Don't forget Mother's Day - Sunday 18th March

Mother's Day is only 5 days away, so if you haven't sorted a little treat for your good old Ma yet, then don't leave it too much longer!

Amore & Baci beads to spell 'Mum':

Cubic zirconia set 'M' bead - £59.50 each (other letters available)

Glamour pave set heart bead - £42.00 (other colours available)

New Year, New Scams

With the price of gold being so high, we are finding more and more people coming in to scrap their unworn items - even single earrings or smaller, broken articles can command a good price.

But in amongst the genuine sales comes the occasional wheeler-dealer.  Twice we have seen the same brass signet ring, seemingly marked as 18 carat yellow gold, trying to be sold to us as the real thing.  Whilst a weighty item like that would be worth a good sum to the seller, a quick acid test soon tells us the truth!

So, our advice to any other local outlets in the scrap market - be vigilant against this scam!  But to our customers, please do bring us your unwanted gold jewellery and we promise to make the best cash offer we can based on the gold price that day!

Photo credit: 

http://bit.ly/zNlH7t

Christmas Opening Hours

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

...so take a moment to double check when we're around before popping in to spend your Christmas pennies:

Sunday 25th December          CLOSED
Monday 26th December        CLOSED
Tuesday 27th December        CLOSED
Wednesday 28th December   CLOSED

Thursday 29th December       OPEN 09:30 - 17:15
Friday 30th December            OPEN 09:30 - 17:15
Saturday 31st December        OPEN 09:30 - 17:15

Sunday 1st January                CLOSED
Monday 2nd January             CLOSED
Tuesday 3rd January              CLOSED

Wednesday 4th January         OPEN 09:30 - 17:15

Merry Christmas everyone!

Supporting the local community

Our shop in Beaconsfield has been open for 20 years and we really believe that our active involvement in the local community is a huge contributing factor to our growth and success.  Over the years, Andre has headed up the local Chamber of Commerce, founded the Neighbourhood Action Group and the annual Festival of Lights as well as contributing to countless school raffles and charity programmes.

In these difficult times, it becomes even more important to stay local and to give whatever you can to causes and charities whose funding and support will undoubtedly have dwindled.

In the coming months, expect to see us supporting:
The Rotary Festival of Lights (details to follow soon!)
Jordan's School
The Wooburn Singers
The Prostate Cancer Charity

Do your bit by attending some of these events and by buying local!

And it was all yellow...

Since the weather has turned distinctly autumnal, we thought we’d select yellow stones for our monthly colour focus.

Citrine, a quartz like amethyst, is mined (mostly from Brazil, the US, Spain and Russia) in such a range of colours (from pure yellow to honey, to a brownish yellow) and is relatively inexpensive so remains a popular choice with sun-stone seekers.  The colour in citrines can sometimes appear broken up or patchy, but this rarely noticeable, and the excellent lustre and clarity often compensates for small areas of shading.   

9 carat yellow gold line bracelet set with citrine - £725.00

18 carat yellow gold pendant set with a 45.52 carat heart-shaped citrine and diamonds totalling 0.60 carat on an 18 carat yellow gold round box chain - £6,395.00

18 carat yellow gold drop earrings with a total of 2.40 carat of citrine and 0.14 carat of diamond - £1,495.00

As the name suggests Lemon Quartz is also a quartz, but is classed as a separate stone due to it unique, and more delicate tone.

18 carat white gold earrings set with lemon quartz with 0.05 carat diamond each - £625.00

18 carat white gold necklace set with and lemon quartz with 0.10 carat of diamond - £895.00

18 carat white gold cocktail ting set with lemon quartz and diamonds- £2,750.00

Having discussed sapphires in some detail in our ‘Feeling Blue’ post back in July, we needn’t cover the same ground again here regarding yellow sapphires, but suffice it to say that the range of yellow tones covered by yellow sapphire (from lemon to canary to golden honey) combined with their stunning lustre make them a popular choice for those looking to invest in a precious stone.

Cocktail ring set with a 3.04 carat natural yellow sapphire and a total of 0.60 carat of diamonds - £7,450.00

Amber is widely known as being made from the resin of pre-historic trees, capable of perfectly preserving mosquitos and other small creatures.  Amber is predominantly found along the Baltic coasts of Russia and Poland.  Amber can be anything from honey yellow through to quite a brownish yellow, and in varying degrees of transparency – the darker and more opaque the stone, the less valuable it is.  Amber isn’t hugely popular at this time, but does enjoy perennial revivals in interest.

9 carat oval rubbed over set clip earrings with amber - Was £285.00, Now £114.00



Christmas is coming....

