Princess Cut Diamonds, All You Need To Know

November 20, 2021 JayneLeave a comment

PRINCESS CUT DIAMONDS, ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW Princess cut diamonds are as romantic and dreamy as their name suggests. They have been very popular for they are classic and have a sparkly look that is very attractive to the naked eye. Princess cut diamonds feature an inverted pyramid with a square side and four oblique sides that allow for a brilliant sparkle because of the many facets they have. If you ultimately decide on getting a princess cut diamond or moissanites, here are some practical considerations to take into account.

Price: Princess cut engagement rings are less expensive compared to their round cut counterparts because there is less wastage in the creation of these diamonds. This is a great quality to look for especially if you are working on a tight budget.
Astounding Design: The square classic shape of a princess cut diamond makes it a very extraordinary engagement ring. They are considered to be a modern shape which is mostly preferred. This element makes it easier for the princess cut diamonds to be incorporated into different settings and styles which give you a lot of designs to choose from.
Clarity: A princess cut diamond is almost similar to the round cut as it is a decent hider of the inclusions. Recommended clarity on this diamond is a VS2 or SI1 which should be confirmed clean to the naked eye.
Durability: Princess cut diamonds fall short when it comes to this quality, compared to the round ones. This is caused by the square-shaped outlook that can easily chip hence the need to always protect it with prongs. Even though the round diamonds are likely to chip, they do not have a weak point as it is with the princess cut diamonds.

Princess cut diamonds or moissanites are quite versatile, here are some of the stunning options you can have;

Solitaire: A princess cut solitaire can be placed parallel to the ring band. It is held securely by prongs so that it doesn’t fall off.
Chanel set: Here the stones are set into a band itself rather than be held by prongs. Because the stones are square, they are aligned close to each other without any gaps bringing out a shimmery diamond fire.
Three stone design: Princess cut diamonds are set with other gemstones for added brilliance. This frequency features only three stones using small variations of princess cut diamonds, emeralds, or even baguettes.
Diamond with other stones: A princess cut diamond can be used as the center stone accentuated with other gemstones like sapphires, rubies, and amethysts.

Wrapping up, the above features are all you need to know about princess cut diamond engagement rings. This being a great decision to make, just don’t rush it. Availability of great designs and awesome settings, engagement ring shopping can seem overwhelming. Don’t panic, we are here to guide you in making the right decision and choosing an emblem to share with future generations. Trust your gut feeling and all other things will flow.

Can You Really Turn Ashes To Diamonds?

November 20, 2021 JayneLeave a comment

You’ll be forgiven for thinking there are just two options available to you following the death of a loved one: have them buried in a coffin or have their body cremated. This choice is just the beginning. If you decide to have your loved one cremated, there’s a huge choice of things you can do with their ashes to commemorate their life and have their memory live on. One of the most interesting options is to turn their ashes to diamonds.

Yes, you really can turn ashes to diamonds — with the help of an expert. Since 2005, Heart In Diamond has been helping people keep a hold of the connection they share with deceased loved ones by turning their ashes into diamond jewellery.

Much more personal and meaningful than storing ashes inside an urn on your mantelpiece, turning your loved one’s ashes to diamonds means you can keep them by your side at all times.

How does it work?

The process starts when you send your loved one’s ashes to the memorial diamond company. You only need a small volume, around 100g. This leaves you plenty of remaining ashes for sharing with other family members or creating more keepsakes.

When the company receives the ashes, they extract the carbon and add it to a diamond growing seed. It’s then placed inside an HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature) machine where it stays for several weeks. This machine imitates the conditions the Earth uses to grow diamonds.

After around ten weeks, the carbon extracted from your loved one’s ashes has been transformed into a genuine diamond. A master craftsperson then cuts and polishes your diamond according to your requirements before it’s placed in the jewellery setting of your choice.

Are they real diamonds?

Diamonds made from ashes are genuine diamonds. Both types of diamonds are made from carbon and they’re both created using temperatures of over 2000℃ and pressures in excess of 60,000 atmospheres.

They have the exact same chemical markup and look exactly the same to the naked eye. Only diamond experts with the right tools can tell a memorial diamond grown in a lab from a natural diamond mined from the Earth.

