Let us know if you have a question and we will add it to our list or write an in-depth blog.

1. My ring is a bit tight. Can you stretch it larger?

It is very rare we stretch a ring. Some rings can be stretched a small amount, but at Troy Shoppe Jewellers, we cut the ring, add a piece of comparable metal to the ring, solder, and polish. This is the best way to size a ring and creates the least problems.

2. What is rhodium plating?

Rhodium is a metal in the platinum family of metals. It is extremely white. It is used over gold to create a whiter, cleaner, and brighter finish on jewellery. At Troy Shoppe Jewellers we prefer not to plate rhodium over yellow gold but, over white gold the results are amazing.

3. What is your warrantee policy?

We have always warranted our product for two years against manufacturing issues and/or defects. While we have always tried to have a lenient policy, this is meant to cover issues that might be due to the way the ring was made. It is not intended to cover normal wear and tear. If a ring was caught in a garburator, that would not be normal wear and tear.

4. What is your return policy?

We offer a 30-day return for store credit only, on any item in the showcase. Special orders or custom-made items are not returnable. If the item is to be gifted or presented later than 30 days, the return date can be extended with prior arrangements.

5. My diamond broke, how is that possible?

Diamonds are the hardest substance known to man. However, hardness is not a measure of durability. Diamonds have a grain like wood and are brittle. Hit them just right and they can chip, crack or shatter with the grain. Typically, a diamond will never be an issue to wear every day.

6. I have a broken diamond and wonder if it can be repaired?

In general, most breaks can be repaired. It involves having the diamond repolished. If the diamond is under 0.25ct, it is not worth the cost to repair, as the returned diamond may be worth less than a new diamond of the returned size. In some cases, even larger diamonds that are badly damaged, may not be repairable. It depends on the type of break or how many breaks. Usually, a diamond is chipped. A simple chip is typically repairable. No matter what repair is needed, the returned diamond will be smaller, maybe very minimal or possibly a large amount. It requires an inspection and some measurements to give an estimate of what the likely return would be on the recut and repolished diamond. The one point to note is that the process to repolish or recut a damaged diamond carries some risk. It is possible that some breaks can cause the diamond to shatter or break worse in the process. There is no way to offer a guarantee of what might happen.

7. Can I still wear my chipped or broken diamond?

It can be very risky to continue wearing a chipped or broken diamond. The position of the break can leave the diamond open to break if knocked at the same spot as the chipped or broken diamond. Very minor chips are not likely to be an issue but larger chips make it very likely that the chip will get worse if the diamond is worn. The main thing to point out, is that this applies specifically to rings and bracelets. Pendants and earrings would be very hard to worsen the break simply because of the position the jewellery is worn.

8. I bought my ring online; do you offer a warrantee I can purchase for it?

Sorry, I do not. The best bet is to buy extra insurance on your jewellery and cover it yourself. An excellent company that offers insurance is Jewellers Mutual.

https://www.jewelersmutual.com/

9. What does it mean when you talk about karats and carats?

Karats is a measure of the purity of gold. Pure gold is 24K. To find the purity of the gold, divide the karat by 24 and you get the percentage of gold. An example is: 14K÷24K=0.583, or 58.3% of a 14K item is gold. For carats, this is a weight, five carats is equal to one gram. This form of carat is used as a measure of the weight of gemstones and diamonds.

10. I had a jeweller work on the ring I purchased from another store. Now the store I purchased the ring from says the warrantee is void. Is that normal?

For sure. While some jewellers have excellent skills, it is impossible to tell what they may have done during a repair. If the work performed compromises the integrity of the jewellery, then the problem should fall back to the person that performed the work. But at the same time, if the ring wasn’t very good to start with, the repair can only be as good as the foundation of the ring. Future problems may not be due to a repair, and it would not be fair to ask the jeweller that performed the repair to warrantee the item worked on.

11. I was in the store and told my shank is worn out on my ring and needs to be replaced. What is a shank on a ring?

The shank is the round part of the ring that extends around your finger. Usually, it would be worn out on the underside of the ring, the part that is hidden from view, or the part you see when you look at your palm. Wear on this part of the ring is not unusual. If the ring is very fine and narrow, this type of wear can happen in a few years. On wider rings, it can take decades to wear. The repair involves cutting the shank in two places as close to the top as needed, where the thickest and/or widest part of the ring still has lots of metal. Then a new piece as wide as the cut line is welded in place of the old, removed part.

12. After inspection of why my ring was snagging on my clothes, I was told I needed new tips. What are tips?

Tips, prongs, claws are often used to describe the part of the piece of jewellery that actually holds a gemstone or diamond in place. They are the small part of the jewellery that is bent over the gemstone or diamond. They do wear out over time from rubbing. Replacing them is usually a very typical repair and most good jewellers would be comfortable performing this type of repair. It is very common for wear to occur over many tips at one time. If you are not sure where or how many tips are worn, ask the store to show you. In Troy Shoppe Jewellers, we have a large screen TV, with an attached microscope and can show you what we are looking at, magnified about 200 times.

