamond that
could compare with the quality of a natural
diamond – and when they figured out how to
do it, they found that it cost more to produce
a synthetic diamond than it did to mine and
cut natural diamonds.

Finally, a small company by the name of
Gemesis Corporation figured out a way to
produce synthetic diamonds that were of the
same quality as natural diamonds, at a
cheaper price. Today, Gemesis produces
synthetic white diamonds, and colored
diamonds as well. These diamonds sell for
about 1/3 of the cost of a natural diamond,
but there is a shortage of them, and they are
hard to find. In fact, it seems that synthetic
diamonds are rarer than natural diamonds!

Nan is an Accountant, Real Estate Professional and
Business Writer. She has an information site on the subject of
Diamonds

Selecting Diamonds

Selecting Diamonds
by Nan Wood

Diamonds are graded for certification by
laboratories using grading criteria. Four of
these criteria are critical to understand when
making a diamond purchase or investment.
Known as the “Four C’s” these criteria are:
color, cut, clarity and carat.

Color is the result of the composition of a
diamond and it does not change. When a
jeweler is describing the color of a diamond
they are referring to the presence or absence
of color in white diamonds. Because a
diamond with no color allows maximum light
to pass through, colorless diamonds are
preferred for their sparkle.

Cut refers to a diamonds reflective quality.
Most diamonds are cut with 58 facets. The
brilliance of diamonds is heavily dependent
on the cut. The different angles and the finish
of a diamond determine its ability to reflect
light and cause its brilliance and fire.
Remember that the cut of a diamond can
have an impact on its durability as well as its
beauty. Some cutting faults can make a
diamond prone to breakage. A diamond
that is cut too thin can also cause light to
leak out of the back and the diamond will
lose some of the sparkle and appear not
to shine. So, as you can see the Cut is
probably the most important of the Four C’s.

During the formation process, inner flaws, or
inclusions occur in most diamonds. The
number and size of these inclusions
determine what is referred to as the clarity
of a diamond. Diamonds that are clear
create more brilliance and therefore are rarer
and highly priced. To be considered
“flawless”, a diamond must have no surface
or internal imperfections visible upon being
viewed by a skilled diamond grader using
10 power magnifications.

Carat is the unit of weight by which diamonds
are measured. One carat is equal to 200
milligrams. A carat is divided into 100
segments called points. 150 points would
equal one and a half carats.

When you go to the store to make that all
important diamond purchase, do not be shy!
Ask questions, get the answers needed to
make an informed purchase. Shopping for
certified diamonds enables you to make an
informed selection. Knowing the “four C’s”
allows you to comparison shop and purchase
the best diamond at a fair price. But, before
making a purchase, shop around and decide
what shapes and styles really appeal to you.
Enjoy your diamond for years to come!

Nan is an Accountant, Real Estate Professional and Business Writer. Visit
her information site
GoldJewelry for online resources.

Diamonds - How Diamond Prices are Determined

How Diamond Prices Are Determined
by Nan Wood

Pricing most products is quite easy.
Determine how much it costs to make the
item, how much it costs to market that item,
and then mark it up by 15 – 30% or more.
Simple, right? Well, pricing diamonds isn’t
quite that simple. There are many factors
that are considered when diamonds are
priced.

Diamond prices are determined first by
adding the cost of the rough diamond, the
cost of cutting the diamond, and all other
costs necessary to turn the rough diamond
into a marketable diamond. Depending on
the importance of the diamond, an
independent company may be called in to
certify the grade of the diamond based on
color, cut, clarity, and weight.

At this point, the diamond becomes more
expensive each time it changes hands, until
it finally reaches a retailer, where the price is
raised a bit more. Before reaching the
retailer, however, the diamond must travel
from the mine, to the cutter and polisher, to
the independent grading company, and
then to the Primary market. Once it has
reached the primary market, it will be
purchased by diamond dealers and
wholesalers, and from there it will be sold
to retailers.

