The Wedding Ring Blog

The Wedding Ring Blog on His Bride blog.

Just a special thank you to Darla at His Bride blog for the mention!

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Surprise proposal fails – woman runs away – all on UCLA cam!

Men have great ideas that sound fantastic in their head, but sometimes it’s unfortunately ONLY in their head! For one ill-fated California guy, the setting at the UCLA and Richmond basketball game was the perfect place and time for him to make a big proposal splash. However, the crowd that came out to watch the Friday night basketball game got more than what they ever expected. And for some, the entertainment level was off the charts. What else says "I want to spend the rest of my life with you" than a marriage proposal on a big screen at a UCLA game just before Christmas? Sounds like the perfect proposal that the happy couple could tell their children and grandchildren.
 
Except things didn't quite go as planned. In fact, the gal looks at the ring and runs away! That’s right – runs away!

Midway through UCLA’s 71-63 victory over Richmond Dec. 23 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, UCLA's "Mistletoe Cam" cut to this seemingly lucky couple seated courtside. There’s even an announcer right there to capture every memorable moment. Mr. Unfortunate reaches into his pocket, smiles big, pulls out a ring and says, "I knew that I was going to do this since the first day that I met you, and I figured now was as good a time as any." Merry Christmas and a life happily ever after, right? Jimmy Stewart would be smiling in his grave.

But wait a sec! Oops! After an awkward pause, Miss Future-Bride-to-Not-Be runs away faster than a cheetah. If I was that guy, I would have asked out the announcer right there. It definitely would be You Tube history! Why wait for the rebound chick? She’s right there!

Of course, it’s moments like these that make for some great water cooler discussion at the office. In fact, one particularly pretty, but currently single, gal summed up the moment with the following statement:

“It’s wh*res like her who ruin it for us nice girls**.”

So ladies, please heed this advice. This is the age of social media. If a man proposes to you live on camera in public, chances are it is also being recorded in some manner. So smile, say yes, take the ring, and then turn his heart into romantic road kill out in the parking lot. Otherwise thousands of women from coast-to-coast will be calling you names.

Watch - Video of marriage proposal gone wrong at UCLA basketball game.

**This is strictly the opinion of a co-worker and not of The Wedding Ring Blog or our advertisers.

Experimenting with Pinterest.

Lately I have been experimenting with Pinterest. It certainly is interesting – much like the name of the site implies. I am not sure where I am going with Pinterest, but I am having a good time with it.

Here are some things I have featured:

Source: novelldesignstudio.com via Wedding on Pinterest

Source: novelldesignstudio.com via Wedding on Pinterest

Source: theweddingringbook.com via Wedding on Pinterest

 

 

 

Top 10 Men Wedding Bands of 2011.

Leading online wedding portal YourEngagement101.com presents the selections for the Top 10 Men Wedding Bands of 2011. Chosen by both consumers and editors, interesting designs created by Chris Ploof (with a palladium wedding band), Novell (one of their TATU rings) and Wright & Lato (an alternative metal design) were featured.

See the Top 10 Men Wedding Bands of 2011.

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Keys to a reasonably successful wedding ring blog.

Success with blogging is not an easy thing if you are going about it the old fashioned way – with hard work, creativity and optimism. The Wedding Ring Blog has built up a nice amount of organic traffic on its own. While there is always room for growth, I have to say that I am proud to have been able to have started from literally ZERO traffic to now nearly 6,000 visitors a month (and growing).

Here are the basic reasons why The Wedding Ring Blog has good success:

• Persistence – I have stayed with it!
• Image tags – All images are named with keywords, and not just with file names.
• Diversified content – This initially was strictly a branded blog. Now I cover a wide range of wedding-related topics.
• Content and links from HARO (Help A Reporter Out) – I use this free news reporting service for story ideas that may eventually lead to links and stronger content.

LIKE The Wedding Ring Blog on Facebook.

Savvy Looks - where fashion and style converge!

Here’s a groovy fashion website - Savvy Looks. Savvy Looks is “where fashion and style converge!”  The Savvy Looks team travels around the world to get the latest and trendiest designs that are just for you! And just in time for the holidays, Savvy Looks is offering free shipping to their customers. What? Free shipping? YES! FREE SHIPPING!

When you check out at www.savvylooks.com, just enter this code - SAVE50.

Here’s a great ruffled top for just $29.99. Very nice. Very sexy. And the model is cute as heck, too! And they give you several views from different angles, so you get an outstanding sense of what it may look like on you. This is a great feature for Internet shopping.

LIKE Savvy Looks on Facebook.

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Facebook page: Chocolate! Yummy!

Chocolate! Who the heck doesn’t like chocolate? I eat a big chunk of dark chocolate every day, and it goes well with my daily glass of wine! Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries) and flavonoids. Flavonoids help lower blood pressure, and can also help balance certain hormones in the body. Dark chocolate has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (that pesky BAD cholesterol) by a significant amount as well (I said reduce – not eliminate – so eat those veggies and exercise!).

There’s a cute little community page on Facebook devoted to all things chocolate! So if you are a fan of chocolate, help them get off the ground and give them a peek!

Visit the Chocolate community page on Facebook.

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Wedding planning is easy with Thumbtack.

