What makes a piece of jewelry worthy of being called “heirloom-quality” and what is meant by the term? Simply speaking, heirloom jewelry is recognized as jewelry that is passed down through generations, where as a “heirloom-quality” piece may or may not be passed down but exhibits several principle qualities that one should expect from jewelry meant to withstand many many years of wear. An heirloom-quality piece is best described as high-end jewelry exhibiting quality materials, precise craftsmanship and solid construction. The most precious heirloom jewelry also exhibits unique design, special treatment and sentimental value. This two-part article will help readers distinguish between precious pieces meant to be treasured for a lifetime and pieces that are less valuable.

Quality Materials

The most obvious characteristic of heirloom-quality jewelry is that it is constructed with quality materials. Such materials may include but are not limited to high-karat gold, fine and sterling silver, platinum, precious and semi-precious stones, and organic gems.

The precious metals gold, silver and platinum, are valued for their rarity and beauty. Although they are malleable, these metals are remarkably resistant to corrosion, which makes them highly desirable for jewelry making.

Pure gold is measured as 24-karat and is generally considered too soft to be worn as jewelry, therefore it is commonly alloyed with other metals such as copper, silver and titanium to strengthen it. The result is gold of varying karats and shades, and generally the higher the gold content the more precious the piece is considered to be. In the U.S., 14-karat gold is predominant. In Europe, 18 karat is most common, and in parts of Asia and the Middle East, 22- or 24-karat gold is the standard. On high-end jewelry, the karat content is usually stamped on the piece.

Silver is the most plentiful of all precious metals, and when given a high polish, its reflective properties are unrivaled. It has been perhaps the most sought-after precious metal throughout the ages, likely due to its durability in combination with its beauty. One of the secrets of silver is that it easily flatters all skin tones. Though it is more durable than pure gold, like gold, pure silver on its own is too soft to be worn as jewelry. Sterling silver is an alloy of 92.5 percent silver and 7.5 percent copper. This combination strengthens silver while retaining its precious metal properties.

Platinum’s popularity as high-end jewelry began more than 2,000 years ago in South American Indian cultures and like silver, it is prized for its highly reflective color. Another defining feature of platinum is its durability, which is unsurpassed by any of the other precious metals. Even the most delicate of styles fashioned with platinum permanently retain their shape; this allows jewelry artists extensive creative freedom when forming intricate pieces. Most platinum jewelry is manufactured with at least 85 percent pure platinum. Palladium, ruthenium and iridium, which are also members of the platinum family, are often alloyed with platinum to enhance its brilliance and durability.

Beside metal, heirloom-quality jewelry can feature a variety of skillfully set stones and organic materials. These materials can range from the very expensive and rare to the semi-precious and lusciously colored. What is most important is how well these materials are incorporated into the overall design and how securely they are set into the piece. Just because a 5-karat diamond is slapped into an 18-karat gold ring does not mean it qualifies as heirloom-quality.

Expensive gems such as diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires represent precious stones. Although diamonds enjoy instant recognition as being rare and precious, sapphires are theoretically four times as rare as diamonds. Sapphires are very durable, second only to diamonds in hardness and sometimes come in rarer colors than blue, called “fancies” or “party colors. Treasured by the ancient Inca and Aztecs, emeralds are the most valuable precious stone in the world - by weight. Colombian emeralds are among the world’s most beautiful, prized for their undiluted pristine green. Incredibly deep red luster is the signature of the gorgeous ruby with the finest and rarest being referred to as “pigeons blood” due to their unsurpassed intense red color.

Semi-precious stones are by definition more plentiful than their higher priced relatives and are primarily valued for their beauty. Examples of semiprecious stones include turquoise, amethyst, bloodstone, cubic zirconia, garnet, onyx and opal. Although coral and pearl aren’t technically stones, they are considered semi-precious as well.