As you can see, the earlier you can purchase
a diamond in the process, the lower the cost
of the diamond will be – but not the value.
The value is based on what the diamond will
sell for in the market place – through a retailer.

If you own a diamond, and you have no idea
how much it is worth, you can have it
appraised, but the appraisal may not be
accurate. You will be better off obtaining a
certificate through GIA – Gemological Institute
of America. With the information on this
certificate, you can use a cutter’s guide to
accurately determine what your diamond is
worth.

There are also many diamond price
calculators available. These can be found
on the Internet, and many diamond dealers
use these as well. You must realize, however,
that before you can accurately price a
diamond, without a Diamond Grade Report,
you need to know quite a bit about diamonds,
such as different cuts, clarity, color, and weight
– and how each of those aspects adds to the
value of a diamond, or decreases the value of
the diamond as the case may be.

Again, you will be better off if you get a
Diamond Grading Report on the diamond,
and use that information to look up the price
in one of the guides that the diamond cutting
industry uses. This will give you the most
accurate value of the diamond in your
possession, or of the diamond you are
considering purchasing.

Nan is an Accountant, Real Estate Professional and Business Writer.
Visit her information and research site
GoldJewelry and useful information on GiftBaskets which you can use to wrap those jewelry gifts.

Famous Diamonds

Famous Diamonds
by Nan Wood

Among the most well known diamonds is the
Hope. This 45.52 carat steel blue diamond
is currently on display at the Smithsonian.
The legends of the ill-fortune and curse
bestowed on the possessor of the Hope
Diamond are many. This diamond was
donated to the Smithsonian in 1958. The
Hope was originally a rather flat, blocky
110-carat rough.

The Dresden Green stands out among the
natural colored diamonds. It is the largest
green diamond in the world weighing
40.70 carats. This diamond is historic, large
and has a natural green color with a slight
blue overtone. These facts make it virtually
priceless.

The Conde Pink is a pear shaped and
weighs 9.01-carats. This pink diamond was
once owned by Louis XIII.

The Tiffany Yellow diamond a beautiful
canary-yellow octahedron weighing 287.42
in the rough (metric) carats discovered in
either 1877 or 1878 in South Africa. The
gem after cutting boasts the extraordinary
weight of 128.54 carats. And until recently,
was the largest golden-yellow in the world.

The Koh-I-Noor ( Mountain of Light ) is now
among the British Crown Jewels. This
diamond weighs 105.60 carats. First
mentioned in 1304, it is believed to have
been once set in Shah Jehan‘s famous
peacock throne as one of the peacocks eyes.

The Agra is graded as a naturally colored
Fancy Light Pink and weighs 32.34 carats.
It was sold for about 6.9 million in 1990.
Since this sale, it has been modified to a
cushion shape weighing about 28.15 carats.

The Transvaal Blue is pear cut. This blue
diamond weighs 25 carats. It was found in
the Premier Diamond Mine in Transvaal,
South Africa.

The Great Chrysanthemum was discovered
in the summer of 1963, in a South African
diamond field. This 198.28-carat fancy
brown diamond appeared to be a light
honey color in its rough state. However,
after cutting, it proved to be a rich golden
brown, with overtones of sienna and burnt
orange.

The Taylor-Burton Diamond is a pear-shaped
69.42 carat diamond. Cartier of New York
purchased this diamond at an auction in
1969 and christened it "Cartier." The next
day Richard Burton bought the diamond
for Elizabeth Taylor. He renamed it the
"Taylor-Burton”. In 1978, Elizabeth
Taylor put the diamond up for sale.
Prospective buyers had to pay $2,500
each to view the diamond to cover the costs
of showing it. Finally, in June of 1979, the
diamond was sold for nearly $3 million dollars.

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Diamond Scams

Diamond Scams
by Nan Wood

When it comes to diamonds, there are
numerous scams to avoid. Most scams are
minor, but there are some major ones that
come up from time to time concerning the
buying and selling of diamonds. Scams
occur simply because most people who buy
diamonds – for whatever reasons – don’t
know that much about diamonds. Therefore,
they are easily fooled.

