Want your
own Fotopage?
|
|
whoyg's FotoPage
By: whoyg whoyg
[Recommend this Fotopage] |
[Share this Fotopage]
| [Track this Fotopage]
|
|
[Archive]
|
|
|
|
| Monday, 8-Nov-2010 09:18 |
Email | Share |  | Bookmark |
|
Pearl Jewelry - The Story of Pearl Hunters
|
|
As long as pearl jewelry have been known to people, they have been a
highly sought commodity for their beauty. It's only in recent times
however that the industry has taken the hunt for the perfect pearl to
a whole different level. Today, the shiny orbs that we see on in
display in jewelry stores have actually almost always been grown in
farms.
That's a far cry from the dangerous extraction and collection methods
used before the invention of modern technology. In the past, not more
than 100 years ago, the only way to retrieve pearls was by diving in
lakes, floods and the ocean to pick them up, one at the time. The
unfortunate divers who'se job it was to do this, were often poor and
lured by the relative large sums they could get. The diver would
sometimes have to dive as deep as 100 feet on one single breath of
air. In order to preserve air and to stay submerged the longest, the
divers would hold on to heavy stones on the way down.
Naturally, this dangerous activity was reserved for the desperate or
the powerless - in many cases slaves or extremely poor peasents.
Today, this method is all but obsolete in most places of the world.
The cheaper cultured pearls have become popular and are many times
the only pearls available to the consumer.
There are however still a few isolated areas that practice this old
art of pearl diving. Some of the finest natural pearl speciments come
from the gulf of Bahrain. Here, divers still risk their health to
retrieve what are considered the top of the crop in the world. In
fact, Bahrain wants no part of the sale of cultured pearls, banned
from trade. Bahrain is one of the few places on earth that does an
active job in trying to preserve the natural habitat and waters from
pollution.
It's an interesting story and one that continues to fascinate buyers
around the world. Somehow, the beauty of the pearl grows when it's
been retrieved from the depth of the ocean.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Monday, 8-Nov-2010 09:12 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
Buying Pearl Jewelry Without Being Ripped Off
|
|
Buying pearl jewelry can be fun, exciting and confusing. Whether you're considering a gift of pearl jewelry for someone special or as a treat for yourself, take some time to learn the terms used in the industry. Here's some information to help you get the best quality pearl jewelry for your money, whether you're shopping in a traditional brick and mortar store or online.
Pearls
Natural or real pearls are made by oysters and other mollusks. Cultured pearls also are grown by mollusks, but with human intervention; that is, an irritant introduced into the shells causes a pearl to grow. Imitation pearls are man-made with glass, plastic, or organic materials.
Because natural pearls are very rare, most pearls used in jewelry are either cultured or imitation pearls. Cultured pearls, because they are made by oysters or mollusks, usually are more expensive than imitation pears. A cultured pearl's value is largely based on its size, usually stated in millimeters, and the quality of its nacre coating, which give it luster. Jewelers should tell your if the pearls are cultured or imitation. Some black, bronze, gold, purple, blue and orange pearls, whether natural or cultured, occur that way in nature; some, however, are dyed through various processes. Jewelers should tell you whether the colored pearls are naturally colored, dyed or irradiated.
Clams, oysters, mussels and many other mollusks with limy shells are known to produce pearls. But very few kinds yield gem pearls of jeweler's quality. The pearl is an abnormal growth of mother-of-pearl, or nacre, imbedded in the soft bodies of these shellfish. It is built up, layer upon layer, in the same way as nacre is added to the lining of the growing shell and always has the same color and luster. For example, over the country, hundreds of good-sized pearls are found each year in the oysters we eat. Unfortunately these have no commercial value regardless of whether they have been cooked or not because they are dull opaque white or purple like the shell of the parent oyster. In recent times almost all pearls of gem quality come from the oriental pearl oyster which has a bright shimmering translucent nacre.
A pearl starts growing when some irritating foreign substance such as a sand grain, bit of mud, parasite or other object becomes lodged in the shell-producing gland called the mantle. Pearls formed in the soft flesh where nacre can be added on all sides are most likely to be spherical and the most highly prized. By far the great majority are flattened or variously distorted and have little value. Size, color, luster and freedom from flaws are other essential qualities. Unlike other gems, such as diamonds, pearls have an average life of only about 50 years. In time the small amount of water in a pearl's make-up is lost and its surface cracks. Because they are mostly lime, necklaces which are worn often are injured by the acid secretions of the human skin.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Thursday, 29-Oct-2009 02:21 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
Lord Stern: give up meat to save the planet
|
|
People will need to consider turning vegetarian if the world is to conquer climate change, according to a leading authority on global warming.
In an interview with The Times, Lord Stern of Brentford said: “Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better.”
Direct emissions of methane from cows and pigs is a pearl jewelry significant source of greenhouse gases. Methane is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a global warming gas.
