by kristienberghs

Gold Chains As Milestone Gift in Life

From the antique age of the Egyptian civilization along the river Nile till today – the modern era, Gold has been the cynosure of every civilization as far as jewelry is concerned. In the long ago ancient days, gold was in fact used as a well-used form of currency. People who had many gold coins in their possession were regarded as prosperous people ranked far above the commoners in society. The ancient Kings and queens used hoards of gold for ornamenting various parts of their body, and also gifts.

The history of gold goes back 3,000 years when it was newly discovered in Tuscany. Since then, Italy has turn into the favorite as far as gold industry is concerned. People with exquisite taste in jewelry would always like to opt for the finely crafted gold jewelry. The legendary designs of various ages are taught in several goldsmith schools all over the world and then these items of jewelry are passed on in the family generation after generation. Skilled goldsmiths all through the world even today replicate the famous, ancient designs and wrapped them in new attires.

Italy is globally recognized for its fabulous gold industry and intrinsic craftsmanship, and it is always considered an excellent investment and a prudent choice to purchase Italian gold chains or other forms of gold jewelry. Gold is an enigmatic metal that has entranced both men and women alike, since the ancient days. In its purest form this age-defying metal has the dazzling yellow color of the Sun, is 24k in terms of measurement and is incredibly flexible.

At the present time, the evolvement of gold appears to be attaining its zenith. Gold chains are the milestone gifts at any given point of time. However gold in the uncontaminated form is incredibly soft and not all sturdy, so other metals have to be chemically combined pure gold to form various alloys of gold – this is also applicable for the white gold chains which are increasingly becoming popular among jewelry designers as well as collectors. Palladium and Nickel are the most popular alloys that are added to gold and this gives the gold a somewhat diverse color.

If one plans to purchase something precious for oneself or even as one considers giving a lovely gift to their loved one the best gift ever would be to present them with a gold chain it is no doubt a gift to cherish. Choosing from an extensive assortment of elaborate designs with very complicated and meticulous work from renowned jewelry stores or goldsmiths would be a very astute decision. Ensure that the chain is from a trustworthy jeweler so as to be sure of the purity and worth of the chain. Presenting a genuine gold chain in form of a gift would surely be prized by the beneficiary since it is an extremely elegant gift.

In fact, if there is confusion as to what piece of jewelry to select as a gift, it’s always secure to have confidence in the elegance that can be achieved with an exotic piece of Italian gold chain.

How to Get Gold Chains at 70% Off:

Related Necklaces & Chains Articles

Check out these Rings Store images:

Black Country Living Museum – canal arm – Castle Fields Boat Dock


Image by ell brown
This is the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, West Midlands.

The museum was established in 1975, and the first buildings moved here in 1976. Since then a 26 acre site has been developed, with the unique conditions of living and working in the Black Country from the mid 19th century to early 20th century.

It is off Tipton Road in Dudley.

Canal Arm off the Dudley Canal at the Black Country Living Museum.

This is the Castle Fields Boat Docks.

Canal Boat Dock

The thousands of boats that used to work the Black Country canals all needed constant maintenance.

In this area there were many working boat yards, or docks, like this one, where boats were built and repaired. They were busy, cluttered places not unlike a modern scrap yard as it was common practise to break wooden boats, salvaging the ironwork.

Castlefields boat dock is typical of the many on the Black Country canal system of the period and is equipped to build new working craft and to repair those of iron or composite construction. The dock can accommodate three boats, drawn sideways out of the water by winches onto the slip.

Nothing on the boat dock was wasted and most of these buildings are made from reclaimed boat timbers.

The main buildings are the 1880s brick blacksmith’s forge containing a large general-purpose hearth with hand-operated bellows, the nail and rivet store, a woodshed, paint store and stable.

The two wheeled ‘rolling sheds’ were moved up and down the length of the boatyard on rails to provide shelter and allow work to continue in all weather.

The lifting bridge between the Ironworks and the Boat dock was built across the railway transhipment basin at Lloyds Proving House near Factory Junction at Tipton. Huge weights hanging on chains over the four pulleys balance the weight of the roadway and the deck can be raised and lowered by operating a small hand winch.