I get an e-mail now and again from Thumbtack - a website devoted to helping consumers find reliable local services of all kinds. They are currently looking for wedding planners to list on their website. Although I am not a wedding planner, I decided to take a peek. In order to test it out, I did a search for the keyword “wedding” for Morristown, New Jersey. I have to say that I am impressed. Local vendors for almost everything related to wedding planning popped up with a summary, location and related rates, so it was pretty easy to get a thumbnail view (perhaps this is what the site could have been called) of area wedding-related businesses. The term “wedding ring” had a much broader results, but it’s pretty interesting to see what turns up (check out this jeweler that makes custom wedding rings in Charlottesville, Virginia). If you are beginning to get in full wedding planning mode, give Thumbtack a try, and make sure you come back here to make a comment about your experience.

And while we are on the subject of Thumbtack, I came across some other interesting tidbits about the company.

Thumbtack recently published a study* showing that many daily deals on Groupon and LivingSocial for local services (like house cleaning, handyman services, and interior painting) are priced equal to or higher than the average local price of the service, and in some cases they may even be higher. Thumbtack made some phone calls to merchants who had run deals on Groupon or LivingSocial, and it turns out their instincts seem to have been right. In 8 of the 10 deals they reviewed, the “regular” prices quoted by Groupon and LivingSocial were higher than the prices quoted by the same merchants when Thumbtack called them. Yikes! My experience with Groupon** has been great, but this is something to keep an eye on!

Here’s something else about Thumbtack – they feed their employees REALLY good food! This aspect is an entire blog post unto itself. Check out their own food blog and see what employees can chow down on! Yummy! You can get an idea about the ethical working of a company by how they treat their employees. If I worked at Thumbtack, I’d probably sleep in a camper out in the parking lot. With food like this, why leave?

Search Thumbtack today!

LIKE Thumbtack on Facebook.

*Source: Thumbtack.com

** I recently purchased a local deal for a BBQ reastaurant. The food was good, and the price was right. The Wedding Ring Blog does run ads for the Groupon Affiliate Program.

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You LIKE me on Facebook, I’ll LIKE you on Facebook back!

I am currently running a small advertising campaign on Facebook for a jewelry designer. It’s been a great experience and it is fun to see fans grow from almost zero to a few hundred within a relatively short period of time. I believe in Facebook advertising 100%.

It got me thinking as to how I can grow my Facebook fans without breaking the bank. So I’ll throw this out there – if you have a page on Facebook and LIKE The Wedding Ring Blog Facebook page, I’ll LIKE yours back and devote a short post about it. You can even supply a blurb about your page and I’ll use that!

I’ll call it my Good Will Facebook promotion, and we’ll see where it goes. Actually, I am afraid that I might get in way over my head. In any case, it could make for some interesting blogging (whether it succeeds or fails).

Visit The Wedding Ring Blog Facebook page. And contact me with yours!

theweddingringblog{at}gmail.com

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Bali Designs featured jewelry videos.

Look like a million dollar world traveler without spending a fortune. Robert Manse creates some exotic-looking – yet very affordable – sterling silver and precious gemstone jewelry.

Watch a collection of videos featuring Bali Designs jewelry.

LIKE Robert Manse Designs on Facebook.

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Palladium soars on fashion blog Kitten Lounge.

Leading fashion blog Kitten Lounge recently featured new palladium bracelets by Novell. Palladium currently costs less than platinum or gold. It also is great for jewelry. Novell has been using palladium regularly over the past six years, and can be regarded as one of the most experienced palladium jewelry manufacturers in America. Palladium originally started to make a “splash” a few years back as the most affordable naturally white metal on the market as the price of platinum crept higher and higher (white gold is NOT naturally white). However, as its own market value spiraled downward, so did the advertising budget for palladium. Now palladium is back and its visibility is increasing thanks to the I’m So Over Heavy Metal ad campaign featured within the pages of major fashion and bridal publications. There’s also a Get Palladium Pretty Sweepstakes on the Palladium Facebook page.

Read Kitten Lounge’s palladium bracelet blog post - Mingling Mondays: Sponsored Post ~ Novell Design Studio.

See Novell’s palladium bracelets online.

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QR Codes becoming mainstream for marketing.

Recently the company that I work for began using a QR code in our engagement ring advertising. In case you didn’t know, a QR code is a funky little square thing that sorta looks like a barcode, only it isn’t, but at the same time it is. In technical terms, a QR code is a 2-dimensional barcode, and is similar in concept to the very familiar UPC code that gets scanned at almost any retailer today. “QR” is an abbreviation for "Quick Response". When read by a special QR code reader on a smart phone (iPhone, Android, etc.), the phone's browser will be directed to the programmed information embedded within the code. In my case, the consumer is delivered to a mobile webpage especially created for platinum bridal jewelry merchandise. In essence, it allows someone who is interested in seeing more engagement rings to actually see more products without having to locate a computer; platinum designs are at your fingertips and literally in the palm of your hand. It’s also easy to share information with a friend or future bride or groom-to-be. Ya just gotta love it!

Here are more examples of how QR codes are being used in the wedding industry:

SometimeS you have to look at things in another way, or through other eyes. PRISSAM is very cool gift company with unique gifts for amazing people, and uses a QR code to direct interested consumers its website. PRISSAM's glass and crystal gifts are about looking at life in a different perspective, and like a prism, each art gift symbolizes an emotion, a feeling, a sentiment between the giver and the recipient, whether it is for a mother, a father, a graduate, the wedding couple or a friend. This Internet-based company was founded by three sisters whose parents (Priscilla & Sam - hence the name PRISSAM) taught them to look at life like a prism -  keeping the pluses positive, turning the negatives into pluses, the obstacles into opportunities and the plain glass into a prism. A gift that inspires you to look at life differently certainly requires a different method of promotion – like a QR code!

