Everyone knows that, when it comes to gifts, there are three types of guys: the guy who’s really sweet, tries hard, and generally manages to get it right; the guy who’s really sweet, tried hard, and still fouls things up pretty often (but he’s cute and sweet so you try to forgive him); and the guy who just doesn’t try very hard at all, so you’re pretty excited when he gets you something more interesting than a toaster.

As chance would have it, most guys seem to be most like guy number 2—he tries to catch your hints, and he always puts a lot of thought and heart into your gifts, but a lot of times, he just misses one or two details that happen to be, well…CRUCIAL! But we all love him anyway.

Like any girl, you really, really want him to get you something good for Valentine’s day, if only because you can’t stand the hangdog look he gets when he sees that you don’t like his Valentine’s gift. So here’s a hint—online wish lists are your friend.

I know, I know, how much thought could a guy really have put into a gift if you’ve already told him what to get you? But, if the alternative is “Hangdog Harry” for two weeks after Valentine’s, it may be worth the compromise. I mean, after all, he at least needed to think about which items on your wish list he thought would mean the most to you. And, of course, while he’s looking at the things in your wish list, he may find other things that you would like too—so even guy number 1 (the guy who always knows just the right gift) can be helped by a wish list.

As you know, my favorite jewelry store is Pugster, and I think their wish list is pretty cool. You just click on the “Add to Wish” list button in the product description, and when you’re done you can email to whoever you want. To demonstrate, let me show you what’s on my Pugster Wish List for Prince Charming this year:
A couple of months ago, I started my first European beads bracelet, and boy, am I addicted! They’re just so cute! And they’re so easy to slip on and off and rearrange. And they’re good for, literally, any occasion. I can wear them to dinner with grandma, or to a dinner party, or anywhere, and people are always commenting on my bracelet.

I love how this charm bead sparkles, with its Austrian crystals.

Again, I love how this little red heart is surrounded by sparkling crystals. And a little bit of color is always welcome.

I like my earrings dangly, and these pink heart-shaped Murano glass earrings are just gorgeous. And the thing I love about Murano glass is that it’s so versatile—it can be dressy or casual, and it looks great either way.

If Prince Charming is really feeling nice this year, this is what he’ll get me! I love how delicate this pendant looks hanging from its shiny white sheer ribbon. And it’s perfect for the spaghetti strap dress I want to wear out on Valentines.

More Murano glass earrings—actually, I think these would be great for wearing to work, or out to lunch with a friend. Casual and fun.

Sterling silver is great for Valentine’s Day, and I love how this cute heart outline kind of hangs at an angle. And while CZ is no diamond, it looks just as good when your man doesn’t quite make the big bucks yet.

This ring is sooooo cute! I love how feminine it looks with the dangling heart charm. I think I’m going to get this for one of my best girlfriends (we’ve been friends since preschool), but I’ll be jealous if I don’t get one too.

I met a friend of mine for coffee last weekend, and she was wearing this incredibly cute clasp charm bracelet, with all kinds of cute little charms, so I’ve been thinking about starting a bracelet myself.

As you know, I love Italian charms, and these deluxe charms are a really fun way to make a classier Italian charm bracelet.

I know it’s kitschy, but something about Valentine’s Day brings out the third-grader in me. Remember making “Be Mine” cards out of construction paper? I sure do, but Italian charms are easier.

What else needs to be said? Well, besides “I love it!”

The cubic zirconia is widely known as a diamond stimulant. It is actually a mineral rarely found in nature, but commonly created for this use. While its most common use is to simulate the diamond, cubic zirconia (CZ) is available in a wide variety of colors to represent most gemstones.
The cubic zirconia is inexpensive, durable and extremely clear with a flawless appearance. In fact, the cubic zirconia shows far more brilliance and clarity than a genuine diamond.

