Vanilla Girl Designs

Fashion, Jewelry, Gifts, and Diamond Rings

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Personalized Gifts Are For All Occasions

March 31, 2011



Personalized gifts come with a special kind of feeling and joy that can be treasured forever when received, especially when they’re from our loved ones at special occasions. They are suitable for just about any occasions. Weddings, graduations, birthdays, Christmas and so on are perfect occasions to give gifts especially if they are personalized with the recipient’s name and other favorite info. The practice has been on for a long time and over the years, it has been observed that almost all gifts can be personalized.

Such items that are commonly personalized include jewelry, handbags and purses, mirrors etc for women. Personalized clothes, back packs and toys are more common with kids. For men, consider giving money clips, pens, engraved cufflinks, sports bags and kids etc.

Personalized gifts add to the overall quality and worth of a gift. Irrespective of the actual gift in question, personalization increases the worth of the gift. With just the right personalization, an otherwise ordinary gift can be transformed into one with more appeal. It is also believed that people tend to keep a personalized gift for a much longer period of time. This is happens to be true. Many people find it hard to throw away a personalized item even after years of receiving them. This is probably as a result of the extra pleasure and appeal they derive from seeing their names, for example, on the gift.

Personalized gifts are widely used at certain periods of the year like Christmas, Easter, thanksgiving and so on. Because of the number of gifts sent during these periods, it is usually wise to add a little touch of personalization to your own gifts to make them stand out from the others. This is particularly true because some people may end up getting similar gifts from different people.

Personalized gifts are also widely used by businesses. They offer businesses a cheap way of advertizing their products and services. Also, they are an effective way of saying thank you to employees, contractors, clients and customers. Common gift items given out include engraved cufflinks, wristwatches, note pads, mouse pads, pens, umbrellas, calendars and many more such items.

One of the best ways to get a gift customized is through online stores. First, you have a very large collection of gifts to choose from and you can also be assured of the best bargains. After deciding on the gift item, you supply what will be used to personalize the gift and then pay for the service (many of them offer personalizing as a free service). The gift is then sent to the recipient directly or to your own address. However, note that once a gift has been personalized, it cannot be returned. You are therefore expected to make sure that the info supplied is right and the gift is something the receiver will like.

A lot of pleasure is gotten from personalized gifts. Probably because it adds a personal touch absent from ordinary gift items. Therefore, as much as possible always consider sending personalized gifts and the recipients will love you for it.

Here’s What You Need to Know When Choosing a Jeweler’s Loupe



Open the loupe until the lens is fully extended. To keep the jeweler’s loupe steady, put your finger through the opening to steady the loupe. Bring the loupe right up to your eye. Steady the loupe hand against your cheek. Use the thumb and forefinger of your right or left left hand to pick up the ring or item that you will be examining. Then bring the ring or item to be examined up to the lens until it comes into focus. You can leave both eyes open, but many first-time users find it more comfortable to close the other eye.

What Does Doublet, Triplet, Color Corrected Mean?

Doublet, triplet. quadruplet refer to the number of different types of lenses that are used together to appear as the single lens that you look through. A triplet would have three components, a doublet two, pentagonal, 5. Higher quality lenses are constructed this way to reduce distortion and other abnormalities that would be present if only a single monolithic piece of glass were used. Color correction is a coating that is applied to the lenses to make the image appear as if it were being viewed in a natural light. Achromatic lenses eliminate or greatly reduce color distortion.

What Power Jewelers Loupe Is Used For Grading Diamonds and gemstones??

The generally accepted international standard in the jewelry industry for grading diamonds and gem stones is 10x. I0x magnifies 10 times Diamonds are graded for clarity at 10X.. If an inclusion in a diamond cannot be seen by a trained eye at 10X, the flaw does not exist for the purpose of grading clarity. A 10X triplet loupe with achromatic lenses is the conventional jeweler’s loupe in the jewelry industry.. The triplet has three lenses which greatly reduce or entirely eliminates distortion with any color aberrations , compared to a single lens or doublet loupes. 10x magnifies ten times, 20x 20 times and 30x magnifies 30 times. The image you see, if the quality of the jeweler’s loupe is the same, is just as clear in all three magnifications. 10x and 20x jewelers loupes are now also available illuminated with bright white LED illumination, a new and positive addition to jewelers loupes.

What is The Difference between 10x,15x, 20x, 30x Jewelers Loupes?

