According to the Wikipedia, “Jewellery (Jewelry in American English) is any piece of fine material used to adorn the human body. Jewellery has probably been around since the dawn of man; indeed, recently found 100,000 year-old Nassarius shells that were made into beads are thought to be the oldest known jewellery.” For most of us, however, when we hear about rings of gold & silver, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, pearls, precious stones, engagements, weddings, anniversaries, holidays, etc., our imaginations sweep us away into worlds of starry dreams & adventures. The dazzling beauty of jewels, gemstones & precious metals thrill the emotions, evoking many passions of love, virtue, jealousy, greed & delight.

“Personal adornment and the use of bright, shiny items to attract a mate is as old as time. Jewelry is our way of showing off, spreading our ‘peacock feathers’ to make a hit with the opposite sex. Put on jewelry and you're putting on protection……What we call jewelry is really the evolution of personal adornment that has its roots in power-bestowing charms and talismans.” “The gift of jewelry speaks a thousand words: it talks about the seriousness of a relationship, the seriousness of one's intentions, and the amount of thought and passion invested in a gift selection.” Diamonds, emeralds & rubies are the hallmarks of devotion, in the language of love and affection. Gifts like necklaces, broaches, cameos, earrings, bracelets, pendants, birthstones, rings, etc., all convey significance of meaning, fondness, warmth, love and desire.

Brilliant novelists, story-tellers, and Hollywood have all fueled our obsession of love, romance and jewelry. It, of course, started with treasure hunting & fortune seeking stories like, King Midus and the Golden Touch, The Story of Aladdin, and Alibaba and the Fourty Theives. Silent film began the movie craze with, The Gold Rush, starring Charlie Chaplan, but quickly moved on to, The Thief of Bagdag, with Conrad Veidt & Rex Ingram, and, Treasure Island, with Jackie Cooper & Lionel Barrymore. Then comedies, like the original, Pink Panther, with Peter Sellers & David Niven, a funny skirmish over the burglary of renown jewels, and Michael Douglas’ adventure over the notorious heart shaped emerald in, Romancing the Stone. Next, consider the intrigue of Roger Moore in the James Bond thriller, Diamonds are Forever. Finally, can anyone ever forget Gollum’s golden “precious” in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings? Fantasy may be entertaining, but for all the hype, how are patrons influenced?

Research finds that the jewelry industry, in the US, is a very big business indeed, demanding as, “the world’s second largest gold jewellery market by volume (around 350 tonnes) and the largest by retail value (around $16 billion).” Diamonds score another “$12.5 billion in retail value.” This doesn’t take into account the numerous other gemstones, pearls or precious metals available. These statistics are quite staggering; I guess that’s literally putting one’s money where one’s mouth is. So, with so much esteem placed on these earthly mineral elements, should we ask ourselves, “Are our devotions to carats misplaced? Are our fancies base covetousness, or can we ascribe a higher meaning and purpose?”

Let’s consider another perspective, what say the great thinkers of various ages on the topic of true riches:

“Genius without education is like silver in the mine.” Benjamin Franklin

“The words that enlighten the soul are more precious than jewels.” Hazrat Inayat Khan

“The price of wisdom is above rubies.” Bible, Job xxviii. 18.

“Dive into the sea of thought, and find there pearls beyond price.” Moses Ibn Ezra, Shirat Yisrael

“No pressure, no diamonds.” Mary Case

Wardrobe adornment; expressions of love & beauty; engagement, wedding & holiday celebrations; unfortunately, a source of vanity, greed & malice; jewelry evokes the passions of men and women like no other. When all is said and done, I believe we can all agree with Elizabeth Taylor, who was quoted, “I adore wearing gems, but not because they are mine. You can't possess radiance, you can only admire it.”

Online shop for all your Swarovski crystal tiaras, fashion jewellery, costume jewellery, sterling silver and gold jewellery plus hair accessories and mobile phone accessories needs. Bee Jewelled is proud to announce the launch of their new web site.

Bee Jewelled offers a wide variety of rhinestone tiaras and Swarovski crystal tiaras ensuring that the range suits all possible occasions from your big wedding day, to holy communions and Irish dancing or simply princess parties. Size range is superb and you will find tiaras sized to fit infant to adult. These tiaras can be worn on their own or themed with some of the many hair accessories or jewellery sets. The quality of our Swarovski tiaras is exceptional and buyers will not be disappointed. These are made from genuine Swarovski crystals and are available in many colours.

The site features attractive pictures and excellent product descriptions and is a worthy forum for the high-quality, competitively priced goods Bee Jewelled offers. Whether shopping for a birthday present, valentines present, mothers day gift or simply looking for goods to transform your outfit you are sure to enjoy your shopping experience.

The new online store offers all items displayed for immediate delivery. Bee Jewelled combines an impressive inventory with an unmatched commitment to customer service. Jewelry boxes are more than just containers. Instead, they are the one kind of box that must fit with the carefully chosen present inside. Bee Jewelled does justice to this reality by ensuring all of our jewellery is individually presented in gift boxes. Bee Jewelled commitment to customer service continues until our clients are happy with the goods purchased.

Every man tries to acquire and treasure some kind of asset, such as home, land, precious jewellery, valuable shares and stocks, etc. in his life. Valuable assets come to our rescue during the trying times of our financial life. Assets have some value attached to them that can be utilised by the asset owner to receive financial aid during the phase(s) of monetary shortfall.

Secured loans provide an opportunity to the asset owners to make use of the equity in their assets for raising the capital necessary to fulfil their needs and desires. A secured loan is offered against a collateral security, which may be any valuable asset owned by the potential borrower. Secured loans are known as homeowner loans or home equity loans when the loan is offered exclusively against home equity.

