Archive for the 'Freemasonry' Category
Wouldn’t one of these make a great Christmas Gift for the member of the clergy that has done so much for you? The best thing about it is that our clergy rings are all on sale and can be delivered before Christmas if you order soon!
Fox Jewelry
RMF & P LLC
3821 Chippewa Ct
Sioux City, IA 51104
712-251-8053
Email address: [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter: @MasonicRings
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We are happy to supply you with a quote on any of our merchandise but quotes are only good for 7 days.
Please visit our blogs and offer your comments:
Do you need an idea for that service man or woman? Fox Jewelry has a very nice selection of Military rings and watches. The greatest part is that they are all on sale now. Still time to order for pre-Christmas delivery.
RMF & P LLC
3821 Chippewa Ct
Sioux City, IA 51104
712-251-8053
Email address: [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter: @MasonicRings
Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/masonicringsbyfox
Join us on Google + https://plus.google.com/110810458219127221764/posts
We are happy to supply you with a quote on any of our merchandise but quotes are only good for 7 days.
Please visit our blogs and offer your comments:
I know that many of you are thinking that you are going to go out into the Malls on Black Friday and this weekend and try to land you a great deal on a Masonic, Knights of Columbus, Eastern Star, Elks or Military ring. Guess what; you are most likely wasting your time. The selection of fraternal rings in the jewelry store is extremely limited. Fox Jewelry has the largest selection of Masonic rings and other fraternal rings anywhere to be found. The best news is that if you order your ring in the near future, your ring can still be delivered before Christmas.
Not sure what to get? Please call us at 712-251-8053 or email us at: [email protected].
We would be happy to assist you in your selection.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you?
Mike Fox
Fox Jewelry
RMF & P LLC
3821 Chippewa Ct
Sioux City, IA 51104
712-251-8053
Email address: [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter: @MasonicRings
Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/masonicringsbyfox
Join us on Google + https://plus.google.com/110810458219127221764/posts
Obtaining the 33rd Degree is one of the biggest accomplishment in Freemasonry. Being recognized for this accomplishment is a great honor. Fox Jewelry has the largest and best selection of 33rd degree Masonic Rings found anywhere. They are on sale now till the end of the year.
You deserve the best and you deserve the recognition of achieving this honor.
Please let me know how I can be of assistance.
Fox Jewelry
RMF & P LLC
3821 Chippewa Ct
Sioux City, IA 51104
712-251-8053
Email address: [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter: @MasonicRings
Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/masonicringsbyfox
Join us on Google + https://plus.google.com/110810458219127221764/posts
It is not too early to start thinking about Christmas if you are thinking about getting a Masonic ring or other Fraternal ring for that Mason or Knights of Columbus in your family. Masonic Rings typically take 3-4 weeks to complete.
Fox Jewelry has the largest selection of Masonic Rings, and Knights of Columbus Rings to be found anywhere. Many of our Masonic Rings and Knights of Columbus Rings are on sale now!
Fox Jewelry
RMF & P LLC
3821 Chippewa Ct
Sioux City, IA 51104
712-251-8053
Email address: [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter: @MasonicRings
Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/masonicringsbyfox
Join us on Google + https://plus.google.com/110810458219127221764/posts
This article was written by Michael Fox, owner of Fox Jewelry, a business dedicated to the sale of Masonic Rings, Masonic accessories and other fraternal jewelry.
Fox Jewelry offers the largest selection of Masonic Rings and other Masonic Jewelry anywhere.
While I typically limit my blog posts to articles that deal with Freemasonry and other articles of interest to our fellow Masons, I sometimes like to deviate from that topic and offer to my readers other articles that may be of interest to them.
It is for this reason that I would like to depart from my usual articles and provide some information on the potential value of diamonds in the future.
The value of diamonds as an investment is of important interest to the general public and investors, due to the fact that they are expensive gemstones that are often purchased in engagement rings and bands. The challenge of correctly appraising the value of a single gem quality diamond complicates the appraisal process. The end of the De Beer’s monopoly and new diamonds discoveries during the last half of the 20th century have reduced the resale value of diamonds.