Camille Victoria Weddings offers full service planning for a wedding day, but also provides partial planning services, wedding day coordination, and candy buffets for couples in the greater Chicago area. When hosting informational wedding planning-related events, such as throwing tea parties for the engaged, Camille Victoria Weddings distributes wedding planning kits featuring a QR code in plain view. Their QR code for bridal shows provides quick supplemental information about who they are and what they offer. With a simple scan*, a potential customer can see more information, and this helps get a leg up on the competition. No more scribbling a URL on the back of a napkin!  A few clicks give the potential customer more information fast!

QR codes are even being utilized in health care. Many brides-to-be may be concerned with stress management during wedding planning or even about losing weight for their wedding. And let’s face it - wedding planning is as stressful as it is exciting. Health and Wellness Counseling Associates offers health coaching to help address both these issues with bridal clients. Counseling sessions can be conducted in person if you are a resident of the Chicago-area, over the phone, or on Skype. If you mention The Wedding Ring Blog, Health and Wellness Counseling Associates will give you a special discount (as per Psychotherapist and Certified Holistic Health Coach Heather Shannon). So scan their featured QR code today!

Invitation Consultants is an online invitation, stationery and gift retailer which recently began using QR code on cards which are sent along with customer orders and link to a specific website page of directions explaining how to assemble your wedding invitation order. Invitation Consultants also has had requests from brides to add QR codes to their printed save-the-date notifications and shower invitations as well. When included on an invitation, a QR code can be linked to registries, venue information, travel details or accommodation particulars. What a great idea! The above QR code actually scans to a You Tube video, so you can link it to almost any type of Internet-based promotional channel (mobile page, specific landing page, contest, etc.).

Imagine a world with no paper, no printing and no ink! QR Devices brings you the future of ID – NOW! They specialize in laser engraving QR codes directly into almost anything. QR Devices has heart-shaped pins made from red polymer clay that should be perfect for weddings. The featured QR code could link to the couple's online photo album or wedding website, and the company has also utilized this technology in biz card cases, key chains, and more. QR Devices can create a code of any size, including those small enough for clandestine applications.

In addition to being Music Director and drummer for the B.B. King All Star Band, NaturalPhil provides all types of music for corporate events and weddings. NaturalPhil can assemble a band that’s right for the sounds that you want for your wedding day or event, whether if you desire a group featuring a full rack of horn players, or perhaps a rocking electric guitarist, or even big band jazz sounds. NaturalPhil’s featured QR code drives traffic to his Facebook page, and uses others that will land you on his corporate website or relevant marketing message.

Below are additional QR codes for jewelry websites. If you can't tell by the graphics used for this article, you can actually scan them from a computer screen, so have some fun learning about useful companies via your cell phone. Save a featured landing page in your cell phone browsing history to easily dial it up when discussing your wedding planning, showing a ring to your jeweler, and so on. The possibilities for sharing are endless!

Blue Star Bazaar wedding products

Novell jewelry

 

Red Square Visual Arts (photography and more)

Please note: This is just one part of The Wedding Ring Blog’s series about QR codes. This article was written with shared information provided by the featured companies.

*You can find free scanning software for your phone HERE.

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7 New Wedding Ring Trends on Engagement101.com.

YourEngagement101.com, a leading wedding portal devoted to dispensing THE best bridal-related advice online, just released a new Engagement101 TV “webisode” devoted to seven of the latest wedding ring trends.

This brief and informative video cuts to the chase with practical tidbits about the following wedding ring-related topics:

1. Gold wedding rings (illustrates the artistry of gold)
2. Multi-textured wedding rings (talks about different finishes and more)
3. Platinum wedding rings (tells why platinum is a better choice for rings)
4. Hammered wedding rings (with demonstration)
5. Hidden secrets wedding rings
6. His and her’s wedding rings
7. Contemporary metal wedding rings (explains how alternative metals offer more design flexibility)

Watch 7 New Wedding Band Trends.

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The Wedding Ring Blog surpasses 800 posts.

Wow! Really? The Wedding Ring Blog has over 800 posts, and we’re still rolling along! It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s interesting to see how the depth of the postings has grown.

Thanks to everyone that stops by!

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Jewelry website traffic – a missing jewelry business link!

I am creating a link page for my retailers’ websites on my corporate blog, and I can’t help but to notice that a majority of the websites' Alexa data have poor rankings. Now don’t get me wrong – I don’t necessarily believe that Alexa is the pure “be all, end all” way to accurately gauge a website’s popularity. However, it does at least provide a bit of insight as to whether a site may or may not have decent visibility. And the higher the Alexa Traffic Rank (1,000,000, 2,000,000 etc.), the lower the actual visibility probably is.

I manually created links to about 60 retailers so far, and hardly any seem like they have decent Internet presence. In fact, most jewelry manufacturers in general have fairly well hidden websites unless they sell direct. If I was a store, I’d want my jewelry website to be a local sensation that capitalizes on the association between what brands that I carry to my area’s customers. But rarely do I see this happen. For example, the term “New York jewelry” earns approximately 90,000 local monthly searches*, while the term “New York watches” gets about 60,000. While neither of those terms as domains is available, certainly a store in that area can figure out how to include those terms in their brand-related content (i.e. titales of articles, image tags, keyword phrasing) and take advantage of the potential extra traffic. A simple Wordpress blog extension to a domain can work wonders. You can even host unlimited blogs via GoDaddy.com for under $200 a year. Yes – this all takes time and work. But working with jewelry and watch brands to help create local – and original – online content might be the way to break through to an audience that’s currently untapped.