The main difference between diamonds bought on the highstreet and diamonds made from ashes is the significance they have to you. A standard diamond is almost like a blank slate — it doesn’t really have much meaning on its own. But a diamond made from ashes has a profound meaning, making it unlike any other gemstone in the world.

By turning ashes to diamonds, you’re creating a truly unique item that contains the essence of the loved one you lost. Whenever you feel alone, you can take a glance at your diamond ring, earring, or necklace and remember that your loved one is never far away.

How much does it cost?

Turning ashes to diamonds is cheaper than you might think. Heart In Diamond’s prices start at just £515. When you compare the cost of an average cremation and a memorial diamond (£3,885 + £515 = £4,400) with the average cost of a burial (£5,033), turning ashes to diamonds is the cheaper choice.

The price of memorial diamonds varies according to the color, shape, and carat weight you choose. For example, a ¼ carat deep red diamond in a cushion shape costs less than a one carat white diamond in a brilliant shape. The customisation options are really versatile, allowing you to choose the perfect diamond that suits your style and reflects the person you want to remember, all while staying within your budget.

Keep their memory alive

It’s natural to want to hold on following the death of someone close to you. If letting their ashes get forgotten about in a dusty urn just doesn’t seem right to you, consider turning your loved one’s ashes to diamonds. This way, their sparkling personality can live on eternally in a dazzling gemstone that will stand the test of time.

Family · Gift Ideas · Review

LoveLox Personalised Locket Review

March 7, 2021 JayneLeave a comment

Here in the Mum’s the Word house, we’re huge fans of personalised gifts. In the past, we’ve made mugs, photo books, canvas prints and even chocolates with special messages on them! That’s why, when LoveLox Lockets got in touch and asked if I’d like to review a personalised locket, I knew I couldn’t refuse.

LoveLox is a London-based company with one goal – providing beautiful bespoke jewellery which is unique to everyone who buys one. There’s a huge range of options to choose from in terms of your finish and engraving, and each locket is engraved, assembled and packaged here in the UK.

The beauty of the personalised locket is that, unlike old fashioned lockets where you have to try to find a TINY photo and cut it out to put it in the locket yourself, LoveLox use a lab quality printer and professional grade glossy paper to place the image directly into each locket before they send it to you. Aside from making the whole process about a million times easier than doing it yourself, it looks about a million times better, too!

The actual process of creating your locket online couldn’t be easier. Simply choose the images you want to use and upload them to the website. You can move the photos around and crop them as you need to, to make sure they’re displayed perfectly. This is where you can add your engraving, with choices of fonts and letter sizing allowing you to get it just right. There’s also the option to choose a 16-18 inch necklace or a slightly longer one which is 20-24 inches – I went for the latter because I’ve got a fat neck and standard necklaces end to look like chokers on me!

Once the order was placed, delivery took less than a week, and there’s even an option for two-day delivery for just a few quid extra, making this ideal for even the scattiest of brains if you need a gift for a special occasion! The lockets are beautifully packaged, too, so you could happily send one directly to the recipient, safe in the knowledge that it will turn up looking perfectly gift-worthy and gorgeous.

I’m absolutely delighted with the quality of my personalised locket – the images may be small but they’re lovely and clear and the engraving looks top-notch. I wear it constantly, even when I’m just at home, as I love the feeling of having it close to me. As you can see from the images above, I’ve got one picture of Husband with Chuck and one image of Husband with Maureen and the engraving says “Goodest Ones” (absolute pigeon, I’m aware, but we used to tell Chuck that he wasn’t just a good boy, he was the “goodest boy” and it’s something that just stuck).

If you’re looking for a last minute Mother’s Day gift, birthday pressie or just something to show someone how much they mean to you, I highly recommend LoveLox. I couldn’t be happier with my beautiful locket and it’s something that I know will last a long time. The personalisation makes it so special and I can’t imagine anyone receiving one as a gift not loving it.

Head over to the LoveLox lockets page to see all of the different options available.

(I was gifted a locket for the purposes of my review but all opinions are genuine)

Fashion and Style

Stackable Rings: How to Wear Them Like a Pro

September 16, 2020 JayneLeave a comment

How to Wear Stackable Rings Like a Pro — Photo by Sasha Zlochevskaya on Unsplash

Anyone who knows anything about fashion knows that no outfit is complete without proper accessories, and no accessory is hotter right now than stackable rings. There are, however, some rules to bear in mind when choosing the right stackable rings for you, so I thought I’d share some of them with you to help you to make the right choice.

