2010年7月28日星期三

The Impressive Beauty of Pandora Beads

There are dozens of themes to the sets, and one of the more popular is the one known as ;A Girl Best Friend;. This contains silver and gold beads accented with real diamonds. The beads are a wonderful base upon which to build a bracelet, and there are so many complimentary and coordinating beads and charms that the possibilities are endless.When you combine the many types of Pandora metal, wood, and glass beads available into a single piece of jewelry – such as a charm bracelet or custom necklace – you get a remarkably individualized statement of personal taste and style.For example, there are Pandora beads in the shapes of animals, letters, signs of the zodiac, figures related to sports, and so much more. There is also a long list of themes available, including friendship, wedding, baby, travel, faith, anniversary, and even retirement charms too! Any of these styles can be easily combined to create a unique and one of a kind piece.A good supplier of beads will often sell the pre-packaged ;gift sets; of charm beads too.

The Impressive Beauty of Pandora Beads

These tend to be found in lesser-known woods that include responsibly harvested materials such as Acapu, Muiracatiara, and Pau Amarelo woods, among others. These wooden beads are highly polished and meant to endure years of frequent use and wear.There are also silver and gold beads which are heavily ornamented and designed around specific themes. These might be birthstone themes, accent or spacer themes, and gemstone themes, but they are all meant to help emphasize the design of the individual bracelets within which they appear. For instance, they might be fitted with gemstones, raised gold or silver patterns, coordinating shapes such as flowers or leaves, and much more.Of course, the most famous of all the Pandora beads are the excellent charms which are meant to serve as the primary theme of any piece of jewelry.Are you familiar with Pandora beads? If not, you will want to take the time to explore the impressive array of styles and designs available. Not only do they offer Murano glass beads in a rainbow array of colors, but many are highly decorative with easy to see motifs and multicolored patterns. For example, it is easy to find beads with heart-shaped patterns worked into the molten glass, or others with raised dots or flowers worked into their su***ces.They also offer wooden beads that are finely crafted and set with gold or silver spindles for long wear.

The Impressive Variety of Pandora Charms

There will also be the need to select spacers, plainer beads for hints of color, and the clips already mentioned.If the Pandora charms are meant as a sort of ;starter; gift, however, the buyer may be able to get away with purchasing one of the well-designed gift sets. These are sets that can include a charm and two clips, or an assortment of various pieces necessary for starting a new bracelet or necklace. The buyer may want to select the base and the clips along with a few beads in order to give the recipient a good start. This might also allow them to wear the piece right away instead of waiting to fill up the base completely.This means that the creation of a necklace or bracelet requires a lot of thought and choices; even before the choosing of the various Pandora charms can begin. Once the designer is ready to begin selecting the many elements that will make up the piece, they will have to consider if there is to be a theme to it. For instance, there are hundreds of charms available, and these can include animal themes, letters and initials, birthstones, holidays, special events, special interests, and much more.

The Impressive Variety of Pandora Charms

For one thing, there are no traditional chain bracelets or necklaces required to hold the various charms. Instead, the owner will select from silver or gold chains, leather straps, or colorful cotton cords. Each of these bases will have a threaded clasp over which each of the charms or beads will have to be twisted, and only then will they slide along their lengths. In addition to this sort of ;fail safe; mounting system, the pieces also require at least two innovative ;clips;. The clips are beautifully designed and can be found in hundreds of coordinating styles and materials, and they also serve to protect beads and charms from falling off of the piece too. In earlier decades the charm bracelet was something made unique only by the choice of charms suspended from the loops of the chain. There might be options for silver or gold chains and charms, but that tended to be where variety ended. Today, there are Pandora charms and bases that can offer the owner an impressive range of designs, styles, and unique looks.It helps to first know that the pieces made from Pandora charms will be entirely original because of the patented design features used in the various bases and beads.

2010年7月15日星期四

Want a Career in Watches?

The good news is that this number is expected to increase byabout 30% in the next couple years.So if you've been trying to think of ways to turn your watch obsession into aprofession, now may be your chance. Sales of fine Swiss watches havefinally adjusted to the introduction of the Japanese-made quartz movement,and are increasingly finding a new place in our culture as essential luxury items.But in order for this trend to continue, we are going to need people who can repairthem.Rolex,Swatch, Alarmed by Watchmaker Dearth, Spring for SchoolsLititzWatch Technicum.According to thisarticle on Bloomberg.com, the US if facing a very dangerousshortage of watchmakers. Brands like Rolex, Breitling and Omega are sellinglike crazy, but there are fewer and fewer people around who are qualified towork on them. It seems that while appreciation for fine Swiss mechanical and automaticwatches is on the rise, interest in a career as a watchmaker is clearly waning.Swiss watch companies have responded by investing millions of dollars in US watch***schools and programs: Rolex, Swatch Group AG, Breitling SA, Audemars Piguet and other Swiss companiesare spending millions of dollars on schools to make sure the watches they sellin the U.S. can get fixed. The U.S. now needs about 4,000 watchmakers in additionto the 7,000 it has, says Jim Lubic, executive director of the American Watchmakers-ClockmakersInstitute. As many as 4,000 will retire in the next 10 to 20 years... By contrast,about 140 students are now in U.S. watch*** programs.To help attract would-be watchmakers, Rolex is waiving $40,000 worth of tuitionfor their two-year program in the Amish town of Lititz, Pennsylvania. The schoolteaches 24 people at a time to diagnose problems with mechanical and automaticwatches, repair them, and to make parts by hand. The bad news is that watchmakersof this caliber are only looking at pulling down about $38,000 a year after graduation(ok for those just getting started, but not overly attractive for people lookingto switch careers).