Online diamonds

Brighton handbags are handcrafted in California. At no time are there more than ten being made at a time. There is an attention to detail followed as a rule by Brighton craftsmen that is an exception in this industry. For example there is no tag explaining that the ‘marks’ and ’scars’ are your “guarantee” of genuine leather-they painstakingly cut around the scars- to offer you, a flawless leather handbag. Each handbag is individually numbered, and is registered by its owner. Once registered, they are guaranteed. The leathers selected are the best from all over the world, and the hardware all originally created by Brighton artists and craftsmen, sterling silver finished, and protected from oxidation for everyday use.

The Brighton name has become to mean one-of-a-kind jewelry and fine Italian leather articles that are adorned with exquisite silver-plated ornamentation. Brighton’s heart logo fits the company philosophy that the difference in products is a true attention to detail. Most of the items in the Brighton collection have some unique detail, a message engraved on a bracelet or a Brighton handbag with a favorite photograph, that gives them special meaning to the owner. This then leaves a lasting memory to cherish for a lifetime. This has also led to many women having their own Brighton collection.

Brighton handbags are available in nearly 6,000 specialty stores nationwide and 50 all-Brighton stores from coast to coast. Brighton handbags are not sold in department stores or on the Internet. This is keeping with the owner/president policy to only do business with stores with world class customer service. This is reinforced with a 2 year warranty against any manufacturer defects.

A few of the more sought after Brighton handbags are:

Millie Organizer Handbag
Millie - Style #H90613 Black, #H90619 Chocolate

This lush Brighton handbag classic collection features opulent etched plaques, polished buttons and spinning hearts. It features a 12″ hand laced shoulder strap, front zip organizer, contoured pocket as front detail. An interior pocket system with striped lining completes the handbag. Measures 11 x 8 x 5 and MSR is $240.00. Making this a favorite among discerning women.

Jodi Reversible Tote
Jodi - Style # H6028R
This Brighton handbag got its idea from Historical American Citrus labels. The casual styling is accented with enameled floral charms and sparkles. This is a colorful and fun collection. The features include 5.5″ handles, reversible, inside zippered pocket and a magnetic closure. Dimensions are 9.5″W x 7″H x 3.5″D with a suggested retail price of $145.00.

Darcy Ziptop Brighton Handbag
Darcy - Style # H30724

This Brighton handbags has a new fashion slant. It is tapered, simple and fashion forward. Features: 6″ handles, key holder, back pocket with zipper, front pocket with a magnetic snap, zip top closure, custom Brighton scroll lining. 9.00″W x 6.00″H x 2.5″D and carries a suggested retail price in the $190.00 dollar range.

Loretta - Tobacco Brighton Handbag
Style # H90785 -

A soft unconstructed shape featuring a new fashion color! Features include 9″ handles, inside zippered pocket, key holder, 3 divided interior sections (two ziptop closures, one magnetic closure) two side pockets with tabs, back pocket and custom Brighton scroll lining. 1″W x 6.5″H x 5″D sporting a MSR price of $230.00.

Bella - Black-Chocolate Brighton Handbag
Style #H30519 - Replica Brighton Handbags
Updated, casual classic handbag silhouette featuring two exterior cell phone pockets. Features: 12″ handles, two inset exterior cell phone pockets, full zippered top, center zippered compartment in lining, interior pocket system 14″W x 7″H x 4.5″D Suggested Retail Price: $240.00

Bijoux Quilted Ziptop Brighton Handbag

Bijoux - Black Brighton Handbag
Style # H30713

This is the Brighton handbags French connection. A new interpretation of a Euro design house classic makes this a very popular choice. Features: 12.5″ straps, inside zippered pocket, key holder, ziptop closure, two side pockets with magnetic flap closure, back pocket, along with a custom Brighton striped lining, “feet” on bottom of handbag. 10.5″W x 5.5″H x 3.5″D Suggested Retail Price: $220.00

More fashion information at http://www.newinfocentral.com - Coach]]>

By: Ken Charnly

Diamond certificates from independent organizations such as the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) provide a diamond grading report, that gives you valuable information about the 4 C’s that were taken into consideration when the diamond was priced.