Inner area for building boats.

Need Help Finding Things


Image by Dimmerswitch
I’ve been sick this past week, so I didn’t manage to get to do a grocery run until Friday.

The store we usually shop at is doing a lot of renovations. They’ve mostly done a good job orienting regular customers to where things have moved during the construction, but this sign was pretty outstandingly bad.

Alex and John ringing up their first sale: me!


Image by Caroline on Crack

A few nice Bench images I found:

Bench*


Image by chauromano
Did you know that there are two Bench clothing brands? Bench. (has a period) is in UK and Bench/ (has a slash) is in the Philippines. I’m going to create my own clothing line, Bench* (has an asterisk) for Singapore! Hehehe!

Shot at Singapore Zoo.

NOTE: My series is about the Singapore Zoo yet I haven’t posted images of animals LOL!

Have a nice week everyone!

Bench


Image by mag3737
A bench in Yaletown, Vancouver, BC.

Tenuous Link: bench.

Bench


Image by macieklew
Autumn bench

Some cool Men’s Jewellery images:

Mr. Frank Meets Miss. Bokeh. 2,000 visits to this photo. Thank you.


Image by Glenn Waters ぐれんin Japan.
Nikon D700 + Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM

Tiger’s Eye Men’s Ring


Image by Christina Saint Marche
Base cut rectangle East African Citrine weighing 44.4 carats. Set in 72 grams white 18K gold .

Becky and Chris


Image by El Groo
Becky and Chris look at their rings.

by hainteractive

Advantages Of Digital Over Analogue Transcription Or Postal Strike? What Postal Strike?

Digital recordings have many advantages over analogue tape recordings. These advantages impact not only on the quality of the final recording, but also result in reduced transcription time which, in turn, reduces costs. The recent spate of postal strikes has proved the last straw for some analogue transcription clients and has prompted them to make the switch to digital.

For clients who have traditionally recorded all their material on standard audio tapes, mini tapes or micro cassettes, the postal strikes have effectively brought any transcription work to a standstill, with a subsequent impact on their businesses. Even those clients who have switched to minidiscs to produce better quality recordings still rely on the post to deliver the discs to their transcribers. Clients have been forced to place extra burdens on their own in-house staff merely to complete regular work which their outsourced transcription company usually takes care of. Some clients have resorted to expensive courier deliveries simply in order to meet urgent deadlines.

There is one practical way round this impasse for analogue clients until the postal strikes ease. Some clients have been able to rerecord their analogue tapes on to digital sound files (with a bit of hand holding from their transcriber!). By using a sound editing software such as Goldwave, it’s fairly easy to rerecord tapes on to the PC as digital sound files. You simply need an inexpensive audio lead to connect the tape recorder headphone socket to the audio ‘in’ socket of the PC – transcription companies can usually provide a set of step by step instructions to help you through this. However, this will only work if the original tapes are clearly audible. If you try to rerecord a poor quality recording, you will only magnify any background noise or tape hiss, and the subsequent digital rerecording may well be inaudible and impossible to transcribe.

Assuming you’ve made a successful and clear digital recording of your analogue tapes, the next step is to transmit the digital files over the Internet to your transcriber using a secure FTP service. Digital sound files are very large, so you do need a fast Internet connection to make the transfer. Most transcription companies provide this FTP service at no extra cost to their clients. Sending digital files via an online service can be made on the same day from anywhere in the world, thus avoiding the delays experienced in sending tapes through the post. There are also no return postage costs to add to the final bill – digital files can simply be deleted when transcribed.

One permanent solution to any future postal problems is to ‘go digital’. While analogue clients have experienced extra hassle and expense because of the strikes, digital clients have been largely unaffected. The many advantages to digital are discussed in more depth in another article but briefly, digital recorders produce a superior quality recording which doesn’t deteriorate over time. There are no recording length restrictions as there are with tapes – digital recordings are as long as you need them to be. Sound files do not ‘physically’ break or become mangled and it’s easy to add additional material in the middle of a recording, for instance, for dictation. There are also fewer physical storage space issues with digital – back up recordings to CD take up less shelf space than tapes.

