End of sporting year ideas

The Olympics are nearly over and Usain Bolt has quite probably placed himself as the most talented athlete of all time. Who knows how long it will take to find someone who could achieve the remarkable record he has set on the track?

On a local level, many sporting teams are also coming to the end of their own seasons. Often the year end presentations amount to the handing out of trophies or ribbons for the players who excelled or managed to improve over the season by the largest degree.

It’s nice to show recognition to the players who perform best, but it is also important to acknowledge that every team member has made contributions to the team. The gift of a sterling silver memento of the sport they love from their club at the end of the year leaves a lasting impression and makes everyone feel appreciated.

We recently had a request from a netball team in New South Wales to supply them with jewellery they could hand out to all of their players at the season presentations.

They selected a solid silver netball charm from our range of netball and netballer charms and we sent them one so they could pass it around at the committee meeting. They also wished to consider a necklace but weren’t sure if it would fit into their budget.

We discussed the options and they decided that a fine width long curb chain may suit, so again we sent them a sample which the committee agreed would be suitable.

As they were a not for profit organisation, we managed to do a great deal on the combination of both the charm and silver chain. This made it possible for the club to provide both the charm and chain, when they thought the budget would only allow for the netball charm to be given.

Of course there are many other sports, both team and individual where members are part of a club. Tennis and golf, football, soccer, gymnastics and boxing are just a few that come to mind.

We have a large range of sporting charms that can be used as part of your own end of year celebrations and we welcome your enquiries.

Most teams will appreciate that it is much more cost effective to purchase sterling silver, especially when there are many team members to buy for. However, for special awards, the budget can sometimes stretch to accommodate a few solid gold charms.

These can be great for the captain, coach or ‘best and fairest’ to show how much they mean to the way the club functions. Where you may consider giving jewellery to the first, second and third placed competitors in a competition, yellow gold, white gold and rose gold can be used for the gold, silver and bronze medals respectively.

As much as a trophy is appreciated and shows their prowess, a solid gold charm is something they will wear everyday as a constant reminder of their victory.

So next time you are planning an awards ceremony, season breakup or awards for a competition, drop by our website for some fresh ideas.

 

End of sporting year ideas

On Sale Now

We have limited stock of the following products and they are all priced to clear.

50cm sterling silver ‘GM’ necklace

7.5mm wide, 33g – ONE available – $160

 

60cm sterling silver curb necklace

6.9mm wide, 81g – One Available – $400

 

19cm curb bracelet with filigree padlock

6.6mm wide, 23g – TWO available – $115

 

9ct Yellow gold Eye of Horus charm

21mm x 17mm – ONE Available – $65

 

MEGA Charm Pack – 101 sterling silver charms

Regular Price – $867, ONE Available at $495

See all our sale items at https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-on-sale-specials.asp

 

 

 

On Sale Now

Men"s Chains on a Budget

Today I had a lady enquire about buying a gold chain necklace for her partner. She had a budget of around $500 to $800 and was determined to find something in that price range come hell or high water.

We normally recommend that a necklace for a man is at least 5mm thick, anything less than that can lack masculinity. As men would usually wear a necklace around 55cm to 60cm in length, the minimum price is closer to a range of $1000 to $1200 dollars for our lighter style figaro or belcher chains.

More masculine chains with a thicker heavier link as you would find in a round curb are closer to the $1800+ mark. It is important that you understand that a manly gold necklace will be fairly weighty and that is the single biggest factor when calculating price.

Not long after we first opened our online jewellery store, a lady bought her husband a 1.2mm thick 40cm chain necklace.

It was around $90 and she said she thought it was 1.2cm wide. Now 12mm is quite a thick chain and I’m not sure why she thought it would be possible to buy one for less than $100, I guess she hadn’t been anywhere near a jewellery store to do some research and comparisons.

Think about that for a moment.

It was way too short to fit around his neck, and very delicate and fine. She thought she was doing the right thing by buying him a solid gold chain, but really hadn’t thought it through properly. Such a gift is very likely never to be worn, even if it was long enough. Being the nice guys we are, we allowed her to return it and gave her a refund.

The only time a man should wear a thin gold necklace is when it holds a pendant, ring or cross that is in proportion to the chain. A delicate gold necklace should never be worn alone by a man.

Everyone, I’m sure, would love to be able to give their partner a thick solid gold chain necklace or bracelet, but not everyone has the budget that allows it. I strongly recommend NEVER buying a piece of jewellery for a man that is less than masculine, it will be a complete waste of money. It will cause him to be embarrassed because it really won’t be what he wants, and it will find its way to the bottom of his sock drawer, never to be seen again.

Personally, I believe it would be much better to look at silver necklaces, if you want to keep in the $500 to $800 range. We have some really solid, beautiful and manly chains that sit right in that price range and will make your man proud to wear them. Ok, they aren’t gold, but solid sterling silver is a quality material that rivals gold for beauty and is priced at a level many more people can afford.

Many men prefer to wear silver toned jewellery, so if you can’t afford to lash out on white gold, sterling silver is just as attractive and far more reasonably priced.

If they really must wear yellow gold, and price is not a concern, then go for it, solid gold.

A gold plated sterling silver chain (vermeil) will look great for a month or two and then it will begin to look terrible as the plating wears through.

Don’t do it!

It is a waste of money, stick to sterling silver or if you really must have gold, buy a gold plated brass chain for a lot less money. At least then when you throw it away it won’t have cost you a fortune.

The other advantage of sterling silver is that you can have a thicker more masculine necklace at a very reasonable price and it will last a lifetime if made well.

The major disadvantage of sterling silver is that it will tarnish over time and need more regular cleaning than solid gold will. Fortunately it is really easy to restore that brand new look to silver jewellery with a glass bowl, a square of aluminium foil, some baking soda and salt and a little hot water. We have an article on our website that shows how easy it really is to clean silver jewellery.

Men"s Chains on a Budget

Young Girls and Marriage Breakdowns

How can you stay close to your daughter when time and distance push you apart? A charm bracelet may just hold the key to her heart.

The separation of parents can make it more difficult for fathers to maintain a close relationship with their daughters. It normally means you will spend less time together and sometimes you may even live at a distance that makes regular face to face visits difficult.

As the child becomes a teenager and starts to search for her own identity, there may an emotional gap that begins to widen too. The teenage years are when girls are transitioning from childhood to adulthood and beginning to really develop a sense of self. During this time they can push aside their parents and start to take control of their lives and make their own decisions.

For better or worse they will have to live with the consequences of the choices they make during a period where the guidance of the parents may have less of an influence on them.

It can be easy to be critical of their choices when they seem to be completely ignoring the advice you give, knowing what you do now, until you remember how much you thought you knew at their age. Being there to support them and letting them know how important they are to you and how much you love them, is the often the best you can do.

Adolescence is very probably the most difficult and confusing time of our lives. Just when we are discovering our values and the ethics that we will embrace, Mother Nature loads us full of hormones and randomly turns our world upside down.

There’s nothing you can do about nature’s cruel chemical attack but you can reinforce the love you have for your not so little girl.

When you don’t have daily contact because of a relationship breakdown it may help to have a reminder of your love that she will always have close at hand.

A wonderful way you can do this is with a charm bracelet. It will always be right there with her to remind her of you. Over time and on birthdays and Christmas you can add charms to celebrate achievements and events that have a positive meaning in her life.

Even as she passes into adulthood, a t will have many more opportunities to grow as she turns 21, and then marries and has children. What a lovely way to keep a record of the important milestones because of the special gift you gave from your heart.

Fraser Ross has many quality sold gold and sterling silver bracelets to choose from and over 4600 different charms so you can always find the perfect mementos to suit your special girl. Quality will last forever and one day your grandchild will love something that was so special to her mother.

A charm bracelet is so much more than a stunning piece of jewellery.

It is a precious diary of all you hold dear, the achievements you have reached and the things that you love. In the same way you write in a paper diary, you add a new love, experience or success to your bracelet with a new gold or silver charm – To Remember.