It’s important that you use an outside source for diamond certificates, instead of the jeweler who is selling the diamond you are interested in, because the jeweler wants to make money on the sale of the diamonds, the certificates may be slightly biased and you could be paying more than the market value of the diamond.

Reasons to have Diamond Certificates:

When you go to a jewelry store, or consider making a purchase from an online retailer, the jewelry that has diamond certificates tends to sell for several hundred dollars more than diamonds that are graded the same that are without certificates.

This is because the jeweler recognizes that they typically grade their diamonds one level better than an independent grading organization, like the Gemological Institute of America. The GIA is more conservative when grading diamonds because they do not gain anything from diamond sales.

Pay the Right Price for your Diamond:

Diamonds are valued according to their quality based on a grading system that makes use of the 4 C’s. You should receive diamond certificates (also called grading reports) from independent companies rather than a jeweler, to insure that your getting an unbiased reporting of the value of the diamond. Otherwise, you could be paying much more for your diamond than what the diamond is actually worth.

Protecting Your Investment:

Diamonds are not the same kind of investment as buying stocks and bonds, but having diamond certificates gives you a better investment than just having the diamond. Diamond certificates make it easier to sell a diamond in the future, because you have documentation of how much the diamond is worth and why it was valued that amount.

In fact, if you attempt to sell diamonds without having diamond certificates, most dealers will not buy from you and you would end up having a certificate drawn up anyway, so you may as well have a certificate grading report created at the time of purchase, for your current protection as well as future possibilities for selling.

Increased Security during Cleanings and Repairs:

Many people hesitate to bring their jewelry into the jeweler’s when they’re in need of repair services or cleaning. It makes people wonder how they’ll know for sure that they’ve received the same diamond back that they brought in. It is an extremely rare occurrence for a jeweler to purposely switch diamonds, however it could happen unintentionally.

Diamond certificates act as an additional security measure in this case. They are like fingerprints stored in police databases; they contain all the data needed to match the person to the fingerprints, and diamond certificates have enough information on the diamond to match the diamond with the certificate and the owner.

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Know your Bodyshape
First off as a Plus size man or woman not everything will fit your bodyshape so that’s the first step to make sure that you know your bodyshape and if it is something that is not flattering to your bodyshape then its not for you. This is the number one reason that lots of Plus people are unhappy with there clothes.

Buy a core set of clothes
This will be the foundation of your entire wardrobe. In this first series I’m going to concentrate on the women then I will follow up with the men. These are the pieces that you should have and once you have these you can build on your closet to such a degree that people will think that you have a closet full of clothes when in actuality you only have a modest collection.

Skirts
Purchasing a basic black and blue skirt that comes to the knee or below is a must. Not only do these two colors go with just about anything but there is no need to go out and buy a new skirt for every top that you own. Whether there is a pattern or strip on the skirt is up to your individual tastes.

Pants
The same rule for skirts can also apply to pants. Basic black or blue to begin with then if you want to add color that’s up to you but still stick with the basics for now because you are building your foundation that will take you thru at least two seasons.

Tops
Tops are the key to making your wardrobe seem like you have a ton of clothes. Having at least two dozens tops of various styles and colors to match your tastes is just the perfect thing to set off your wardrobe.

Shoes
With the introduction of tennis shoes into the workplace it makes it tough sometimes for some ladies to tie together an outfit without looking like they are about to head out for a day of errands. Sticking with our foundation theme then when it comes to shoes the type shoes that are your core shoes depends on your job. If you have a job that you stand all day then high heels are not the shoe for you, a modest pump or flat is the direction that you need to go. If standing is not an issue then a heel is ok but if your not a heel person then obviously a mule or sandal would be a great start.

Accessories
The sky is the limit in this area. Belts, sarongs, sashes, ear rings, rings, anklets, etc. Are the perfect things to set off any outfit. Having fun interesting pieces that reflect your personality and fashion sense can go a long way towards building a strong foundation of clothes.

Things to avoid
What kills a lot of ladies today is that they spend a lot of time and money buying jeans, to the point that a big part of there closet consists of jeans therefore when its time to do something that requires a more dressy approach then they are in a bind to find something to wear. Owning a few pairs of jeans, tennis shoes and baseball caps is not a problem but they shouldn’t be the foundation of your wardrobe. Also avoid fancy t-shirts. Though t-shirt technology has come a long way bottom line its still a t-shirt.