The Wedding Ring Blog began as a very niche site that was reaching nor more than a dozen or two visitors a week. Now? It’s up to nearly 7,000 unique visitors a month, and steadily growing. We’re The Little Red Wedding Ring Blog Engine that could! The best part is that all my traffic comes from unpaid sources. I paid to be part of a wedding planning app featured on iTunes, and that wasn’t very successful. I’ve been able to move ahead with a little bit of time, a lot of energy, steady effort and diversified content. It’s not always easy, but I have to say that it’s worth it!

Learn all you need to know about blogging at The Daily SEO Blog. And believe me when I say – there’s MORE growth to come!

*According to Google’s Keyword Search Tool.

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How much should you spend on an engagement ring?

Figuring out what to spend on an engagement ring can be confusing. Before the nerves set in, and before the proposal ideas start stirring about, wondering about what to spend on an engagement ring is probably the first or second thing that pops into a man’s mind. Wedding ring and engagement ring website Since1910.com has a chart to help you make an educated decision. And they offer this very practical and honest advice:

The bottom line is the amount you spend is personal and you should spend what you feel comfortable with, regardless of what you’ve heard.

Read - How much should you spend on an engagement ring?

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PRZ Man's wedding ring advice.

PRZ Man’s Fine Metal Expert Joshua Michaels offers sound advice about choosing the wedding ring that’s right for you. Here are some highlights:

“Now that your heavy lifting for the woman is over and done with, the wedding ring purchases are going to be a joint venture. One you will do together. She will try on a billion wedding rings to find the one that fits perfectly with hers.”

“DO NOT SKIMP ON THE WEDDING RING! You didn’t skimp on the photographer, cake, honeymoon etc. Remember, after the day is done, the honeymoon is over and life has become mundane; the ring on your finger is the only reminder of that day.  Do not make it generic.”

“Tungsten and titanium are very hip, less expensive then their precious metal counterparts and carry some awesome styling. The tungsten wedding rings with laser engraving are just cool as shit. The gunmetal coloring of titanium is very original, as is the metal itself.”

“A very new development in men’s wedding rings has been the fusing of silver and a greater precious metal.  In light of the recent spikes in the price of precious metals, manufacturers have had to figure out a way to keep prices affordable while still offering a precious metal. What I’m seeing is the use of silver as a base, giving the wedding ring the weight you want.”

Get more sound advice in the article “Bands Bands and More Bands” at PRZMan.com.

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The Brode Ass Bride wedding blog wins 123 Print wedding award.

A little while ago, I mentioned a great wedding promotion – The 123Print Wedding Invitation Giveaway. In addition to giving away $1,000 worth of printed wedding invitations to a lucky bride and groom, 123Print was also awarding $500 to the blog that provided the most referrals to the contest. And a great wedding blog won – The Broke-Ass-Bride. So congrats to all at The Broke-Ass Bride wedding blog!

LIKE The Broke Ass Bride on Facebook.

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Jewelry designer has one last whirl around NYC before moving.

 
 
Sierra Bailey, one of my favorite jewelry designers who just happens to be the brains behind Manic Trout Jewelry, is saying “bye-bye” to the Big Apple and relocating half-way across the United States. So after a well deserved and fun-filled final New York City adventure, Sierra has found time before her big move to get her new Summer Collection online. It’s a small but still wonderful assortment (dare I say “groovy?”), and filled to the brim with pretty baubles perfect for warm summer nights and afternoons in the sun.

View the Manic Trout Summer Jewelry Collection.

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And now – the ring! Expert ring advice from PRZ Man.

  

PRZ Fine Metal Expert Joshua Michaels offers some very practical – and valuable – advice for picking out the right engagement ring for the diamond that you have selected. The brand new post And Now – the Ring! reinforces some a few previously covered tips for selecting a diamond (keep it simple), how the engagement ring market is as crowded as Times Square on New Year’s Eve, talks about some of the leading bridal jewelry brands (Novell, Lieberfarb, Ritani - just to name a few), and dissects the strengths and/or weaknesses of platinum, palladium and gold. All in all, And Now – the Ring! is an excellent breakdown of what every man should know – and needs to know – before he steps foot into a jewelry store or commits to an online engagement ring purchase.

Read And Now – the Ring! on PRZMan.com.

LIKE PRZ Man on Facebook.

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The Wedding Ring Blog makes Top 50 Jewelry Blogs list!

 

The Wedding Ring Blog has made GuidetoArtSchools.com’s Top 50 Jewelry Blogs listing. I guess I can file this under “G” for “Groovy!” The Wedding Ring Blog is listed in the number 43 position.

“43. The Wedding Ring Blog: An entire blog about wedding rings and other wedding jewelry.”

“We've searched the web far and near and created this list of the best 50 jewelry blogs out there. These blogs were selected because they demonstrate passion and expertise, are user friendly, and provide a broad plethora of the different types of jewelry available. Get ready to be dazzled!”

Visit GuidetoArtSchools.com’s Top 50 Jewelry Blogs to see the entire list of great jewelry blogs.

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Novell's metal exchange program featured on Jewelry Weblog.

