My "Playboy" Earrings

I was clearing my stash of jewellery and came across these! Cute right? For the life of me, I have no idea where these came from as although I buy lots of necklaces, I do not normally buy earrings due to my sensitive skin, and since I normally wear earrings for long periods of time without taking them out, I tend to get those that are pure gold or silver or nickel-free. Thus, most of my earrings are given by others.

I can hardly wait for an occasion to wear these! Unfortunately, these are the kind of earrings that I can only wear for a day and take out after that, to be replaced by my usual sensitive-skin earrings that I wear to prevent my holes from closing up. Now I have to see what attire fits these!

See the playboy bunnies?

The Heart Of The Ocean

Yes, I am referring to this necklace, which I received last Saturday. Someone sent it to me, with a note that says, "Sorry for this late Christmas gift, but I know you have always wanted this, so here goes...".

Well, the necklace I received is obviously not the original, but a replica. It is light, with a silver chain, and a heart-shaped pendant with the navy blue "diamond", but still, whoever sent it to me must have spent quite a bit on it.

Which makes me wonder, just who sent it to me? There was no name or signature on the note, and neither was there a return address. It was mailed locally. The envelope was printed, not written, so unless I send it to the forensics department for fingerprint extracts, otherwise I am pretty clueless who would send me such a gift.

If anyone is to send anything, why would the person want to remain anonymous? The least he (I am presuming it is a 'he') could do is to let me know who he is, then I can send a word of thanks and appreciation.

But then again, am I really that clueless? The show had been gone for so long. The actors and actresses have since aged quite a bit. No doubt I fell in love with the necklace the moment I set my eyes on it, and have wanted to possess it one of these days, but that was just a moment's fancy of young.

Which means, no one whom I know in my adulthood knows how much I longed for this necklace, certainly not just any mere acquaintance or even a close friend. The only people who knows I want this necklace are my best friend and her ex, my second ex and my third ex.

It is definitely not my third ex as I only mentioned to him in a passing remark, and anyway he never believed in giving exquisite gifts to anyone. It is definitely not my best friend because if she is to give me such a gift, she will pass to me personally. Neither is it her ex because he has no reason to.

Which leaves only one person. Hmmmm..... Shall I send him a note of thanks, or shall I just leave it as it is, since he clearly does not want me to know that it is from him, if it is from him at all? In any case, I managed to get the necklace I really wanted, albeit long time overdue, so it does perk me up a little.

Diamonds Are Forever?

Diamonds are a girl's best friend, and during an engagement or wedding, girls will normally like it if they receive a diamond ring of some sort, which they can then show off to their friends. Of course getting a diamond ring is not (and should not be) the ultimate test of how much a guy loves you, but being girls, we all like to be pampered once in a while.

A pure diamond is sparkling and bright, and lasts forever. There are a few cuts to a diamond, namely princess and solitaire to name a few. Diamonds can come in various sizes too, like less than one carat to tens of carats. The common diamond is the white, or transparent type. However, there are some other rare ones like the blue diamond (as seen in "Titanic" - The Heart Of The Ocean), pink diamond (like the "Pink Panther"), or other coloured ones. Needless to say, these are much more expensive.

Diamonds, like other stones (sapphire, ruby) are so costly because there is a lot of work involved in mining and extracting them. Places where traces of diamond deposits are found will usually require hard labour and many hours of panning and extracting before a few small diamonds can be found. If one is lucky, he can find a big coloured one.

Unfortunately, those places rich in diamond ores are normally the poverty striken countries of Africa. When traces of diamonds are found, the natives are then required to toil and slave so that whatever diamonds found will then be sold to buyers (often white men), who then sell to big jewellery companies that then make the diamonds into necklaces or whatnots, and sell to the rich at exorbitant prices. This is why the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer.

If only people know just how unscrupulous some diamond merchants are in obtaining the diamonds at all costs. In the show "Blood Diamond", there are so many bloodshed and killings going on just to pan for diamonds. Poor African countries often have rebels who take away young boys and inculcate hatred in them so as to train them to be boy soldiers to look after the miners. These children have been trained to kill without battling an eyelid.

Villages are plummeted, people are killed, houses burnt. Women and children have to escape and become refugees in a neighbouring country. Strong men are then taken to work in the diamond mines, panning for diamonds, and whatever they found will be given over to the rebel soldiers. Those who kept any diamond for themselves will be killed on the spot.

White men who set up camp around those areas will not bat an eyelid in killing all the miners and rebels, as long as they get their diamonds. Diamonds equal money, oodles and oodles of it, and people will not hesitate to kill for money. And all for what? Just so sometime later, someone will get to wear that on some parts of the body. Like what that journalist said in the show, once you see something like this, somehow you find the cosmopolitan life of gossip, materialism and drinking latte meaningless.