Secured Loans are useful when you require to borrow a large amount of funds to realize your 'big' dreams and desires. The homeowners can make use of secured loans to unlock the equity present in their homes and use the home equity for their needs. Home equity is the difference between current market value of your home and the outstanding mortgage amount against the home. A homeowner is free to use this home equity for raising capital during financial shortfall.

The interest rate on a secured loan is higher as compared to the mortgage rate. This is because the bank/lender offering a secured loan has a second claim on the home/property. This risk premium gets reflected as the increased rate in your home equity loan agreement (as compared to the mortgage rate). However, the loan taken against home equity is much cheaper than an unsecured loan as the presence of security lowers the risk borne by the lender. A secured loan is a cost-effective means to consolidate your high-interest debts, such as credit card balances, medical bills, higher education bills and so on.

So, make an intelligent use of your 'material assets' to add value to the 'biggest asset' bestowed by God...your life!

The history of jewellery can be traced back over 3000 BC and gold jewellery was found in the tombs of Tutankhamen. Because jewellery made from real gold or silver is so expensive, the wearing of costume jewellery has rocketed due to its lower price. Not only that, but because fashions are constantly changing, costume jewellery allows people to buy jewellery to match the latest trends. These can include jewellery made from beads, glass, bone, brass and even plastic.

A number of companies have emerged over the last few decades to meet the demand of the fashion conscious public. There are so many that they cannot all be mentioned in this article however here are a few of the most prominent, mainly because they are popular with celebrities. And well know how important celebrities are when it comes to determining fashion trends!

Pilgrim - This company was started in Denmark by Thomas Adamsen and Annemette Markvad in 1983. Models that have been used in Pilgrim's advertising campaigns have included Helena Christensen and Liv Tyler.

Tarina Tarantino - Tarina is a model turned jewellery designer whose jewellery gained mass popularity after she was featured in People magazine in 1998. Paris Hilton is the best-know celeb to wear Tarina's collection.

Butler and Wilson - The pair first started out selling vintage costume jewellery in the 1960s but then they started selling their own designs and are especially popular on TV shopping channel QVC. The cast of "Footballer's Wives" can also often be spotted wearing their collections.

Mikey - Mikey is another brand of jewellery which often appears on QVC and is very popular with UK celebs such as Kat Deely and Will Young.

The definition of the word “Jewelery” is literally any piece of fine material that someone uses to adorn themselves. It can be made out of almost every substance known to man and has been made to decorate nearly every body part, from hairpins, belly button and toe rings to regal tiaras, diamond rings, pendants, bracelets and earrings. While many of the high-quality pieces are made with gemstones like diamonds and sapphires and precious metals like platinum, the cheaper but very attractive items of costume jewellery are made from less valuable materials and tend to be mass-produced.

With a description that offers such enormous scope, it is no wonder that “a woman can never have enough jewellery”. For example, different pieces are needed to mirror moods: someone feeling flamboyant would probably wear some large pieces like chandelier earrings, a multi coloured gem set pendant and bracelet and colourful three stone ring set with mixed gemstones like diamonds, rubies, sapphires or emeralds. While a quieter mood could be reflected by wearing something like diamond stud earrings and a diamond trilogy ring.

Or it might be that a significant event has occurred in her life: it is pretty obvious why she needs a diamond solitaire engagement and wedding ring, but maybe she has just had a baby – in which case a trinity or eternity ring is the thing to wear. Or she has just had a birthday and is wearing a piece of jewellery which has her birthstone set in it. If her birthday is in May and she is a Gemini for example then emeralds will commemorate this.

Then there are the pieces of jewellery that are given to bring her love and luck; like a diamond handbag pendant, wishbone, horseshoe, heart, lock or four leaf clover. And even if she does not have religious tendencies, diamond crosses are very popular nowadays.

The type of jewellery that a women will wear for work is normally vastly different than what she will put on for a night out. Depending of what she does for a living she will need to consider if the jewellery she is wearing is durable and is easy to clean (claw set diamond solitaire rings can catch if the setting is very high; and diamond pave set jewellery needs more cleaning than a diamond bangle for example). If she has regular contact with important clients and is often in company boardrooms she will probably want to wear something very powerful but understated – a diamond solitaire ring and matching earrings spring immediately to mind here. But if she has a less formal job then there is nothing to stop her donning a pair of chandelier earrings and chunky bracelet.

For the evening “bling” is the thing at the moment and sparkling gemstone jewellery and a cocktail watch are de rigueur. There are some stunning pieces of cocktail jewellery on the market with many top designers lending their names to various ranges.

Hopefully you are now starting to get the picture why a woman needs so many different pieces of jewellery …or it may be just a relaxed evening in with the girls or someone special, when diamond or huggy or hoop earrings, a tennis bracelet and wishbone pendant are comfortable pieces to wear.

For more energetic sports such as shopping (which can be a marathon!), playing tennis or swimming, then comfortable and secure jewellery like diamond stud earrings and a tennis bracelet (with its safety catch) are necessary. These are also the sort of items that she will wear on the beach – but maybe she will add something with a bit more sparkle to catch the sunlight – like diamond and pear or gem set earrings with sapphires and diamonds.

Clever women do not follow fads when collecting expensive items of jewellery, but wear pieces fashioned in materials follows like gold, diamonds and sapphires which have timeless designs and are a sound investment. A huge range less expensive but trendy cocktail jewellery is what she needs to keep up with current fashions.

Unusual settings will create designs with a difference, and sparkling gemstones in unusual combinations with semi-precious stones like rubies will give her jewellery a futuristic look. A lot of smaller diamond pieces can be worn on any occasion with any outfit.