The Christian martyrs honored on February 14^th are Valentine of Rome who was a priest and Valentine of Terni who was a bishop. They were both buried on the Via Flaminia in Italy. However, there is no romantic association with their original biographies. The romance behind the sentimental holiday started in the 14^th century.  Legend has it that on the evening before Valentine’s execution, he wrote the first valentine card, addressed to a young girl, his beloved. It is said to be a note that read “from your Valentine.”

In 1797, a British publisher issued “The Young Man’s Valentine Writer” containing suggested sentimental verses for the young lover who couldn’t write his own. Printers later on started to produce cards with verses and sketches they called “mechanical valentines.” Paper Valentines were so popular in 19^th Century England that they were assembled in factories. They even had fancier alternatives with real lace and ribbons. By the 20^th Century, exchanging cards grew into exchanging gifts of all types including roses, chocolates, even diamond rings. These days many people choose to take their relationship to the next level and even propose to their partners. So many designer engagement rings are bought during the month of February.

According to the U.S. Greeting Card Association, about 190 million valentines are sent every year in the U.S. CrownRing jewelry manufacturers learned that half of those are given to family members, including children. Plus, with the rise of the internet, Valentine’s Day greetings now include e-cards and even love coupon. In 2010, an estimated 15 million e-valentines were sent.

How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day this year? Are you taking your romantic relationship to the next level? Trust CrownRing designer jewelry manufacturers to help you find the perfect engagement ring for your perfect love. Choose from various ring styles and metals such as white gold. CrownRing has an engagement ring jewelry collection called “Breanna” that has quality diamond engagement rings for your bride –to-be.

And if you’re shopping for men’s designer jewelry, CrownRing can also help. Just check out the various men’s ring collections on crownring.com. You’ll find the classic yellow gold rings as well as an “Alternative Metals” jewelry collection boasting quality rings in tungsten carbide, black ceramic  and titanium.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Writing wedding vows is the art of putting your strong, over-the-top feelings for someone in words. But how do you take such raw emotion and communicate them in just the right way? Just like any good piece of writing, having a plan or an outline of what you’d like to say always helps. For instance, your wedding vows outline might talk about your fiancé’s qualities, how you work as a great team and finally what do you promise to give and do for each other.

Crownring jewelers suggest that before you start your first draft, you have an idea of what tone or voice you’d like to use. Do you want your wedding vows to be more on the funny side? Do you prefer to be very poetic? Or maybe you’d like to try something more on the creative side, such as rhyming for example.

Once you have somewhat of a plan, it’s time to write. Sometimes the way you write can make it easier to actually find the right words. You might be more comfortable on a computer because you can type as fast as you think. Pen and paper might help you get more in touch with your feelings. You might want to even try just talking candidly into a mini-recorder and then play it back.

To get your juices flowing so to speak, ask yourself some questions and note your answers. For example, what were your first thoughts when you first saw your fiancé? When did you realize you were in love? How has meeting your future life partner changed your life? What lessons did you learn now that you’re in a relationship with special person? What do you miss most when you’re apart from each other? Remember, details help you formulate more personal and touching wedding vows.

And if that doesn’t help, just visit crownring.com for the most innovative styles in men’s and women’s wedding bands. From classic diamond-encrusted wedding rings to yellow gold hand-woven wedding bands, there’s something for each and every taste. CrownRing jewelry designers also have a jewel collection for men dedicated entirely to alternative metals including tungsten carbide, black ceramic and titanium. For the ladies, CrownRing offers a unique jewelry collection called “Bonbons” that includes customizable, stackable and colorful wedding rings in yellow gold, white gold and rose gold.

Once your fiancé sees their sparkling wedding band, the perfect words won’t matter all that much.

There’s the obvious charming contender George Clooney who is now dating 32-year old Stacy Keibler. The beautiful couple has been regularly stepping out together on the red carpet and everyone is wondering will she be The One. Stacey was even quoted gushing about boyfriend Clooney saying he’s the best date in the whole world. But her famous “Descendants” actor boyfriend has been linked to numerous high profile relationships including with Italian actress Elisabetta Canalis, Kelley Preston and British model Lisa Snowdon.