Other materials considered semi-precious include amber, ivory, fossils and exotic woods. These materials are often referred to as “organic gems” and present a unique and unusual treatment for jewelry of distinction. Amber is fossilized pine tree sap, most of which comes from the Baltic states of eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Ivory can come from a variety of animals including prehistoric mammoths, but for centuries elephant ivory was the most prized. In an effort to conserve species decimated by the ivory trade, international bans on ivory were enacted making it a criminal offense to slaughter an animal simply for it’s tusks. Of course, caches of ivory taken before the initiation of world-wide bans still exists, this is referred to as “pre-ban ivory” and while its use is legal many scrupulous jewelers opt to use ivory alternatives instead. One such alternative is the hard fruit of the Ivory Nut Palm, which has a remarkable resemblance to mammal ivory.

In part two of this article we will examine the importance of high-end craftsmanship, sentimental value and the proper care for a highly treasured piece.

About the Author:
S. C. Versillee is an artist and jewelry designer with a Bachelor of Arts Degree as well as a Master’s in Library Science. Through her web site http://www.EssenceCraft.com she publishes informative articles aimed at educating collectors of fine art and jewelry. If you found this article useful, feel free to visit http://www.EssenceCraft.com to read more submissions from the web site’s Learning Center.

Copyright Permission:
Permission is granted to print, quote, or cite this article as long as (a) any intended use is non-commercial and (b) the article citation includes the author’s name.

If you have bad credit and are in need of credit repair,
it can affect all aspects of your life, from getting credit
cards, to mortgages, car loans, business loand, home equity
loans and more. Not to mention the constant stress you’re
under from the debt you’ve incurred. So how do you get started
with credit repair so you can get your life back on track?

You may be able to get all the loans mentioned above if you have
poor credit, but the terms will be very unfavorable and you’ll
pay extremely high interest rates, which will just make your
financial situation even worse than it is right now.

I strongly suggest you look into legal and ethical credit repair
options so you can repair your credit and qualify for more loans,
with better interest rates and options.

Just like being successful in anything else, you need to put together
a credit repair plan. Yes, repairing your credit is that important.
If you don’t put together a credit repair plan, you could find
yourself in even more financial trouble in the future. You probably
didn’t have a financial plan in place to begin with, which is how
you ended up with bad credit in the first place. Don’t make that
mistake twice.

Depending on your situation, you can hire someone to help you with
your credit repair, or you can do it yourself. In the first case,
you need to make sure you hire someone who knows what they are doing,
or you could end up in an even worse credit situation.

If you do it yourself, please arm yourself with the right information.
If you decide to hire a third person, do your research and make sure
you higher someone who knows what they are doing and is very familiar
with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

You have to put togethera plan of attack to repair your credit and you
have to commit to your program. You can’t repair your credit overnight,
and it’s not going to be easy. This means staying away from scams like
companies that say they can create a brand new credit file for you.
That’s credit fraud and can get you in big trouble.

Learn more about how to use credit repair tips with Freddie Johnson’s free articles on debt relief, debt consolidation, debt management and credit repair tips at http://www.mydebtconsolidationtips.com

Wallpaper Mural is an ideal and inexpensive way to create a special ambiance or decor in any space. A wallpaper mural can be set up quickly and easily in any location whether commercial, corporate or residential. A wallpaper mural has all the benefits of a regular mural without the drawbacks of time, expense, and the inconvenience of having an artist in your space.

Wallpaper mural can be tailored to create a custom design or reproduce any visual idea you bring to us. We will customize a wallpaper mural to fit the architectural structure and dimensions of the space, suggest expert color palettes that work with the existing decor and make sure that the desired atmosphere is accomplished.

We offer extensive decorative options for your walls. Available are trompe L’oeil wallpaper mural, accent applique wallpaper mural, borders, full-scale wallpaper mural and custom painted wall effects on a variety of rolls: such as paper, fabric, grasses or vinyl. We specialize in Trompe L’oeil and traditional hand-painted “Country French or Italian” papers. The accent applique murals are a fun and inexpensive embellishment for any child’s room.