Young Girls and Marriage Breakdowns

Online Jewellery Stores

Today we are taking a look at the pro’s and con’s of shopping at an online jewellery store.

Pro’s

Lower Pricing

Online stores have lower overheads than their retail store rivals and often can offer much better pricing on the same or similar jewellery. Retail stores often have very high markups to compensate for the 50% off sales they seem to run every two weeks. Online stores tend to keep their prices relatively stable, but may have special offers from time to time where you could save further.

Open All Hours

An online store runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week which makes it very convenient to shop when the mood takes you. Retail stores have fixed hours and these may not suit someone working long hours away from shopping centres. Customers living in rural areas may not have access to more than one or two small jewellery shops without considerable travel, whereas shopping online opens the doors to many jewellery stores without leaving your seat.

Product Range

The range of products available from a single online store can be considerable and may well match or exceed that of a bricks and mortar store. Some websites have a smaller range of products that won’t compete with a large retailer. However the range available from the websites of all the online jewellers well exceeds that of any single retail shop. Some online jewellers will have a range of products that are exclusive and cannot be found anywhere else as well as other manufacturers products.

Payment Choices

Most web based jewellers will accept the same credit cards you could use in person, but may well offer additional payment methods. PayPal is probably the most widely used online payment gateway and it also gives a level of protection to the buyer if things go wrong. Many stores offer additional processors including AmzonPayments, Authorize.Net, WorldPay, Paygate or Eway.

Product Comparisons

Having so many stores available at the click of a mouse gives customers a great opportunity to make comparisons between the products, services and pricing of different stores. Two or more shops may have the same products available and it would be wise to consider not only the pricing of the product, but the shipping and handling fees and delivery times. You should also consider the amount of time each store has been in business and the customer satisfaction levels of each. A simple search will provide the thoughts and experiences of previous customers experiences with the business you are considering purchasing from.

Product Reviews

Many online stores will follow up their customers after a sale with a request to provide their feedback on a purchase. This feedback can be invaluable in determining not only the product itself, but the service they received. As these reviews are entirely voluntary, bear in mind that people are more likely to respond to leaving reviews if they were disappointed or exceptionally pleased with the product or service. These reviews should be a good guide as to the service you might expect to receive, especially if there is a trend across many product reviews.

Con’s

Trust

This is probably the biggest single issue when customers are considering a purchase from an online store. There are many smaller retailers and boutique jewellers that are not household names, and these businesses can have trouble establishing trust with new clients.

Anyone can write anything they like on a website, so customer reviews are often viewed with a level of suspicion.

Look for a business running a secure website with an EV (extended validation) certificate. A thorough check must be done by the issuing entity before an EV certificate can be implemented.

Search the business name with these additional words – scam, problems, reviews. This will reveal any complaints about the business which you should consider before buying. Although rare, some negative reviews are written by competitors, so keep that possibility in mind.

Delivery Times

Normally there will be a delay of a few days or weeks between placing your order and receiving it. Products need to be packaged, labelled and shipped by the store and then there is a delivery time set by the courier. Stores where the products are made to order, like Fraser Ross, will take longer to deliver than stores where the jewellery is held waiting for despatch. The store should have information on expected delivery times and charges clearly listed.

Touch and Feel

You obviously can’t touch and feel the products when buying online. To compensate for this, the website should have detailed information and photos and be clear with their dimensions, materials and weights.

A fair returns policy should allow you to return the goods if they don’t match the description on the website without any penalty to you.

Summary

It is possible to purchase online and be very pleased with the outcome.

Be diligent and investigate the store if you have not dealt with them before.

Even large national stores that are household names don’t always provide exception products and service, a quick business name search with ‘review’ will quickly show who they are.

Small businesses often provide exceptional products and service and rely on word of mouth to grow their businesses.

A recommendation from a friend who has shopped there previously can be more valuable than any claims printed on a website.

 

Online Jewellery Stores

Recycle your Jewellery, but be careful.

What do you do with old jewellery you no longer wear?

Maybe you have an old gold chain necklace that has broken and it sits at the bottom of your drawer gathering dust.

Why not consider selling it as scrap and use the money to buy something new? (or pay down your credit card)

This seems like a good idea, as even broken jewellery has a value for the precious metals it contains.

Jewellery that is in good condition may well be worth more than the scrap value if you can find a buyer.

Do I sell or scrap?

No matter the condition of your jewellery, the lowest price you should get is the scrap value of the piece.

With broken jewellery, the scrap value is the best price you will be able to achieve.

If your jewellery is in good condition, consider selling it as is. You should achieve a price above the scrap value, but if it doesn’t sell you can always decide to scrap it later.

There are many places you can sell your jewellery on-line including eBay, Gumtree and the Trading Post. If you have a Facebook account, you could consider letting your friends know you have jewellery for sale too.

How can I tell what the scrap value is?

In the case of a piece of solid gold jewellery, there are a couple of factors.

• How much does it weigh?


• What is the carat of the gold?

The weight for scrap is the weight of the gold components in the jewellery. You need to remove any stones and the spring steel in the clasps for an accurate weight.

The carat of the gold should be stamped into the piece. It will be written as a carat – i.e. 9ct,  14ct, 18ct or as a number 375, 583, 750.

The actual value of the gold in the jewellery is

• the weight in grams x the carat / 24 x the current price per gram for gold.


• the weight in grams x the number / 1000 x the current price per gram of gold.

The current price for gold can be found here.

How much will I get paid?

The best place to sell your scrap is to a bullion dealer (or precious metal refiner). They will give you the best price, which is normally around 90 to 95% of the gold value. They will not pay for any other precious metals in the jewellery. So a 9ct chain will have some silver and copper as well as the gold, but you will only be paid for the gold content.

Pawn shops will normally offer you about 30 to 50% of the gold value even if your jewellery can be sold as is. They are not the best place to sell your jewellery unless you are prepared to take a low price but get paid straight away. They are in business to make a profit and if they can’t sell your jewellery quickly, will turn it into scrap, so they must have a margin between the scrap price and what they pay you (even if it is huge!)

Gold buyers in shopping malls will normally offer a very low amount, similar to pawn shops, so avoid these too unless you need the money right now.

There has been a surge in the number of businesses that buy your gold on-line. Typically they will send you a ‘kit’ in the post which has some information and an envelope to put your jewellery into and post to them. Most of these places don’t show the current price they are paying and have been known to pay well under the prices you could expect from a bullion dealer. Proceed very carefully.

Other Options

If you have other things to sell, you might consider having a garage sale, a market stall or a car boot sale. Make sure you know what the scrap value is, and never sell for less than this amount.

You could also take your jewellery to a jeweller and have them use the gold to make you something new. That way you should only be paying them for their labour and creativity.

 

 

 

Recycle your Jewellery, but be careful.

50% Off (half price) Scams

50% off – WHAT A BARGAIN! – NOT!

Have you ever wondered how the major jewellery retailers can have a ‘half price‘ sale every two weeks and NOT go out of business?

We will lift the lid on these legal but immoral practices that are designed to fool the consumer (you) into thinking that you got a great deal when in fact you didn’t.

Fact 1

Retailers buy direct from a manufacturer or wholesaler and ‘mark up’ the price of the item to sell in their retail business.

This occurs in all businesses and the price mark up has to pay for the running costs of the business.

Running costs include rents, wages, power bills, telephones, advertising etc.

A business operates to produce a profit, so the sales must outweigh the costs.

Charging for labour, or making a ‘margin’ on sales are the two most frequent ways for a business to run at a profit.

Fact 2

Retailers regularly selling goods at 50% off ARE NOT losing money on the sale. *in 99% of cases unless clearing items that don’t sell etc.

This means the ‘regular’ price is incredibly inflated above the cost of the product they pay to the manufacturer or wholesaler.

Fact 3

For an item to be sold at 50% off, and not lose money, the store must AT LEAST double their own cost; just to break even.

Think about this (where the retailer often has 50% off sales):

This doesn’t happen

• Buy a widget for $100 from the manufacturer.


• Price tag it for $200 for sale in your store.


• Profit to store $100.