 

In a tough or challenging economy, many jewelry stores from coast-to-coast often face the following questions – what can jewelry retailer do with old jewelry that’s not selling or earning interest because it’s out of style? And how can a jeweler actually increase their inventory with top merchandise without spending a lot of money?

Popular online jewelry authority The Jewelry Weblog recently featured American wedding band manufacturer Novell’s new initiative that is designed to help to put MORE affordable platinum bridal jewelry into jewelry store showcases – The Great American Metal Exchange (GAME). The idea behind Novell’s GAME is pretty straightforward; jewelry stores can exchange precious metals from merchandise that is not selling, broken or just sitting around for a platinum engagement ring collection that has a nice retail value (but is designed to be affordable and fast selling). If it’s made in gold, palladium or platinum, then it can be included in this innovative metal exchange program, although diamonds will have to be removed from all jewelry before being sent in to Novell. All in all, Novell’s GAME sounds too good to be true, but it’s not. However, it is only for a limited time, so jewelry retailers should act now.

Read Novell’s GAME Puts Affordable Platinum in Jewelry Stores.

GAME has also been featured in Yahoo! News.

Keep up with The Jewelry Weblog via RSS as well.

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Wedding Ring Blog featured on Alltop.com.

The Wedding Ring Blog’s headlines will now be featured on Alltop.com, a website that features feeds from leading blogs covering a very wide variety of subjects. In fact, Alltop.com can be your one stop shopping for all your latest information needs. You can stay up-to-date with what’s going in with just a few mouse clicks. Pretty cool!

The main purpose of Alltop.com is to help you answer the question, “What’s happening?” in “all the topics” that interest you. They do this by collecting the headlines of the latest stories from the best sites and blogs that cover a topic, and then group these collections — “aggregations” — into individual web pages. Next Alltop.com will display the five most recent headlines of the information sources as well as their first paragraph. Featured topics run from adoption to zoology with photography, food, science, religion, celebrities, fashion, gaming, sports, politics, automobiles, Macintosh, and of course jewelry, as well as hundreds of other subjects along the way. You can think of Alltop.com as the “online magazine rack” of the web.

Visit Alltop.com today.

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Wedding rings on Behind the Scenes with Engagement 101 TV.

 

Behind the Scenes with Engagement 101 TV, a yearly feature brought to you by Your Engagement 101, was recently filmed at JCK’s Jewelry Fashion Week (an annual trade show also known as The JCK Show). Your Engagement 101 offers coverage on everything from red carpet jewelry features to interviews with designers and advice from wedding ring experts, so their cameras were everywhere! Segments that were filmed include an interview with the World Gold Council’s David Lamb, celebrity fashion expert Michael O’Connor discussing bridal jewelry, Desperate Housewives’ Teri Hatcher showing off the latest red carpet jewelry at Simon G’s Summer Soiree, wedding ring purchasing pointers from Novell and more.

Check out some previews at Behind the Scenes with Engagement 101 TV right now.

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Jewelry Dose Daily features Novell's platinum initiative.

 

Jewelry Dose Daily, one of the better jewelry blogs that reports on all of the latest jewelry news and trends, recently featured a progressive initiative that is designed to place more affordable platinum styles in better retail jewelry stores – Novell’s Great American Metal Exchange.

“If you're a fine retail jeweler, you'll want to check out the new program that seemingly everyone in the jewelry industry is talking about.  Novell Design Studio recently announced the creation of their Great American Metal Exchange (GAME) program which allows qualified jewelry stores to trade in unusable precious metals for Novell’s new Studio Platinum bridal-classics collection.”

You can read the entire post at Jewelry Dose Daily - Novell Design Studio Announces the Creation of the Great American Metal Exchange (GAME) Program, Making Platinum Jewelry Affordable to Retail Jewelers and their Customers.

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The Wedding Ring Blog reaches 700th post!

The Wedding Ring Blog has just surpassed its 700th post! Thanks to the readers that find The Wedding Ring Blog through image searches and when searching for “wedding ring blogs” for stopping by, and thanks to the many that return multiple times during their shopping research. What started as a lark has developed into something that’s a lot of fun. I look forward to many more posts in the future.

Like The Wedding Ring blog on Facebook.

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New wedding rings debut on YourEngagement101.com.

 

YourEngagement101.com, a leading wedding planning website and blog, recently unveiled new one-of-a-kind wedding rings by Novell. Novell’s new Unity wedding rings are specially created by pairing 14kt gold and Argentium Sterling Silver with a very unique bonding technology.  A light-weight gold wedding ring is designed, finished, and carefully fused to a strong Argentium Sterling Silver inside piece – or what is also called a liner.  This results in a wonderfully resilient wedding ring with great potential for color, design, and flexibility. Unity wedding rings are priced to be the precious metal answer to alternative metal products – a need that both jewelry stores and consumer have been asking about!

See new one-of-a-kind wedding bands from Novell.

 
Novell wedding bands

 
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Win a free Tissot Swiss Watch – QR code watch contest.

 

Tissot Swiss Watches has launched a "Scan to Win" QR code campaign with their retail partner Diamonds and Dials in New York City. Powered by TAPPINN, the Tissot Swiss Watch QR code is located on a sign placed outside of the store, which is located at 34th and Broadway (right across from Macy’s). Scan the 3 foot X 7 foot sign with your iPhone, Blackberry or Droid, and then fill out the mobile landing page entry form that appears. You can even scan the image in this post. Great stuff! Enter and win a Tissot Swiss Watch today! All that’s required is a QR scanning application and a smart phone; there’s a free app available on iTunes. Or here’s a list of QR code readers.

