A heart shaped diamond itself can be a bit of a rarity, but perhaps the most rare and famous heart shaped diamond of them all is The Blue Heart. This diamond, sometimes referred to as Eugenie Blue, is a 30.82 metric carat diamond in a rare deep blue color. It was cut sometime between 1909 and 1910 by Antanik Ekyanan of Neuilly, Paris and is of either African or Indian origin. The stone measures roughly 20 millimeters wide by 19 millimeters tall and 12 millimeters deep.

History of The Blue Heart Shaped Diamond

The first record of this heart shaped diamond is from 1910 when Cartier purchased the diamond then sold it to an Argentinean woman named Mrs. Unzue. There appears to be no truth to the rumor that the diamond was owned by the empress, but it does appear to be of French origin. Mrs. Unzue had the diamond set into a corsage and it remained that way until Van Cleef and Arpels bought it in 1953.

The exhibited it then sold it to a European family who in turn sold the diamond to Harry Winston in 1959. He mounted the diamond in a ring and sold it Marjorie Merriweather Post who eventually donated the stone to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. It remains on display there today. This diamond is considered to be one of the best representations of a blue diamond the world has ever seen.

The only diamond that is its equal is perhaps the hope diamond, although the unique heart shaped diamond cut on The Blue Heart makes it stand out in a crowd. It is similar in appearance to the Heart of Eternity, but has a much more refined look to it. At one point the Hope Diamond, the Heart of Eternity, and the Blue Heart were all on display together at the Smithsonian.

This heart shaped diamond has a fairly uneventful history, but remains today as one of the finer examples of a heart shape cut that you can find. It is completely unique in its size and cut and is immediately recognizable in crowd. Other diamonds may be bigger, or glow fluorescent colors, but from a standpoint of pure simplicity and elegance, very few diamonds in the world are in the class of the Blue Heart. While it is beyond the means of anyone to afford or even acquire this diamond, it is an important piece of history that should be recognized.

Weddings are celebrations that include your parents and families. Choosing wedding thank you gifts for parents of both the bride and groom should not be a difficult task. Since both the bride and groom know their parents well enough to be able to decide what to give them, the wedding thank you gifts for parents will be personal statements of gratitude from their children.

The first thing that you and your spouse to be should do is to agree on the amount to spend on the wedding thank you gifts for parents. This should be done to avoid any comparison when the parents get together and to avoid hurt feelings. You should also discuss the preferences of both your sets of parents to be able to reach an agreement regarding the budget for the wedding thank you gifts for parents.

Suggestions For Wedding Thank You Gifts For Parents

If you have no clear idea what to give as wedding thank you gifts for parents, try out the suggestions. It may be better to give gifts that show your gratitude that are a set for both of them instead of individual gifts. This will help you give a more expensive gift but at the same time one that is for the two of them. Wedding thank you gifts for parents that may be appropriate for this set up are gift baskets of their favorite things like coffee blends and mixtures, a range of tea flavors, bathroom and toiletry items, designer bags and even a his and hers bath towels with hand towels.

Other suggestions for wedding thank you gifts for parents who may not be together anymore will be (for the moms)beauty certificates for a great spa, jewelry, an expensive bath set with robe and towels, gifts baskets with her preferred hobby and more. Wedding thank you gifts for parents (for the dads) can be cufflinks, pens, ties, golf clubs etc.

The gifts will always be dependent on what your parents will most like appreciate when they receive it. Wedding thank you gifts for parents should be personal items that you know they will like. Generic wedding gifts for the wedding party are not so nice to give unless you know that these are their preferences.

Choosing these wedding thank you gifts for parents should be given some time because you might have a difficult time deciding what items to give. Do not panic if you have no idea what to give because for most parents the cost of the thank you gift does not matter much compared to the love that they will feel when they get the thank you gift.

The Old World style of European diamond wedding bands are becoming more and more popular lately. There are two basic types of European diamond wedding bands, antiques and antique replications. This article will take a look at both kinds to help you decide which European diamond wedding bands are better for you.

True Antique European Diamond Wedding Bands

There is something about true antique European diamond wedding bands that brings a certain level of class and dignity to your wedding that can not be replicated. The advantage of purchasing authentic bands is that they have a history and charm that just can not be replicated in newer replicas.

These diamonds were cut specifically to appear best in candlelight and because of this the have a romantic charm that is evident no matter how much light you have. In addition, the metal usually has a worn and aged look that is very difficult to replicate. These true antiques will increase in value as time passes, and you can almost always guarantee that you will get back what you pay for.

One of the negatives of these European diamond wedding bands is that finding a true authentic antique can be difficult. There are many replicas and fakes sold by disreputable dealers that could end up costing you a fortune for something that is not worth what you pay.

In addition, you can not have the rings tailored to your specific requirements and might have to settle on something that is almost right. However, if you can find rings that match what you are looking for and are authentic, genuine antique European diamond wedding bands can be a solid investment.

Replica Antique European Diamond Wedding Bands

These are usually far cheaper than their authentic counterparts, and while they will not hold there value as solidly as a true antique, they are generally far less expensive and will hold their value very well over time. In addition you can have them fabricated to your specific requirements using modern techniques.

In addition, there is no worry that they may not be authentic as you are simply purchasing a ring in an older style and not paying for its authentic antique nature. In the end it is up to you which to purchase, but rest assured that either way you go you should be satisfied with your European diamond wedding bands. Both versions offer unique advantages and disadvantages but each will have its own charm and uniqueness.