Halle Berry is rumored to have gotten recently engaged to her boyfriend of over a year, Oliver Martinez. Also known as Kylie Minogue’s ex-boyfriend who actually congratulated the couple on Twitter.  According to U.S. Weekly, this would be Halle’s third marriage. The French actor popped the big question over these past holidays and gave her an emerald and diamond ring. Halle has a 3-year old daughter with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry and has been married before to former baseball player David Justice and R &B Singer Eric Benet. Will they make it all the way to the altar?

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel have also taken their relationship to the next level. According to the latest media report, the longtime couple got engaged just this December. They famously split in the beginning of 2011, but three short months later things were back on again. The story goes that the Sexy Back singer popped the question in Jackson, Wyoming with a custom-designed ring. The talented couple has been together for four years and a half.

It seems like Steven Tyler will be walking down the aisle in a little while as well. The 63 year old singer songwriter just proposed to his girlfriend of five years, model Erin Brady, while they were vacationing in Hawaii. She was apparently sporting a five-carat diamond ring. The American Idol Judge was married in the past to Cyrinda Foxe, an ex-Warhol model. CrowRing wonders, will Aerosmith’s main man sport a wedding band?

If you’re also planning to get married, make CrownRing part of your special day. We offer beautiful bridal jewelry collections both for men and women. For an entire view of our matrimonial jewels, visit us online at crownring.com to select your favorite styles. You can pick from diamond engagement rings, to men’s luxury white gold wedding bands, to even a selection of durable and scratch-resistant wedding rings made in tungsten carbide titanium, cobalt and black cobalt.

Good luck!

On crownring.com, you’ll see all of our tungsten carbide men’s wedding bands in various styles and widths from 6mm to 8mm. Tungsten carbide is a chemical that includes equal parts of tungsten and carbon atoms. In its basic form, it looks like a fine gray powder. It is used in various industries including machinery, sports, military, and yes, men’s jewelry. It’s three times stiffer than steel and is also denser than titanium. You can find tungsten carbide in bicycle tires, ballpoint pens, cutting tools, trekking poles and armor-piercing ammunition.

Tungsten carbide is a great alternative to other metals used to design jewelry because of its hardness and high resistance to scratching, making CrownRings men’s wedding rings more durable. These tungsten carbide men’s rings are virtually indestructible and always looked polished. It’s prefect for hard working men…in love.

CrownRing also manufactures black ceramic rings. They offer a hypoallergenic, comfortable and lightweight alternative to regular jewelry. Ceramic is typically used in tiles, decorative art, bullet-proof vests, dental implants, even car engines. The unique properties, including scratch-resistant, of black ceramic are now making it be the hottest thing in jewelry manufacturing. Why wear gold when you can wear black, right.

CrownRing has made its men’s wedding bands design even more unique by combining tungsten and black ceramic for a stylish two-tone look. These days, black ceramic rings are growing in popularity not only for their no wear-and-tear property but also for their low price tag. For CrowRing’s hottest black ceramic jewelry, checkout the “alternative metals” section of crownring.com.

Next on the list of alternative metals, is titanium. It’s the hardest metal in the world, but is still very light in weight. It’s typically used in aircrafts and spaceships. However, it’s perfect for jewelry such as rings because it doesn’t react to salt water, body chemistry or sunlight. It also doesn’t rust. So while other jewelry can turn your finger green, titanium won’t. CrowRing combines titanium with other metals such as gold for stylish wedding rings and even has diamond –encrusted men’s wedding bands for a unique look.

There you have it, an entire collection devoted to doing things a little differently. If you think an alternative metal wedding ring is right for you, check out crownring.com to pick your favorite from CrownRing’s jewelry collection.

Each new year, after all of the hoopla, we tend to all think about our resolutions. Sure, you might have written them down somewhere on a to-do list back in December, but come January these resolutions are staring you in the face. New Year’s resolutions are different for everyone. Some have career goals in mind, some want to lose weight and others want to find true love.

At Crownring, love is always in the air. And this new year isn’t any different. In fact, our jewelry manufacturing company is named after the idea of love. CrownRing’s founders believe that when a couple gets married, they become king and queen of their world. Hence, the crown.