All our wallpaper mural are durable, high in color density and easy to install. We offer only the highest quality in wallpaper mural at a moderate price. Each wallpaper mural is created under stringent quality and loving care. We aim to make you happy and to surpass your expectations by providing the best in wallpaper mural. Please feel free to visit www.inzeninteriordesign.com if you are interested in viewing a variety of wallpaper mural.

http://www.inzeninteriordesign.com
Decorating interior design center for home decor and commercial and office interior design projects

It used to be that when you wanted temporary office space you had to fight for the best and shortest lease terms you could get. No more. The concept of shared office space now makes it fast and easy to obtain temporary office space for any length of time you need.

This is because shared office space is rented, not leased. What’s difference? Rental agreements are simple, short and don’t require a lawyer to review. Plus, you won’t be locked into a long-term obligation that may be expensive to walk away from.

There are a number of other advantages to considering shared office space:

Shared office space is easy to find

Temporary office space is available in almost any city in the world. Even if you require an office in a distant city, you can often make the arrangements by contacting a local shared office space provider. That’s because most are linked together through a network.

Remember, since the concept of shared office space was developed, obtaining temporary office space has become easy and inexpensive. Forget long-term leasing and discover the benefit and savings that comes with shared office space.

Cheree Dohmann is an internet marketing consultant that works with individual companies to build branding, search engine visibility and create online advertising opportunity for businesses. Cheree has worked with Premier Business Center for the past 2 years to promote their executive suites. To learn more about Pasadena Shared Office Space, please visit Premier Business Centers - Pasadena Shared Office Space

The dental marketing strategy you choose will directly affect the amount of money your
dental practice makes in any given year. Find out here how to optimize your dental marketing plan
to make use of the latest in advertising technique and technology.

The yellow pages have been the mainstay of a good dental marketing strategy, but things are
not going to stay that way. Yellow page advertising is still used by many when seeking the
services of a dentist, but now more and more go online to seek a dentist. The yellow pages
are a mystery for most who use it to advertise. How do you know how effective it is to advertise
there ? The bottom line for any dental marketing strategy is to know your Return On Investment.
Unless you ask your clients : ” Did you find me in the yellow pages ?” you may never know just
how your clients find you, and therefore will not know how effective it was to use the
yellow pages. Email marketing is just the opposite.

A successful dental marketing strategy uses all available means to reach new clients. Email marketing
is today one of the most lucrative of ways to establish a viable, effective dental marketing plan. Email
marketing is by far the best Return On Investment for the advertising dollar.

Lets compare the yellow pages with email marketing :

- You pay a hefty fee to get into the yellow pages, you pay very little to start an email marketing program.

- Both yellow page users and web users will usually have “money in hand”, but the web surfers are
generally in a higher income bracket. Which would you rather market to ? Avoid the dead-beat payers
and use email marketing in your dental marketing strategy.

- You have competition in the yellow pages from other dental practices, especially if you have your
work in a large city. You are less likely to be found in the yellow pages if this is so. Email marketing
can give you first place and drive laser-targeted seekers if you know how to take advantage of it. You can
beat the “information overload” of the yellow pages and dominate your local competition, again, IF
you know how.

- If you collect information from past clients who used the yellow pages to find you, you may get their
phone number and address. With email marketing you never pay again to contact your past clients.
You literally can pay one time and use their email again and again. If you only have their phone number or
address, you more than likely will get a recording if you call or have to pay postage to send out your “special”.
Having a “special” is as easy as sending out a few emails for free with email marketing. Its certainly a
better way to generate a little quick cash than having to call or send a letter.

Your dental marketing strategy will also use radio, TV, post cards, flyers, and other means. I can say with
confidence that email marketing is superior to these also in terms of your Return on Investment. But I will
save that for another article.