• Buy a widget for $100 from the manufacturer.


• Price tag it for $200 for sale in your store.


• Have a 50% off sale and sell the widget for $100.


• Profit to store $0.00 – Really, why would you do this?

This does happen

• Buy a widget for $100 from the manufacturer.


• Price tag it for $400 for sale in your store. As a minimum.


• Profit to store $300.

• Buy a widget for $100 from the manufacturer.


• Price tag it for $400 for sale in your store.


• Have a 50% off sale and sell the widget for $200.


• Profit to store $100.00 –  This is what really happens.

Fact 4

The first jewellery manufacturer I dealt with supplied a very large national retailer of jewellery exactly the same jewellery I was buying (at the same price).

They would ship directly to the retailers’ central warehouse, from where the jewellery would be shipped out to the individual stores.

The manufacturer was provided with the retailers branded price tags and pre-priced the jewellery for the retailer (at the price they were told by the retailer)

What absolutely stunned me at the time was the REAL markup that the retailer was applying to the jewellery they were selling.

I saw silver chains with retail price tags of $350.00 being packaged for the stores. These same silver chains were costing me $50.00 from the factory.

This means that the store was making a profit of $300 on a chain that cost them just $50.00 on a day to day basis.

This means that the store was making a profit of $125.00 on a chain that cost them just$50.00 during their 50% off sales.

 

Next time you’re tempted into buying something because it is ONLY half price, you may wish to consider if that retailer often has half price sales; and if so, do you really want to support a business that will rip you off blind every other day of the year?

 

 

50% Off (half price) Scams

About Chain Me Up

Chain Me Up has emerged in the jewellery market as an expert in custom-made jewellery chains and charms made in solid gold, silver and sterling silver.

In early 2010, Chain Me Up was just a small online store selling a limited variety of gold and silver chains for bracelets, anklets and necklaces. Ross Fraser is the founder of Chain Me Up, and his 10 years of experience working for a local chain manufacturer prompted him to open his very own jewellery store. His time as a computer technician meant that friends and family were always putting in requests for precious metal chains at the manufacturer’s price, so Ross was inspired to start his own business to provide them with gold and silver chains at affordable prices.

Chain Me Up originally specialized in just precious metal chains, but before long Ross gathered a few more manufacturers from his native Australia into the fold. Charms made of solid 9ct gold and sterling silver were added to the lineup of products. Each charm is original and handmade, but the initial count of different styles was only 700. After finding another producer, the selection quickly grew to almost 4000 charm styles. In order to make charm bracelets more customisable, Chain Me Up started to offer open or closed jump rings as an option for attaching charms to bracelets.

More requests for different options came in, and parrot clasps were added as well because they allow the customer to attach and reattach charms to different bracelets with ease. Link locks became another popular option because customers could assemble their charm bracelet on their own and securely lock the charms in place without having to pay a jeweler to do it. Shoppers who wanted to turn charms into earrings were able to do so with the addition of shepherd hooks. The shepherd hooks acted as earring findings and were added to the choice of fittings when ordering charms.

As if these options weren’t varied enough, every chain and charm is orderable in yellow, rose or white gold, and also in sterling silver. This wide variety of choices can’t be seen in traditional high street shops. Being able to customise orders to this degree has become Chain Me Up’s main focus. The company prides itself in supplying customers with high quality precious metal jewellery, affordable prices and reasonable delivery time frames. The sheer number of choices means that there’s a certain wait time for each order, but the level of customisation Chain Me Up provides is worth the time it takes.

Over the years, more selection and store items have been added to the product range. More and more options are added every year. The most recent additions are the selection of pendants and bangles requested by some of Chain Me Up’s returning customers. After being impressed by the service they received and requesting these items, Chain Me Up came through and now offers over 550 pendants and 100 bangle designs available with precious and semi-precious gemstones.

When trading began, Chain Me Up’s two main objectives were simple. Number one was to have the widest product range possible in order to meet customers’ needs and individual tastes. Every request is important; if a customer asks for a necklace that’s 95cm long, they should be able to get it. This dedication to customers is one of the main differences between Chain Me Up and other jewellery stores that only offer jewellery as is at a set price. True, strange requests have been asked of Chain Me Up, but rare is the occasion where a request cannot be filled.

The second objective was to stay true to Australian heritage and stock only local products. Since their opening, Chain Me Up has worked with quite a few different manufacturers, some of which have come and gone as the market continues to shrink. However, over 95% of Chain Me Up’s stock is made locally, while only 5% is from overseas suppliers. A little creativity and ingenuity was needed to find local manufacturers, as other jewellery companies tend to play things close to the vest. A company’s suppliers are practically trade secrets.

In order to grow their product line and offer even more variety, new manufacturers who produced products Chain Me Up hadn’t yet stocked were found. Chain Me Up’s reluctance to stock rings was merely because of the difficulty of properly sizing the ring for the customer. Luckily, some simple recoding allowed the company to provide an online ring sizing application, as well as new and improved e-commerce software for customising size, material, length and clasp type.

Chain Me Up’s customer base consists of satisfied, returning customers who make sure to recommend the retailer to friends and family. New customers shop their selection daily. Online chat and phone support are available from 8am to 8pm on any day of the week. Chain Me Up’s dedicated customer service representatives are ready and willing to answer any questions you may have.

About Chain Me Up

Real Customer Service

Fantastic service, great product,

I ordered a chain and received a call not long after from one of the members of staff who was processing my order. He enquired about the size necklace I was after (custom order) and said it would be too small and advised another size. Turns out he was correct, and the new size fits like a dream. I was so grateful for the call, and pleased to see they care about customer service: they could have just taken my money and made the wrong size. Have used this company for a while for silver chains – and will keep coming back.

Serena

Hi there,

just wanted to let you know that I received my order today and I am very pleased with the charms. Thank you.

Kind regards,

Linda

Morning Ross,

Just got back from picking up my charms. As I was expecting no dissapointment. I love them. Now my partner will link them up to my bracelet. Many thanks. Will definately keep in touch.

Anabella Jarmine.;)

Hello Ross,

Necklace arrived at noon today, Glenda say’s to thank you for your efforts and that she is delighted with her 50th wedding anniversary present [ she was able to wear it at our special luncheon today ].

Kind Regards,

Mervyn

I received the 5 link locks yesterday. Prompt and reliable service. I’m impressed with the wide range of your products. I will definitely shop with you in the future. Most of all I’m interested in bracelet charms. I wish more businesses offered service you provide.

Anabelle Jarmine. happy customer.:)

Good Afternoon

My chain arrived this morning, I love it. Regards

Pauline.

Ross

Thank you very much for your help while ordering the links.surely will shop with you in the future. Had a look at your selection and I like it.your service was exceptional.

Anabelle.

Hi there,

Just to let you know I have received my beautiful love birds charm. Thank you so much for excellent customer service. Rest assured I shall return for future purchases.

Judy

Hi Graham,

received the chain this morning and could not be happier with it, beautiful & I will definitely be getting myself one next year & I will be passing your business onto friends and families! Thank you again and wish you and your family a very happy Christmas & New Years

Janine

Hi Fraser Ross

Just wish to advise that I have received my order and it is just beautiful. Very happy. Thank you.

Suzanne

Hi Ross

The beautiful cross arrived today and we are over the moon. It is really exactly what I wanted.

Many thanks and best wishes.

Diana Schofield

Hello – I purchased a white gold bracelet and charm from you some time ago and was very happy with my purchase.

I am buying this charm for my granddaughter and was hoping, if at all possible, to receive the charm by early next week.

Kind regards

Teresa

Hi Fraser Ross

Just a quick note to say I received my order today and I am absolutely thrilled with it.

I had been looking for years for a 9 ct. yellow gold pentagram. The workmanship is exquisite.

Thank you.

Suzanne

Delivered…just love my new chain…I have hung a giant heart and spinner onto the chain…looks wonderful!

Thank you Susan

Dear Ross

My parcel arrived safely this morning. I am really very grateful that you managed to get my order to me so quickly and in time for me to pack into my bags to take on holidays tomorrow. It is my daughter’s birthday while we are away so I have something very beautiful (and small) to give to her.

