Jewellery | Rox Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Jewellery’

GLAM goings on

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

What a whirlwind week we’ve had here at ROX – it’s been go, go, go at GLAM in the City and over the weekend our Victoria, Emma and Donna got to spend a lot of time with Aunty Gok – the man himself Gok Wan. And just like every other woman at GLAM in the City – they fell in love with him!

ROXGok

ROX was the official jewellery sponsor of The Scottish Sun’s Miss Scotland 2010 and we were showcasing some of our hottest new pieces at fashion shows throughout the weekend from designers including ToyWatch, Monica Vinader, Thomas Sabo and Links of London.

We had lots of gorgeous ROX products backstage for for the stylists to work with and Gok took quite a shine to our ROX Viva bracelets – he even decided to wear one of our blinging Gc Chronograph watches throughout the day!

ROXGc

It was a full on weekend and backstage was crazy with stylists, models, make up artists, Miss Scotland finalists and of course Gok but it was absolute ball and the shows looked fantastic – if you were there we hope you had a great time too!

Credit: Gary Doak

The new Miss Scotland, the gorgeous Nicola Mimnagh will go on to star on our next advertising campaign and we’re thrilled to have her on board – she’s an absolute beauty and we can’t wait to work with her!

Credit: Gary Doak

Love,

ROX

Tags: GLAM in the City, Gok Wan, Jewellery, Watches
Posted in Campaigns & Photoshoots, Events | No Comments »

What Is A Carat?

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

The weight (and therefore the size) of stones used in diamond jewellery is measured in carats. They are a very old measure, and these days carat weights are the standard for precious stones. For precious metals like gold, carat is a purity measure rather than an outright weight, so that is slightly different. In diamond rings, the carat value stated may be the weight of the centrepiece stone or the combined weight of all stones including small chips- fell free to ask if in any doubt about any of our diamond jewellery.

Back in the early days of diamond trading for jewellery, the stones were measured against the weight of carob seeds, which are remarkably uniform in size and weight. One carob seed came to be one carat. There is a finer measurement called ‘point’. One point is one hundredth of a carat, so a half carat diamond is a fifty point diamond.

While size certainly does matter, diamond quality is also important. Clarity and colour will also affect the price and desirability of a given stone. So will the type of cut.

One carat is 0.2g. That doesn’t sound like much, but one carat diamond engagement rings are actually quite good and the central stone in question will probably look quite impressive. Most of the stones used in diamond jewellery are smaller than that. A 2 carat diamond is on the decidedly large side, and a 3 carat diamond is truly outstanding in size. Good quality loose stones of that weight are usually sold for tens of thousands of pounds when cut, or more.

Tags: diamond carats, diamond engagement rings, Diamond Jewellery, Jewellery
Posted in Diamond Jewellery | No Comments »

Measuring Diamond Clarity

Friday, May 21st, 2010

Clarity is one of the four Cs of diamond quality testing. The other three are carat (or size), colour, and cut. For the moment, let’s concentrate on clarity. For most people high clarity is a given when talking about diamond jewellery – not for nothing do we say ‘as clear as diamond’ but it does vary from stone to stone.

Tiny bubbles, cracks, and imperfections inside the diamond (or any other precious brilliant stone for that matter) can lower the clarity. Those that don’t have what it takes to warrant inclusion in jewellery are used for industrial purposes or are broken up so that the high clarity pieces can be used as smaller secondary stones. Fancy cuts can sometimes be used to remove areas of lesser clarity too.

Clarity is measured on a number of different scales, but most of them have the first few categories in common. F stands for flawless, and is the best possible class. It means there are absolutely no flaws that a trained eye can find under a microscope at 10x magnification. Next is IF or internally flawless. Stones of this class are still considered outstanding and ideal for inclusion in fine jewellery like wedding, eternity and diamond engagement rings.

After that come the VVS (very very small flaws) and VS (very small flaws) classes. These are still very good diamonds, clarity-wise. They can be found in all kinds of jewellery. While they have flaws that are visible under magnification, any stone in either of these classes will look perfectly clear to the naked eye.

Tags: diamond clarity, Diamond Jewellery, Diamond Rings, Jewellery
Posted in Diamond Jewellery | No Comments »

Diamond Cut

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

In diamonds and other precious gems, the ‘cut’ refers to the shape of the finished stone. There are a huge variety of cuts available from the classic to the fancy, and there are different pros and cons to each. It’s not just the shape that counts for aesthetic purposes or to suit a particular kind of jewellery fitting. It is the cut of a diamond set in diamond jewellery that draws light into the centre of the stone and makes it sparkle. The number of facets (the individual flat planes) and their angle to one another impacts the way light is reflected and refracted around inside the stone.