Size Matters

This point is two-fold – firstly, if you have big hands, wearing rings which are too big will make it look like you’re wearing knuckle dusters, and if you have super dainty hands you also don’t want to wear rings which will overwhelm you. Also, consider the fact that if you’re wearing several rings at once, you want to make sure they work together as several rings which are too big will be way too much, regardless of your hand size.

Styling

In the past, the idea of wearing gold and silver together was a huge no-no, but these days it’s actually really trendy to combine your metals. If you are new to this trend, you could try to stack rings by the colour of the metal – you could combine white gold with silver and platinum, as they all have a similar tone. Another idea is to stack them according to the metal. Wearing a rose gold ring along with a yellow and white gold ring looks great.

Ring Type

Something you also need to think about when it comes to stacking rings is to think about the style of the individual rings. While each ring can be different, you don’t want to try stacking rings which really don’t go together – for example, if you’ve got a gorgeous antique cameo ring, that’s not going to look right alongside something ultra modern and geometric. Try to pick a theme or shared attribute between your rings and stick to it.

Gems

Another thing to consider is whether your rings have gemstones in them – mix too many different gemstones and you’re going to end up looking like Thanos in the Infinity Gauntlet. If you have a statement ring with a large stone and want to wear other, smaller rings with gems, try to acth them as closely to the main stone as possible, OR stick to a scheme, such as rings with pastel stones so that they coordinate with one another.

Gift Ideas

Mother’s Day with Funky Pigeon

March 18, 2020March 19, 2020 Jayne12 Comments

With all the madness that’s going on in the world right now, it’s easy to forget that it’s Mother’s Day this weekend. It’s a bittersweet one for me, because my Mum and I are properly back in contact and enjoying a lovely relationship again, and this would have been the first Mother’s Day since things have been good with us. However, between my pre-existing conditions and my little sister being in the middle of chemotherapy for Multiple Sclerosis, we aren’t going to be able to see each other this Mother’s Day. Huband won’t be able to see his Mum either (we’re even missing our nephew’s 16th birthday today, too), and we’re both absolutely gutted.

One thing that is worth bearing in mind is that, even if you don’t get to see your Mum for Mother’s Day, Funky Pigeon are still working tirelessly to get cards, flowers and gifts out to everyone’s Mums. You can still order something, right up to 6pm on Saturday, so it’s not too late!

Here are just some of the gorgeous gifts that you can have delivered straight to your Mum to show her you’re still thinking of her, even if you can’t be together:

Mother’s Day Personalised Chocolates

These boxes of chocolates aren’t just a delight for the tastebuds – they can be personalised to feature any picture you want, and after you’ve finished the chocolates, it can be turned into a photoframe. I just know that my Mum and Mother in Law would love these, especially if it featured a lovely picture of Sausage and BB.

Mother’s Day Necklaces

Jewellery is always a lovely way to show someone you care and Funky Pigeon has something for every budget. I absolutely love this rose gold necklace and I think any Mum would be chuffed to receive this on their special day.

Mother’s Day Photo Gifts

The clever chaps at Funky Pigeon can actually personalise a WHOLE range of stuff, from snowglobes to socks to aprons to keyrings and a whole lot more besides. Wouldn’t it be lovely to find pictures of you and your Mum and have them printed on something for her to cherish? You could even make a collage of pictures of you together from right back when you were a baby!

Mother’s Day Flowers

Who doesn’t love receiving flowers? Luther Burbank once said “Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.” I know my Mum absolutely loves to receive flowers so this would be a really nice option for her, too. The bouquets from Funky Pigeon start at just £19.99, which is a really great price considering the quality of the flowers.

Mother’s Day Alcohol

My Mum is like me, in the respect that neither of us are massive drinkers, but if your Mum enjoys a tipple every now and again, getting her a personalised bottle of whatever tickles her fancy could be a great way to show her how much you love her. And who knows? If you’re lucky, she might even share it with you!

Head over to Funky Pigeon to check out all of these amazing gifts, and more.