Our daughter has a lovely charm bracelet that her Dad gave to her when she was born and every year we buy her charms for her birthday to add to this bracelet. Each charm represents something wonderful or exciting that happened within that last year. It truly is a time capsule and a wonderful idea.

The charms from you are probably two of the best I have seen so I will no doubt be buying more from you in the future. Your range is quite extensive as well which makes buying the right charm for the right occasion so much easier.

So very big thank you for all of your help in getting these charms to me and in time. I have also appreciated you keeping me up to date with where my order was so I had no need to stress about it at all. Thank you also for pushing your suppliers to ensure my order was filled. It really has been so nice of you.

Thanks again and kind regards

Elizabeth Mackie

Hi,

I received my order yesterday. Many thanks for excellent customer service. I am very happy with the final product.

Allison

Hi Ross,

Just letting you know I received my order today. All good, thanks very much and the Gold Care Kit gift is a nice touch and much appreciated. It will come in handy.

Kind regards,

Carmen

Hi Ross,

Just wanted to let you know that the chain arrived today and it is exactly what i was after! Thank you so much for your help and speedy responses.

Cheers,

Anne

Thanks again for your personal service. The charms you sent me in November last year were just perfect and they arrived in record time for my daughter’s birthday!

Kind regards,

Sally Wood

Thanks very much for the speedy delivery Ross.

Received the charms last week, but was delayed getting to the post office.

They look great.

David.

Hi there,

I just wanted to thank you for your wonderful products and service. My 9ct pentagram charm arrived today and it’s beautiful! Very happy!

Thanks again, have a great weekend.

Regards

Michelle

Dear Ross,

Thank you for sending my order. It arrived yesterday and I am very happy with it. This charm has been purchased in memory of my husband and I am sure he would have been very pleased with the detail on the bike.

Regards Diane Smiles.

Dear Ross

Thank you for the information. The last charms I purchased were for a special purpose. My mum passed away in New Zealand and my sister and I could not get to see her before she passed. My sister was very close to mum so I made her a little hanging of crystals and in it I wove the knitting, reading, flower and doll charms as these were all things my mother loved.

My sister has hung it up where she can see it.

It was good to create something with personal meaning from these charms.

I was so happy to find them among your products.

Kind regards

Jocelyn

Hello Ross,

I wish every success with your business you have truly given exceptional customer service and this I am very thankful for.

Kind regards

Denise Bowness

Love your products, my husband and sons found your site before I did so got me a charm for my birthday. Very happy with it and the other one that I recently purchased.

Thanks

Lois Wilson

Received chain today. Am very happy with service and product. Will definitely buy from you again.

Thanks

Glenda

Thank you Chain Me Up I received my order and it is awesome

Cheers

Graham Waring

Thanks for my charm, received to-day.

I am very happy with it.

Please send me some of your pamphlets and I will put them on my work notice board.

Thanks Daphne Morgan

Dear Ross,

my purchase has arrived safely and it is EXACTLY as you described.

Thank you SO much!

I would love to leave some positive feedback for your wonderful customer service – how do I find the Customer Feedback page or do I just email you at this address?

Thank you so much – a ten year old niece will be VERY pleased!!

Cheers,

Barbra

Thank you for the charms I ordered. Loved them so much I’m replacing some older ones that aren’t as nice as yours!

Kim

Ross,

Thanks very much. It looks great!

Kind Regards,

James

Yes. Have received my items. Thank you they are lovely. Will be a returning customer for sure.

Stacey.

I recently purchased some charms for my bracelet from chain me up, I am sorry I did now as they make the ones I purchased from our local jewellers look cheap and nasty, the price was the same but the quality and size left the jewellers for dead, I was absolutely blown away with them, I wish I had found your web site much earlier. Thank you chain me up I will only buy my charms from you from now on.

Yvonne Ratcliffe

Hi.

It’s Beau-Marie Mann. I’ve received the necklace and it’s perfect.

Thank u.

Received my goods and I am very happy with them all, very good quality, the wait was well worth it. browsing for my next order thank you chain me up

Yvonne Ratcliffe

Hey Ross,

received the goods. Absolutely amazing thank you heaps. Looks amazing!

Alex

Thanks for your delivery.

On checking them I am very happy with my order.

Cheers Helen

Hi Ross

Just a quick note to let you know that the charm arrived today!

Thank you for your speedy service and for checking with me today that I had received it.

The Tea Pot charm is great – very happy – thank you!!

Regards

Yvette

Good afternoon Ross,

Thank you for your email, the charm arrived on Friday afternoon.

I appreciate the effort you put in getting this charm for me.

Bronwyn

Hi Ross,

Many thanks for speedy delivery on this. Arrived today. Very happy.

I was unable to find this in any Brisbane jewellery store.

Thanks Again

Andrew Skerman

Ross,

The chains have arrived already… Great work (both in product and service).

Geoff

Received my order yesterday and totally love them!!!!

Thank you very much. I will be back.

Hopefully you can help me find a boot similar to this one without the 4 figure price tag…. (Louis Vuitton)

Cass Jeffery

Hi Ross,

I’ve just received my chain and bracelet, they are beautiful, however I am wondering if they have been stamped 9ct, I can’t seem to find a stamp on the chains? There does appear to be a stamp on the clasp, but not on the chain, should the chains also be stamped?

Thanks,

Angela

(our reply) The clasp is the only place where a chain is hallmarked, most charms are also hallmarked, but some are too small. Nonetheless, they are 925 sterling silver or 9ct gold.

Thank you for your service Ross. The charms are lovely.

Thanks

Christine

Hi Ross,

Just wanted to say thanks, love it, its perfect. I may get a slightly smaller one made for the super skinny girls though. I also wondered if you could give me an indicative quote for the same thing in gold. Don’t mean to sound cheap but the cheapest option please!

Many thanks again and I will be in touch very soon.

Kind regards,

Lisa

Thanks Ross

Arrived today… looks great.

Thanks mate.

Dan

Ross,

thanx for the call.

Great, Best customer support,

Ever.

Thanks Mate.

Jez

Ross,

I just received my Charm (Baby booties). they are beautiful.

Thank you for your help with my order & the polishing cloth & keyring.

Heather Bowes.

Hi Ross,

Just letting you know the chain arrived this afternoon, safe and sound and signed for. My son loves it and the case was a surprise and very nice touch. Thank you!

Hope you have a good weekend,

Carmen

Received today and looks great. Thank you!

Rick Meredith

Hi Ross,

Just letting you know my order arrived today, thanks. I’m very happy with it, exactly what I was expecting.

Thanks again,

Carmen

wow my bangle is grrreat thankies beautiful

Viv

Hi Ross

The charms arrived yesterday and they are exactly what I ordered so thanks very much.

Regards

Martin Dutton

Hi Ross,

Got the chain, thanks so much, it looks great and she is so happy she can wear the pendant again.

Thanks again,

Andrew

Dear Ross,

Received the Mickey Mouse gold charm today and it’s absolutely gorgeous! Love the emails advising the status of delivery as well.

Will shop with you again.

Thanks, Leanne

Hi Ross,

received my chains yesterday – very speedy. Items are exactly what I wanted (it’s always a surprise to see how clean and bright silver is when it’s new, my current collection has that well-worn patina!) Thanks, great service and product as always,

kind regards,

Clare McElroy

Hi there,

I just wanted to thank you for the chain it is fantastic, thank you so much for getting it to me so quickly

I will be back again

Kind regards

Elli

Hi ross recieved my wifes package on the 14/5,Thanks heaps for the great service my wife was stoked when she opened it look forward to shopping with you again,Have told all our friends and family about your great store

Regards

Dave L

To the Management and staff of Chain me up, I would like to say thankyou for the prompt delivery of the items that I ordered, they arrived on Friday afternoon, just in time for my sisters 60th Birthday, she was delighted with them and other guests asked of their origin, and of course I told them of Chain me up and their service.

