The Diamond Store Blog

Over the last few months we have been trailing a new customer feedback system with Feefo and I must say we have been very impressed.

It actually does several things but ultimately it’s all about making things better for the customer.

The first and most important feature is that it allows customers to tell us what they really thought of our products and our service.

Whilst this can be quite daunting we have found a couple of customers who had a small problem but didn’t tell us until prompted…this of course meant we were able to put things right for them….brilliant!

Here is a great example of this in action…(Feefo diamond store review)

Secondly, it gives us an opportunity to make sure we are doing things right and we get the odd pointer which makes us look at a process or product, again making things better in the long run!

Here is a great example of that… (feefo customer idea – The Diamond Store)

All in all we are loving the new feedback system and it is definitely keeping the team on their toes!

You can read all our Diamond Store Reviews Here

WHAT IS A HALLMARK?

Hallmarking is in essence a stamp proving what you have paid for is as described.

Hallmarking is carried out at various Assay Offices throughout the country and is a legal requirement.

Every piece of jewellery that we sell will be Hallmarked, you can find the small hallmark on the inside (non noticeable) areas of the jewellery you purchase from us.

THE THREE MOST COMMON HALLMARKS IN OUR JEWELLERY…

Hallmark – 375

This is for 9K gold jewellery and equates to the gold being 37.5% pure (62.5% alloys)

Hallmark – 750

This is for 18K gold jewellery and equates to the gold being 75% pure (25% alloys)

Hallmark – 950

This is for platinum and equates to the Platinum being 95% pure (5% alloys)

THE GREAT THING ABOUT UK HALLMARKS….

UK hallmarks are recognised throughout the world as guarantee of quality, its an ancient requirement that started way back in the 1300s and is still a legal requirement today.

For customers the great thing about hallmarks is that they are what they say….there are not different levels of 18K gold or Platinum, it is what it is hallmarked.

What happens if you cant see or find the hallmark?

Hallmarks can sometimes be faint or become faint through wear, dont worry, it doesnt mean your gold is worthless, testing for different types of gold is a very simple process and is not reliant upon a hallmark.Although is it of course a legal obligation for sellers to sell Hallmarked jewellery.

Re-hallmarking jewellery is also a relatively simple process that we can carry out for our customers if they have any concerns. You can even take your own jewellery along to the Assay Offices!

You can find out a lot more about buying an Engagement Ring at our Engagement Ring Learning Centre.

This is the most difficult thing to get right because it can obviously be tricky without giving the game away. It is a question of asking friends and family if they know or getting one of her rings measured if she already wears one on the third finger.

The only way to definitely know is to go into a jeweller with her or take advantage of free ring sizers that we send out on request.

You could always take a leap of faith and guess the size and then have the ring re-sized after the event, but even this is easier if your guess is close to the actual size.

MY TOP TIPS FOR GUESSING THE FINGER SIZE…….

Although we sell finger sizes from as extremes such as a very small F to a very large Z+6 most people’s finger sizes fall between a J (smaller) and a Q (larger).

So…

J, K or L wont be far out for petit women.
M & N wont be far out for average size women.
O & P for slightly larger women.
 

If the ring you are choosing is a classic single stone ring then it is very easy to amend the ring afterwards so don’t be to hesitant on choosing the size, we can always adjust to fit, it is a very, very simple process.

You can order a FREE ring sizer here.

You can also find out all about buying an engagement ring at our Engagement Ring Learning Centre.

I hear the same question time and time again. “They both look the same, so what’s the difference?” Its true, white gold and platinum jewellery do look the same yet white gold is much cheaper than platinum. But before you rush to choose white gold, know the facts:

“I thought gold was yellow” It is. The gold that is used to make jewellery is almost always not 100% pure. You may have heard the term “carat” to describe the purity of gold. This measure is a scale out of 24 where 24 carat is pure gold. 9 carat gold is thus 37.5% pure gold and 18 carat gold is 75% pure gold. The rest of the metal is actually a mixture of alloys. Gold is very soft and the alloys mixed with it helps make the metal harder.

With white gold, white alloys are used to mix with the pure gold, and the result is a pale yellow metal. This pale yellow metal is then coated with Rhodium which is a very hard, expensive and white metal. The result is a bright white metal – white gold.

Platinum, on the other hand, is a metal that is naturally white. Platinum is rarer than gold, heavier, much harder and used in a purer form (usually 95%). Platinum is therefore much more expensive than gold.

The advantages of white gold over platinum when used in jewellery is that it is much more affordable. However, you may need to re-coat the item in Rhodium once or twice a year as wear and tear rubs away the coating and the pale, dull yellow gold becomes visible.

Platinum jewellery is initially more expensive, but it can be argued is more cost effective in the long run as when it scratches or becomes worn, it does not need to be re-coated.

Therefore, my metal of choice for jewellery is platinum. It does not only feel more substantial (as is heavier than gold), it is rarer and also more practical.  Besides, when you buy an expensive piece of diamond jewellery, you want to know that you have bought the best!

You can also find out all about buying an engagement ring at our Engagement Ring Learning Centre.