For some, the quest for true love is already in the works.  For others, this 2012 new year will be their winning year. If any new year’s resolution is really worth working hard for and making it happen, getting married is the one. So try to take a more active approach in dating, socializing and putting your personal life first. As the months go by, you’ll get busier at work and other factors will side track you, but if finding a true partnership is what you want in 2012, stay focused and determined.

If luck is on your side and find someone you can share the rest of your life with, then when you’re ready, you should visit our crownring.com website for ideas on women’s engagement rings, wedding bands and other matrimonial jewelry. You’ll find about eight various high quality jewelry collections with creative designs and all sorts of precious metals. Crowring has yellow gold rings, white gold wedding bands, rose gold rings, even diamond rings.

Once you find a few jewelry designs that you like, you can search on crownring.com for your nearest jewelry store. Our men’s and women’s jewelry can be found in countless high end retailers across the U.S., Canada, Mexico and even France. All you have to do is type ion your zip code and submit. It’s that easy!  Good  luck on finding the “one.”

CrownRing, a Canadian manufacturer of women’s and men’s wedding rings, began to incorporate Cobalt into their collection of wedding rings in an effort to make them more affordable and accessible to those negatively affected by the economic down turn. A spokesman for the company explains:

“By expanding into the realm of cobalt products, we feel that we are providing our clients with the highest quality alternative metal available today. Our white cobalt products are incredibly durable and resilient to the wear of everyday life, and also have an illustrious bright color that is often mistaken for platinum…White cobalt products offer a bright polish that many people find more appealing than gold or platinum. Cobalt is a metal that provides a level of durability previously unheard of in the jewelry industry”

There are many features of Cobalt that are attractive to a customer.

“All of our wedding bands are crafted with a lifetime of wear in mind, and our new line is no exception. Unlike other alt. metals, cobalt products will not break, shatter or chip. The illustrious color and finish will never fade or wear off. Needless to say, this is a truly eternal product.”

Of the alternate metals being used in manufacturing wedding rings, Cobalt shows the greatest promise for being used in designs in which diamonds are set with prongs (claws). As always they are leading the packing in innovative use of alternate metals.

 “Our technicians and designers are currently hard at work creating the world’s first cobalt rings featuring gems set into claws.”

Cobalt wedding rings do not require rhodium plating, and CrownRing guarantees that the ring will retain its luster and shine for a lifetime.  Rhodium is part of the platinum family of metals. It is used, primarily on engagement and wedding rings crafted in white gold, to provide protection from scratches and tarnish, as well as enhancing the reflective surface of the metal.

All Cobalt rings manufactured by CrownRing are 100% hypoallergenic.

As in the case of most durable alternate metals, resizing could be a problem. However, CrownRing guarantees each wedding ring for a lifetime.

Finding, buying and presenting the diamond engagement ring are actually the least time consuming. Once the groom has sewn up the commitment, the job usually falls on the bride, her family and her friends to pull the wedding plans together.

There are some time constraints you must respect if you have your heart set on having the wedding of your dreams. First, for popular months such as June, the location may have to be rented a year in advance.  After choosing your dress, it could take as much as 15 weeks to arrive, and at least 1 week to alter. You could lose 15 lbs from nerves alone in that much time.

Planning time from proposal to wedding can be a year for a formal bash, or two months for something more casual.  The thing that has to be remembered is that it is one or two days of your life. Keep in mind the state of the relationship, not the color of the icing on the cake.

The things that will last forever, and be a constant reminder of the life choice you made, are the rings on your finger. Funnel some funds from the lavish spread at the wedding, and choose engagement rings and wedding rings of good quality and in timeless styles.

Manufacturers such as the Montreal based CrownRing, have been supplying brides and grooms with bridal jewelry for many years and have a large and varied catalogue.  The exquisite beauty of a well designed and crafted diamond ring or wedding band dwarfs the importance of any flower arrangement.