It’s obvious that this is just the tip of the iceberg as far at your clothes are concerned because we all know that buying clothes is a very individual personal thing and when it comes to a plus lady its even more so. But with a few smart choices then you can build a strong foundation that you can mix and match endlessly be it for work or for more casual affairs.]]>

By: Ken Charnly

What is Diamond Clarity?

Diamond clarity is the measure of flaws found in and on the outside of a diamond. The less flawed a diamond is, the more value it has and the higher the price tag. There are very few diamonds which can be categorized as having no flaws at all, however, most diamond flaws cannot be seen without magnification of at least 10 times. Because issues with diamond clarity are often undetected when looking at a diamond, some people consider this to be one of the least of their concerns when selecting a diamond to purchase.

How is Diamond Clarity Determined?

The most well known measurement of diamond clarity is done by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). It ranks diamonds based on a grading system it created that ranges from flawless diamonds, to imperfect diamonds, with many different grade ranges in between. The better the clarity ranking, the more expensive a diamond will sell for as it has more value.

Types of Inclusions that Effect Diamond Clarity

Inclusions are flaws that effect diamond clarity. They make it so that the diamond is not “perfect”, and there are visual imperfections within the gemstone. Most flaws however, are un-noticeable to the naked eye and can only be seen under high levels of magnification.

There are names for many of the most common inclusions. Carbons effect diamond clarity because they are very small black dots found on the surface of a diamond, which may or may not be visible in regular lighting. Some may be so small that you need magnification to view them. Pinpoints effect diamond clarity because they are white dots along the surface of a diamond. Pinpoints are the most common of all diamond flaws.

Clouds effect diamond clarity because they cause what look to be cloudy areas within the gemstone. The clouds are actually made up of many growths of crystals that are positioned very close together within the diamond, and their proximity to one another is what causes the cloudiness to appear. Feathers effect diamond clarity by causing cracks to form within the diamond, that look similar to that of broken glass.

Clarity Enhancements

Diamond clarity flaws can often be fixed or reduced by using a variety of clarity enhancement treatments. Some diamonds are painted, some get lasered in order to remove pinpoints and carbons, and some diamonds undergo a process by which tiny holes are drilled into the diamond in order to reach areas of inclusions within the gemstone, and then the cracks are later filled with molten glass.

Having enhancements done to improve diamond clarity decreases the overall value of the diamond, but can improve it’s appearance. Diamond certificates should indicate that enhancements were done on the diamond, so ask to see documentation before making a purchase. While most enhancements just cause the diamond to look nicer, some may actually cause the diamond to be weaker, and more prone to breakage than a diamond that has not had any treatments.

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Burberry was founded in 1856 by 21 year old Thomas Burberry a apprentice to a country draper in England. He started by opening a outfitters shop. Originally known as an outdoor wear manufacturer, Burberry invented Gabardine which is a breathable, waterproof fabric that is made by waterproofing the yarn prior to weaving. This was patented in 1888. Most of the original line was directed towards outerwear and military uniforms. In 1901 the familiar Burberry Equestrian Knight was developed and registered as a trademark. In the 1920’s the Burberry Check which had been used as a lining for their trench coat was trademarked. It has since become synonymous with Burberry. These distinctive trench coats have been seen in movies. For example Humphrey Bogart wore one in Casablanca, Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther films, and Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. And this is how the burberry handbag and replica burberry handbags craze iniated.

The Burberry handbag entered the scene around strong around 1999 when the appointment of Italian designed Robert Menchetti to the division renewed the brands popularity. Prior to this it was slumping because of a very conservative image and an Asian recession which had always been a stronghold for the company. But soon Burberry Handbags will be seen worldwide.

Such notables as David Beckham, Tamara Beckwith, and Spice Girl Victoria Adams (now Beckham) fully embraced the new approach along with Prince William and Kate Moss. It looks as if the Burberry handbag is finally among the elite chic of the fashion world.