A common scam that most jewelry stores
participate in is the Carat Total Weight scam.
The tag on the piece of jewelry, usually a ring,
only states the total carat weight of all
diamonds in the piece, instead of listing the
total weights separately for each diamond.
This leads consumers to believe that the main
diamond in the piece is actually bigger than it
is. Ask what the total carat weight of the center
stone is. Also beware of fractions. Jewelry
stores are allowed to round off diamond
weights. This means that if the jeweler tells
you that it is a ¾ carat diamond, it is
probably between ½ and ¾ carat – but
closer to ¾.

Jewelry stores often run ‘fluorescence’
scams to varying degrees. Referring to a
diamond as a blue-white diamond is such a
scam. A blue-white diamond sounds very
unique and special, but in fact, this type of
diamond is of lesser quality – even though
the jeweler will try to make you think you are
getting something special. Jewelry stores
also like to show their diamonds in bright
lights. Lights make diamonds shine. Ask
to see the diamond in a different, darker
type of lighting as well.

Some truly unscrupulous jewelers target
those who want appraisals on diamonds
that were given to them as gifts or that were
purchased elsewhere. They will try to tell you
that the diamond is worthless, or worth less
than it actually is worth – and offer to take it
off your hands or trade it for a much better
diamond, along with the cash to make up
the difference. This is called low balling.
Get a second, third, and even a forth opinion
before taking any action.

Another common dirty trick is to switch the
diamond you have chosen and paid for with
one of lesser quality and value when you
leave it to be set in a piece of jewelry, or
leave a diamond ring to be sized. The only
way to avoid this is to do business with one
trustworthy jeweler. Avoid jewelers that you
have not done business with in the past.

There are many more scams that jewelry
stores commonly pull on unsuspecting
consumers. Just use your best judgment,
and purchase your diamonds with the
utmost care and consideration.

Nan is an Accountant with jewelry hobbies. Visit
Diamonds for information
and resources online.

Diamond Grading Reports

Diamond Grading Reports
by Nan Wood

You’ve been told that having a certificate or
a diamond grading report is important, and
as a responsible consumer, you get one –
unfortunately, you probably won’t understand
a word of what is on that diamond grading
report, unless you are a jeweler.

On the color grading scale, D, E, and F
mean that the diamond has no color. G, H,
and I means that it has very little color. J, K,
and L means that the diamond has a slight
yellow color. P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, and X
means that the diamond is a darker shade
of yellow. Z means that the diamond has a
fancy color – other than white or yellow.
On the color grading scale, D is the most
valuable, and X is the least valuable –
however diamonds that get a Z rating are
the rarest and most expensive diamonds
in the world.

There are many aspects to a grading report.
Figuring it all out can be very confusing. You
should talk to a jeweler you trust, and have
them explain everything on the diamond
grading report to you.

For more information on diamonds visit
Diamonds and research and sites are availabe for gold jewelry at
Gold

Diamond Certificates

Diamond Certificates
by Nan Wood

A diamond certificate is also known as a
Diamond Grading Report. This report comes
from the Gemological Institute of America
(GIA), and you should require this report
when you are purchasing a diamond.

With a diamond certificate, you can verify
the color, cut, carat, weight, and clarity of the
diamond. You don’t have to worry about a
diamond dealer telling you anything less than
the truth, because the certificate comes
from the GIA – not the dealer. You may be
required to pay for the certificate, but the
cost is usually low, and in many cases, it
will help you negotiate a better price on the
diamond – or keep you from purchasing a
lower quality diamond altogether.

If you buy a high quality diamond, and then
later decide to sell the diamond, you will
need to have the certificate, or you will have
a hard time selling it to someone else.
Furthermore, you can use the Diamond
Grading Report to look up the wholesale
value of the diamond in question. Use the
guide that is used by the diamond cutting
industry.