Lord Stern, the author of the influential 2006 Stern Review on the cost of tackling global warming, said that a successful deal at the akoya pearl Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December would lead to soaring costs for meat and other foods that generate large quantities of greenhouse gases.
Related Links
He predicted that people’s attitudes would evolve until meat eating became unacceptable. “I think it’s important that people think about what they are doing and that includes what they are eating,” he said. “I am 61 now and attitudes towards drinking and driving have changed radically since I was a student. People change their notion of what is responsible. They will increasingly ask about the carbon content of their food.”
Lord Stern, a former chief economist of the World Bank and now I. G. Patel Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, warned that British taxpayers would need to contribute about £3 billion a year by 2015 to biwa pearl help poor countries to cope with the inevitable impact of pearl jewelry wholesale climate change.
He also issued a clear message to President Obama that he must attend the meeting in Copenhagen in person in order for an effective deal to be reached. US leadership, he said, was “desperately needed” to secure a deal.
He said that he was deeply concerned that popular opinion had so far failed to grasp the scale of the changes needed to address climate change, or of the importance of the UN meeting in Copenhagen from December 7 to pearl jewelry December 18. “I am not sure that people fully understand what we are talking about or the kind of changes that will be necessary,” he added.
Up to 20,000 delegates from 192 countries are pearl necklace due to attend the UN conference in the Danish capital. Its aim is to forge a deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions sufficiently to prevent an increase in global temperatures of more than 2 degrees centigrade. Any increase above this level is expected to trigger runaway climate change, threatening the lives of hundreds of millions of people.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Thursday, 29-Oct-2009 02:19 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
Lord Stern: give up meat to save the planet
|
|
People will need to consider turning vegetarian if the world is to conquer climate change, according to a leading authority on global warming.
In an interview with The Times, Lord Stern of Brentford said: “Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better.”
Direct emissions of methane from pearl jewelry cows and pigs is a pearl jewelry significant source of greenhouse gases. Methane is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a global warming gas.
Lord Stern, the author of the influential 2006 Stern Review on the cost of tackling global warming, said that a successful deal at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December would lead to soaring costs for meat and other foods that generate large quantities of greenhouse gases.
Related Links
He predicted that people’s attitudes would evolve until meat eating became unacceptable. “I think it’s important that people think about what they are doing and that includes what they are eating,” he said. “I am 61 now and attitudes towards drinking and driving have changed radically since I was a student. People change their notion of what is responsible. They will increasingly ask about the carbon content of their food.”
Lord Stern, a former chief economist of the World Bank and now I. G. Patel Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, warned that British taxpayers would need to contribute about £3 billion a biwa pearl year by 2015 to help poor countries to cope with the inevitable impact of pearl jewelry wholesale climate change.
He also issued a clear message to President Obama that he must attend the meeting in Copenhagen in person in order for an effective deal to be reached. US leadership, he said, was “desperately needed” to secure a deal.
He said that he was deeply concerned that popular opinion had so far failed to grasp the scale of the changes needed to address climate change, or of the importance of the UN meeting in Copenhagen from December 7 to December 18. “I am not sure that people fully understand what we are talking about or the kind of changes that will be necessary,” he added.
Up to 20,000 delegates from 192 countries are pearl necklace due to attend the UN conference in the Danish capital. Its aim is to forge a deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions sufficiently to prevent an increase in akoya pearl global temperatures of more than 2 degrees centigrade. Any increase above this level is expected to trigger runaway climate change, threatening the lives of hundreds of millions of people.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Thursday, 29-Oct-2009 02:17 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
was speaking on the eve of an all-parliamentar
|
|
Lord Stern said that Copenhagen presented a unique opportunity for the world to break free from its catastrophic current trajectory. He said that the world needed to agree to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 to 25 gigatonnes a year from the current level of 50 gigatonnes.
UN figures suggest that meat production is pearl jewelry pearl jewelry responsible for about 18 per cent of global carbon emissions, including the destruction of forest land for cattle ranching and the production of animal feeds such as soy.
Lord Stern, who said that he was not a strict vegetarian himself, was speaking on the eve of an all-parliamentary debate on climate change. His remarks provoked anger from the meat industry.
Jonathan Scurlock, of the National Farmers Union, said: “Going vegetarian is pearl jewelry wholesale not a worldwide solution. It’s not a view shared by the NFU. Farmers in this country are interested in biwa pearl evidence-based policymaking. We don’t have a methane-free cow or pig available to us.”
On average, a British person eats 50g of protein derived from meat each day — the equivalent of a chicken breast or a lamb chop. This is a relatively low level for a wealthy country but between 25 per cent and 50 per cent higher than the amount recommended by the World Health Organisation.
Su Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Vegetarian Society, welcomed Lord Stern’s remarks. “What we choose to eat is one of the biggest factors in our personal impact on the environment,” she said. “Meat uses up a lot of resources and a vegetarian diet consumes a lot less land and water. One of the akoya pearl best things you can do about climate change is reduce the amount of meat in your diet.”