By eliminating the postal system entirely from the process, postage costs also disappear, along with the risk of losing precious original tapes. With digital recordings, you’re simply sending a copy of the digital file, while the original stays on your PC, as with any other document sent via email or online transfer. There’s also none of the usual deterioration experienced when copying tapes. The digital copy you send is just as clear as the original. Digital recordings can also be easily edited to cut out sections which don’t need to be transcribed. An added bonus of digital recordings is that audio time markers can be inserted to indicate precisely where inaudible or unclear words may be. Tape recorders and playback transcription equipment have different counters so audio time markers for analogue tapes are inaccurate.

Admittedly, digital recordings can’t entirely avoid all hiccoughs, such as Internet connection problems. However, there are usually ways round such difficulties. Using a nearby secretarial service or a library Internet facility will still allow you to send the digital audio files to the transcriber. A power failure over a wide area is about the only thing likely to scupper such plans, but then so does a prolonged, nationwide postal strike when trying to send tapes. Another plus point with digital is that, as most recordings are of superb quality, transcription companies can offer a fixed per audio minute price so that clients know in advance what their overall transcription costs will be. Tape quality is too variable to be able to do this, and is usually charged at an hourly rate.

As well as the current difficulties experienced with an interrupted postal service, analogue recordings have numerous other disadvantages. They produce inferior quality recordings which are more subject to tape hiss and background noise interference. All audio tapes have a limited life and if reused too many times can break or become chewed up. They’re very restrictive in terms of tape length and parts of the recording may be missed as the tape is turned over. It’s also impossible to add additional material to the middle of a recording without erasing something which follows. Even when the post is functioning normally, tapes can take time to reach the transcriber or can be lost in transit and postage costs are additional.

So next time the vagaries of the postal service threaten to interrupt the way you do business, consider a switch to digital recordings and ditch analogue. A transcription company will be able to advise on how to rerecord your audio tapes on to digital files. They’ll also be able to discuss the pros and cons of digital versus analogue recordings and open up a new, more efficient and cost effective way of working.

by Florian Bardischewski

Watches, Watches, All Around! Which One to Buy As a Gift?

It boggles the mind how many different types of wrist watches are available to choose from for yourself or as a gift. So to assist you in wading through the endless sea of watches on offer I have put together some helpful and easy to follow guidelines.

Firstly, stay away from replica or fake watches. No matter how good they look or how cheap they are, you will end up with a watch that does not work properly or has been so poorly put together that they fall start falling apart within days. Additionally, there is nothing more embarrassing than people finding out you are wearing a fake watch. There are plenty of original designer watch brands available at all price ranges so no need to go there.

Your best bet for finding the right watch at the right price is to search online. Though you may still find yourself floundering so here are a few life lines:

It is astonishing the quality you can buy for as little as £25. Brands like Timex do excellent ranges for kids & teens. They have a variety of digital & chronograph ranges in funky colours and manufacturers guarantee. Their most popular watches come with a 5 year manufacturer warranty and 5 year Lithium battery. There really is no need to buy any watch without a warranty or certification. So make sure you buy from an official stockist that offers a genuine manufacturer warranty otherwise only one thing is guaranteed and that is your gift will fall apart. Off course this applies to any watch you buy.

Between the £50 and £100 mark your options really start opening up so you need to think about who you’re buying for. For a classic clean look for both men and women brands like Rotary, Tissot and Fossil are hugely popular. You get real value for money with these. Tissot for example do the PR50, a quartz analogue with sapphire crystal glass and 2 year warranty.

For the extrovert there are some really striking designer Watches to select from. Look out for ICE Watches. They have a classic sleek look yet still manage to stand out with flamboyant colours. They do look cool and sporty so are very popular.