Polished diamond prices vary widely depending upon a diamond’s carat, color, quality and cut. This is oftentimes referred to as the 4 C’s. In contrast to the pricing involved in precious metals, there isn’t any universal world price per gram for diamonds. The industry refers to the price guides such as Rapaport, and the Troy Diamond Report in assisting to assess the value of diamonds. These guides are published weekly, monthly or quarterly. Gemstone specialty organizations such as the GIA, HRD, and IGI, have varying standards which can be used to aid in diamond identification and pricing. These organizations focus on research and education, which they pass on to their members and the public.
Rough diamond prices have historically been affected by the mining companies that controlled the supply of diamonds, most notably by the De Beers Company. However, since the dismantling of the DeBeers cartel in 2001, the industry is now more fragmented. This has resulted in a higher percentage of diamond sales taking place in the form of auctions along with other methods of open-market sales.
Although it was originally not possible to produce diamonds artificially, techniques to achieve this have been around since the early 1950’s and have become routine in recent times. Modern techniques can produce diamonds of essentially any desired chemistry or size and can actually be made more perfect that naturally occurring stones. This is often times a telltale sign that a stone is a synthetic rather than a natural stone.
Synthetics are genuinely diamonds, although not naturally occurring. Although some manufacturers do label their synthetic diamonds with serial numbers, there is no promise that a given diamond is not really man made, although sometimes an unnatural composition can suggest a diamond that is actually synthetic.
It is undoubtedly less expensive to create diamonds through artificial synthesis than it is to mine them although the expense of synthesis is still very significant. The inability to guarantee that a diamond is naturally occurring could undermine the premium price still being charged by natural diamonds over synthetic stones. New technological advances have allowed some independent gem labs such as the Gemological Institute of America to issue a specific Synthetic Diamond Grading Report which identifies a diamond as laboratory grown.
One thing that makes diamond investing particularly attractive is their high value per unit of weight, which makes them easy to store and transport. A high-quality diamond weighing as little as 2 or 3 grams could be worth as much as 100 kilos of gold. This extremely condensed value and portability is very attractive when using diamonds as a form of emergency funding. People and populations displaced by war or naturally occurring disasters have used this portable asset successfully in moving their assets.
Diamonds are so hard to find that many of the traditional players have pretty much given up trying. Many have packed up their maps and drills and have given up trying. According to De Beers, who are the top supplier of diamonds, more than $7 billion dollars have been invested in diamond mining with only meager finds in the last few years.
The absence of new projects is putting pressure on an industry where supplies of accessible diamonds near the surface are almost depleted and the cost of going deeper into the earth is rising.
Diamonds are formed hundreds of kilometers beneath the crust of the earth in the molten rock of the earth’s mantle. Violent explosions within the earth’s mantle have forced the precious gems to move toward the surface, where they come to rest in carrot-shaped pipes known as kimberlites. Finding a kimberlite is no guarantee of finding diamonds. In the last 140 years, more than 6,000 pipes that have been tested. Only 60 have been worthwhile mining. A mere seven kimberlites have been super deposits. To make matters things more difficult, diamonds are hidden in some of the world’s least-hospitable places. With most of South Africa and Botswana almost fully explored, the last probable frontiers for exploration are the frozen Arctic of northern Russia and Canada or the jungles of the Congo.
In the last five years, rough-diamond prices have climbed 75 percent.
Intact kimberlites aren’t the only source of supply. About 10 percent to 15 percent of the world’s diamonds are from alluvial mining, where the stones are found in riverbeds or shorelines.
While alluvial gems are easier to mine, geologists often can’t tell how many stones there are. This makes it much more difficult to determine whether the reserves will last long enough to justify and evaluate an investment.
While below-ground supplies are diminishing, there are other sources. It is estimated that approximately $1 billion dollars per year are spent on recycled gems. There is also the prospect of synthetic, or man-made, diamonds becoming more widely used in jewelry. While they are easily made and can only be distinguished from natural stones using specialized machines, synthetics still have a stigma attached to them given the weight of marketing and promotion behind mined diamonds.
Most of the world’s super mines have been discovered. In all probability a big find is probably not going to happen.