A few of the more notable Burberry handbags styles include :

The Ultra-chic Burberry Blue Check handbag is compact, lightweight and ideal for today’s fashionable woman. Attractive blue, white, ivory tan and black cover vinyl-coated canvas in the familiar Burberry Check is accented with tan leather trim. Full-length zippered top opens to reveal a canvas lined interior. Matching tan leather strap fits comfortably on the shoulder. Blue Check handbag is 10-1/4 inches wide, 4-3/4 inches high and 1-3/4 inches deep. Shoulder strap is 26-inches long. This handbag typically sells for approximately 450 dollars. Truly a stunning Burberry handbag. A replica burberry handbag of the same style will run you about 100 dollars.

Burberry Candy Check Snowdrop handbag is compact, sleekly styled and just right for today’s busy woman. This Burberry Handbag has colors of pink, white and tan for the Candy Check cover in vinyl-coated canvas. It is accented with matching tan leather piped trim. Magnetic clasp closure on the front panel opens to reveal a canvas lined interior. Removable tan nylon shoulder strap with the Signature Burberry Equestrian Knight emblem, adjusts for added convenience. Additional tan leather handle offers several carrying options. Snowflake handbag is 10-1/2 inches wide, 4-1/8 inches high and 1-3/4 inches deep. Shoulder strap is 25-inches long. Having a price of about 440 dollars list price it is a very affordable addition to your fashion agenda. A replica burberry handbag of the same style will run you about 70 dollars.

The Burberry Candy Check Cadogan handbag is a very attractive pink, white and tan Candy Check cover in vinyl-coated canvas. Also accented with matching tan leather piped trim creates the high fashion look you would expect from Burberry. Magnetic clasp closure on top opens to reveal a canvas lined interior with a zippered side pocket. Matching tan leather handles complete the look. Cadogan handbag is 8-1/4 inches wide, 8-inches high and 3-1/2 inches deep. Handles are each, 12-inches long. This assures you that you will be able to accommodate all the essentials of your busy life style. This Burberry handbag is easy on your pocketbook at about $440.00 list. A replica burberry handbag of the same style will run you about 85 dollars.

The Novacheck tote Burberry handbag is a cotton canvas tote with the Equestrian Knight logo. It is accented by rich looking dark brown leather trim along with golden hardware. Adjustable should straps with buckles and an open top with extended buckle tab complete this stunning tote. Inverted gussets side leather straps with a rivet trim make it sound. Measuring 10 ¼ x 14 1/10 x 6 ¾ make this Burberry handbag fashionable yet roomy. Listing at about $595.00 it is also affordable. This tote will also come in the Double Pocket Tote style that has additional pockets with the same look and features. It retails for approximately $895.00 giving you value and style all in one. A replica burberry handbag of the same style will run you about 90 dollars.

http://www.newinfocentral.com - More fashion information on - Burberry]]>

By: Ken Charnly

What exactly is diamond color? While most people think of the classic, transparent diamond, which happens to be the most rare and valuable, the colors of diamonds actually range from transparent all the way to a brownish color. There are different saturations of diamond color, and tones.

The Gemological Institute of America, known as the GIA for short, is the most commonly used system for evaluating diamond color. They’ve created something known as the “GIA Color Grade Scale”, and it has placed a grading system on the many different colors and shades of diamonds, classifying into 22 letter grades.

How Diamonds are Graded

The Gemological Institute of America has certified diamond color grades as “master color comparison” diamonds. When a diamond is being graded, it is compared against these master color comparison grades, to find the shades that match it most closely. The diamond that is being graded must be thoroughly cleaned and all oil must be removed from the surface before being examined, since even small amounts of dirt or oils on the surface of the diamond can alter the color.

A line of master color comparison diamonds or shade chart is set up, with each grade placed about one inch apart, ranging from the lightest and highest graded D shade, to the darkest, graded Z diamonds. The diamond color that is being graded is moved from the left side of the comparison units to the right, until it matches one of the shades.

Diamond grading should take place in a colorless environment, using a balanced fluorescent light source that has a filtered, cool white sun like ray. The room where the grading takes place is dark, all except for the special grading light, in order to obtain the most accurate grading of the diamond color.

Fluorescence of Diamonds

Yet another consideration when considering the diamond color is diamond fluorescence, and how it will effect the actual appearance in the diamond color. Fluorescence causes some diamonds to change color when viewed in our everyday, ultraviolet lighting, as well as under fluorescent light bulbs.