Cubic Zirconia and the Diamond

Due to its inexpensive nature and similarities in appearance, cubic zirconia has been the leading diamond imitator since the middle of the twentieth century. It is so close in appearance, in fact, that often it can only be distinguished by a trained eye. Basic guidelines in distinguishing CZ from diamonds include:

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• Cubic zirconia has greater dispersion than the diamond. This simply means that the CZ reflects more light, offering extra sparkle.
• Cubic zirconia weighs nearly twice that of a diamond the same size.
• The diamond’s hardness is ranked a 10 compared to the CZ’s 8.5. This discrepancy is reflected in the CZ’s susceptibility to surface scratches.
• The appearance of the cubic zirconia is nearly flawless. Nearly all diamonds include some defect.

Colorless diamonds are extremely rare. By contrast, cubic zirconia is easily made colorless. Also, the shades achieved with colored CZ are distinct from the shades of fancy colored diamonds.

History of Cubic Zirconia

Cubic Zirconia in its natural state is extremely rare. In fact, it was discovered in the 1930’s by German mineralogists and has been found nowhere since! The discoverers did not name the substance, which explains why it is still known by its scientific name. In the 1970’s cubic zirconia crystals were grown in Soviet laboratory. CZ became widely popular in the 1980’s when it began to be produced by the Australian jeweler Swarovski & Co.

Cubic zirconia is a stellar diamond substitute. Because it’s hard and sparkly, cubic zirconia is great for those who don’t want to buy a pricey diamond.

Even better, now they’re making cubic zirconia (CZ) in a bunch of colors so we can buy cubic zirconia instead of emeralds, rubies, sapphires or other mind-blowingly expensive rocks.

What’s the Difference: Cubic Zirconia vs. Fancy Gemstones

There are lots of differences between the pricey gemstones and cubic zirconia. This isn’t a bad thing though. Take diamonds for example. Cubic zirconia looks almost perfect and diamonds have flaws making cubic zirconia way more intense than diamonds or other fancy stones. That said, don’t pretend your wearing a diamond when it’s really a cubic zirconia because you’ll embarrass yourself. Even though cubic zirconia and diamonds are both colorless, they don’t look alike. You can tell if someone is wearing a cubic zirconia or a diamond. The same applies for colored cubic zirconia. If you’re wearing a green cubic zirconia ring, don’t expect it to look like emerald. Most likely, the cubic zirconia will be brighter and prettier.

Personally, I love cubic zirconia. Just think, we can buy affordable cubic zirconia jewelry that’s prettier than the real thing!

A lariat necklace is a very, very long necklace. Because a lariat necklace is a long, clasp less strand of gems, pearls or beads, a girl can twist, tie and knot her lariat necklace however she likes. The lariat necklace is a wonderfully adaptable accessory. Wear your lariat necklace one way for sophistication then wear your lariat necklace another way for funkiness. A lariat necklace is a must have!

Of course, even as concerns a lariat necklace, there can be a catch.

Fabulous Party: Fabulous Lariat Necklace

In honor of the Emmys, a friend of mine threw a faux-emmy party. I was delighted to dress elegantly. I wore a floor-skimming dress with plunging back. A beautiful lariat necklace streamed down my back. I looked fabulous as did the lariat necklace.

Falling For a Lariat Necklace

Well, sometimes things just don’t go as planned. This was one of those times. Half way through the party, I passed a beautiful, towering orchid arrangement when the end of my lariat necklace got caught in the flowers. The lariat necklace brought me down and the gigantic arrangement down! Thank goodness my head wasn’t in the way because the arrangement came crashing down after me!

There was quite a fuss. It took 6 women to disentangle the lariat necklace before I could move from the puddle of dirt, water and orchid remains in which I lay. My dress and hair were ruined. The lariat necklace was ruined. Once again, it’ll take me ages to redeem my ‘decked out diva’ reputation.

Of course, nobody’s perfect. Not even the perfect lariat necklace.

Hi, Jackie here.

One of the things you may or may not know about me is the fact that I am a lead singer in an all-girl punk rock band.  Now this may come as a surprise since I am such a girly girl, what with my love of fashion, jewelry, sexy strappy heels and glittery bags, but it’s the truth.  I just love to get up there and scream and shout and punk out, stilettos and all.