The industry also has lost some of the financial resources needed to pursue expensive deposits. While De Beers continues to explore across southern Africa and India, many of the smaller producers have curtailed or canceled their efforts to find new sources of supply.
What all this has to say about the future value of the diamonds mined, the ones that are currently available in the market and the ones now held by you is up for you to decide.
In my opinion, natural stones are only going to become rarer and more valuable. Determining which stones are natural and which ones are synthetics is going to become more difficult. It is up to you to decide whether to, how to and when to purchase them for investment.
This article was written by Mike Fox, owner of Fox Jewelry. They are the leading marketer of Masonic Rings and have the largest of selection of Masonic Rings anywhere. We welcome your visit our online store at: Fox Jewelry. Feel free to contact us at 712-239-6155 or email us at: [email protected] or [email protected]. Fox Jewelry 3821 Chippewa Ct Sioux City, IA 51104 712-239-6155 Email address: [email protected] or [email protected] www.foxjewelry.net www.masonicrings.net www.masonicjewelryblog.net Follow us on Twitter: @MasonicRings Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/masonicringsbyfox
Article written by Mike Fox, owner of Fox Jewelry; the leading marketer of Masonic Rings and other fraternal rings.
The Keystone is a significant symbol in the York Rite of Freemasonry. In Masonry, Hiram Abiff is known as the inventor of the keystone, and its significance was lost upon his assassination. The Keystone is known as the “stone the builders refused.” The builders of King Solomon’s Temple, not knowing the purpose of the oddly-shaped stone, cast it into the rubbish heap.
In the Mark Master Degree of Freemasonry much is made of a Keystone. It seems that the “peculiar form and beauty” of the stone allowed it to be passed inspection until the final test when a rigid interpretation of what could be accepted caused it to be thrown among the rubbish. The Keystone was searched for and found and placed in the Arch and thus the Temple was completed and dedicated. The Keystone was only rediscovered when King Solomon inquired of its whereabouts.
The letters inscribed are short for the phrase: “Hiram, The Widows Son Sent to King Solomon,” the meaning of which has since been lost. There are other interpretations of these initials depending upon the order in which you start.
In Masonry, the keystone is the stone that holds together a stone arch. It is the stone that is placed, completing the arch. The Keystone was placed in the center of an arch and keeps the other stones in their respective places. It also secures the firmness and strength of the arch. The unusual shaped keystone is an extraordinary example of early engineering, allowing builders to incorporate windows, doorways, and other building elements to a building without sacrificing strength. The main benefit of the keystone is to allow for much more natural light into a structure. As it was formerly the custom of Operative Masons to place a peculiar mark on each stone of a building to designate the workman by whom it had been adjusted, The Keystone was the one to receive the most prominent mark in the structure. This is very much related to the significance of the Keystone and how it played such an important a part in the legend of the Royal Arch Degree.
There have been objections made, that the arch was unknown in the time of Solomon. But this objection has been completely laid to rest by researchers that have discovered arches with regular keystones in the doorways of the tombs of Thebes the construction of which were made in the year 1540 B.C., or 460 years before the building of the Temple of Solomon
There are layers upon layers in the symbolism of Freemasonry. Each of us must ponder the symbols we use and figure out for ourselves what they each mean. Unlike rigid doctrines of politics and religion each Mason’s truth is his own and he should never stops seeking it. That is why the Keystone is such an important symbol in Freemasonry.
Sometimes the keystone is compared to Jesus as he is often interpreted as the cornerstone in some churches. Both are Masonic symbols. For some Masons Christianity can be found in the ceremonies and lessons of Masonry. What is my personal “Keystone?” – It can be thought of to mean many things. Some believe that their own personal Keystone is the family because most of one’s life is centered around our family. Some believe it to include their friends because their friends have become their true “family.”
The Keystone is a powerful symbol and each of us can have the right to interpret it as we wish.
This article was written by Mike Fox, owner of Fox Jewelry. They are the leading marketer of Masonic Rings and have the largest of selection of Masonic Rings anywhere. We welcome your visit our online store at: Fox Jewelry. Feel free to contact us at 712-239-6155 or email us at: [email protected] or [email protected]. Fox Jewelry 3821 Chippewa Ct Sioux City, IA 51104 712-239-6155 Email address: [email protected] or [email protected] www.foxjewelry.net www.masonicrings.net www.masonicjewelryblog.net Follow us on Twitter: @MasonicRings Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/masonicringsbyfox
Article written by Mike Fox, owner of Fox Jewelry; the leading marketer of Masonic Rings and other fraternal rings.
