Everyone loves Pizza Villa. Why? Because the food is good and the atmosphere is welcoming. I must’ve driven by Pizza Villa a thousand times before I knew it was there on the corner of Congress and St. John. A friend suggested we meet there and I was all “Where is that?” Now that I’ve been, I go all the time.

There are some important things to know before you go. Half of the place is a pizza shop, the other is a bar. You can bring your kids, but they can’t hang in the bar. You can bring your drinks to the restaurant side and your food to the bar side. The restaurant will allow you to use your credit card to purchase food, but you need cash for the bar. There is an ATM tucked back between the stairs and the pinball machine.

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There are certain things that must be remembered when consumers are searching for jewelry. Not every merchant has the same product at the same price. Some merchants offer higher quality than others as well. When searching for cubic zirconia rings, consumers need to keep certain things in mind. By keeping those things in mind, they will be able to get the best quality for their money.

The first thing that customers will notice is how the jewelry looks when it is on. That is, of course, a very important thing. Customers should find jewelry that looks great when it is on and makes them feel better. Part of wearing jewelry is getting to feel beautiful with it on.

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“Many celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis are known to wear fake duplicates, while their real jewelry is stored away in a vault,” [Carol Andreson] says, adding that many wealthy women in Orange County also wear fakes.

Cubic zirconia is a generic name (the stones are marketed under more than two dozen trademarks) and quality can vary greatly with each source. Typically, a pair of one karat CZ stud earrings costs about $40. A CZ version of the popular tennis bracelet fashioned from individually cut stones and set in a 14-karat channel setting is priced at about $750.

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Cubic zirconia rings and other cubic zirconia jewelry are lovely substitutes for diamond jewelry. It has an interesting history combining science and beauty. Two German scientists discovered it in 1937. However, it was not until the 1970’s when Russian scientist found a way to create it in a laboratory. Cubic zirconia did not become popular until the 1980’s when Swarovski & Co. began making them in mass quantities.

A cubic zirconia is made through a complicated process and is a made up of zirconium oxide and yttrium oxide. Together the two chemicals create a beautiful, radiant crystal. It takes almost 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit to melt the two chemicals together and the most important process is cooling. The chemicals must be carefully cooled in order to create flawless crystals. (more…)