Click here to read more about Dental Email Marketing : Dental Marketing Strategy

The Secret is…’Executive Office Space’

Unfortunately, too many businesses don’t understand the concept of executive office space…or as it’s sometimes called, shared office space. As a result, they miss out on one of the most beneficial tools for a small or medium sized company.

For starts, executive office space generally comes complete with staff. There is a receptionist to greet your guests and answer your telephone. They can even provide a secretary.

Consider these other benefits of renting executive office space or shared office space:

How to find shared office space

Shared office space or executive office space is found in cities all around the world. Just type either term into an Internet search engine and add the city or area you are interested in. Chances are you’ll have a number of providers to choose from.

Be certain to ask about what staff and facilities are provided with your rental fee. You’ll probably be surprised to discover you even have use of a fully equipped conference room and kitchen.

Remember, conserving capital outlay is almost always a major concern of start-up or small companies. That’s why it’s so important to know about the concept of executive office space or shared office space. This relatively new innovation can save you a lot of important dollars.

Cheree Dohmann is an internet marketing consultant that works with individual companies to build branding, search engine visibility and create online advertising opportunity for businesses. Cheree has worked with Premier Business Center for the past 2 years to promote their executive suites. To learn more about Redmond Shared Office Space, please visit Premier Business Centers - Redmond Shared Office Space

Kitchen backsplash tile is the perfect blending of functionalism and decorative artwork. Kitchen backsplash tile combines strength, durability, hygiene and beauty for your discerning decorative taste. Decorating your kitchen backsplash tile with ceramic tiles is exciting since possibilities are limitless. Kitchen backsplash tile are readily available as finished designs for specific dimensions or they can be duplicated from any image to tie-in with your home’s decor.

Ceramic is one of the most ancient used materials in history. Ceramic kitchen backsplash tile are enduring because of their myriad uses including flooring, bathrooms, fountains, countertops, swimming pools, fireplaces, doorways and any wall covering to name a few. Ceramic is easy to maintain and can endure heavy traffic. (Tiles are also available in marble)

Today, the choices of kitchen backsplash tile are very extensive. Colors can be muted, as with natural and warm slates, stone, marble or granite. Or they can be as bright or as pale as any color in your imagination. The kitchen backsplash tile finishes and textures are also very varied. They come glazed or unglazed to accentuate the mood and function of your decor. Kitchen backsplash tile can help create and embellish any decorative style from Traditional, Contemporary, French Country, Mediterranean, or Asian. Kitchen backsplash tile designing leaves room for immense inventiveness and originality to create a desired style. Sizes for kitchen backsplash tile commonly are 4″ x 4″ squares. However anywhere from 2″ x 2″ to 24″ x 24″ is within the usual range of dimensions to cover a backsplash area.

Mixing different shapes and sizes of kitchen backsplash tile can create a wonderful composition, such as a landscape surrounded by a border. The possibilities are endless with the use of shapes such as hexagons, octagons, squares, diamonds and rectangles. Bas-relief tiles can be used as an elegant border to any design.

In our day and age, the kitchen / family room is the hearth of the home, the social gathering center. The kitchen has limited space for artwork to reflect the essence of your personality. There is no better ingredient in interior decorating design to invoke character and warmth with practical functionality as with a kitchen backsplash tile. Please feel free to visit www.inzeninteriordesign.com if you are interested in viewing a variety of kitchen backsplash tile.

http://www.inzeninteriordesign.com
Decorating interior design center for home decor and commercial and office interior design projects

When considering an outdoor wedding, images of majestic mountains or pristine sandy beaches, often come to mind. Regardless of the location of your outdoor wedding, the outdoors also opens up many unique and creative wedding ideas. You’ll have both the natural exhilaration of an outdoor setting, combined with the beauty of a wedding, to create vivid memories for you and your guests.