Weddings are a perfect time to rejoice in the love of the bride and groom as well as give thanks to the many friends and family that are in attendance. If you want to provide wedding table gifts for all the guests, then you will want to choose something that is both attractive and practical, not something that will likely end up relegated to the junk drawer.

Get Framed

If you plan to have a formal sit down reception with assigned seating, what better way to display whom goes where than with place cards? You do not want to use regular tent cards to do this but rather incorporate your wedding table gifts in the form of picture frames that match the theme of the wedding. Picture frames come in a variety of sizes, colors, textures and shapes and they can easily hold a piece of paper with a seating assignment. Just be sure to announce to the guests that each picture frame is the wedding table gifts to them as a special thank you for attending and sharing in the day.

Light Up

Candles make for great wedding table gifts because not only can they be found in a variety of colors, shapes and scents, they are also quite practical as well. You could choose candles shaped like palm trees if you had a tropical theme or even tea light candles held in special commemorative holders. To pull double duty, you could even choose candles with holders that also serve as place card holders.

Grow It

For more laid back wedding proceedings, small flower pots with seeds would make for great wedding table gifts to each guest. The flower pots could be decorated in the wedding theme or even bought ready made in the wedding colors. The seeds could be anything you deem fitting such as shamrocks if you are Irish or even wildflowers as they are easy to grow. Top off the wedding table gifts with a simple thank you card from the bride and groom and you will have something the guests will remember and use too.

Something Edible

You can ensure your wedding table gifts to your guests will be used – just give the gift of something edible! Candy and cookies top the list of edibles as they can be relatively inexpensive as well as being easy to do. A fun idea is giving guests fortune cookies in small Chinese food containers and each cookie could have homemade fortunes you come up with. Decorated cookies with the wedding colors or even a sugar screened picture of the bride and groom is yet another idea that guests will be sweet on. All in all, there is a variety of wedding table gifts to give guests and you are only limited by budget and imagination.

There are a myriad of diamond watches to choose from, so when selecting the one that works best for you it is a difficult process. This article will help to simply the process for selecting from all these diamond watches. When looking at diamond watches it is best to have some guidelines in place to ensure you get the watch that works best for you.

Selecting From Different Diamond Watches

The first thing you need to keep in mind is what you budget is. Diamond watches can be very expensive, so to slim your choices down decide before hand what you can and can not afford. After you have your budge in mind, you probably want to select what type of band to use. Bands come in several varieties, but mostly just two classes – leather or metal.

For leather bands you color choices can be a bit more varied, although traditionally these watches have bands that are either black or tan. For metallic, you can go with gold or silver, although most people find gold to be a bit too much. Silver has a tendency to match more of your outfits and stand out less. If you are looking to make a statement with your watch, gold may be the way to go. After selecting your band, you need to choose a watch face.

Again this should be something that matches the band, but that is more of a guideline then a hard rule. Diamond watches come in all sorts of different varieties so keep that in mind when shopping. Primarily the watch face is where your diamonds will go, so you want to select one that can show case your diamonds. Your budget will have a lot to do with how many and of what quality diamonds you can get for your watch, so be sure to always keep that in mind when looking.

On the face you can go with a simple single dial or chose to go with a more complex multi dial watch. The multi dial will keep track of the day and time and this can be displayed in a variety of ways, so look around a bit. After you have chosen the dial and band, you should be all set to start looking for your watch.

You can start with some of the big retailers to see if they have a watch that matches your criteria, but you are probably better off contacting a local watch maker and seeing what he has to offer. A lot of these smaller shops can put together custom watches for you at a fraction of the cost of the name brand watches, so investigate these as well. This is especially true if you can not find the style of watch you want from a major manufacturer.

There are some really terrific ideas for wedding shower gifts, but if you want to be unique and make sure that you are getting the bride a new gift, one that she has not already received from someone else, then you will want to make your gift really special. For some innovative wedding shower gifts, here are a few ideas.

Signature Platters

For a really unique wedding shower gift, why not give a signature platter? This is basically a platter plate of some sort that you get engraved with all the names of the guests that attended the wedding. You can choose from a variety of sizes and shapes, which will obviously depend on the size of the wedding because the more people who attended the larger sized plate you will need to get.

Personalized Photo Pillows

Another of the most popular unique wedding shower gifts is the personalized photo pillow. This is a really cute and thoughtful idea for the happy couple, and makes a great gift idea. You can use either a black and white or color photo for this, and there are various companies that will create the pillow for you.

All you need to do is submit your photo and advise them of the details, including the size and any text that you would like written on the pillow, such as a catchy saying or even a simple 'Love'.

Photo Blankets

If you are interested in unique wedding shower gifts then you will definitely want to consider getting a photo blanket. You really can never go wrong when you get a gift with the bride and groom's photo on it, because it shows them together and gives them something that they can treasure.

There are lots of creative things that you can do with a photo to personalize a gift, but the photo blanket is really great. You can use any photo of the couple and it is created using a knitting technique that allows the photo to show up enlarged and clearly. The quality of the material and the detail in terms of the picture quality is stunning.

Remember that you can always buy a basic gift and then turn it something creative on your own. Maybe the couple likes sports for instance and you could buy them a football or baseball and then get their names engraved on it. Maybe you know their favorite store and you could do something as simple as getting them a gift certificate to that store.

What matters is that you are there for the couple on their most special day and that you put thought into your gift.