When a diamond color is graded, the strength of the fluorescence of that diamond must also be indicated. It may be considered to be strong, moderate, or weak fluorescence, and the reports must also indicate what color the diamond will change to due to the fluorescence. The reason for this is when people are in the jewelry store, looking at diamonds in the special lighting of the store, they may all appear to be the colorless, transparent diamonds. When you purchase a diamond and get it home under normal lighting, you could find your diamond is yellowish in color!

You can ask your jeweler to provide grading documentation and information about the fluorescent value of a particular diamond before purchasing, to make sure that you will be happy with the diamond you buy. Many jewelers also can show you the diamond under different lighting conditions, which will enable you to fully appreciate the beauty of the diamond before you buy it. Some individuals like a diamond color with a darker shade, while others are insistent on the transparent diamond color. The diamond color is one of personal preference, so be sure to do a little research before making your final selection.

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Once they were only for the rich and were only fitted in the very high end cars but today SatNav systems are available to all. You can either opt for the in-car fitted systems that are still quite expensive or you can go for the handheld or protable units. This article is about the latter.

What is SatNav?

SatNav is a system that comprises of 2 elements, a GPS data receiver and a CPU/display unit. The receiver gets information from orbiting GPS navigational satellites and communicates it to the CPU/display unit. This unit is then able to find its exact location on the planet by comparing signals from various satellites.

The unit incorporates road maps of the area and places an indicator on the map showing where the car is on the maps.

Features
The units allow you to plan a journey ahead of time and then the unit will guide you to you destination by displaying a map showing you where you are and the direction you should be heading. Most now have voice instructions so the unit will tell you, when you are approaching a junction, which turning you should take. The units are also capable of making real time adjustments to the route, this means that if you go the wrong way the until will recalculate the route to your destination taking into account the wrong turning you have just made.

Maps
The maps for the unit can be loaded for the different regions you visit, so they may have a map of the UK and another for France and so on. Most modern unit have the maps stored on a removable memory cards like SD cards or similar memory card but some units read directly from a CD or DVD. The display can be set to show the conventional flat map view or the new 3D view that shows a view as if it was above you and looking forward. This view is very good and clear.

Traffic
Some units offer systems that will warn you of road works/traffic jams etc as they happen, and offer suggestion as to how to avoid them.

POI
Most units have POI’s (Points of Interest) incorporated into them that will show things like garages, restaurants, historic sites, airport and ferries etc. You can also add your own POI’s of your favourite places. One POI that is very popular is the location of all the speed camera and accident black spot locations.

Weather
Another feature that is becoming increasingly available is the weather for a location. The system will tell you the weather at a certain location on the map i.e. at that beach location you are planning to visit.

When you want to plan a journey you will need to enter the start and end destination, this can be done in a number of ways, the city, street and house number. The street intersections, the post codes and a location chosen on the on screen map. The start can be done in the same way with the addition of the present location as the starting point (remember the unit knows where you are). There are then itinerary or way points, these allow you to program destinations along the way. Finally you are usually presented with choices of routes with choices like, Fastest Route, Shortest Route, Scenic Route, Avoid Motorways etc some have the choice to avoid toll charges.

Fitting
The units can be fitted into the car in a number of ways but the 2 most popular ways are with a mounting bracket that has a strong suction cup that sticks to the windscreen. The second way is a bracket that fixed to the cars air vents, this method can be very good but required a fixing for each type of car. The unit is then fitted to the brackets and adjusted to the best viewing angle.

There are dozens of systems available now with a variety of choices of the options available. You need to choose which of the above options are important to you and then choose the until that best suits you or suits you price range.

You can see a large variety of different units at different costs at my favourite comparison site http://www.wangled.co.uk just type in “Mobile GPS”

The preceding article may be freely reprinted provided:
1. The article is not edited or modified in any way
2. The source is credited: reprinted by permission of http://www.wangled.co.uk]]>

By: Ken Charnly

If you are in the market to purchase a diamond, you’ll be learning all about the 4 C’s of diamonds; cut, color, clarity and carat. But in the mind of the average buyer, there is a fifth “c” that just may be the most important of all them: the diamond cost.

The actual price of a diamond is determined by a grading system that takes into account the cut of the diamond, the color, the clarity and the number of carats. There is a non profit organization called the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) that has devised the official grading system of diamonds, and because of that system, a diamond that is of more carats may cost less than a smaller diamond if the larger diamond has inferior cut, clarity or color ratings. Cost is also determined by the retailer.

