Hey Jen,

I received the ring on Wed and it looks amazing!! You guys did a great job!!! I cant wait to give it to my g/f.  Thanks again for all the help.
J

The Royal Asscher and the British Monarch go way back, starting in 1908 when the Asscher brothers from Amsterdam cut the biggest diamond in the world (the Cullinan). The Cullinan I (530 carats) was mounted in the head of the Scepter with the Cross. And the Cullinan II (317 carats) was mounted in St. Edward’s Crown. Both are part of the Royal Crown Jewels and permanently displayed in the Tower of London.

Now, Royal Asscher allows the public the opportunity to own pieces created especially created for Queen Elizabeth II’s yearlong Diamond Jubilee celebration.

 

According to Forbes:

The Royal Asscher Diamond Company released a limited edition version of its Stars of Africa jewelry in honor of Queen Elizabeth II’s yearlong Diamond Jubilee celebration.

The “Diamond Jubilee Stars” is based on the same design introduced in 2009 that incorporates a clear half-sphere or full-sphere made of sapphire crystal filled with tiny diamonds. The crystal shells are filled with a clear silicone, which allow the diamonds to float inside the sphere jewelry in the same manner that paper confetti floats inside a snow globe.

The newest collection consists of a ring and pendant made of 18k rose gold. The half-sphere of the ring contains a total of 2.12 carats of white, blue and fancy pink floating diamonds. The full sphere of the pendant contains 4.91 carats of white, blue and fancy pink diamonds. The colors of the diamonds resemble the three colors of The Union Jack, the British National Flag.

The Diamond Jubilee Stars are available in an exclusive edition of six pieces, each with its own serial number and certificate and are only available at Harrods, London.

Read more at Forbes.

We don’t think much about buying costume jewelry. It’s fun and easy to wear. It also sits on your skin, which is an organ, for hours at a time. And if your children are wearing costume children, they could be mindlessly sticking it in their mouths. Hence why it’s so disturbing to think so much lead (and cadmium–another dangerous component of cheap jewelry) is freely and easily passing through the marketplace.

LOS ANGELES — California is cracking down on more than a dozen businesses accused of selling and distributing costume jewelry containing dangerous levels of lead despite repeated warnings.

State investigators uncovered hundreds of lead-laced trinkets marketed to children and adults, including some pieces contaminated with lead levels more than 1,000 times the legal state limit.

The state was expected to file a lawsuit Tuesday against 16 companies – retailers, wholesalers, suppliers and distributors – doing business in Los Angeles and elsewhere. The companies are accused of violating lead standards and engaging in deceptive practices by falsely advertising tainted jewelry as lead-free.

For the past three years, inspectors at the state Department of Toxic Substances Control conducted spot checks at stores and factories, zapping necklaces, earrings, hair clips and tiaras with hand-held X-ray devices to check for lead. Items with high lead content were then shipped to a laboratory for detailed analysis. Jewelry items containing the toxic metal were mostly inexpensive.

Brian Johnson, deputy director of enforcement, said these were not isolated cases.

“You can walk into most any fashion jewelry business in the LA jewelry district and find similar violations,” Johnson said.

It’s against the law to make, ship or sell jewelry that contains dangerous levels of lead. Children’s jewelry cannot contain lead content exceeding the legal state limit of 600 parts per million. For adults, the limit is 60,000 parts per million.

Read more.

Perhaps you’ve seen the Om symbol around or know firsthand what it signifies. For those who don’t know:

What Does “Aum” Mean??

Aum (or OM) is a mantra, or vibration, that is traditionally chanted at the beginning and end of yoga sessions. It is made up of three Sanskrit letters, aa, au and ma which, when combined together, make the sound Aum or Om. It is believed to be the basic sound of the world and to contain all other sounds. It is said to be the sound of the universe. What does that mean?

Somehow the ancient yogis knew what scientists today are telling us–that the entire universe is moving. Nothing is ever solid or still. Everything that exists pulsates, creating a rhythmic vibration that the ancient yogis acknowledged with the sound of Aum. We may not always be aware of this sound in our daily lives, but we can hear it in the rustling of the autumn leaves, the waves on the shore, the inside of a seashell.

Chanting Aum allows us to recognize our experience as a reflection of how the whole universe moves–the setting sun, the rising moon, the ebb and flow of the tides, the beating of our hearts. As we chant Aum, it takes us for a ride on this universal movement, through our breath, our awareness, and our physical energy, and we begin to sense a bigger connection that is both uplifting and soothing.

The Aum symbol design can be seen as a symbolic representation of the various psychological compartments of the psyche; an inner dimensional map of the various compartments of human consciousness and the relationship each has to the divine within.

The long lower curve represents the dreaming state.

The upper curve stands for the waking state.

The curve which emanates from the center represents deep sleep, beyond dreams.

The crescent stands for the veil of material illusion.

The dot is the transcendental self.

Source: SacredFunk.com

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