There are many wedding ideas that can come true at an outdoor wedding venue, especially if you have the whole day! Your wedding can be simple, or it can be elaborate. You and your guests can more leisurely enjoy the time between ceremony and reception in an outside setting. Your wedding can still be informal, or it can be elegant, especially if you have a festive reception tent. As with any wedding, the most important thing is that it is fun, and something special to you.

It is very exciting to plan an outdoor wedding and reception. For outdoor weddings, there can be fewer rules, and more room to think outside-the-box. A bluegrass wedding barbeque, or a pond-side garden wedding with a string quartet, can not be held in a banquet hall. Your outdoor wedding can often be planned to make full use of the grounds of your venue. Also, with more time, you have greater options to take full advantage of the outdoors. Consider playing outdoor games like volleyball or having your guests take a walk through gardens from your ceremony site to your reception.

You may consider a full formal wedding with a sit down dinner under a reception tent, after your garden ceremony under an arbor or gazebo. Alternatively, think of a simple wedding, with a buffet of finger foods or a barbeque, where your guests are seated picnic style. A simple outdoor wedding requires less coordination and is easier on your budget, yet still gives that special day you are looking for.

In either case, your outdoor venue will offer a variety of decoration options to theme your wedding if you wish. For example, you can have tiki torches and potted palms for the beach effect or Greek columns and arches to create a classic setting.

If you have many guests coming from out of town, a wedding weekend may be for you. A day with such anticipation, such as your wedding day, shouldn’t be over so quickly. Your best man or maid of honor can help set up events for the days before and after the wedding itself. Maybe a snorkeling outing, if this is a beach wedding or a horseback ride to breakfast the day after your mountain wedding. This will bring your two families and your friends together for more than just a few fleeting hours.

Keep in mind that your outdoor wedding provides more opportunity for incredible photography against breathtaking backdrops. It can also provide some challenges due to natural lighting at various times of the day. And, providing music, with the natural backdrop and acoustics of the outdoors, lends opportunities quite different from in an indoor hall.

You know that weddings vary as much as people do. And sometimes it gets difficult to try and satisfy everyone. Your outdoor wedding already sets the mood for your guests to expect the unexpected, though give them a heads-up if this is a theme wedding that requires themed attire.

Enjoy exploring some of the ideas we put together, and think about how you can include your unique tastes and interests to create your fun, outside-the-box, outdoor wedding!

Copyright 2007 by Mindy Makuta. Mindy and her husband own a small resort in Lyons, Colorado where they host outdoor weddings and family reunions. For more ideas on planning a wedding and beyond, see WeddingsandRomance.com, her web-site which covers topics of concern for before, during and after the wedding. They also publish http://www.168colorado.com, a site that helps plan Colorado vacations, including referrals for where to stay and what to do when you get there.

Does this concept appear incestuous? To the contrary, my message is for those individuals who unintentionally find themselves in a partnership with a mate whose qualities and character traits are similar to their parent. When couples are in conflict, family-of-origin hot buttons must be explored as a means of ferreting out troubling dynamics.

Most people are not aware, until a major conflict emerges, that they have married a partner whose behavior mirrors the dysfunctional behavior of their parent. New awareness and understanding may lead to the perplexing question, “Why in the world would I marry someone who is a representation of my father? I never liked the man then, nor do I now. He was abusive, emotionally unavailable, and continues to be a disturbing figure in my life.”

It is not unusual for people to repeat negative patterns which have emerged from childhood. Why is it that people tend to hang on, rather than let go of their negative baggage from childhood? Why is it that a partner will play out the same self-defeating behaviors in a relationship that trapped them as a child? The resolution of these questions is fundamental to one’s personal growth and development.