With thanks

Margaret Weightman

Hi Ross,

received my order today. Thank you for your excellent service and prompt delivery.

regards

con

HI Ross,

Thank you so much for your help. I am very impressed with your customer service. I have told a lot of people about you guys so hopefully you will get some business from them.

Thanks Emma

Just to let you know that the chain and fob arrived on Friday. It is beautiful and we will be recommending you to our friends.

Kind regards

Andrew & Margaret

I just want to say thank you for the beautiful charms. i have never known such fast delivery especially at this time of the year. i will definately order from you again. Thank you so much.

Kind Regards

Lesley Armstrong

Hi Ross,

Just a quick note to let you know the chain arrived safe and sound this morning.

And it’s perfect!

Thanks so much,

Natasha

Hi There,

Just a quick note to say a huge thank you for your efforts to make sure my order arrived in time for a birthday. Your service and communication was fabulous. My order arrived in time and I was very happy with the product. I will be sure to let my friends know about your great service.

Thanks again

Linda

Hi, Sorry for the late feedback, the chains arrived when expected and are exactly what I wanted, the graduations work fantastically. The communication from you was great and the overall deal excellent value. I have no hesitation in recommending you to all my friends.

Many Thanks

Lynne

Hi,

I received my order today. I just wanted to let you know i am very pleased and i just made another order. My charm bracelet is looking great and will be finished with this final order. I will be recommending your sight (sic) to friends for sure.

Regards Jessica

Hello again,

Sorry I just missed your call.

Thank you for the effort you are putting in, but especially for following up & letting me know.

I also appreciate that you are being up front & not “promising me the Earth”!!!

I really hope it gets here in time, but if not, there’s not much we can do…

I’ll have to issue an IOU.

Anyway, thanks again & fingers crossed things go according to plan.

Cheers Ross,

Tiana.

Thank you for your prompt supply of my order. Received Friday, was as seen on website. very pleased with item.

Regards. D.Lynch

Hi Ross

Just wanted to thank you for the chain I ordered. I received it today and it was exactly what I was after. And you where right about the weight – it was about 3 or 4 grams heavier than estimated on your site. Great value compared to other jewellery stores! Anyway, appreciate the sale and service you provided me (including the email responses and phone call) and will definitely recommend your business to others and might have to buy myself a matching bracelet soon as well.

Thanks Again

Glen

Hello Ross

I received the gold chain today, my wife loves it, thanks very much. For interest, we visited some well known jewelers in Perth and none seemed capable or maybe interested in creating a gold chain of a specific length. All they wanted to do was to sell their standard shelf stock!

Once again thanks, the service was very good.

Regards

Rob

Hi Ross,

Just a quick email to let you know we got the chain, and (thankfully!) she loves it!

Thanks again,

Bryan

Morning Ross,

My order arrived yesterday and everything is perfect.

Those little chain charm holders are great and I hope to get some gold ones when I have tried them out a bit or I might have to order some more as gifts. They might be a hit at the markets.

Thanks Susan

Hello Ross,

Picked up my order from the post office. Everything great.

Thanks Sue

Hi Ross

I just wanted to let you know I got the chain yesterday. It looks great and thanks for the fantastic turnaround.

Rachel

Hello Ross,

The silver bracelet arrived yesterday – thank you so much.

It was a pleasure doing business with you – I expect you will be hearing from us again with another order. I will also be telling family and friends of your online store – you are doing a great job.

Good luck with it all.

Kind regards,

Renee Young

Feedback already left and you are wonderful, professional and a pleasure to do business with

Thanks & best regards,

David

Hi Ross,

The explanation is clear thank you. I also appreciated the phone call. Your Customer Care service has been excellent. As soon as I receive the chain I will be leaving a glowing feedback on the site…..

Thanks & best regards,

David

Hi Ross

Ok great I will go on your site and order the necklace today. Thanks for your help and your quick response to my enquiries.

Thanks again,

Rachel

---

 

These are some of the real comments left by our customers over the past few years. We work bloody hard to make sure every one of our customers is happy with our products and service. Maybe that’s why we get a lot of new customers by referrals from their friends and family.

Thank you to all of the people who have make the effort to leave feedback  for us.

Cheers

Ross

Real Customer Service

Stopping The Scammers

Our previous article focused on securing an e-commerce website against hacking.

This article addresses the ways you can reduce the chance of fraudulent transactions being successful (in a bad way!)

Our website sells silver and gold jewellery, a desirable commodity for potential scammers. They seem to think that is ok to steal from anyone without a thought to the consequences of their actions. Over the past 5 years I have seen many different ways that these a**holes will try to game the system and I have had to devise a number of methods to reduce the chance of their success.

Firstly, as an on-line store, there must be a way to collect payment from our customers. We offer several methods of payment, some more secure than others.

Cash Payments

Cash is not an option as your customers physically cannot hand it to you. Sending cash through the post is not advised as no-one will insure against it not arriving. For an on-line store it simply is not an option and leaves the customer in a vulnerable position.

Money Orders

Money orders sent through a post office are the equivalent of cash. The customer pays the post office for the money order with cash or a bank transfer and the money order is sent by post to the store. The store receiving the money order is paid in cash at the post office, and is normally required to present proof of identity at that time. Once cashed, they cannot be withdrawn.

Direct Deposits

Direct deposit into your bank account is by far the best option for a merchant. Once the money has been transferred, you are absolutely assured it is yours. The customer cannot reverse the transfer. It can only be reversed (refunded) by the account holder receiving the deposit. This is the payment method you should promote to your customers. Giving a discount for direct deposits may convince the customer to complete their order.

Cheques

Cheques are generally safe but the funds can take 3 to 5 days to clear and arrive into your account. If the owner of the account disputes the cheque payment, the bank may decide to reverse the payment and you could lose your money. Insist on additional proof of identity before accepting a cheque for payment.

PayPal

PayPal is seen by many people as being safe and is often the preferred method of payment for a customer. From the customers point of view, the ‘buyer protection’ offered by PayPal makes this a ‘feel safe’ method of payment.

If a dispute arises, PayPal will negotiate between the merchant and the customer to achieve what they consider to be a fair resolution. Another advantage to the customer is that the store never sees the customers payment details. This means that a customer can pay by credit card and only PayPal has the details of that card. The store is made aware that a payment has been made with a credit card, but has no further details.

PayPal allows payments to be made to a merchant in two ways. Firstly a customer can use a credit card as described above. Secondly a customer can use a PayPal account which either has a sufficient balance to make the payment or is linked to a bank account/credit card from which the payment can be sourced.

Using a credit card

When a sale is made and the payment is by credit card, the store receives an email advising of the payment. In this case the buyer is protected if the merchant fails to deliver goods or services matching what the customer had purchased (and the customer can provide sufficient evidence). The seller is offered NO PROTECTION from the credit card being misused, as in the case where the card details have been stolen and used without the card owners knowledge. The card owner tells their bank to stop payment, this is known as a chargeback. PayPal will ‘act on your behalf’ but invariably they refund the bank after garnishing the disputed amount from your PayPal account.

In this situation the store owner should make an extra effort to ensure that the order and customer are legitimate.

Using a PayPal account

When a customer pays for their order using a PayPal account (not a credit card via PayPal) the buyer and seller are both protected by PayPal. The email advising payment will include a declaration that the seller is eligible for ‘seller protection.’ Should it be found that the PayPal account had been misused by a third party, the seller is unlikely to suffer financially as a result, with some big IFs.

IF the goods are not shipped to the address on the payment advice sent by PayPal at the time the sale occurred, you will not be able to claim seller protection.

IF you can not provide proof of delivery to the address on the payment advice sent by PayPal, you will not be able to claim seller protection.

Signs a customer may not be genuine

• The use of free email accounts. Hotmail and G-mail are two of many free email accounts that anyone can create. Orders from one of these email accounts are much more likely to need extra attention.


• Their name and address is not in the phone book. Some people don’t have home phones or may have unlisted numbers, but again take extra care.


• They give an unlisted mobile number. Search using a reverse lookup site and Google, again take extra care.


• They want delivery to a P.O.Box or a delivery address different to their home address.