The UN has warned that meat wholesale pearl jewelry consumption is on course to double by the middle of the century.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Thursday, 29-Oct-2009 02:14 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
|
|
<p>Holidaymakers are facing Christmas travel misery after unions representing British Airway’s 14,000 cabin crew said that they would ballot staff on strike action.</p>
<p>Nine months of negotiations over changes to crew working practices, a pay freeze and redundancies formally broke down yesterday as Unite, the union, called for industrial action.</p>
<p>The ballot is expected to <a href="http://wwww.lpearls.com">freshwater pearl</a> take at least four weeks and if cabin crew vote to take action, the first strikes are likely to be in early December.</p>
<p>A series of rolling strikes could ground planes and cripple the airline in the run up to the busy Christmas travel period.<br />
Related Links</p>
<p>However, Willie Walsh, BA’s chief executive, vowed yesterday to press ahead with his cost cutting plans for the loss-making airline.</p>
<p>“I think this just reinforces my view that the unions have failed to grasp the critical need for BA to make significant changes for the future of the business,” he told The Times.</p>
<p>“We have got a business to run and we have got significant improvements to make in our cost base and all parts of the business have got to contribute to that.</p>
<p>BA has been hit hard by the recession with passenger numbers, particularly in business and first class, down dramatically.</p>
<p>The airline lost £401 million last year and BA's management wants to reduce its cabin crew budget by about £140 million a year. It has proposed a series of measures to do so, including freezing pay and reducing the allowances given for overseas travel.</p>
<p>More than 1,000 cabin crew will be given voluntary redundancy and a further 3,000 will move to part-time work. Mr Walsh said yesterday that he could not rule out the possibility of further compulsory redundancies.</p>
<p>BA also wants to change the way cabin crew work by reducing the number of staff on certain routes and forcing senior crew to compensate by joining the food service teams.</p>
<p>Two weeks ago BA raised the stakes by saying it would impose these <a href="http://wwww.lpearls.com">freshwater pearl jewelry</a> working practice changes from November 16th.</p>
<p>A last ditch meeting between Mr Walsh and Derek Simpson, joint general secretary of Unite, failed to break the deadlock last week.</p>
<p>The mood among many cabin crew is said to be in favour of industrial action.</p>
<p>Mr Simpson said: "BA management's determination to impose unacceptable contractual changes on cabin crew leaves us no alternative. Negotiation, not imposition, is the only proper way to conduct industrial relations."</p>
<p>BA's management is understood to be working on contingency plans, but if cabin crew strike the airline will almost certainly be forced to cancel flights during December.</p>
<p>Mr Walsh, speaking in Las Vegas after BA’s inaugural flight to Sin City, refused to comment on possible contingency plans.</p>
<p>He said: “The changes that we are making from mid-November will go ahead regardless and I have made that very clear to them. We have got fantastic cabin crew but we can’t avoid the realities of the cost structures that we have within the business and they simply are not sustainable. This is a business that is losing money. I don’t take any comfort out of the fact that we have lost money last year and are losing money this year although we are making progress it still will be two consecutive <a href="http://wwww.lpearls.com">pearl jewelry wholesale</a> years when BA has made a loss.”</p>
<p>More than £100 million was wiped off the value of BA yesterday as its share price fell 10.1p to 199.7p.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Thursday, 29-Oct-2009 02:11 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
Two years later he had set up a shipping
|
|
A devastating storm struck Britain 150 years ago and led to the world’s first weather warnings for shipping. On October 25, 1859, a mighty gale swept across the country, uprooting trees, ripping off roofs and wrecking dozens of ships.
In the Irish Sea the Royal Charter, a sail and
pearl jewelry pearl jewelry steam ship, was returning to Liverpool from Australia, carrying 430 passengers and crew and more than £300,000 in gold bullion, a fortune at the time. But in the early hours of October 26 hurricane-force winds drove the ship on to the rocky coast at Anglesey.
“The sea was breaking over the ship with terrific fury, and the persons on board were running frantically about the deck in a state of despair,” one survivor recalled. The ship split in half, and more than 400 people were killed.
Only a few years earlier, the new Meteorological Department, the predecessor of pearl jewelry wholesale today’s Met Office, was founded and led by Admiral FitzRoy. Weather forecasting then was a new science, but after the sinking of the Royal Charter, FitzRoy wrote to The Times that storm warnings could have saved the ship. Two years later he had set up a shipping weather forecast system by collecting wholesale pearl jewelry barometer readings from around the biwa pearl country using the new electronic telegraph system. Pressure readings were plotted on a weather map and signs of approaching storms were telegraphed to coastal stations, where beacons were hoisted for passing ships to akoya pearl see.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Archive]
|
|
 |
|