For diamonds, where that internal fire is the main drawcard, cut is obviously of paramount importance. Since the advent of laser cutting equipment, cuts have grown more and more sophisticated. The understanding of the optical physics involved has also grown. New cuts can now be designed and analysed with computer programs. All these factors combined mean that the diamonds used in jewellery are now more spectacular than ever. The jewellers of a hundred years ago would be amazed by today’s diamond engagement rings.

Cuts are divided into families. The most common is the round brilliant style, which is designed to make efficient use of a perfect, flawless diamond crystal. The symmetry and carefully calculated angles of a classic round brilliant do perhaps the best job of bringing out a diamond’s sparkle. It’s the most popular choice for the large, high quality centrepiece diamonds found in jewellery, although there are many more.

Tags: diamond engagement rings, Diamond Jewellery, Diamond Rings, Jewellery
Posted in Diamond Rings | No Comments »

Shopping For Diamond Engagement Rings Online

Friday, May 7th, 2010

The internet is a wonderful marketplace. You have the power to view a far greater range of diamond engagement rings online than you would in any city, all from the comfort of your own home and incredibly quickly. Going to half a dozen jewellery shops in town would take all day, assuming there were retailers of the right quality in the area. You can do that online in an hour or two, in the evening after work or whenever you like. There is much greater choice available to those who shop online. That’s important when a gift has to be absolutely perfect.

It’s easy to compare online retailers and their prices – diamond engagement rings are a significant investment and of course you should always shop around before making the final choice. Because competition between internet jewellery shops is so high, prices are kept fairly reasonable across the board. Naturally we think ours are very reasonable indeed.

At ROX, we understand that you may have to return the diamond ring that you finally settle on. We are happy to resize rings if necessary, and the first resize is always free. Subsequent resizes attract a small charge, but we can still handle the process for you. Of course, not all diamond engagement rings will be kept – not all proposals are successful (although we think a beautiful ring increases your chances!). You are welcome to return any product bought online within 14 days of receipt for either a refund or exchange for a different item.

Tags: diamond engagement rings, Diamond Jewellery, Diamond Rings, Jewellery
Posted in Diamond Rings | No Comments »

The Rox Online Jewellery Order Process

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

First of all, you need to select the diamond ring or the piece of jewellery you want. At ROX we have a comprehensive catalogue of diamond earrings, ladies and gents watches, and of course rings of all kinds for all occasions. On this site we host articles with all the information you need to make that choice. You can find our helpful jewellery buying guides under ‘Customer Service’ at the bottom of the home page.

To buy a diamond ring you’ll need to select a size. Of course, diamond engagement rings are usually a surprise so you might have to be a bit sneaky to find that out. If you can’t manufacture the right moment to ask without attracting suspicion, a good trick is to ask your intended’s mum. She will probably know, or might be able to help you get the information you need. However, don’t worry too much. You can always have the ring resized. At ROX we offer a single free resize with any online purchase.

You can put a deposit down or pay in a single lump sum, and then we’ll arrange delivery. Of course, we need to send diamonds by a trackable and guaranteed delivery service, so we use either Royal Mail Special Delivery or DX Secure Mail. For all orders over £50 in value, postage is completely free to you.

If the jewellery you receive isn’t what you expected for any reason, we will happily offer a full refund or an exchange on it if returned within 14 days of receipt.

Tags: diamond engagement rings, Diamond Jewellery, Jewellery, ladies and gents watches
Posted in Diamond Jewellery | No Comments »

Commonly Made Mistakes When Buying Jewellery

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

It’s safe to say aside from weddings rings and watches that buying jewellery is usually done by men for women, and for a variety of different reasons. Men buy their partners jewellery as gifts to commemorate special occasions – the eternity ring is often given as an anniversary gift or the birth of a child – or simply because it is the easiest and most obvious choice of present.

It is easy to make a mistake when buying jewellery, and what may seem like an simple present can easily turn out to be a minefield.

Getting it right

Before shopping for a jewellery gift, taking the time to establish the style and tastes of your partner could prevent disaster later on. If you are set on buying her a ladies watch, for example, make sure you choose one that suits her lifestyle and her tastes. Don’t buy her a sporty number with lots of technological gadgetry if she is into vintage fashion. The repercussions of this go beyond the fact that she will never wear your gift, disappointing both of you, because she will also interpret the incidence as evidence of you ‘not really knowing her’.

Don’t go over the top

Similarly, have an idea in your head about how extrovert and ostentatious your partner is likely to be when it comes to wearing jewellery. If you buy her a large solitaire diamond ring, will she be ecstatic, or embarrassed?