• They paid with a credit card. (no seller protection)


• The IP address the order was placed from is not from the same area as the address they gave.

None of the points above (either alone or together) mean that the order is not genuine, but they are all factors that should make you pay extra attention to the sale.

The more of the above points that are true, the more suspicious and careful you should be.

Fraud

Fraud is becoming more and more of a problem and at the end of the day there is only one loser.

It isn’t the customer, it isn’t the bank, it isn’t PayPal.

It’s YOU. The merchant.

• When you are in doubt, ask to customer to provide proof that they are who they say they are.


• All of the clients I have requested further information from have been happy that I made the effort to check.


• Every one of them was able to provide what I asked for, and there were no issues with the sales.


• The ones who ‘promised’ to send me the extra information I requested and never did were all scammers and in each case PayPal later alerted me to “unusual account activity” and a chargeback was instigated by the account owner.

If you are in doubt that an order is above board you may be better to cancel it.

It may be better to lose a little profit, than a large outlay for stock you just handed to a scammer.

Personally, I’d rather not give them the satisfaction.

 

Stopping The Scammers

Website Security Considerations

Website Security Considerations

Running and maintaining a jewellery website where the price of some of our gold chains exceeds
$20,000 means that security is one of the very most important considerations. This article deals with the security related to the hosting of a web site, detecting and preventing fraud will be covered in a future article.

Securing The Web Server

There are a number of things that can be done to limit the chance of having your website hacked. (As long as a computer is connected to the Internet it can be vulnerable to hack attempts, so we are talking risk minimisation not absolute guarantees of imperviousness.)

Passwords

Having complex passwords of a reasonable length is the first-most consideration. Use at least 12 characters containing some of each from the following groups: upper-case letters, lower-case letters, numbers and symbols. An example of a strong password would be similar to this – *hY55″gTh09,Jj – it contains characters from each of the groups mentioned and it will not be found in a dictionary. On older systems rename the administrator account to another name like hy66d6yuskl. The chance of this combination of username and password being discovered is next to zero. (but not impossible)

Many password attacks use brute force by trying thousands of passwords one after the other, often from common words that could be found in a dictionary and they may add numbers to the beginning or the end of the word. An example of a really bad password is – password123 – don’t expect this to keep anyone out of your web server!

Virtual Private Server (VPS) v’s Shared Hosting

Shared Hosting

A shared host is where multiple web sites are run on the same server and share a common IP address.

If one of those sites is compromised, the other sites may also be vulnerable to attack. Furthermore, if one of those sites is a gambling, pornography, hacking, pirated software or other low quality site, Google may penalise YOUR web site in their SERP’s because you share a common IP address.

If one of the other sites sharing your server becomes infected with malware, Google may also penalise your own site.

If one of the other sites is acquiring lots of low quality spammy incoming links, Google may also penalise your site.

On a shared server there may be many programs running that you don’t need. Each additional program has the potential to be susceptible to security vulnerabilities that a hacker may exploit.

Private Hosting

A VPS gives you a unique IP address and a computer running a web server that you are not sharing with other web sites.

Having a VPS will prevent the problems that can occur when using a shared hosting arrangement.

Typically they are also able to deliver web pages much more quickly than a shared host that has another 50 or 100 other websites in addition to your own.

It does cost more to use private hosting but the benefits are immense, consider:

How much is your reputation worth?

If you run an e-commerce store and Google dumps you from their search results how much could you lose in sales?

On a VPS, you control what software is installed. This means you only run software that YOU need, unlike on a shared server. Much more secure.

Managing the server and uploading new pages to your website (via FTP) are some of the tasks you will perform reasonably frequently.

On a VPS, you can restrict access to the management console and FTP (file transfer) by IP address. If you have a static IP address in your office, you can allow FTP/console access to your web server from that IP address and ONLY that IP address.

Anyone connected from a different IP address will be allowed to browse your web site (you want this!) but be blocked from accessing the web server for any other purpose.

FallBack Plans

In the event that you find your server has been compromised, it is vitally important to have a recovery plan in place.

You (or your host) should be making regular backups of your web site. (Best you both keep copies)

If the content on your web site changes often, backup more frequently.

If you are going to make major changes to your content, do a backup first and another one after the changes have been uploaded.

If you have a database (on an e-commerce store for example) you should back it up at least once a day. Leave a copy on the web server and download a copy to your office computer as well.

Having current backups is critical should your web site be hacked.

It is also very important to have historical backups – you may not know your web site has been compromised for some time and if your only available backup was done yesterday, then that backup may be of no use to you.

Website Security Considerations

Gold and Silver Metal Testing

Jewellery is rarely made from pure gold or silver as both these metals are very soft. Normally gold chains for example are made from pure gold which has been alloyed with silver, copper and zinc.

To make jewellery that will wear well, gold and silver are mixed with other metals to improve the hardness and durability of the metals. Gold jewellery in Australia is most frequently either 9ct (375) or 18ct (750) and should be stamped as such. In the US, 10ct (417), 14ct (583) and 22ct (916) are popular.

A common misconception is that 18ct gold is much softer than 9ct because it contains twice as much pure gold. In hardness tests, 18ct gold will actually be very slightly harder and more durable than 9ct, the difference in hardness between the two metals is less than 1% but 18ct gold will be considerably more expensive.

Sterling silver is an alloy of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% of another metal (nearly always copper). Silver jewellery from Mexico and many Asian countries will be less than 90% pure silver and may be considerably less. The percentages of one metal to another in an alloy is always by weight.

9ct yellow gold is 37.5% pure gold and 62.6% other metals, typically the majority is silver and copper with a small fraction of zinc. Varying the percentages of the silver and copper will cause a change in the actual colour of the gold alloy. More silver and less copper will give a brassier yellow hue and the opposite, more copper and less silver will give a pinkish hue to the alloy. Rose gold has a larger proportion of copper than silver.

Normally you can tell the carat of gold jewellery by the hallmark. This is a small stamping on the piece of jewellery of the carat weight, i.e. 9ct or the parts per thousand of gold i.e. 375. This mark can also be etched into the piece with a laser, instead of being stamped.

With the easy availability of carat stamps, some unscrupulous people are profiting from jewellery being incorrectly hallmarked. Cheap silver or brass chains can be gold plated and stamped with 375, and the buyer assumes they have purchased a 9ct solid gold chain necklace.

The only way to be absolutely sure of the actual carat weight of gold jewellery is by testing the metal chemically or with an electronic metal analyser.

Manufacturers are subject to random tests of their jewellery and undergo the most accurate testing. A random sample(s) is collected from their products and it is chemically analysed to around 1 part per thousand for gold content. This process is completely destructive and is only suitable for ensuring that manufacturers are adhering to the correct marking of carat weights of their products.

Gold testing kits are available quite cheaply and can be used to obtain a reasonably accurate measure of the gold content of a single piece of jewellery. They are however destructive in that a small section of the jewellery is removed by scratching the piece on a special stone used for testing. An area that is not normally visible should be used and the amount is very small.

The mark left on the stone is covered with a solution that will cause a chemical reaction and a colour change will be seen. Different chemicals are used depending on the actual carat of the gold being tested, so sometimes more than one scratch on the stone will be required. These chemicals are typically strong acids and require care during use. It may be best to have these tests performed by a jeweller who has the knowledge and experience to perform the tests safely and accurately for you.

In recent years electronic testers have come onto the market. Currently the price makes them not practical for anyone not using them regularly in a business. They are however very accurate and more importantly they are completely non-destructive. Handheld models with an LCD readout will indicate on the display the composition of the piece being tested and show the percentage of up to 14 different elements. More complex models can offer the detection up to 21 different elements.

X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) is the technique employed by these analysers. The device can be focused and an area as small as 1mm x 1mm and return a reading showing the percentage of each metal present in the sample without causing any destruction to the jewellery being tested.

If you are considering buying second hand jewellery you should arrange for a jeweller to test the item to make sure it is as expected. A seller who refuses or is reluctant to allow you do this should probably be avoided. False hallmarks have been widely reported on silver jewellery coming from China and frequently being sold on sites like and including eBay. If the price seems to good to be true, just move on, because it won’t be real.

