Saturday, September 16, 2017

Three Things You Should Know About Gold Wedding Bands

When it comes to buying a gold wedding band, things can get confusing fast. What color gold do you want? What karat will suit your lifestyle?

Gold is the most popular choice for wedding bands, and very popular in dress rings, bracelets, necklaces, and watches. Gold is easy to accessorize with, and it is durable. There are three things to consider when looking at gold wedding bands.

First, you should look at the karat number. A karat measures the proportion of pure gold mixed with other metal alloy to make up the final metal. There are several karats available for gold, but most men's wedding bands employ 9-karat, 14-karat and 18-karat. Since an 18-karat ring has a higher proportion of gold than a 14-karat, the 18- karat will be more expensive. Although there are higher karats than an 18-karat ring, it is generally agreed that 22-karat and 24-karat gold is too soft to make men's wedding bands.

Karat stamps do not indicate the durability and hardness of gold, however. When choosing your wedding band, it is important to consider your own lifestyle. How often will you wear the ring? Do you work with your hands? Could your ring be easily scratched or bent?

Metal hardness is measured by what is called the Vickers scale. The higher the Vickers score, the harder the metal. A 9-karat ring has a Vickers score of 120 and an 18-karat has a score of 125. The difference is so slight that 9-karat and 18-karat rings are much the same in terms of hardness.

Next, you should consider the color of the gold. Gold comes in several colors: yellow, white, rose, bronze, and lime. Wedding bands can also be made using two or three different tones of gold, creating a unique color.

Adding an alloy to the gold creates different colors. For example, rose gold is made using a mix of pure gold with alloys including copper. The copper provides the reddish color. Yellow gold forms from a mixture of pure gold and alloy metals such as copper and zinc, while white gold is an alloy of gold and some white metals (silver and palladium.)

Natural white gold has a gray tinge to it, which is covered up by adding a plating of rhodium. The rhodium also serves to make the jewelry harder, but it does wear off after about 12 to 18 months. You can get your jewelry re-rhodium plated at your local jeweler.

There are many options when it comes to choosing a wedding band, but ultimately you should be certain that the ring you choose is right for you and your lifestyle. After all, the ring is a symbol of your love and marriage, so it should suit you perfectly.


Saturday, September 9, 2017

The Advantages of Digital Microscopes

Digital microscopes are a marvel of modern science. A digital microscope consists of a regular microscope with a digital camera built into it. The images seen through a digital microscope can be projected to a computer monitor and saved on a computer file. A digital microscope is perfect for education because it lets many people view the specimen at once. The data saving capabilities of a digital microscope make it a great tool for research.

A digital microscope is a microscope that contains a tiny digital camera and is connected to a computer. Most digital microscopes connect to computers via a USB port. Once the microscope is connected to the computer, the images seen through the microscope's eyepiece can be shown on the computer's monitor and saved on the hard drive for future use. Images can be printed if the computer is equipped with a digital printer.

Digital microscopes are great for educational purposes. Many students can view the specimen at once when the camera is hooked up to a computer. This saves time and ensures that all of the students will get to see the same specimen. People can save images viewed through digital microscopes to computers, allowing them to access the image later. This is perfect for a school setting as it lets students recall the image if they need to later describe it or write about its details.

Scientific researchers benefit greatly from digital microscopes. They are able to save and print images from the microscope, allowing for close examination. When the images seen through a digital microscope are viewed on a computer screen, it enables several researchers to examine the image at once.

There are several different models of digital microscopes. Some have one eyepiece like most conventional microscopes. A handful of models are stereo microscopes, meaning that they have two eyepieces. All digital microscopes have numerous features that make them great tools for education and research.



Saturday, September 2, 2017

Diamond Rings - Giving Them the Care They Deserve

While diamonds are, without question, one of the hardest, strongest and most durable substances known to man, diamond rings nonetheless require and deserves the right kind of loving care to keep them safe, and to ensure that they always look their best. Here are a few ways that you can lavish love on diamond rings.

Because diamonds are so strong - they are commonly used as cutting tools for perforating tough materials, including other diamonds - they can damage your other jewelry, so always store your diamond rings separately from other precious items. Diamond rings can even causes scratches to other diamond jewelry, so keep these pieces in their own jewelry compartment or bag.

And while the diamond itself might not be as easily damaged as other, less durable stones, a diamond ring is often most vulnerable at its setting site. Though the highest quality materials are used to hold your diamond in place, it can become dislodged during rough or manual work, so always remove your diamond rings before performing such tasks. No doubt your diamond ring is very precious to you, so it would be a dreadful shame to lose your stone.

Your ring can also be damaged by some of the harsh cleaning products that you might use around your home and garden, so be sure to remove your diamond ring before your spring clean too. Wearing gloves is helpful, but to be safe, it is best to put your ring somewhere safe while you work.

You can keep your diamond ring looking as clear and bright as the day you purchased it by cleaning any build up of debris using a special jewelry cleanser, or simply a mild household detergent. An old toothbrush is ideal for getting into those nooks and crannies around the diamond setting.

And finally, to keep your diamond ring in beautiful condition, you can deliver it to your jeweller once or twice a year to have it professionally maintained. The staff at your jewelry store will clean your diamond ring and check for loose settings, ensuring that your ring continues to look its very best.