Buying Diamonds Online:

The internet provides a wealth of information on diamonds, educating buyers on the value of diamonds based on size, shape and clarity- and luckily, diamond cost is regulated by industry guidelines. This means you can shop for your diamond gem stones online with as much confidence as you would shopping for jewelry at your local retailer, especially if you take the time to become knowledgeable about diamond cost before beginning your search for the perfect stone.

Guide to Diamond Cost:

Every jeweler sets their own prices on their gem stones, rings, necklaces and other items. When dealing with diamond cost, it also depends on the shape of the diamond. A ”round brilliant” shape will tend to cost more than an ”emerald” shape even when they are the same quality and the same size.

If you have a minimal budget, such as $500 or less, you can expect to find a diamond with a carat weight between .15 and .25, set in a 10-14k gold. If you’re in the market for a diamond cost of $500 to $750, you can expect to be able to purchase one between .20 and .37 carats. If you are looking for a 1 carat diamond, you should expect your diamond cost to range between $2000 and $3500.

Get the Most Diamond for Your Money:

When you are researching diamond cost, there are many more factors to consider than just the size of the diamond. Remember that the shape (cut) of the diamond will greatly effect the diamond cost, as well as the clarity of the diamond. You can get multiple, smaller diamonds for less cost than you can a single, larger diamond due to the rarity of mining a larger sized diamond.

Sometimes a diamond will be beautiful to the naked eye, and have a reasonable diamond cost- but it may have a lower rating for quality or tone given by the GIA. When you are shopping for your diamond, you’ll need to decide what is more important to you; the diamond cost, the size of the diamond, the quality (the rating as given by the GIA), or how it looks when it’s worn!

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It seems everyone has one these days, walking the dog, traveling work, at the gym, the idea of carrying your entire music library with you everywhere you go is appealing to most of us, but what is this mp3 thing anyway?

What is mp3?
MP3, an abbreviation for Moving Picture Experts Group layer III, is a technology that allows audio data to fit into a much smaller space than it was originally, with little or no loss of audio quality. Usually raw audio data is very large and unmanageable and is especially difficult to deal with on portable devices due to the lack of storage available (your standard audio CD fits at most 80 minutes of raw audio data on it), but mp3 allows the storage of about 10 times the raw audio data into memory of the same size (that’s over 800 minutes onto the same 80 minute audio CD).

So what’s WMA?
WMA files are Microsoft’s equivalent of mp3 files, they offer slightly better compression (more music for your MB) and some additional built in copy-write protection for those over cautious record labels out there.

More and more mp3 players support WMA files these days so it’s worth looking out for as there is a growing amount of music available for download on the Internet in WMA format.

Audio Quality
Ever since mp3’s started to show their face in the early 90’s there’s been a constant argument about mp3 audio quality, with many strongly feeling mp3 compressions adversely affects the quality of the sound, whereas others argue that mp3 technology only removes sound data that cannot be heard by the human ear, and so could not be of any lesser quality.

I’ve not personally noticed any real difference between the two, with the exception of badly compressed music files, although I can imagine on a fairly large setup for example, some of the missing sound low frequency sound waves could possibly be missed because although you may not hear the sounds, you’d definitely be feeling them!

What to look for in an mp3 player.

Memory Type
There are currently two types of memory available in mp3 players, solid state and hard disk. Solid state memory is usually very fast and does not suffer from skips, where hard drive memory is like a small version of your personal computers main disk storage, although these are not supposed to suffer from skipping, I’ve personally known this to be a problem on certain models during a brisk walk or jog.

The main difference between the two is the size available, solid state players are currently ranging between about 256mb and 2Gb, whereas hard disk players have an average storage capacity of around 20Gb, over 10 times larger than the solid state models.

So you ask, why would you bother with solid state memory? Well, it’s usually a matter of price, you can pick up a 1Gb solid state mp3 player for under £50 these days but hard disk players start at around £130.

