Friday 21 September 2012

Sterling Silver vs Silver Plated Jewelry

Fulfill Jewelry
In your collection of jewelries, you must have come across so many types- gold plated,karat-gold, silver, sterling silver and even fine silver! 

You may have wondered about all these names and labels. You may have also been confused! Trying to figure out the difference between them especially those that share some similarities in their names.

For instance, a jewelry labelled fine silver, sterling silver or silver plated are different from one another. This tells you about the quantity of pure silver in them. This equally also helps to determine the price of the jewelries. 

So here is the difference...

Pure silver is also known as Fine silver as it is 99.9% pure silver. It is very soft hence cannot be used alone for any purpose especially for jewelries.

However, Sterling silver is an alloy of silver. This means it contains another metal  which is often copper. Here, copper is added to pure or fine silver which now makes it hard enough to be used for  so many things including jewelries. Sterling silver contains 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% copper. Copper is used most times because of its inexpensive nature and its ability to harden the silver.

Sterling silver jewelry usually comes with ".925 sterling" marking. This tells you there is 92.5% of pure silver in the jewelry.

How about Silver plated?

Silver plated is made up of a metal that has been coated with a thin layer of silver, usually sterling silver. This is accomplished by a process of electroplating. Silver plated jewelries do not have the ".925 sterling" marking.

Silver plated jewelries do not have any second hand value as the thickest plate is about 0.020mm (8/1000th of an inch) thick and companies won't buy them because of the expensive process of reclaiming just that little quantity of silver. So its not just cost-effective.

Be it sterling silver or silver plated, any of these jewelries would tarnish over time although, silver plated is a lot faster to go through this process. This happens when they come in contact with air and the alloy metal attracts the tarnish. 

So next time you are buying your silver jewelries, you can actually tell now the difference.

If this is helpful, then  please tell someone about it or even share.

Thanks.

"Jewelry takes people's mind off your wrinkles"- Sonja Harie

                                 Linda Aliogo

Sunday 16 September 2012

Labels And Names In Jewelry

Fulfill Jewelry
Any time you are picking your jewelry, it is necessary to check out the labels. These labels tell you more about the jewelry. Some of them have numbers written on them like that of karat-gold. The numbers in karat-gold could be 9, 10,14, 18 or 24 as each number tells about the amount of gold in the jewelry. The higher the number, the more gold you have in the jewelry.

This is similar with silver jewelries as the labels or names attached to these jewelries mean different things. Some labels could read silver plated, fine silver or sterling silver.. Each of these names mean different things. Sterling silver is almost pure silver as the content of  sterling silver is over 90% ( precisely 92.7%).  Pure silver is also called fine silver while silver plated has very little or thin layer of sterling silver just coated on another metal.

The labels give you an idea of how long the jewelry can be worn before any form of tarnish becomes noticeable for those that have such characteristics.It also helps to know how to wear and care for them in order to get the best out of them. The labels also informs you of their value, as some can be sold after use. In other words, they have second-hand value.

So any time you go shopping for your jewelries, remember to read the labels, ask questions and get informed before purchase.

Thanks.

"Let's not be too particular. It is better to have old second hand diamonds than none at all"- Mark Twain
                                                  Linda Aliogo

Saturday 1 September 2012

Drug And Alcohol Addiction: What Every Parent Should Do

We always hear about a celebrity passing or wasting away due to one form of addiction or the other. My kids and I were particularly saddened about the death of this celebrity. She was young and hugely talented! She was a true legend as we get to enjoy her songs anytime it’s played. We also loved most of her chart buster movies that are timeless.

What a waste!  What an untimely death!

I began to wonder…how many people are dying this moment because of drug and alcohol addiction? How many people are struggling with this problem? How many people would still go this way?

With these thoughts, I decided to share this with you. The need to start talking, if we are not already doing so The need to talk more if we are not talking enough. The need to start talking to our children about this, because they say “charity begins at home”.

We have children, cousins, nieces, nephews and they see and hear about these celebrities and their struggles. They equally hear about their deaths caused by these drugs and alcohol addictions.

We need to start discussing addictions with them. Our children should be informed and know the meaning, causes, dangers and effects of drugs and alcohol use. They should know why these substances should be avoided!

So, what is addiction? 

Simply put, addiction is the condition of taking harmful drugs and being unable to stop taking them while an addict is a person who takes harmful drugs and cannot stop taking them.

In discussing with our children, they should know that these drugs are not meant to be played with! They are not to be ‘experimented’ with. They should know they don’t have to ‘belong’ to any group for them to be complete of fulfilled. We should let them know and understand the need to be comfortable in their skin. Check out my previous post on this.

We should tell them they are beautifully and wonderfully made. The reason is simply because some kids suffer from body insecurity. They don’t like their body. They think they are not good enough, beautiful enough or sporty enough.

As parents or guardians, let’s reassure them and make them realize they can’t be the “best” in every aspect of life. They are areas of strength and equally areas of weakness. And that its perfectly fine and ‘normal’.

Watch out if your children are bullied in school or anywhere else. This can make them seek comfort in drugs or alcohol. Bully should be discouraged and reported in  the school. At home, it should also be discouraged. Every child is different and so no one has the right to demean or make fun of the other.

Know their friends. Encourage your children to bring their friends home. This way, you get to meet them, interact with them briefly and study their behavior. As parents, you have instincts…trust your instincts when they speak.

Any of their friends you don’t approve of, dig in and investigate about that person. Encourage discussion and ask questions about that friend. Talk to your child about that friend and make your decision.

Both of you may not be the best of friends after that decision, but trust me, that is why we are the PARENTS. You give the rules and they follow. In the long run, it’s for their good.

We should always encourage discussion around drugs and alcohol. Let them speak and you LISTEN. We should correct any wrong impression or answers while the discussion is on.

As parents, we should show good examples. We should practice what we preach. We can’t tell them to stay away from drugs and alcohol when we use them. It won’t work.


Watch out and pay close attention to your kids and act fast if you do notice any or most of these symptoms; aggression, physical changes, alcohol or drug smell, drunkenness, mood swings, risky behavior, resentful attitudes, weight gain/loss or nervous twitches and ticks.

Note all these maybe NOT be related to drugs or alcohol addictions. You should know your children, if you notice a great change in behavior with some of the above symptoms then, you should act fast!

If this is helpful, why don’t you tell somebody about this blog.

Thanks for your time.

" I lift up my eyes to the hills..where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord the Maker of heaven and earth"-Ps. 121:1-2

"There are no secret to success. It  is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure"-Collin Powell

                                                                      Linda Aliogo 

Crying

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