If the person your buying for is into sports then you will be spoilt for choice however if you are buying for divers then the only real option for this price range is Timex T49614 – A divers watch with titanium case, 200m water resistance and 5y warranty. Between the £100 and £200 go for brands like Armani, D&G, Guess & Police are popular designer ranges and a must for the fashion conscious. Ladies will also be interested in Sesky & DKNY.

Alternatively Tissot & Hamilton are a great option for watches that have amazing functionality including touch screen, thermometers, barometers, compass and anti-shock technology. These look clean and classic but beneath lays a range of functions to keep any gadget fan happy for years.

ICE-WATCH Blue – Medium Unboxing German

Some cool Kit Heath images:

20100403-DSC_0323


Image by heathbrandon
Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers
April 3, 2010
Irving Plaza
NYC

20100403-DSC_0293


Image by heathbrandon
Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers
April 3, 2010
Irving Plaza
NYC

20100403-DSC_0376


Image by heathbrandon
Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers
April 3, 2010
Irving Plaza
NYC

by wallygrom

Printed Clocks – The Time is Now

Companies offer many different promotional items to their clients like pens with the company name and logo. But one item that will keep the company name and logo helping to keep time is a printed clock. Printed clocks are not seen that often as a promotional gift. More often printed clocks are seen used as jewelry store promotions or higher corporate promotions. Printed clocks come in so many shapes and styles from small to large, depending what the promotion is.

There is a square face, rectangle holder LCD clock where the logo and name appears just below the square. Or waterproof, plastic, wall, bathroom clock. The name and logo appear on the number plate of the printed clocks.

A couple of the popular clocks include the folding clock with two places for pictures or the dual time picture travel clock with room for one picture.

There are numerous types of desk clocks, digital clocks, alarm clocks, wall clocks, clock radios, travel clocks, picture frame clocks and all of these clocks can be printed clocks.

Companies will find the printed clocks an advantageous marketing tool when their company name and logo are right there visible continually.

The cost for these printed clocks varies a great deal, starting from the small travel clock to the mantle clocks and anniversary clocks. Or the unusual clocks like the Gyro clock, rotation station spinning clock, Captain Clock and the Planetarium clock. The material that the clocks are made of consists of plastic, metal, wood, and puter also affect the price of the clocks.

Showing your appreciation to customers who have invested time into your company deserve some sort of reward for doing so. Customers make or break a company. During the holidays is a great time to give printed clocks as gifts. Advertising your company is quite expensive, but one of the cost effective ways of advertising are the printed clocks.

For a company’s promotional clocks, either analog clocks or digital clocks are available. Even clocks with international time along with your local time, both on one clock, can be found.

Instead of ink pens with your logo try some printed clocks. Your customers will find your company and remember your company whenever they need you. They will remember by looking at the face of the clock and seeing your logo printed there. They won’t have to second guess themselves trying to remember the name of your company or looking in the telephone book going through the list of names and wondering if that was the company they were looking for. Pens get lost easily but printed clocks won’t be that easy to lose.

So, the next time you order a promotional item for your company, consider ordering printed clocks. Even if it’s just for a holiday gift, your customers will enjoy the fact that your company considers them important enough to get printed clocks to hand out as a thank you for doing business with them. Customers always like to receive little extras when doing business with a company and the nicer the better.

A few nice Charms images I found:

Charm city cakes. Aka Ace of Cakes.


Image by SchultzLabs
Charm city cakes. Aka Ace of Cakes. At my sister’s wedding

Charms and embroidered tote bag


Image by Antípodas
Blogged at mypatchwork.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/charms-and-embroider…

charm 2


Image by TheoJunior
there were charms

Some cool Tommy Hilfiger images:

Tommy Hilfiger bag


Image by Valeri-DBF

Tommy Hilfiger, Berlin


Image by Tilemahos_E

Tommy Hilfiger | 101114-6870-jikatu


Image by jikatu
Punta del Este, Maldonado, Uruguay.

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Zeiss Distagon T* 2/28 ZE
Focal Length: 28 mm
Exposure: ¹⁄₁₂₅ sec at f/2.5
ISO: 50