Memory Size
The size of an mp3 depends on two things, the quality and the length of the track. A good rule of thumb when deciding what size you’ll need is you’ll usually get about 1 min for every Megabyte (Mb), or approximately 200 songs for each 512Mb you have of memory at an average to good recording quality, at that size you’ll be able to store around of course you can get much more, or less by altering the quality of the track. Another term you’ll see around is a Gigabyte (Gb), a Gigabyte is a measure of Megabytes (Gb), where 1Gb = 1024Mb. And if you’re wondering why its 1024Mb and not 1000mb… ask your IT support!

I take my mp3 player everywhere with me and only usually hook it up to my computer to add new music about once a week and like to have as much on there as possible, so I opted for a Sony 20Gb hard disk model, but if you simply want some entertainment while at the gym you might want to save yourself a few quid and go for a cheaper solid state unit.

Battery Life
Another thing to look out for when buying an mp3 player is the battery life, until fairly recently the average battery life for one of these units was around 4-5 hours max, but new developments from companies like Sony and Microsoft mean you can now get a battery life of 30 or even 40 hours between charges.

Be aware, some very popular units only sport an average battery life of about 4 hours, this can be very annoying, make sure you check the facts before you buy.

Portable Storage
Many players these days allow not only the storage of audio files but also any other computer files you might want, connected simply with a USB cable, so it’s can be a handy way to transfer your files between home and work.

So what’s next?
As mp3 player technology becomes advances there are more and more features being added to these units, some later generations of IPod for example have built in digital photo albums; you can download your pictures and flick through them on the move. Whereas other units have incorporated analogue radio and even DAB digital radios receivers. On a side note, mp3 player sound quality is only as good as the headphones you listen with, I’d personally recommend spending a bit of time and money here, the difference in sound quality and clarity you’ll get from a pair of Shure e3c earphones for example far outweighs the cost of around £99.

You can see a large variety of different units at different costs at my favourite comparison site http://www.wangled.co.uk

The preceding article may be freely reprinted provided:
1. The article is not edited or modified in any way
2. The source is credited: reprinted by permission of www.wangled.co.uk]]>

By: Ken Charnly

Diamond history varies greatly depending on your source of documentation, as diamond history is as rich in myths and folklore as it is in physical facts and records. Diamond history is one filled with mythical stories, such as one where snakes guarded a land full of diamonds, and the history has fascinated people with the romance and beauty that surrounds our most precious gemstones; diamonds.

Early Diamond History:

Around 3,000 years ago, in the country of India, the first ever diamond history was recorded. If diamonds had been found prior to this period of time, we have no written record of it Diamonds in this day and age were used for two main purposes, and is quite different from why we still love diamonds today. Diamonds stood as a talisman in order to fend off evil spirits, and to provide protection during battles, and they were also valued because of their ability to reflect the light.

Dark Ages of Diamond History:

It is during the dark ages that the diamond history moved into having some sort of medical purpose. St Hildegarde was said to have written an anecdote to heal wounds and cure illnesses that instructed the sick to hold a diamond in their hand and make the sign of the cross. Some people in diamond history went as far as swallowing diamonds, hoping it would cure their illnesses magically.

Middle Ages of Diamond History:

It was during the middle ages that diamonds began to gain popularity. It is this point in diamond history that many of the famous diamonds were discovered, including the Blue Hope, and the mountain of light, both found in India. In our current times, India remains the worlds finest polishers of diamonds.

The middle ages also saw a shift in diamond history- where previously diamonds were valued based on their mythical powers, they began to be valued more for their overall worth. As more people learned of the incredible value of diamonds, mine owners began circulating stories that diamonds were poisonous, to prevent the workers from swallowing diamonds as a means to smuggle them out of the mines undetected.

Also during this period of diamond history, people wanted diamonds more than any other time period previously, mostly because they recognized their power and worth. India’s diamond supply was dwindling and was unable to meet demands of diamond buyers. South Africa’s find of diamonds near the Orange River began the world’s largest diamond rush of diamond history, and helped satisfy the demands of those wanting diamonds for themselves.

More Recently:

Diamond history began to spread into eastern Australia sometime during the middle of the nineteenth century. During the late 1970’s, Australia as a diamond producer became validated. Also in the late 1970’s, 1979 to be exact, the Argyle pipe near Lake Argyle was discovered by geologists. Since that day, Argyle has become the absolute largest producer of diamonds in all the world and throughout diamond history, and produces over one third of the diamond volume each year.

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