It is not stated if this show is based on true events. But it is not impossible that the diamond trade comes with a very high price, and I am not talking in terms of monetary value, but human lives and sacrifices. I do not think all are like that, because there are many legitimate organisations who go through proper channels and reasonable employment to mine diamonds. At the end of the show, the message is to stop buying conflict diamonds. Do not buy anything that comes with such a high price.

However, how would one know if the diamonds are illegal? The reason people get diamonds at any cost is because there is a demand, and a high market. The more affluent ones are able to afford and buy diamonds anytime they like. It is because of this demand that people continue exploiting the poor and get a huge profit for themselves. By right, if the diamonds are found on their land, is it any right of anyone to take away? Will it not be like stealing from the poor?

I have to be more careful if and when I step into a jewellery shop in one of my moods for indulgence. I have to make sure the jewellery I buy consist of stones that come from proper legitimate organisations, and not smuggled in illegally, especially not those that comes with so many human lives attached, because even though diamonds are forever, but lives are not.

White Gold Or Platinum?

A friend who got married last year (2004 actually, I must remember it is already 2006) had a one carat solitaire diamond white gold ring as her wedding ring. But when she showed it to me some time ago, it was already showing traces of wear and tear.

I met up with her as she said she might be interested in buying my ring, so when I showed it to her (just a 0.3 carat Princess-cut diamond), she was surprised at how shiny it still is and asked how I managed to maintain my ring so well?

Good question. I think partly it is because I have not worn the ring ever since 2003, so not much chance of wear and tear since it is not exposed to the elements. Besides, mine is a platinum ring, which probably explains why it is still so shiny despite having been on my finger for more than two years before it took up permanent residence in my jewellery case.

When my married friends were shopping for their wedding bands, they were surprised that platinum cost more than white gold, as they always thought that white gold jewellery is the best. Thus they settled for white gold, only to find out the ring tarnishes after a year or so.

Many people are under the impression that white gold is a very good and lasting metal. Actually white gold is an alloy of yellow gold and silver and some other metals, thus causing its grayish / silvery sheen, which explains why it tends to tarnish quite easily since it is not a pure metal, and harder to maintain.

However, white gold is more expensive than yellow gold due to the manufacturing and processing, even though yellow gold is a pure metal in its own right. But then yellow gold is so seventish, which is why couples for the past decade or so are opting for white gold.

But in recent years, platinum is getting more and more popular. It has the same grayish / silvery sheen as white gold, but since platinum is a pure metal in its own right, it is longer-lasting and easier to maintain. It does not tarnish so easily. Due to this, the price of a platinum ring can be twice or three times that of a normal white gold ring.

I guess it is all up to the couple what type of wedding bands they prefer. If they want something cheaper, they will opt for white gold. If they want something longer-lasting and classier and do not mind forking out more, then settle for platinum. Besides, since platinum is a pure metal, it is suitable for people with sensitive skins too, since white gold may contain traces of metals which may affect sensitive skins.

But in choosing a wedding band, of course anyone will want to settle for the best if the budget allows. However keep in mind the meaning of a marriage. A marriage does not come with a wedding band alone. A wedding band is just a pledge of love between the couple to be joined together as one. The most expensive ring in the world does not mean a thing if the couple cannot stay together.

So white gold or platinum? It is each individual’s choice actually. What about my choice? Well…. that is for me to know and for my future groom to find out. :-p

Auction Auction!

I think I blotched up my interview today. At least the interviewer did not seem to look impressed the moment she saw me. And it was the interview at IndoChine. Oh well, if it is meant to be, I will still end up working there. If not, then I believe a better offer will come, hopefully very soon.

I have finally decided to sell away my ex-engagement ring. The ring that has been in my possession for the last four years, and I have worn it on my right ring finger for more than a year. Ever since November 2002, it had been removed from my finger, nicely wrapped up in a thin piece of tissue paper, kept in a small velvet bag and placed in my jewellery box. It is a platinum ring with a heart-shape at the top, and a 0.3 carat diamond entwined in the heart shape itself. It was originally bought for S$168, size 13 but reduced to size 8 so that it could fit my abnormally small and bony fingers. It is still in good condition, as I just brought it out to polish it.

The reason I am finally selling away the ring is because I have no use for it. I kept it for sentimental reasons, but I do not intend to wear it ever again, so keeping it with me will only waste a space in my box. I admit I was holding on to more than the ring, but now I have decided to just sell it away and generate cash for myself. Afterall, it is a worthy piece of jewellery, still in good condition, even though it is second-hand.

So any takers? Bids start now. Highest bidder gets the goods. Any of you ladies want a new piece of jewellery? Or any of you guys want to get it for your girlfriends, sisters, mothers, etc? Although in my honest opinion, if any guy wants to get a ring for his girlfriend, it should be a new one, and not some second-hand piece. How would the girl feel if you get her a second-hand ring, no matter how nice the design is, or how new it looks? I do not have the picture of the ring right now, but if any of you like to see how it looks like, I can upload the picture next time.