Individuals may either idealize or minimize the behavior of a dysfunctional parent. They may say, “My father had a bad childhood; he didn’t mean any harm; he did the best he could; I’ve learned to move on.” However, you know when people have let go of the past, because they are able to experience the full impact of the dark side of a parent’s behavior. Glossing over the negative side of parental behavior leaves us without resolution and vulnerable to fostering unfinished business in our current partnerships. The pattern of self-defeating intergenerational behavior may have an impact on our selection process. What isn’t resolved from our history may rear its ugly head and make itself known in our present experience. We must see our parents for who they are, with all of their faults and frailties, before we can grieve our losses, forgive our parents for being less than perfect and move forward with maturity in our relationships.

Often, an individual will “marry their parent” in an attempt to fix that which was broken. It is not uncommon for a woman who may have had an absent, self-medicating, and abusive father to gravitate toward men with the same behaviors. During childhood, kids with an absent parent may carry an illusion that they can fix the parent by performing to please. They may try different compliant behaviors in an attempt to win their parent’s support. When their efforts at getting approval fail, they intuitively internalize their anger as self-blame, believing that they must have been unlovable. This interpretation carries into adulthood as the partner tries once again to fix an individual who is a caricature of the father and is unfixable. In order for our intimate relationships to change, we must recognize that we may have a faulty “selector.” Our selection process of a mate may be based upon the illusions which crystallized during childhood. Once we understand that the messes of childhood were not created by us, but rather our parents, we can then learn to love ourselves and grieve the fact that we were born into the wrong family.

We can’t fix anybody but ourselves. It is not our responsibility to try to change others. We must grieve our family history, fight the urge to try to change others, and surround ourselves with people who are soothing, nurturing, and affirming. We must believe that we deserve better from our relationships than what we were forced to settle for during childhood and set limits for what we want and need from our partnership. Only then will we have the capacity to choose a mate based upon mutual respect, love and commitment.

James P. Krehbiel, Ed.S., LPC is an author, freelance writer, and cognitive-behavioral therapist practicing in Scottsdale, Arizona. His personal growth book, Stepping Out of the Bubble is available at http://www.bocklocker.com James can be reached at http://www.krehbielcounseling.com

One thing about life there is never two days the same. Some days tend to flow smooth as silk, while others are as bumpy as a ride on a rollercoaster. Regardless of what kind of day we encounter, we have to make a decision how we are going to handle it. Will we waddle in doom and gloom, or will we be determined we will not be moved by the circumstances? Yes - many situations will try our faith, temptation and even patience, however our choice will determine where we need construction in our life.

Choosing to change things in our life that does not reflect a positive image will make a huge difference for us in encountering daily factors of life that come upon us. If you are having a day that is not going very well and you choose to have a bad attitude - you more than likely set the tone on the outcome of that situation. Taking a different approach when things aren’t going as you desire, can allow it to turn out in a more positive way.

We should often examine our self and determine what area we need construction in. Is it an area of negativity, unforgiveness or even a bad attitude? Do we need to construct - (remove) these areas in order to lay a new foundation in our life? Digging out ways that produce negative results is imperative if you want to go to another level of life. Our life will always be under construction. Construction for repairing damage that may try to linger and hinder us in our day to day activity.

Let’s start with the construction of our heart. Our heart paves the way for why we say what we say - why we do what we do - and why we act the way we act. Getting to the heart of the matter can start us on the road of repair for enhancing our life. Refuse to say “this is just the way I am”. What this does is limit us in how far we will go and what we will achieve in our life. Never settle to stay the same. If we open our eyes and ears - I can almost guarantee we will learn something new each and every day!

Iris Shamble has been sharing her writings for several years and has contributed to the “International Library of Poetry”. She has been a devout Christian for 15 years and is a devoted wife to Darryl Shamble, and mother to two lovely daughters. Iris currently works in the Virginia school system, where she has become an expert on the social and cultural pressures facing children everyday.
She has spent the last five years gathering and substantiating information and interviews for “A Christian Mother’s Guide”. Iris is also a youth mentor, women’s ministry leader and speaks before woman’s groups. Full a full resource of inspiration and work at home information you must visit: http://www.achristianmothersguide.com