The Requirements of Being a Freemason.
The only thing required of a Mason is that they be good men and true; that they be men of honor and honesty. Regardless of their personal opinions on many of the subjects that may be controversial, they should meet as brothers and friends.
Masonry a Secret Society?
Freemasonry is not a secret society. There is no secret about any of its aims or principles. Its constitutions and rules are published and are available to the public. Freemasons are free to acknowledge their membership.
http://bit.ly/15npxad
Article written by Mike Fox, owner of Fox Jewelry; the leading marketer of Masonic Rings and other fraternal rings.
As a Mason, we have all been asked the following questions; I will try my best to answer those questions.
The Requirements of Being a Freemason.
The only thing required of a Mason is that they be good men and true; that they be men of honor and honesty. Regardless of their personal opinions on many of the subjects that may be controversial, they should meet as brothers and friends.
Masonry a Secret Society?
Freemasonry is not a secret society. There is no secret about any of its aims or principles. Its constitutions and rules are published and are available to the public. All Freemasons are free to acknowledge their membership and will do so in response to inquiries for respectable reasons.
Is Freemasonry a Religion?
No. Freemasonry is not a religion and promotes no religion. Freemasonry offers no sacraments nor does it claim to lead to salvation by any definition. Freemasonry believes that men of all faiths can dwell together in peace. Freemasonry requires its members to believe in God by whatever He is known by that individual, but will not dictate those beliefs except insofar as they coincide with the teachings of Freemasonry. The teachings of Freemasonry are built on the virtues of Faith, Hope, Brotherly Love, Charity, Relief and Truth. The “search for light” that is found in Freemasonry is a reference to a quest for knowledge, not necessarily salvation.
Is Masonry Against Religion?
No. Freemasonry is far from indifferent to religion. Without interfering in religious practice, Masonry expects each of its members to follow their own faith and beliefs, and to place above all other duties their duty to God by whatever name He is known to that individual. Masonry’s moral teachings are acceptable to all religions. Freemasonry is a supporter of religion.
This article was written by Mike Fox, owner of Fox Jewelry. They are the leading marketer of Masonic Rings and have the largest of selection of Masonic Rings anywhere. We welcome your visit our online store at: Fox Jewelry. Feel free to contact us at 712-239-6155 or email us at: [email protected] or [email protected].
Fox Jewelry
3821 Chippewa Ct
Sioux City, IA 51104
712-239-6155
Email address: [email protected] or [email protected]
www.foxjewelry.net
www.masonicrings.net
www.masonicjewelryblog.net
Follow us on Twitter: @MasonicRings
Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/masonicringsbyfox
How to Download and Archive Your Twitter Memories
Log in to your Twitter account. Click the gear at the top-right corner of the page, and then navigate to Settings. Under Content you’ll see a Request Archive button. Get the email; download the .zip.
The “index.html” file opens an elegant, stripped-down page of just your tweets, complete with pictures, live links, and rounded corners. A fun chart-like navigation tool lets you find your way through your tweets by year. You can pull some account info, like date joined and number of tweets, from the top-right corner. There’s even a button for making a new, live tweet, right from your archive.
Before you do this, please take the time to visit our website: to see the largest selection of Masonic Rings and other fraternal jewelry in the world.
This article was written by Mike Fox, owner of Fox Jewelry. They are the leading marketer of Masonic Rings and have the largest of selection of Masonic Rings anywhere. We welcome your visit our online store at: Fox Jewelry. Feel free to contact us at 712-239-6155 or email us at: [email protected].
Fox Jewelry
RMF & P LLC
3821 Chippewa Ct
Sioux City, IA 51104
712-239-6155
Email address: [email protected]
www.foxjewelry.net
www.masonicrings.net
www.masonicjewelryblog.net
Follow us on Twitter: @MasonicRings
Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/masonicringsbyfox