Most people do not read terms. I understand. BUT. PLEASE read the first three. They are important! I make them as easy as ABC :-) ANY QUESTIONS, EMAIL ME BTUDDENHAM@YAHOO.COM
A) I no longer make settings.
Many of our rings and pendants were set by students helping us raise funds. They may not be up to the professional standards of a jewelry store.... but they were done for free! So, I can sell for less.
I know coloured gem buying VERY well, and bought at excellent prices. I make money for the charities I support from selling the gem stones. I mostly use silver on even the very expensive gems, to show what they look like as finished jewellery. Most of them deserve gold settings. Silver is fine for occasional use ( especially on pendants), and rhodium coated silver looks the same as white gold, but is not as durable as gold.
I try to ship out orders within 24hours, but as better items are kept in a bank vault, retrieval can cause a slight delay on weekends and holidays.
B) Having a rhodium coated ring resized by a North American jeweller is expensive. They have to remove the rhodium, resize, then recoat. And, they remove the stone, weakening the silver prongs, and thus returning to you an inferior ring. Make sure you buy the right size.
C) For those that must have a setting with a Canadian makers mark, I have an account with Stuller...the largest supplier to jewellers in North America. I will sell to you at prices that no bricks and mortar store can compete with.... but Stuller is NOT cheap. My settings have been made off shore for me by craftsmen I trust
"** IMPORTANT NOTES RE OUR GEMS AND SETTINGS":
1) Long retired, I raise money for causes I believe in. I am told I cant take it with me! :-) ! So, I will entertain any reasonable offer on anything on this site! Even some unreasonable ones :-).with your offer! A gem buyer for decades, I bought directly from the source, and for true earth mined gems the prices are exceptional Remember, you are looking at extreme magnification, that exaggerates flaws.... flawless gems are VERY expensive Please check out my Etsy store where I have had excellent reviews consistently for over 10 years. Many of my gems have been examined by one of Canada's top appraisers. (For those that wonder, the pig logo on the Etsy store was a logo I drew for a charity I ran decades ago). ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.
Owned by animal lovers, Kimberley General Store has agreed to hold larger items for free pickup if you live in the area, to save you expensive shipping. Contact me for details. A truly wonderful store to visit, even if you have nothing to pick up! Their sourdough bread is incredible!
2) Unlike other jewelers, I sell quality colored gems in silver rather than inferior quality colored gems in gold and diamond settings. I provide the silver settings at cost. I often place even my more expensive gems in silver and use clear topaz wherever possible for melee accent stones . My silver and gold settings are mostly made off-shore, and are therefore NOT hallmarked. Silver items acid test at about .925 and gold is usually approx. 14k, and a few are approx. 18k. I have had a life long love affair with coloured gems, and personally find diamonds overpriced. But, I offer some here at prices I think you will find are the best you will find anywhere. Diamonds are NOT nearly as rare as people think. For many years supply and price were totally controlled by DeBeers. This has lessened to some degree, but prices are still artificially high. Both gold and silver are suitable for jewelry, with gold being more durable, but many times more expensive. Silver is fine for casual use....for everyday use with better gems you may want to consider upgrading to gold. Most people cannot tell rhodium coated silver from white gold. White gold gets its color from that same rhodium coating. At my pricing you can always change to gold if you wish . I can arrange now or in future.
3) Our coloured gemstones are true gems, earth mined, not man made. EXPECT FLAWS! We provide unaltered pictures of the gem for you at very high magnification. If there is no video of the gem you are interested in, please ask. I probably have one, but I run out of time to upload them.
Minor inclusions in any gem are not, as some think, a bad thing. They help a gemologist determine the authenticity of a gem. Man made gems are perfect.... but they are not real earth mined gems, and can be made in the millions, and do not increase in value. The difference between an original oil and a print. Supply and demand rules. An exception are lab produced diamonds. They are impossible to tell from earth mined diamonds without very sophisticated equipment.... but they are not cheap to make.
4) Unless stated otherwise, our settings are silver, and in most cases have a coating to prevent tarnishing, and give the appearance of white gold. Rhodium is actually more expensive than gold . In most cases, the smaller accent stones are clear topaz. Please exercise a little caution. Silver is not as durable as gold, but you can always upgrade to gold at any time.
5) Stones were in most cases set by volunteers helping us raise money for animal charities. EXPECT FLAWS! Often they leave prongs a little too long, do not get the stone exactly level, etc. etc. BUT. We are not charging you for the setting ! Most people enjoy them "as is" and the flaws do not bother them, but if they bother you, you can have them altered or exchanged for professionally mounted settings in gold and diamond. This way you can see how they will look. Most people appreciate this. Sorry if you do not.
6) Even smaller pictures, while more accurately showing how the gem looks, still show the gem MUCH larger than it is of course, and make any flaw more obvious than it will be to the naked eye. .... If you are not sure how big a gem is , make certain you check on a measure marked in millimeters... the standard for measuring gems.
7) I have an account with the largest supplier to the jewellery business here in Canada (Stuller)Have not used it for years, but THINK it is still in effect. I can supply you with a quote on anything in their massive catalog. Will cost you a non refundable $10 to the charity of your choice for me to get a quote for you, but I promise my price will be the lowest you will find. . You can see their catalogue here. . Please contact me for more information
8) RETURNS/LOSS. I accept the return of any item purchased from me within 7 days of delivery to you, provided it is in the original undamaged condition. You must pay for return with tracking, and you will be charged a $20 return per item that will be donated to the charity of your choice. See who we fund for more information. All packages shipped with tracking and $100 insurance. If you wish more insurance please let me know when payment is made. Not responsible for items once they are delivered to Canada Post.
9) We take every care packaging items, and always send with tracking. never had a problem. But, we are not responsible for loss or damage. If you are concerned, we can arrange insurance for an additional $2 per $100.
10) ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE ASK.