If the quality of the loupes is the same, T he difference is the magnification and the field of view. If you were looking at a quarter with a 10x loupe you would see a good part of the surface of the quarter magnified 10 times. If you looked at the same quarter with a 20x loupe you would see about a third of the quarter magnified 20 times. With a 30x loupe you see an area equal to 2 or 3 numbers of the date at the bottom of the quarter magnified 30 times. Each view would have the same clarity if the quality of the loupes are the same. The area, and the magnification of what you see, would be the difference between the different magnifications.

What Does 14mm, 18mm, 20.5mm, 21 mm Mean

These terms refer to the diameter of the lenses in millimeters. A 21mm lens is approximately 3/4 inch in diameter. An 18mm lens is approximately 5/8 inch. . There is no noticeable difference in the diameter of a 20.5mm lens and a 21mm lens.

What does this description mean: 30x, 21m color corrected achromatic lenses

A 30x 21mm triplet jeweler’s loupe magnifies the image 30 times. A triplet has three lenses combined to produce the 30x magnification, and a 21mm lens diameter of approximately 3/4 inch. It produces a sharp clear image. And it has a color correcting coating on the lenses to make the image being viewed appear as if it were being viewed in natural daylight. It has achromatic lenses which eliminates color distortion. Jeweler’s loupe sets of 3 or 4 loupes are available in assorted powers to provide you with a range of magnification power. if needed.

How can you be sure you’re selecting the right Jewelers Loupe.

Choosing where to buy your jewelers loupe is just as important as selecting the jewelers loupe ..Here are some suggestions on how to find the right place to make your selection. You want to make your purchase from a company that offers you an unconditional guarantee. For example, If you order your jewelers loupe and then discover that it’s just not the loupe you need, you should be able to return your purchase for another selection or return it for a full refund. You may not find a retail store that has what you want and you may have to place your order on the internet. That’s why it is most important to find a seller who unconditionally guarantees your satisfaction. In summary, before shopping decide exactly how you plan to use your magnifier. Then decide what magnification you need to meet your needs. Look for glass lenses. And finally, Choose a company to buy from that will let you exchange what you purchase or return it for a refund if what you ordered does not fulfill your needs.

Security in Jewelry Stores and Pawn Shops

March 29, 2011



It is well known that pawn shops and similar stores can be risky businesses; with a large stock of small, valuable objects and large amounts of cash on hand, they make attractive targets for opportunistic thieves. If you have opened a jewelry store, pawn shop, or a similar retail location with many small and valuable objects on display, be sure to consider safety aspects, not only to prevent theft but also to keep your employees out of harm’s way.

It has been shown that the economy also impacts property crimes, particularly burglaries. As the economy slumps, some turn to thievery to get extra cash. Others rob jewelry stores and pawn shops for the thrill. Whatever the reason, you must take steps to protect your business inventory and your employees.

The first step, of course, is to make your business less of a target for burglars. This includes simple steps like adequate outdoor lighting and thick deadbolts on a sturdy door. Depending on the neighborhood, you may opt for bars on the windows. These measures make your store more difficult to break into, and will make many potential thieves decide on a different target.

Cameras are a must-have addition to any retail security strategy, particularly when you have small, valuable items that could easily be stolen. Whether dummy or real, a camera gives potential thieves the appearance that they are being watched. This is a powerful psychological deterrent, and will probably result in would-be thieves choosing an easier target, where they won’t get caught in the act. In this context, security cameras are one of the most effective weapons in preventing theft. These security cameras should be installed both inside and outside your store, near any large groupings of valuable and small items that may have a tendency to “walk away” otherwise.

As far as security systems are concerned, either install a building alarm system, or place door and window alarms on every potential access point. These alarms beep loudly when opened, calling attention to the situation. Similar devices can also be used inside the store. If you have valuable merchandise in glass cases, small alarms can keep the cases from being opened by potential thieves.

Personal alarms have a third use, and that is as ‘panic buttons’ for your employees. If someone threatening comes into the store, they can press this button to alert others. This is particularly helpful if you have employees working in the back of the store, where they may be oblivious to anything going on up front. If there is the potential for all employees to be in the back room at one time, install a door chime to alert you to a customer’s entrance. This is simply a good customer service practice, in addition to preventing people from stealing from your unattended store.

Depending on your overall security strategy, you may want to provide additional methods for your employees to protect themselves. TASER devices, pepper spray, and stun guns all make sensible choices for self defense. While you probably don’t want to arm employees with guns, these devices are non-lethal and easy for anyone to use with very little training or experience. Your employees can remain safely behind the counter while diffusing the threat.

If you don’t want to subject your employees and your expensive jewelry to possible burglaries and theft, you must take steps to install security measures, such as cameras and alarms, along with having a clear plan for how employees should respond to theft, including the possibly of armed burglars.