Size is everything

There is no excuse for getting the wrong size ring – just ‘borrow’ one from her jewellery box and get the same size. Ditto for necklace chains. If you don’t have access to her jewellery box, maybe you should stick to diamond earrings instead.

Tags: buying jewellery, diamond earrings, Jewellery, jewellery gifts, Ladies Watches
Posted in Jewellery | No Comments »

Why Do Men Give Jewellery?

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

There are many reasons which inspire the men who do give jewellery to their partners to do so – some are personal and some due to society’s expectations.

One of the most superficial and popular reasons that men give jewellery is that they feel they are expected to do so. Laziness also factors into it – perhaps they can’t think of anything else for a birthday or Christmas present? In some cases choosing a plain pair of diamond earrings might be easier, in terms of effort, than putting some real thought and effort into what their partner actually wants.

The battle for status uses jewellery as a commodity. Men in a social group may find themselves subtly competing with each other to provide their partners with expensive jewellery. The women may not notice, or perhaps they contribute to the status warfare themselves, comparing new gifts at every available opportunity.

The men who give jewellery for less cynical reasons are likely to spend more time (as opposed to money) considering what their partner’s tastes are and the type of jewellery they would actually enjoy, treasure and – most importantly – wear.

These men would say that it makes them feel connected to their partners when they wear an item of diamond jewellery which they have given them. They would also say that they feel a sense of pride at being the provider, and that the jewellery is a symbol of the connection between the couple.

For men who seek that closeness and recognition of the relationship, this consideration makes the jewellery they buy their partners truly priceless.

Tags: choosing types of jewellery, diamond earrings, Diamond Jewellery, Jewellery
Posted in Jewellery | No Comments »

The Advantages Of Modern Jewellery

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

Modern jewellery has undergone many changes in terms of the design, materials and technology that is incorporated in their manufacture.

For example, yellow gold is no longer the most popular metal for settings and jewellery. The growing popularity of expensive titanium means that the more affordable white gold is becoming more popular as a substitute.

Jewellery is not immune to trends and changes in politics and society. New awareness of the ethics of diamond mining – illustrated by Leonardo Dicaprio in the film Blood Diamond – means that consumers are more discerning and questioning about where their diamond jewellery is coming from.

One of the most interesting developments in modern jewellery design and technology takes place in the field of watches design. Once upon a time, it would be that your new fancy watch would stop working. You would have to make a trip to the jewellers or the watchmaker to have the battery changed. It wasn’t an expensive affair – more of a nuisance.

This is no longer the case with many of the more modern watches which don’t run on batteries, but on kinetic energy created by the movements of your body while you wear the watch. The designer watches turn the kinetic energy into electrical energy, meaning you have eco-friendly watches which never need batteries changing or winding up. They are also able to store energy and put themselves to sleep, thus saving energy; re-setting themselves when movement begins again.

Concern for the environment has an impact of every area of our lives – including jewellery design – and it will be interesting to see how jewellery and watches develop over the next decade.

Tags: designer watches, Diamond Jewellery, Diamond Watches, Jewellery, Watches
Posted in Jewellery | No Comments »

The Importance Of A Watch

Monday, April 19th, 2010

Ladies watches and gents watches are a unique piece of jewellery, in that they serve to provide several things at any one time. We ask more of watches than we do of any other accessory.

Practicality

Watches have a practical function in that they tell the time, but most modern watches offer a lot more than this. Contemporary watches offer the wearer everything from water resistance, glow in the dark capabilities so that you can tell the time at night, date functions and increased power capacity (some no longer rely on battery). The modern watch has come a long way from the wind-up timepieces of times gone by.

Sentiment

A watch – either ladies watch or gents watch – is a much-treasured gift. Someone once said that the ideal present is something that you use regularly. Given that we look at our watches many times during the average day, this notion makes a watch one of the best presents out there.

Contemporary watch design incorporates diamonds, precious metals and mother-of-pearl to create stylish and memorable designs that any man or woman would be happy to incorporate into their wardrobe. In the same way that a great pair of shoes or handbag can lift an outfit, a classic watch is regarded as one of the essentials of any good wardrobe.

Investment

Watches can cost anything from £25 to several hundred thousand pounds. This makes watches, like art, something to collect and cherish. A luxury watch may not be for everyday wear, but its beauty and value will only increase over the decades. This makes an expensive watch an item worth passing on from generation to generation as a timeless piece of jewellery.

Tags: designer watches, gents watches, Jewellery, Ladies Watches, Watches
Posted in Watches | No Comments »