Visit the Tissot Swiss Watches website.

Source for this post - Scan to Win a Tissot Swiss Watch in New York City.

 
Novell wedding bands

 
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New computer warning!

This came to me in an e-mail this morning, and I thought it was funny.

Finally – a computer warning that many can relate to and understand! 

 
Novell wedding bands

 
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Amethyst – Amethyst is February’s birthstone.

 

One of Boston’s leading wedding ring retailers Freedman Jewelers has this great post about February’s birthstone - Amethyst. Amethyst is a purple variety of quartz that is found in both Central and South America. The color of an Amethyst stone can range from a light pinkish violet tone to a deep purple variety.

Read more about Amethyst on the Freedman Jewelers blog.

 
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A list of wedding blogs for your wedding planning.

Wedding planning can be a long and arduous process. And these days, there are less bridal magazines on the shelf at book stores and supermarkets, so future brides and grooms have to turn to the Internet for their wedding planning help. But where to start? Here’s a list of over 100 leading bridal blogs online today. Happy wedding planning!

Wedding Blogs

100 Layer Cake
A Mountain Bride
A Practical Wedding
Adventures In Wedding Planning
African-American Brides
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Always A Blogsmaid
Amour Amour
Anti-Bride
Austin Wedding Blog
Beau-Coup Wedding Blog
Bellissima Vita Blog
Big Fat Cake
Big Mouth Bride
Blogger Brides
Boho Wedding Blog
Borrowed & Bleu
Branco Prata
Brenda's Wedding Blog
Bridal Buds
Bridal Rehab
Bridal Snob
Bridal Tweet
BridalEase
Bridalhood
Bride Chic
Bride On A Budget
Bridesmaid.com Blog
Bridezilla
Brooklyn Bride
Bustled Blog
Cap Classique
Classic Bride
Clover & Bee Weddings
Cynthia Martyn Events
Dallas Wedding Planner Blog
Dandelion and Grey
Delightfully Engaged
DIY Bride
Dolce Sposa
Earth Friendly Weddings
Eco-Beautiful Weddings
Elegance & Simplicity
Elizabeth Anne Designs
Elizabeth Dye
ellyB Events
Emmaline Bride
Engaging Bride
Erin Ever After
Ethical Weddings
Every Last Detail
Forget Me Knot Weddings
Frolic
Glamour and Grace Weddings
Green Wedding Shoes
Green Weddings
Grey Likes Weddings
Groom Groove
Grooms Advice
Here Comes The Blog
Hindsight Bride
Hot Pink Brides
I Love You Much
Inspired Goodness
Intimate Weddings
It's A Jaime Thing
Janay A Handmade
Junebug Weddings
Kiss The Groom
La Belle Bride
Landlocked Bride
Love and Lavender
Love My Dress
Luna and Chloe Weddings
Magnolia Rouge
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Oh Lovely Day
OK, Now What Bride
OMG I'm Getting Married
Once Wed
One Lovely Day
OneWed's Savvy Scoop
Pearls Events
Peonies & Pearls
Perfect Bound
Polka Dot Bride
Postcards and Pretties
Prepare to Wed
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Ruffled
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Smartbride Boutique Blog
Snippet & Ink
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Something Old, Something New
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Style Me Pretty
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The Bowie Bride
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Martha Stewart - The Bride's Guide
The Broke-Ass Bride
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The Cinderella Project
The Inspired Bride
The Knotty Bride
The Loveliest Day
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The Plunge
The Relentless Bride
The Sweetest Occasion
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The Wedding Vine
TheKnot Blog
Tried and True Weddings
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With This Ring
YesBride Blog

 

Put wedding rings to rest with a Wedding Ring Coffin.

 

Can over 1,400 Facebook fans be wrong? Or in this instance, have no taste? The Wedding Ring Coffin allows you to give an unfortunately dead marriage its proper, final resting place. The Wedding Ring Coffin is the perfect gift for yourself or a loved one for bringing closure after a divorce. The company’s motto is – “Bury the past and move on to a new tomorrow."

Find The Wedding Ring Coffin on Facebook.

 

Unwanted gift card? Exchange that gift card!

 

According to CNNMoney.com, gift cards top the list of most requested presents during the holiday season. Believe it or not, some people end up not liking or wanting to use a gift card that was given to them. So if you get a gift card that you can’t or don’t want to use – what do you do? You can keep it in your sock drawer and let it expire, adding to the $2.5 billion retailers are expected to collect in leftover gift card credit this year. Or you can exchange it at one of the gift card swapping websites that are cropping up all over the Internet - PlasticJungle.com, Cardpool.com, CardWoo.com, GiftCards.com. But keep in mind that your gift card swap will cost you in some by either getting a gift card that has less value on it than what you’ve been given, or through an exchange fee.

Read Hate your gift card? Swap to get one you really want at CNNMoney.com.

 

Visit wedding planning blog The Daily 101.

 

Is it time to start thinking about anything and everything associated with your wedding, but don’t know where to start? You can find some great wedding planning news and view the latest trends from one of the leading authorities in the wedding industry - The Daily 101 (the official wedding blog for YourEngagement101.com). The Daily 101 combines a mix of practical advice with celebrity wedding stories that will truly inspire and delight!