Buying from a reputable store should guarantee you will not have issues with the jewellery not meeting the hallmarks applied. Buying within Australia also gives you protection under common law, consumer law and you have the backing of the consumer affairs and/or fair trading government departments.

 

Gold and Silver Metal Testing

Jewellery Trends 2016

Ross Fraser, the owner of Chain Me Up shares his thoughts on the expected trends we will see during 2016 as the economy improves and more people are returning to shop for higher quality jewellery. An interesting point he made was, “quality jewellery will not only last a lifetime, but simple classical designs can be worn throughout your whole life.” A solid gold chain is the perfect example of this. Simple, timeless and elegant – quality solid gold necklaces and bracelets that will last for many many years.

Elaborating on this, Ross explained, “Our store exclusively sells real jewellery. Solid gold and sterling silver, with real gemstones that have the quality to last and be treasured today and worthy of handing down to your loved ones. Costume jewellery doesn’t provide value for money. It is a great alternative for a one off occasion where you want to look special, but it will never be an item you will wear regularly, or with pride.”

Recent years have seen the sales of branded styles of charm bracelets swell and slow. More and more people are moving away from these bracelets as they become less of a fashion trend. Increasingly, the perception of value for money is being questioned, when compared to more traditional charm bracelets.

A major jewellery store in Australia has launched a new range of pendants, where the inner design can be removed from a frame and replaced with another insert. I wonder whether the same people who jumped on the Pandora style bracelet trends will embrace this concept? Many people who have been ‘locked in’ to buying charms that only fit a branded bracelet may see the interchangeable pendant range as being of a similar ilk, having to return to the same store to add new inserts.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was to always buy the best that I could afford. This applies equally to jewellery as it does to tools, cars, electronics, household appliances and clothing. A good quality item will always outlast a number of inferior items, and in the case of jewellery you will have a piece that you can pass down to your children. The fact that you loved and wore it regularly means it will have an important sentimental value that inferior costume jewellery could never match.

I think the wide held expectation of buying great jewellery cheaply on sites like eBay has well and truly peaked as it becomes increasingly clear that you really do get what you pay for. Many items coming from stores in China stamped 925, the mark for sterling silver, have been found to be silver plated brass. What seemed to be too good to be true, was. No real surprise there, but many people did get burnt and had little recourse dealing with a scammer on the other side of the world.

The trend we think will blossom over the next twelve months is layering. Having three fine gold necklaces of the same design but made to different lengths creates a stunning effect. Custom made chains are featured at Chain Me Up, where any gold chain can be made to the exact length you require in yellow gold, rose gold or white gold. The handmade chains here can be created to your design in any combination of the three most popular colours of gold.

Building on the layering concept, you may choose to have 45cm, 50cm and 55cm length identical necklaces made in yellow gold. These can be worn together to great effect or worn individually to suit your outfit.

Russian wedding bands, three interlocking rings of yellow gold, rose gold and white gold have remained popular for many years because of the tactile way they roll onto the finger as well as the way the three colours of gold compliment each other. Three necklaces of the same length, one made of each of the most common colours of gold can also be worn together for an elegant and stylish look. Again they can be separated and worn individually to match your wardrobe.

Having several similar necklaces that can be grouped together or worn alone gives a greater number of possibilities for styles than the same number of non-matching gold or silver chain necklaces. The same applies to those who prefer bracelets or bangles. Look for designs that compliment each other so they can be worn together and the number of possibilities grows faster than the number of bangles you own.

Most often charm bracelets and the charms they hold are made of the same colour gold or silver. Having some of the charms made of a different shade of gold can create a beautiful contrast that adds interest and could be used to highlight a very special memory carried on your wrist.

This year is expected to see people shopping more for better quality and buying less pieces. Wise shopping means you will be able to select pieces that work together and vastly increase the possibilities and combinations of styles from a smaller number of jewellery pieces.

Your jewellery should express your own individual style, so choose quality over quantity and simplicity rather than complexity. The number of style combinations will be greater and you can mix and match for many years knowing that simple elegant styles never go out of fashion.

 

Jewellery Trends 2016

Gold Jewellery Scams

Buying jewellery overseas can be fraught with danger. We are not saying you can’t get a good deal on a genuine item, but if you aren’t careful you may not get what you were expecting and you may have no recourse.

Often it won’t be until you get home from your trip that you discover you haven’t been given what you thought you had paid for. Buying from overseas internet sellers can create exactly the same issues. How can you get your money back when you are here and they are thousands of miles away?

Let’s take the example of buying a men’s gold chain from a merchant overseas.

You know the style, how long and wide the necklace should be and you want 18ct yellow gold. An on-line seller has just what you want as described and has a beautiful photo of your new chain. The price may be considerably lower than in shops here in Australia and it seems like a great deal, so what could possibly go wrong?

• When buying on the internet, there is no guarantee that the photo you are looking at is of the actual gold chain that you are buying.


• The description may say 18ct solid gold, weight 65 grams, 60cm long and 8mm wide, which is exactly what you wanted to buy. Until you hold it in your hand you are solely relying on the accuracy of their description.


• The photo shows a 750 stamped into the clasp, but is the hallmark genuine?

There is nothing stopping an unscrupulous seller from finding a photo of a gold chain on the internet and using it on eBay or another website.

Hallmarks

Hallmarks are stamped into the metal of the chain, usually on the clasps with a heavier chain or on the link joining the clasp to the chain on finer (smaller) necklaces and bracelets. Very rarely is every link in a chain stamped.

A hallmark stamp of 750 means 18ct solid gold, 375 means 9ct solid gold and 583 means 14ct solid gold. Actually the hallmark stamp SHOULD indicate the gold content of the item stamped. You can buy these metal hallmark stamping tools on eBay for a few dollars each and not everyone who owns one is a real jeweller.

It is very easy to get hold of a brass or copper chain and have it gold plated cheaply and then stamp 750 on it. It will look real for a few days and then the plating wears off.

A massive amount of silver jewellery coming from China is stamped 925 for sterling silver and sells at less than 25% of the cost of silver bullion (weight for weight). When you buy something at well below the cost of the raw materials and think you got a bargain, think again. The silver plating wears off in days and allows you to marvel at the beautiful yellow shine of the brass from which it is really made.

Gold Testing Kits

A gold acid (scratch) test will quickly show that a gold plated chain is not solid gold. A gold testing kit is reasonably cheap and easy to use. Just pulling one out of your pocket may be enough to expose a dishonest seller.

A more subtle and harder to detect scam is passing off ‘gold filled’ or ‘gold clad’ jewellery as solid gold. Gold filled and gold clad jewellery is made from a base metal (often brass) with a thicker layer of gold mechanically bonded to it. When it is sold as gold filled, it must contain at least 5% gold by weight. This creates a thicker layer than gold plating, but it will still wear off in time.

A scratch test will show the carat rating of the gold cladding, so this can appear to be solid gold.

A gold chain should feel heavy for its size. As brass is much lighter than gold, a golf filled chain just doesn’t feel solid (heavy) enough. This should be a strong clue that you aren’t getting a solid gold chain.

If you are in an overseas market and find a gold dealer, consider this: If they have a massive range of solid gold chains for sale laid out on a table to touch and feel, they may well have hundreds of thousands of dollars of gold right there in front of you. Would you set up a stall like this using real gold of this value? Unlikely unless you employ about 10 guys carrying sub-machine guns.

Genuine jewellery stores keep everything secured in glass cabinets so you can look but not touch and take out one item at a time for you to examine. Why? Security, real gold costs real money.

What to look for

Obvious signs you should look out for:

• The jewellery just doesn’t feel heavy enough for its size.


• The workmanship is not great, the joins in the links are clearly visible and don’t meet closely and neatly.


• The prices are too cheap or the salesman pushes too hard and keeps lowering the price.


