People say,
"Don't just prepare for a wedding, prepare for a MARRIAGE instead because marriage is eternal, it's a life-time event"
That's heavy, real heavy. I'm not starting to worry or freak out about my decision (ooh, hopefully?!!), but I think it's time to take a deep breath and have a think about it.
Are you ready, B2Bs?
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Merisik
Alhamdulillah, yesterday marked our first phase towards marriage. All praise is due to Allah and no one but Him. The 'other' family came yesterday for an introduction session and 'merisik'. Merisik is mainly an occasion where the future-groom's family comes over to the future-bride's house and ask if she is still single. Apparently according to google, this tradition is translated as 'spying custom'. It is when the family tells their intention and plan as a first step towards marriage.
And mine was on a lovely Sunday, 16th of September 2012. He came over with the parents and his sister, also with a gold ring usually known as 'cincin tanda'. The ring is pretty much a symbol or an indication that I am now officially booked by someone!
I couldn't be happier knowing that both families have started to know each other and agreed with our marriage plan. After all these years of only the two of us knowing one another! Hehe.
With a ring on my finger, reality starts to hit me this very morning. This is for real! I will be someone's wife soon. Well, not just that.. I will be a daughter in-law and sister in-law too! Long-life marriage preparation is what I need to start focusing now.
May Allah make ease of everything...and I am hoping that Allah binds our hearts to His, and lasts us till Jannah.
And mine was on a lovely Sunday, 16th of September 2012. He came over with the parents and his sister, also with a gold ring usually known as 'cincin tanda'. The ring is pretty much a symbol or an indication that I am now officially booked by someone!
I couldn't be happier knowing that both families have started to know each other and agreed with our marriage plan. After all these years of only the two of us knowing one another! Hehe.
With a ring on my finger, reality starts to hit me this very morning. This is for real! I will be someone's wife soon. Well, not just that.. I will be a daughter in-law and sister in-law too! Long-life marriage preparation is what I need to start focusing now.
Friday, September 7, 2012
B2B Guide to Diamonds!
Well, diamonds ARE girls' best friends, aren't they? And I'm sure most of you B2Bs are planning to have a perfect, sophisticated and elegant diamond for your big day...including myself!
But before buying any, make sure you do some reading on diamonds and its necessary attributes. Have you heard about the 4Cs?
Apparently, when it comes to buying diamonds..there are 4 important "C"s that you'll need to consider - Carat, Clarity, Colour and Cut! I'll make my own version of the 4Cs for all of the B2Bs reading this, hoping you would gain something useful from my writing. Am also learning for myself, it would be useful when it comes to dealing with the salesperson and yes, my future husband when buying one. Hehe. So, here goes..!
1. Carat
Diamonds are usually graded by its size and quality. Unlike gold, "carat" is used as a universal weighing unit for diamonds. Larger diamonds are classified as rare in Diamond Quality Pyramid because they are less frequent found in nature. So as you may expect, larger diamonds will definitely cost more...and ouch, hurt your pocket!
Now, how do you convert carat into grams? One carat is equivalent to 0.2 grams but few women own diamonds of one or more carat. Money issues, girls! Hehe. Another important to take note is that, one carat is usually subdivided into 100 points. So if a diamond is 75 points - this means that it is 0.75 carat or 3/4 carat. On average, I see diamonds of 0.25c, 0.5c and 0.75c more frequent at the jewellers.
2. Clarity
Clarity means "clear" or in better terms, tells you how pure a diamond is. A diamond's clarity is usually defined by the internal characteristics (read: Inclusion) and surface features (read: blemishes). Okay, things will get a bit confusing here. During the formation of diamonds through crystallisation, other minerals in the surrounding area may get trapped within the mass and create irregularities (read: Inclusion) in the diamonds. As you may expect, irregularities will obviously affect the appearance of a diamond, but it is not visible to the naked eye and only visible by magnification. Clarity is classified by how big, how visible and how much inclusions are there in a diamond. However, diamonds which are "flawless" (FL) and "internally flawless (IF) are rare in nature thus will cost you a fortune. Slightly included inclusion varies from grade VVS1/VVS2, VS1/VS2, S1/S2/S3 from very very slightly included to slightly included. P1/P2/P3 means that the clarity is imperfect.
3. Colour
I have my own preference of diamond's colour - colourless ones are stunning! But they are of course, very rare and by that I mean, very expensive! Hehe. Anyhow, I've never realised that diamonds have different colours..until after I did some research on the 4Cs. The colours range from colourless, white..subtle yellow, yellow...and surprisingly, vivid colours like red and blue! To grade the colour of a diamond, it is compared against a "master stone" of known colour. What makes the colours differ from one diamond to another is traces of impurities or other elements present during the crystallisation of the diamond. Colour grading starts from the alphabet D onwards. As you move further, the colour becomes yellowish. D-F are colourless, G-J are near colourless, K-M are slightly tinted, N-R are very light yellow and S-Z are light yellow to yellow. And if a diamond is graded beyond Z, it gives a distinct, well-defined colours like red, blue, pinks, etc. One thing to take note - although colour reduces the diamond's value, diamonds with vivid colours may be highly priced!