Visit The Daily 101 wedding planning blog.

 

Diamond Fans Facebook page a must for jewelry fans.

 

Jewelry blog The Online Jeweller features a story about a very popular Facebook page – Diamond Fans. Diamond Fans recently has more than 650,000 fans and is now the largest jewelry page on Facebook. In fact, it can be said that one of the most popular pages on Facebook with ties to Baltimore isn’t connected to a sports team such as the Ravens or a national brand, but to a downtown jewelry shop – Samuelson’s Diamonds. If you want to compare Diamond Fans to other popular jewelry websites, a national chain Zales Jewelers has 41,000 Facebook fans, while Kay Jewelers apparently less than 600 fans, although I can not find an official Kay Jewelers Facebook page at this time.

Visit Diamond Fans on Facebook.

Read Diamond Fans unite on Facebook — thanks to a Baltimore jeweler.

Create a platinum engagement ring at Samuelson’s Diamonds website.

 

All about Jewellery Forum

Great jewelry on Stacy Knows trend blog.

 

If you live in the suburbs of New York City, and want to know the who, what, where and when’s of the area's latest fashion and jewelry trends, then here’s a great blog for you.  Stacy Knows, a blog that reports on all the best fashion and beauty findings in the Westchester, New York area, features a new posting about Susan Blake-Lv2BFit, a retail clothing and jewelry store that just opened in Armonk (next to Lilies and Lace). Lv2BFit is the fashion part of the establishment, while Susan Blake handles the designer jewelry end. Having been in the jewelry business her entire life (which can be a very challenging industry), Susan Blake features original fashion jewelry designs created in rich yellow gold, hand-crafted sterling silver and diamond styles and other featured jewelry designers that can be considered to be some of her own personal favorites.

Read Happy Holidays from Susan Blake and LV2BFit.

Find Susan Blake-Lv2BFit on Facebook.

 

Stainless steel rings on Momentville.com - rings for men.

 

Momentville.com, a free wedding website where couples can create and easily share pages about their upcoming ceremony on Facebook, Twitter and more, features stainless steel rings inspired by tattoo and tribal themes. Novell created these stainless steel rings that can be worn as a wedding ring or even just as a fashion ring since they are so affordable.

See stainless steel rings on Novell’s wedding band portfolio on Momentville.com.

See Amazon.com Black Friday deals.

See Amazon.com Black Friday deals for wedding rings and jewelry.

 

 

Platinum engagement ring in Brides Facebook poll.

 

The Facebook page for Brides.com features a poll asking for fans to vote for their favorite platinum engagement ring. Alongside styles by leading platinum bridal jewelry designers Diamond in the Rough, Gumuchian, Phyllis Bergman for Mercury Ring, and Designs by Vatché is a new platinum engagement ring by Novell. To vote, you simply have to LIKE the Brides.com Facebook page, go to the FANS ONLY tab near the top, and then scroll down just a bit to participate.

 

Visit the Brides.com Facebook page to vote!

 

Platinum jewelry and platinum wedding rings on Facebook.

 

Are you interested in platinum, but not sure where to start looking? You may wish to start at Platinum Guild's Facebook page. It’s very simple to search, and also very clear and concise. The Platinum Guild Facebook page is a great place to start looking at platinum jewelry and for learning about platinum in general.

Visit the Platinum Guild Facebook page.

 

When social media is not so social - automated Twitter responses.

 

Have you ever decided to follow someone on Twitter, and then get one of those canned or automated messages thanking you for following them? I always have viewed the automated Twitter response as being like a thank you note or Christmas card that’s printed instead of hand written; there’s no personalization or thought behind it. I have also felt that the object of social media is to reach out and touch someone to promote interaction. Automated social media responses are lazy, and actually may work against the purpose of social media in general.

Read Why Auto Tweets Don’t Work.

 

The Internet's Top 50 Web 2.0 websites.

Have you ever wondered what the top Web 2.0 social-oriented websites are? Here’s a list from an e-mail that I just received from the company that produces web software Speedlings - Social Media Web 2.0 Traffic Strategies. The only surprise is that Facebook is lower on the list then I would have expected.

Top 50 Web 2.0 Websites:

1)   http://www.youtube.com/
2)   http://www.wikipedia.org/
3)   http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites
4)   http://twitter.com/
5)   http://photobucket.com/
6)   http://www.flickr.com/
7)   http://wordpress.com/
8)   http://www.imdb.com/
9)   http://digg.com/
10)  http://www.ehow.com/
11)  http://www.typepad.com/
12)  http://www.topix.com/
13)  http://www.livejournal.com/
14)  http://www.deviantart.com/
15)  http://technorati.com/
16)  http://www.myspace.com/
17)  http://www.facebook.com/
18)  http://www.linkedin.com/
19)  http://www.hi5.com/
20)  http://www.joost.com
21)  http://www.orkut.com/Signup
22)  http://www.tagged.com/
23)  http://www.ning.com/
24)  http://www.friendster.com/
25)  http://www.metacafe.com/
26)  http://www.fotolog.com/
27)  http://www.wikia.com/wiki/Wikia
28)  http://multiply.com/
29)  http://www.stumbleupon.com/
30)  http://www.squidoo.com/
31)  http://www.skype.com/
32)  http://www.last.fm/
33)  http://www.bebo.com/
34)  http://www.etsy.com/
35)  http://www.reddit.com/
36)  http://www.vimeo.com/
37)  http://delicious.com/
38)  http://www.pandora.com/
39)  http://www.meebo.com/
40)  http://www.fotolia.com/
41)  http://feedburner.google.com/
42)  http://www.woot.com/
43)  http://www.buzznet.com/
44)  http://www.meetup.com/
45)  http://www.zazzle.com/
46)  http://www.xanga.com/
47)  http://www.myyearbook.com/
48)  http://www.flixster.com/
49)  http://www.kaboodle.com/
50)  http://www.snap.com/

Lego wedding ring - oh grow up!.

