ec-gooddesign-org

© S.Jay.B

I've found that good design in jewelry applies just as much to watches. While visiting a friend in Europe, we hung out with her boyfriend who deals in watches, in fact he was gearing up to sell watches at watchsea 24 when I first met him. He helped us appreciate the finer aspects of watches, from the mechanics of how they run to the aspects of style. I enjoyed contemplating that given the fundamental elements and structure of a watch, the rest is in fact style. It may seem like there's a much more limited range of styles possible on watches than there is on jewelry, but there really is a huge range, which also includes fine handmade watches. Some timepieces are in essence fine pieces of jewelry…with an added resource built-in of time-keeping. As you can see, that trip wound up greatly enhancing my appreciation of watches in general and of watches as adornments for the wrist and enhancements for outfits.

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© simplyla

Prices for polished diamonds have gained 9.5% this year alone, and look poised to gain further as producers struggle to keep up with demand from the Indian and Chinese jewelry markets, according to retailer Harry Winston Diamond Corp. The Chinese market is accounting for much of the gains, as this market is now consuming the whole spectrum of diamonds as opposed to only the high-end goods that were popular two years ago. This is putting pressure on American buyers, who are also seeing increased demand. US purchasers are racing to secure stones and are willing to pay higher prices to maintain their supply.

Last year the US accounted for 38% of global demand for diamond jewelry, while China and Japan were at 11% each and India followed with a 10% share. However, demand in India and China grew by 25-30% last year, while demand in the US only grew by 7%.

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© negative13

Handmade Jewelry has a new name in Jewels for Hope, a company dealing in handmade jewelry for a cause. It benefits the life it touches, through the sale of its handmade jewelry.
This handmade jewelry company was formed in 2009, by its founder, Sandy D'Andrea.
Her inspiration for the cause came from having Hospice at her home, who were care givers for her mother, a dementia and Parkinson's disease patient, during the last year of her life. Sandy started donating part of the sales proceeds from her handmade jewelry business, to Hospice, in gratitude.
Now it has expanded further to embrace other organizations like the American Parkinson's Disease Association, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, and The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. It has launched a new product called "Creations for a Cause", wherein, 50% of the proceeds, from the sale of these jewelries, will go to these organizations.
They are also starting another fund with 10% of revenue earned, from sale of the handcrafted items, for caregivers, who are unable to afford aide, for their near and dear ones.

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