Now the other girls in the band are a bit edgier than I am.  Typically they all wear some combination of black spandex and studs.  The contrast between me and the rest of the ladies in the band is actually interesting up on stage (I’ve seen pictures).

Well, recently we girls decided to get some matching jewelry to wear while we perform: necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.  Though one would think I would be the obvious choice to find this jewelry for us, the other girls were hesitant to allow me this pleasure. 

Afraid I would show up at the next show with Milan-glamorous accessories, they were all completely against the idea of my buying our jewelry.  Of course, I wasn’t about to let them do the shopping.  Heavens forbid!  I could just see myself: a studded choker just was not going to go with my stilettos.  Well it took some persuasion in which I reminded them that I had, even in my own repertoire, an array of edgy jewelry, but I finally convinced them. 

Looking for punk rock jewelry that a girl like me is willing to wear is a task within itself, but to find punk rock jewelry that both a glamour queen like me and three hard core chicks would wear was going to be a real challenge. 

The first thing I did was to go online and search “punk rock jewelry” to give myself an idea of what’s out there.  Honestly, there was nothing there that I would be caught dead in!  I decided to look outside the box.

I went to the mall to clear my head. It was there that I had my epiphany.  CZ! (I’m a big fan of cubic zirconia.  In my opinion I see no reason why a woman should have one little diamond when she can have a whole lot of CZ).

Well it dawned on me that some chunky silver jewelry loaded with black and white CZ was just what we were looking for.  It would provide all the glitz and glam I was looking for while giving the other girls the edgy look they expected. 

Now one would think a department store was the way to go, but I know better.  These days there is so much more available online, and it’s all at your fingertips, selection, selection, selection.  You can find exactly what you are looking for if you search around online and that’s just what I did.  I went online and after a couple hours of determined searching, I found the jewelry that we would all be happy with.

Well believe it or not, they loved it and you know what (I saw the pictures) we all looked great!

It seems like everyone just loves diamonds.  With diamonds in rings, brooches, earrings and bracelets, diamonds are everywhere!  One would think that diamonds were a girl’s best friend! 

I ask you though, why buy expensive diamonds when a girl can get beautiful simulate diamonds for a steal?  Cubic Zirconia, for example, is just as, if not prettier than diamonds.  And don’t forget the allure of crystals and colored gemstones (I prefer rose quartz, aquamarine or other gems to diamonds any day). 

Whereas most diamonds contain inclusions (tiny flaws), CZ’s, crystal and glass stones are virtually flawless.  In the glimmer, glam and shine department, diamonds lose out.

Of course, this is not to mention the price.  Diamonds are pricey!  With today’s hottest style flaunting large gems, who can really afford to buy diamonds anyways?  Heavens forbid you lose one of those pricey diamonds.  That’s a risk you won’t have to run if you choose simulate diamonds.

Take it from me girls, lose the diamonds.  Find yourself a dazzling CZ or crystal if you’re looking for a clear stone!  They’ll outshine those diamonds any day!

-Jackie

Cubic Zirconia is known as a substitute for the diamond, due to its hardness and dramatic sparkle. An inexpensive, durable and versatile gemstone, the cubic zirconia (CZ) has even more appeal in that it is now being produced in a variety of colors.

There are several key differences between the diamond and the cubic zirconia gemstone. For example, the CZ stone shows more brilliance and is often flawless. Also, cubic zirconia is twice the weight of diamond. The colorlessness of the CZ stone does not match that of the diamond. This is also the case for colored CZ gemstones. For instance, if a CZ stone is altered to green to imitate an emerald, the shade of green will likely be brighter and much more vibrant than a natural emerald gem.
While the fancy colors of CZ in no way approximate the shades of fancy diamonds either, these differences are not necessarily negative. The bright, vibrant shades of the colored cubic zirconia make standout accessories and fashion jewelry. Playing up these bold hues is a part of enjoying colored cubic zirconia.