 

Now I have seen everything. Neat-O-Rama highlights a Lego wedding ring. My guess is that it’s for the groom that still has a lot of little boy left in him.

See the Lego wedding ring at Neat-O-Rama.

Font jewelry - if you can spell it, then wear it!

If you can spell it, then perhaps you can wear it as jewelry. Here’s some jewelry for those moments when you want to express your love for fonts, yet have a great accessory to wear as well. FlavorWire.com highlights some really cool examples of what they call “Typography Jewelry.” My favorite is this silver necklace that explains what silver is!

Read Design Porn: Typography Jewelry.

Finding palladium wedding rings and jewelry.

  

Consumer interest in palladium seems to be growing by leaps and bounds, yet many people are not quite sure where to find it. Palladium is an affordable metal that is naturally white; palladium is also a better option over white gold if platinum is just not an option due to its current price. And if you are looking for palladium, you might want to consider staring with the following websites for information:

Novell Design Studio – Novell has been creating palladium designs for years – almost more than any other manufacturer on the market today. This American wedding ring company probably has the most experience and success creating wedding rings and jewelry with this metal. Many manufacturers can only offer basic products or simple rings created with palladium, but Novell can specially create almost all of their styles in palladium. While the company is known for emphasizing its “platinum first” philosophy, should you choose to order a palladium wedding ring from Novell, then you are in excellent hands. But remember – platinum is THE premium metal for wedding rings and jewelry, and investing a little more in platinum now means that you are literally investing in a metal that can potentially last a lifetime. But palladium is a fine choice if you have a smaller budget to consider.

BlueNile.com – If you are looking to purchase a palladium wedding ring online, BlueNile.com has some great palladium bands available. You can find quite a few basic palladium wedding ring designs on this very popular e-retailer’s website.

LarsonJewelers.com – Larson Jewelers offers an elegant selection of palladium rings. Their featured palladium rings are made in American made are created by the biggest and most trusted names in the industry, like Benchmark, Novell and Guertin. Here’s an interesting concave palladium wedding ring that featured on their site.

There are a lot of websites and webpages featuring palladium information and merchandise.  In doing my research, I did come across a statement that I strongly disagree with – “Palladium is the new platinum of the jewelry world…” In my opinion, it’s not. Both palladium and platinum have their place in the jewelry industry, and palladium has a history as well. In fact, my Grandmother had a palladium wedding ring from before World War II. And about a twelve years ago (if not more), the price of palladium was higher then that of platinum. So if you are interested in palladium, my best advice is to keep doing your research. You may settle for a palladium wedding ring, or you may find that platinum is worth the further investment.

 

iPods over wedding rings as most treasured item!

Palladium wedding ring by Novell 

Sad but true! A recent survey of Facebook users conducted by gadget insurers Protect Your Bubble found that people value their iPods over cats and (insert GASP noise HERE) wedding rings! iPods came out top with 12% of the 500 respondents voting for it as their most treasured possession, while wedding rings seemed to come in pretty low-down with only 1% of the vote. Alas, just as an iPod has a shuffle function, so do many people’s love lives!

Read iPods over Wedding Rings as most treasured possessions of Generation Facebook.

Find Today's Daily Deal on Your City's Best Things To Do at Groupon.com!

Wedding search engine app to launch.

Okay, so you’ve heard (well READ) my ramblings about how difficult it is to find quality wedding-related topics using Google blog search. And let’s face it; it’s even tough at times with the search engines. Well, hallelujah! My prayers have been answered!

My Wedding Concierge is helping to revolutionize the way brides find wedding vendors online. Their new phone app utilizes cutting edge mobile and blog aggregation technology. One key feature involves geo-location abilities that allow brides to find wedding vendors immediately and interactively on their iPhone, iPad  or Android.

Interested? View the demonstration video - My Wedding Concierge Wedding Search Engine iPhone iPad Apps.

Big and bold engagement rings.

YourEngagement101.com features some big and bold engagement rings from some of the leading jewelry designers today. Designers featured are Natalie K, Mark Schneider, Michael Beaudry, Sylvie Collection, Prisma Express and Vanna K (that's two K's for the price of one!).

Read Innovative, dramatic engagement rings at YourEngagement101.com.

Going to Fashion Week in NYC?

Here’s a helpful map that’s available on the NYTimes.com T Magazine Blog. It has a lot of great tips of where to go for wine or eats during a hectic (but often fun) Fashion Week escapade.

Welcome to the Neighborhood | The Fashion Week Map

From Goldman Sachs to the jewelry industry.

Jewelry-Weblog.com highlights the designs and career of Monique Péan, a jewelry designer that took a pretty interesting path from Wall Street (or the business world) to the jewelry industry. However, both can be risky in such a tough economy.

Read Monique Péan, From Goldman Sachs To Jewelry Designer.

Jewelry highlighted by Paper N Stitch blog.

Just some interesting jewelry featured on the Paper N Stitch blog.