4. Cut
A perfect cut is what makes the diamond one-heck of a beauty! You'll know if the craftsman did well if it sparks fire to the your eyes...oooh yes, it happened to me once! The perfect cut would spark the brilliance out of the diamond. It makes full use of the lights surrounding the diamond as it takes maximum amount of light and reflects it out off the diamond so brilliantly. It takes only skilful craftsmen to do this..for if the cut is slightly too shallow or slightly too deep, it will reduce the diamond's sparkle and beauty. So you gotta remember, choose only those that catch your eyes!
Other related information
-Shapes
It truly depends on you, ladies. Pick the one that suits you and obviously, WILL look good on your finger!
-Certificate
GIA certificate is a well-known certification in the jewellery industry produced by the Gemological Institute of America. It tells you the most accurate grading of your diamond and describes the quality of the diamond in detail. Why do you need one with GIA cert? Well..this is basically to reassure you that you are purchasing a diamond with certified claims made by trained gemologist. Therefore in the future, you'll be able to compare your diamond with another, with specified weight and quality .. giving you a better value and best pricing. As said before, you can never go wrong with diamonds that come with GIA - it is certified and accepted worldwide!
But before buying any, make sure you do some reading on diamonds and its necessary attributes. Have you heard about the 4Cs?
Apparently, when it comes to buying diamonds..there are 4 important "C"s that you'll need to consider - Carat, Clarity, Colour and Cut! I'll make my own version of the 4Cs for all of the B2Bs reading this, hoping you would gain something useful from my writing. Am also learning for myself, it would be useful when it comes to dealing with the salesperson and yes, my future husband when buying one. Hehe. So, here goes..!
1. Carat
 |
| The carat chart |
Diamonds are usually graded by its size and quality. Unlike gold, "carat" is used as a universal weighing unit for diamonds. Larger diamonds are classified as rare in Diamond Quality Pyramid because they are less frequent found in nature. So as you may expect, larger diamonds will definitely cost more...and ouch, hurt your pocket!
Now, how do you convert carat into grams? One carat is equivalent to 0.2 grams but few women own diamonds of one or more carat. Money issues, girls! Hehe. Another important to take note is that, one carat is usually subdivided into 100 points. So if a diamond is 75 points - this means that it is 0.75 carat or 3/4 carat. On average, I see diamonds of 0.25c, 0.5c and 0.75c more frequent at the jewellers.
2. Clarity
 |
| Diamond clarity grading |
Clarity means "clear" or in better terms, tells you how pure a diamond is. A diamond's clarity is usually defined by the internal characteristics (read: Inclusion) and surface features (read: blemishes). Okay, things will get a bit confusing here. During the formation of diamonds through crystallisation, other minerals in the surrounding area may get trapped within the mass and create irregularities (read: Inclusion) in the diamonds. As you may expect, irregularities will obviously affect the appearance of a diamond, but it is not visible to the naked eye and only visible by magnification. Clarity is classified by how big, how visible and how much inclusions are there in a diamond. However, diamonds which are "flawless" (FL) and "internally flawless (IF) are rare in nature thus will cost you a fortune. Slightly included inclusion varies from grade VVS1/VVS2, VS1/VS2, S1/S2/S3 from very very slightly included to slightly included. P1/P2/P3 means that the clarity is imperfect.
3. Colour
 |
| Diamond colour grading |
4. Cut
 |
| Cutting grades |
A perfect cut is what makes the diamond one-heck of a beauty! You'll know if the craftsman did well if it sparks fire to the your eyes...oooh yes, it happened to me once! The perfect cut would spark the brilliance out of the diamond. It makes full use of the lights surrounding the diamond as it takes maximum amount of light and reflects it out off the diamond so brilliantly. It takes only skilful craftsmen to do this..for if the cut is slightly too shallow or slightly too deep, it will reduce the diamond's sparkle and beauty. So you gotta remember, choose only those that catch your eyes!
Other related information
-Shapes
 |
| Different shapes of diamond |
-Certificate
GIA certificate is a well-known certification in the jewellery industry produced by the Gemological Institute of America. It tells you the most accurate grading of your diamond and describes the quality of the diamond in detail. Why do you need one with GIA cert? Well..this is basically to reassure you that you are purchasing a diamond with certified claims made by trained gemologist. Therefore in the future, you'll be able to compare your diamond with another, with specified weight and quality .. giving you a better value and best pricing. As said before, you can never go wrong with diamonds that come with GIA - it is certified and accepted worldwide!
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