• The hard sell – “it’s the last one”, “our prices are going up tomorrow”, “my child/wife/mother is sick and I need to sell today”

If you intend to shop for ‘cheap’ jewellery overseas, know what the prices are here at home. The cost of precious metals is a global value. Typically gold is valued by the ounce in US dollars EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD. Gold is simply not cheaper in the poorer countries.

When buying in your home country, you have the protection of the police in case of fraud and various government bodies including the ACCC who can act to deal with dishonest sellers. Pay Pal and your bank can stop payments and reverse transactions where the goods supplied are not what was advertised. It is much harder to take action against a dishonest seller in another country and a much greater risk unless you are dealing with a multi-national company like Tiffany & Co. or De Beers.

 

 

Gold Jewellery Scams

Costume Jewellery - Pretty or Poisonous?

Buying cheap costume jewellery may not cost a lot financially, but it’s health cost could be dangerously high.

A non-profit organisation in the US, The Ecology Center, ran tests on jewellery from 14 discount stores across the nation including Target and Walmart. 99 items were tested for dangerous metals including lead, chromium, nickel, mercury and cadmium. Tests were also conducted for chlorine, arsenic and brominated flame retardants.

You get what you pay for

It has long been the explanation that if you pay a little, you get exactly what you paid for. It seems however, that with some costume jewellery you may be getting a lot more than you bargained for.

Every piece of jewellery tested by The Ecology Center was under $10 in price. Over half the 99 items tested had high levels of one or more of these dangerous substances.

90% of the items had nickel and chromium which can cause allergic reactions.

27 items had more than the 300 ppm limit for lead content, the maximum allowed for children’s products.

10% of the items tested contained cadmium, a toxic metal that can cause cancer, renal, neurological, respiratory and reproductive diseases.

Transfer of Chemicals

Nickel and chromium are normally used to give a beautiful silvery shiny finish to costume jewellery. These can be absorbed through the skin and trigger allergic reactions in some people. Anti-bodies produced by your immune system react with the metal dissolving nickel from the jewellery. Your tissues swell and more anti-bodies are sent to fight the invader. Some more nickel dissolves…. what a nasty vicious circle. Nickel allergies can also be caused by surgical stainless steel.

Other chemicals like lead and cadmium are more likely to be dangerous when they are absorbed via the digestive system.

This isn’t as uncommon as you may think. How often have you seen someone deep in thought chewing on their necklace?

Pewter

Many cheap charms for bracelets are made of pewter containing lead.

Originally pewter was made of 90% tin and 10% lead. This created many health concerns and the lead was replaced by copper and antimony in better quality pewter.

British Pewter is an alloy of about 90% tin and 10% copper and antimony.

Some manufacturers of pewter still use lead (primarily in underdeveloped countries) and manufacture bracelet charms by the millions. Often flea markets will sell these pewter charms and the vendor probably isn’t even aware of what they contain. With the surge in popularity of buying from eBay and Alibaba, market stall holders often source their products from China, where the health regulations are limited if not non-existent.

Lead is absorbed into the body and accumulates over time. Our bodies are very poor at removing lead from our blood and tissues and so lead tends to accumulate at increasing levels. The development of children can be badly affected by relatively low levels compared to what an adult can tolerate.

Lead has been recognised as an health issue for many years and has been removed from our fuels (1970’s – 1990’s) and paints (1997) for some time.

Quality

Other than the obvious dangers of using toxic materials in costume jewellery, consideration should be given to the quality of the manufacturing process.

It would be likely that a manufacturer who discounts the importance of their customers health are not going to adhere to best practices for producing jewellery that won’t just fall apart when you are wearing it.

This becomes all the more important when considering costume jewellery for children.

Decorations on a child’s bracelet may contain toxic materials and easily separate from the bracelet. Children happily put just about everything into their mouths, and so a double risk occurs.

Firstly there is the risk of choking on small parts which has unfortunately caused a large number of deaths in young children. Poorly constructed jewellery where parts easily come loose are a real danger to young lives.

If the child manages not to choke, but instead swallows a small bead that contains lead or cadmium, the health risk is still serious.

Please carefully examine jewellery with small parts and consider whether it is going to be a risk to your child.

Any metal jewellery that is really cheap is not going to be made of precious metals such as silver or gold that won’t cause you any health concerns.

Please alert any friends with small children about the dangers of poorly made costume jewellery, especially the risks involved with dangerous materials.

Photo credit: phil41dean via Foter.com / CC BY

 

Costume Jewellery - Pretty or Poisonous?

Insuring Your Jewellery

We spoke to our own insurer and gained some valuable insights to the rights and wrongs of insuring your jewellery.

Disclaimer – This information is general in nature and you should speak directly with your own insurer regarding the terms and conditions of your own policies. Where values are stated, these are the numbers used by our insurer, yours may be different.

General Insurance

Most household policies will provide some limited cover for jewellery that is not specifically listed on the policy. Unlisted items under $1000 may be covered in the home without requiring proof of purchase. There is usually a limit for all unlisted items on a policy, in our case it is $4000.

Items to be taken outside the home should be listed with your insurer as portable. Normally this would include the jewellery you wear daily.

Items that need to be listed individually

Any individual item of jewellery over $1000 in value should be listed with your insurer. You will also need to be able to provide a receipt in the event of a claim.

Items of $2500 and over will require a valuation in addition to the store receipt if you need to make a claim. The valuation must be performed by a registered valuer and should be recent. It is recommended that you have your valuations updated every year or two. This is also a good opportunity to have your jewellery checked for wear or damage that may need repairs.

Listed items over $1000 are typically covered as being portable.

Accidental Damage

It would also be wise to ensure that your jewellery is covered for accidental damage. This covers events where a total loss hasn’t occurred but the jewellery is unwearable. If your ‘waterproof’ watch is damaged by faulty seals etc. you could make a claim to have it repaired. Often accidental coverage will include portable cover so your jewellery would be covered outside of your home as well.

If you are travelling overseas, you should check the conditions of your policy for the coverage that is provided.

Jewellery Valuations

Legally, anyone can provide a jewellery valuation in Australia without being qualified or registered (talk about not worth the paper it’s written on). However, an insurance company will require a valuation provided by a registered valuer. The National Council of Jewellery Valuers will be able to provide you with the contact details for valuers in your area.

The valuation should be detailed including dimensions and weights and classifications of precious stones showing carat weight, clarity, etc.

How much should I insure it for?

Let’s say you bought a solid gold chain for $1500. The jeweller told you that you got a great deal and supplies you with a valuation for $2600.

The insurer at the time of paying a claim will pay up to the insured amount. Often they will source a replacement for you and not directly pay you any money.

You should insure it for the replacement value. So how much is that? If you know you can go back to the jeweller and buy the necklace again for $1500 tomorrow, then that is the replacement value. If you really got a great deal and couldn’t buy it again for less than $2600, then that is the replacement value.

Should you choose to insure your gold chain for $4000, you are likely to only be paying too much on your insurance premium. The insurer may well determine that the replacement value is only $1500, so you are paying for extra cover that will never be paid out in the event of a claim.

What about a new purchase?

If you were to buy a new diamond ring for $3000 and have it stolen as you are leaving the jewellery store, it is likely NOT to be covered by your insurer. You should contact your insurer to have new expensive items listed before you take possession of them. You wouldn’t drive away in your new car without insurance would you?

Biggest Insurance Mistakes

The most common (and costly) mistakes people make when insuring their jewellery are:

• NOT having ‘portable’ insurance for items that leave the home.


• NOT keeping documentation – receipts, valuations etc.


• NOT having a valuation for items over $2500


• NOT having accidental cover.

Record Keeping

You should keep in a safe place copies of invoices/receipts and valuations. Having photos of your items can also be an advantage both for the insurance and for the police to use in case of theft.

Many insurers now allow you to upload copies of these documents to their website. That will be to your advantage in the case of a claim.

In Summary

• List valuable items on your policy and keep the receipt and have a valuation performed by a registered valuer.


• Check where your jewellery is covered.


• Consider accidental damage options.


• Don’t over or under insure individual items.

 

Photo credit: free pictures of money via Foter.com / CC BY

 

Insuring Your Jewellery