There is no caterer or seamstress that can offer the same promise that CrownRing does:

“Inspired by your love, crafted by ours. Celebrate your special moment with symbols of eternal love from CrownRing jewelry”  

Mike Barton has been referred to “As the Most Romantic Man in the World” and is the author of the definitive “101 Best Proposal Ideas”.  Before he earned his title he was just another guy who wanted to propose to his girlfriend in a special way. After much research, he came up with the 101 best proposal ideas.

What does he recommend as general rules for a proposal?

I finally proposed to my girlfriend last Valentine's Day. She said yes, but I knew something was wrong. About a month later I finally got her to admit to me what the problem was. She hated the ring. We are now in the process of shopping for another ring. My family and friends are very disturbed that she didn't want the ring I picked out. Any thoughts from you on this?

- Mario

Let’s put aside Veronica’s suggestion that perhaps Mario didn’t spend as much as he should have on the engagement ring, giving her the impression that his priorities involve $1500 leather jackets and $100 a week to go out drinking with the boys, while his budget for the engagement ring was $800. Let’s face it, this is an item that will be worn every day for a long time, and if he can afford to spoil himself with momentary indulgences perhaps he could have invested more into the engagement ring.

With the cost of the engagement ring aside, why else would Mario’s fiancé dislike the token of his enduring love for her?

It could be the style of the engagement ring. Extravagant designs may not appeal to the physically active and very modern woman.  An ornate Victorian vintage style engagement ring may not fit into her lifestyle. Or the problem could be the opposite; the ring is just too plain. High-set simple solitaries are not to everyone’s taste in engagement rings.

How to remedy this situation? Before buying the real thing, take her shopping and get an idea of what she would like. If you want the proposal to be a surprise, you might want to engage her friends in some subterfuge and have them find out where her tastes lie in engagement rings.

Many stores and manufacturers have online catalogues of their collections that you can browse without leaving the house. CrownRing, a Canadian manufacturer of bridal jewelry who supplies excellent quality engagement and wedding rings to retail stores all over North America, displays their designer rings and unique models on their website. You will see a huge selection of different styles, ranging from clean modern settings to delicate vintage rings. Have her look the CrownRing collection over and indicate her preferences in the design of her engagement ring. It’s a simple way to ensure there are no snafus on the day of the proposal.

72 days.

That is exactly how long it took Kim Kardashian to decide that her marriage and her massive wedding extravaganza (not to mention her massive engagement and wedding rings) was a mistake. Well, maybe not the wedding itself as it seems to have been a good money-maker.

There may have been many mitigating factors involved in the crash and burn of that marriage, especially the questions as to whether the whole event was staged for TV, or whether there was a lack of communication between the bride and groom as to what came AFTER the ceremony.

Have the right intentions when you decide to marry: love, companionship, and a wish to commit to a relationship. That is the absolute base line for the decision to marry.

Communication is the most vital thing that keeps a marriage successful.  After the wedding is not the time to discuss where to live or whether to have kids. These are deal breakers, and it is vitally important to know how each person feels.

Your main concern should be the marital years after the wedding, not the fleeting ceremony. If you keep that in mind you will naturally make intelligent decisions about your big day. For example good money spent on a dress might be better funneled into the purchase of the rings that will symbolize love that inspired the union for years to come.

How to purpose, how to choose the engagement ring, are the first stage of the marital journey. Surprisingly, the gift of the ring can become a big bone of contention. A woman may have very particular tastes in her personal adornments and surroundings. The spouse-to-be must keep in mind that the purchase of the ring should in some ways be a reflection her personality.

The engagement and wedding rings are a powerful symbol of the love and commitment of a couple. You don’t need to follow the Jones’s, or even the Kardashians, flash and dollar signs are no guarantee of a lasting marriage.  Buy what you can afford in engagement ring and wedding rings, and talk about what your tastes would be. Shopping together can be a wonderful joint experience.

Start off with the right head-set, look for quality and excellent designer styles. Be confident in your commitment and look for an engagement ring or wedding ring that is made to last a life time.

CrownRing is a manufacturer of quality bridal jewelry, with a large collection to please all tastes and budgets. They ONLY produce engagement, wedding, and anniversary rings, and they are themselves committed to long lasting love. It shows in every CrownRing piece.