newobservations : Shopping and Product Reviews

So you want a dive watch, eh? Well, the first thing you must decide is whether this is to be a functional dive watch or just something to look nice on your wrist. While it is possible to find a decent dive watch that will look good you will usually sacrifice something when trying to combine looks and performance.

Most dive watches never make it to the water and are merely for looks with buyers purchasing them for attributes they may not even understand. Let’s assume that you are in need of a true dive watch that you can actually use in real life diving situations, here are a few things you will want to look for as well as some suggested watches.

In the realm of dive watches there are two main types of dive watches on the market today: those with the attributes of dive watches and the true dive watches with computers.
The dive watches manufactured more with the attributes in mind tend to be those made by high profile watchmakers such as Breitling and Rolex featuring things like water resistance and rotating bezels. True dive watches however, contain a great deal more features and benefits which the avid diver will want in a dive watch. Functions such as water temperature, depth readings, dive times, and gauges that time the breathing mixture in one’s tank can make the difference in life or death. Many of the more sophisticated dive watches allow for downloading to your personal computer to keep records of your dives.

Features that you will want no matter what dive watch you choose include construction of anti-corrosive materials and non-scratch crystals as well as oversized buttons that can be operated with gloved hands and extendable wrist straps that can be adjusted to wear over a wetsuit if needed.

Let’s take a look at a couple of the top dive watches available today. First on the list is the Citizen Promaster Aqualand. This state of the art dive watch is made of stainless steel and features a dive log memory holding up to 30 dive profiles. Other features include a display and digital dial with depth and water temperature, ascent rate alarm, low battery display, water resistant up to 660 feet and offers the ability to upload to your personal computer.

Another great dive watch is the Luminox Navy Seal Dive Watch. This watch meets military specifications for all branches of the armed forces of the United States. It features a fiberglass reinforced polyester injection molded case with stainless steel plate case back secured by stainless steel screws and is water resistant to 660 feet or 200 meters. It also has a unidirectional ratcheting bezel, sapphire glass window, and a multi jewel Swiss quartz movement with date function end of life feature and a 4 year battery life.

Hopefully this brief overview can get you started on your quest for a great dive watch.

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. Get fine watches at http://www.designerwatchsuperstore.com

Diamonds are measured in Carat Weight. One carat weighs 200 milligrams. If a diamond is referred to as four grains, this also means that it is a one carat diamond. The word Carat comes from the word carob. A carob is a bean that grows on a tree in the Mediterranean. In times past, if a diamond weighed the same as a carob bean, it was one carob, or one carat.

However, in the far east, where Carob trees do not grow, rice was used to measure the weight of a diamond. If a diamond weighed as much as four grains of rice, it was four grains - or one carat as we know it to be now. The majority of diamond purchases are for diamonds that are 1/3 of a carat.

Beware when shopping for diamonds that are already set or mounted. If more than one diamond is used in the piece, the tag on the jewelry will give the CTW or Carat Total Weight - it does not tell you the carat weight of each stone in the piece. You need to ask the jeweler for the total carat weight of the largest diamond in the piece to truly understand what you are buying.

Clarity is also an important aspect of a diamond, and it is important to know how to grade the clarity of a diamond before you buy one. It is actually quite easy to learn how to grade the clarity of a diamond. There are basically two things that you must understand: Diamonds with visual inclusions and blemishes, and those that are ‘eye clean’ meaning that there are no inclusions or blemishes that can be seen with the naked eye. From there, the clarity of a diamond is further broken down into subcategories.

Many people mistakenly think that diamond clarity refers to how clear it is. This isn’t so. Clarity actually refers to the internal and external imperfections of the diamond. The best diamonds, of course get a grade of FL or IF - Flawless or Internally Flawless - meaning that it is perfect. A grade of I-1, I-2 or I-3 means that the diamond is imperfect, with a grade of I-3 being the worst.

Other grades are VVS1 and VVS2, which means that the diamond is very, very slightly imperfect; VS1 and VS2, meaning the diamond is very slightly imperfect; SI-1 and SI-2, which means that the diamond is slightly imperfect.

With a little practice even a neophyte can learn to tell the quality of diamonds.

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16 year old son. Get quality diamond jewelry at http://www.diamiondjewelrynow