Anodized niobium bracelet and new blog layout

I bought these anodized niobium rings a while ago from Beadsisters in the UK along with a chainmail book, and today I thought of trying them out. Ouch, now I can appreciate sterling silver so much better. The niobium rings are quite hard to work with, and they scratch easily, meaning the colors are leaving fast. However once I finished the bracelet (a simple European 4 in 1) and tried it on, I didn't want to take it off anymore. Very comfy to wear. I will keep this bracelet for myself for different reasons.


- the rings are quite expensive (maybe even more expensive than the equivalent rings in sterling silver)
- I could not justify however the price to a general consumer who doesn't know about niobium. They won't appreciate this metal and will definitely not pay the higher price for it
- I can't tumble it to smoothen out the burs that came with the rings, as the color will leave fast
- I quite like the bracelet, I can wear it with jeans any day :D
Ergo this one stays with me!


On another note, I have completely revamped my blog. It had an old style layout, which I have refreshed with a new template that I quite like. Now I can add all sorts of useful widgets everywhere on the page, including on the top of the page.

This way you have access to all the jewelry you cannot live without, all on one page, reachable from the top of the page (see text in red). As I add more jewelry to the blog, the list will be updated, and as pieces sell, those will be automatically removed.