What Does It Mean To Have Your Rings Polished Versus Cleaned?

Polishing is a multi step process that uses a buffing wheel and multiple rouge compounds to remove tiny lines and scratches in a piece of jewellery. When a piece of jewellery has completed the polishing process it looks brand new. The usual reaction from a customer is "Wow ! It looks like the day we bought it 10 years ago."

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So Whats Cleaning?

Cleaning,also known as a quick clean, which we use the ultrasonic to do this ,a quick clean takes no longer than 5 minutes to complete. 

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What Is Rhodium Plating?

Great question! Rhodium plating is what makes your white gold rings look bright white and shiny. Since white gold is not naturally white a jeweller will rhodium plate the piece,after polishing,to give it a bright white shiny finish again.

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Since rhodium plating is not permanent,you will see it start to wear off over time.It is recommended that you have your jewellery polished and rhodium plated once a year.

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What Is The Difference Between White Gold And Yellow gold?

The difference is just the colour right? The answer is yes and no. Gold comes from the earth a bright yellow colour, therefore,  white gold is naturally yellow too. In order to make the yellow less noticeable white property alloys are added to gold to help mass the yellow colour.This is where the carets of gold come into play.

You have probably heard of 9 caret (ct) 18ct 22ct and 24ct here in Ireland.A caret is a unit of measure of how much gold is in an alloy metal.For example 9ct gold is made 53% gold while the other 47% is made up of alloys.

The most common alloys used in gold are copper,zinc,silver,palladium and nickel. In white gold, the alloys used are typically the white property alloys silver,palladium,and nickel.As mentioned earlier,these alloys are what make"white gold"white.

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Can You Stretch Or Size My Ring?

That's a fantastic question. It all depends on the type of ring you have and what metal it is made of. Solid plain symmetrical gold and platinum rings that do not have any gemstones can be stretched by a device.However,it can only be stretched a small amount.If a ring needs to be sized more than a 1/2 a size up or down it is best to have a jeweller size it through another sizing process.

If the ring is made of a contemporary metal (ie. tungsten carbide,cobalt,titianium, or stainless steel the ring cannot be sized by a jeweller because of the hardness of the metal.Typically, a jewellery shop will just reorder the ring from the manufacturer in the correct size.

Can engagement and fashion rings be sized? Nine times out of ten ,the answer is yes.The only reason a ring could not be sized is if the stones in the ring are set in vulnerable spots that would decrease the safety of the stones.Sizing a ring with this type of risk could end in breaking, chipping, or popping stones out of the setting.

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What Is An Appraisal?

This is a very commonly asked question.

The most common appraisals talked about in the jewellery trade are insurance appraisals.

An insurance appraisal describes in written detail a piece of jewellery and assigns it a replacement value . Insurance appraisals are important to have in case jewellery is lost or stolen.Having your jewellery appraised and insured will help guarantee a fair reimbursement for the piece for any claims you may have to make.Always have your appraisal completed by a certified Gemologist to insure accuracy of stone type,size weights and values.

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