With the Certificate, or Diamond Grading
Report, there won’t be any doubts when you
are trying to purchase a diamond. You can
easily find out what the diamond is worth.
This will prevent you from overpaying, and it
can prevent a seller from under-charging as
well.

A copy of the Diamond Grading Report
should be given to your insurance company
as well, when you insure the diamond. This
provides absolute, unquestionable proof of
the value of the diamond should it be stolen
in the future. Insurance companies cannot
argue with the report.

Avoid diamond dealers who seem reluctant
to provide a certificate! Also avoid sellers
who tell you that a certificate diamond will
cost you more – the only additional cost
should be the cost of the certificate, which
is low. If the dealer doesn’t want to provide
a certificate, then you don’t want to do
business with that dealer.

Don’t accept certificates from Gemological
Laboratories other than GIA. There are many
fly-by-night Gemological labs these days, but
in the end, GIA has been established as the
most respectable and trustworthy – not to
mention oldest – of the lot. So avoid dealers
who don’t want to use GIA for certification
purposes as well.

Don’t buy an expensive diamond without
paying the extra cost of the certificate. If a
dealer tries to convince you to make the
purchase without the certificate, or if they
want to use a company other than GIA, you
can be sure that the dealer has probably
greatly inflated the price of the diamond –
they have something that they are hiding
from you.

Diamonds - Are they Rare?

Diamonds - Are Diamonds Really Rare?
by Nancy Woodward

When you walk into a jewelry store and see
all the diamonds in all of the various settings
that are for sale, it is difficult to realize that
diamonds are indeed rare. Most people
don’t even stop to consider how that
diamond came to be sitting in that jeweler’s
case! There is quite a bit of work that is done
before a diamond is ready to sell to the
general public!

For every one million diamonds that are
mined, only one will be found that is a quality
one caret diamond. In order to find a two
caret diamond, about five million diamonds
must be mined. More than two hundred tons
of ore must be mined to find one small
diamond, and even then, more than 80%
of the diamonds that are mined are only
good for industrial use, such as diamond
drill bits.

So, the next time you visit your local jewelry
store, ask to see the one carat diamonds.
You should look at this diamond with new
appreciation – knowing that it truly is one
in a million! Amazing what great beauty we
find and mine from this wonderful earth of ours.

Nancy Woodward is an Accountant with an interest
in diamond and gold jewelry. Diamonds
GoldJewelry

Gold Jewelry Uses

Gold – Gold has a varied history- It used for more than making gold jewelry
By Nan Wood

Gold is a precious metal. Historically, it has been used for stores of value (bars) for jewelry, electronics, dentistry, and as actual money (coinage). It is a yellow element found in nuggets that can actually be ruby or black when divided.

It is the most malleable metal known. When other elements are it forms alloys. This will increase the hardness and can create exotic colors. Adding copper gives a redder color, iron more blue, platinum white, aluminum creates purple.

Gold conducts heat and electricity well. Heat, moisture and corrosives have very little chemical effect gold. This makes it well-suited for make coins and jewelry. Since gold itself is soft, it is given the alloys to make it stronger and change its color.

When using gold for jewelry, it is measured in karats. Pure gold is 24K. It is generally sold as 22K, 18K and 14K. This means silver or copper have been added for strength and color.

Commonly we find the use of gold in jewelry making. Designers create beautiful gold jewelry which sometimes are enhanced with diamonds and gemstones. Gold and diamond jewelry makes wonderful presents. In our society they are also used for wedding rings and in gift giving.

There are many other uses of gold such as:

1. Embroidery Thread
2. In computers, jet aircraft
3. Dental crowns and bridges
4. White gold can substitute for platinum

Gold has had a high value since prehistoric times and was used as a symbol of value, purity and royalty. The price of gold has rise over the years indicating how it is valued in society.

Nan is an Accountant and Real Estate Professional with an interest in gold and gold jewelry.
Visit GoldJewelryfor more resources on the subject.