Whilst it may seem a little keen to be using the 'C' word in early October - especially given the fantastic weather we have been enjoying recently - we just couldn't wait to introduce you to some of our fabulous new stock arriving ahead of the festive season.

Check out these beauties...

Keep an eye out for our christmas brochure which will follow in a few weeks.

A comprehensive guide to choosing your wedding band

Many clients searching for their wedding rings come into the shop looking for ‘oh just something simple – plain gold band’.  Little do they know...

Shapes

All rings come in different shapes, but with your wedding ring – something you will wear every day – it is important that your chosen piece is as comfortable as it is pretty.  There is a wealth of shapes available beyond the traditional ‘flat’ and ‘court’ as outlined here:

Widths

Most wedding bands start at around a 3mm width, with 4-6mm being the most popular.  It is worth remembering however that the thicker shapes (like the halo or traditional court) will mean more bulk as the ring gets wider (resulting in the wearer being less able to close their fingers completely together).

Neither the shape nor the width of a ring have a significant impact on the price of a ring by themselves – these are simply design features – but rather, taking the two factors together, along with the overall weight of the design will determine how much metal is needed to produce the chosen ring, which of course is where the cost lies.

Materials

Wedding rings are made from all sorts of things these days (hypoxi-resin, wood, murano glass etc), but the precious metals remain the most popular:

Gold is of course the most common.  It remains popular since, even amidst the recent rising prices, a plain band needn’t be all that expensive, is fairly hardwearing and of course comes in the yellow, white and rose colour.  The carat of the gold refers to the content of gold (versus other metals) out of 1000 parts:  9 carat gold contains 375 parts gold to 625 parts other metals and 18 carat gold contains 750 parts gold to 250 parts other metals.

Platinum is the purest of metals (hallmarked platinum contains 950 parts platinum to just 50 parts other metal), and is traditionally the most precious – with the price tag to match!  If cost is no object, this is certainly the luxe option.

Titanium has enjoyed a period of popularity due to its attractive colour (particularly for men’s rings), but is not widely recommended by jewellers since titanium rings can rarely be re-sized, leaving the wearer to bear the cost of a new ring should their finger size change over time.

For those wanting something a little different, palladium is a fantastic option since it is harder than platinum (and therefore more hard-wearing), and since it can be produced in 500 parts, 950 or 999 parts, can prove an inexpensive way of purchasing a white metal ring.

Production

There are two main production methods in circulation.  Cast rings are much cheaper to produce, saving the buyer money, but rings produced by this method can be porous, meaning less gold content and leaving the ring less hard-wearing.

Alternatively, weddings bands can be milled – a process whereby a strip of metal is rolled around and sealed before being sealed and polished.

There is also a third method, known as stamping, but since this requires expensive specialist machinery, and doesn’t allow for any design embellishment, it is rarely seen on the high street.

Settings and finishes

Modern wedding rings come in a wonderful range of finishes with all sorts of decoration.  Diamond set rings are proving increasingly popular (although clients do find that when combined with an engagement and eternity ring, their finger gets a little to ‘bling’ to handle), with beaded edges, engraved patterns and bi-colour stripes also selling well.  All of these options do add to the overall cost however.

A slightly more cost effective way to obtain a pretty look is to opt for one of the many finishes available – plain polished (the shiny look that you see most often in jewellery) can be replaced with a variety of brushed, hammered or a satin looks

Engraving

Engraving your wedding ring is a lovely and romantic way to personalise your purchase.  New rings (as long as they are not hollow or porous) can be laser engraved direct from the manufacturer or machine engraved, however any engraving by this method will not outlive the ring itself.

Hand engraving does cost more, but offers more depth and character and a far better life expectancy.

Care

Plainer wedding bands should require little more care day to day than a hand polish with a soft cloth, although embellished rings may require soaking in warm water with a little washing-up liquid.

Platinum and white gold rings are rhodium plated to give them the best white appearance.  Over a period of some years, this plating will wear off and will need replacing in order to look as good as new.

Many customers choose to purchase wedding bands of the same material as their engagement ring so that the rings will wear at the same rate.  This is the ideal scenario, but it is also worth noting that all metals will wear over time anyway.

Obviously when it comes to your final choice, there can be no substitute for trying a range on and seeing how they suit your hand, but hopefully our guide has offered you a little food for thought!

Photo credits:

Ring shapes:  http://www.weddingrings-direct.com via http://www.mabellejournee.co.uk/wedding-rings

Ring finishes:  http://www.stuller.com/pages/3128/