13. I am divorced and now want to separate my engagement ring from the band it was soldered to. Can that be done, or do I need to live with it?

Absolutely, the rings can be separated. Very often the rings can be brought back to ‘just like new’ when they are separated. The only time that separating the rings can be an issue, is when they were soldered to reinforce the wear of one or both rings. In that case, new shanks (see #11 above) may be needed.

14. Why would you solder rings together?

It is a great idea to solder your wedding band and engagement ring together. It prevents the two (or three rings) from rubbing against each other causing a costly repair years later. If the rings were not soldered together and after many years are very worn, soldering them together can act to reinforce the rings. Especially if one of them is very thin.

15. I received an appraisal that says the diamond earrings I purchased are worth almost double what I paid for them. Did I get a great deal?

There is no way to tell from the appraisal. The reality is that many stores or online sources will appraise an item very high to suggest the selling price of the item is a bargain. Offering an item for sale as a discount from an appraised value is considered unethical by almost all jewellery associations. It is a common ploy on many online sites to say that they are offering an item for 50% or more, of appraised value, which is simply not true.

16. I bought a nice diamond 25 years ago and no longer want it. Do you buy back old gold, diamonds and gemstones?

Yes, we do buy back gold, silver and platinum as well as diamonds. Colored gemstones can be a problem if they are worn down or abraided. We give you an offer and there is no obligation to accept it.

17. I went to sell the diamond I purchased 20 years ago and was given an offer a fraction of what I paid. Aren’t diamonds a great investment?

Most people look at investments like a stock or home and expect the item to go up in value every year or over time. That is not the case with diamonds. Diamonds are purchased as a symbolic and emotionally important item. They should never be purchased with the same idea as an investment such as a stock. Some diamonds that are sold by mall stores or at port of call stores have very little resale value in today’s market. Buy the diamond if you love the look and artistry of the item but not to sell for a profit in several years.

18. Are hollow chains and earrings good for everyday wear?

As a store owner, I hate hollow chains and super light hollow earrings. They dent and get damaged easily and are horrible to repair. I stay away from them in my store and while they look big and interesting they won’t stand up to everyday wear. I will add that some styles just can’t be made any other way than hollow due to the weight. However, there is hollow and extremely hollow. It is hard to tell the difference, but much of what is offered in stores today tends to be extremely light and will not last.

19. I bought my engagement ring from Troy Shoppe Jewellers; can I get a deal on the matching band?

Yes, you can get 15% off of both men’s and lady’s wedding bands. We value the loyalty and trust of our returning clients and offer this as a symbol of our appreciation.

20. Which is the best karat of gold to use?

There really is no such thing as to what is best. It depends on the purpose and personal preferences. Some cultures think anything less than 22K is not gold. Some countries use rose gold extensively. I find for general purposes, and most overall ease of use, best wear, and reasonable cost, 14K is great. It is still a higher content of gold than alloy (what is mixed with gold), the durability is great and the color whether white, yellow or rose is very appealing.

21. Do you offer insurance for my jewellery?

We do not offer insurance for jewellery. This is a highly specialized field and many stores that say they offer insurance have a list of exclusions that make the insurance almost useless. There are many insurance companies that will offer insurance as part of a home policy. One company that can help and only covers jewellery is Jewellers Mutual, https://www.jewelersmutual.com/.

22. Should I insure my jewellery?

Part of this depends on how much jewellery you have, the value of the jewellery and how often you wear your jewellery. Our feeling is that anything special, over $1500 in value, that is worn regularly should be insured. If you have an average home policy, there are amounts covered (check your policy), but there will be a deductible. Each policy is different, but most are a $1000 deductible. When you list a specific piece of jewellery to be insured on its own, often called ‘scheduled’, costs of insurance can range but are about 2% of the appraised value of the item. Again, this can vary with companies and other factors.

23. Do you offer financing?

I no longer offer any financing. I found after many years, that the cost that is hidden from the customer is the carrying charges. I would have to pay anywhere from 6 to 9% of the cost of the item for a three-month term. That is a huge amount and has to be built into the cost of the item. I would rather save my customers the cost of financing. With consumer credit so available, most customers can find better deals than what I was able to offer.

24. Can I sleep with my jewellery on?

Not really. Chains, necklaces and pendants will get tangled as you toss and turn. Sometimes a person may even get a hand caught near their neck when their hand is by their pillow and a sudden toss, and the necklace is broken. As for rings, they can get knocked against a headboard or nightstand and damage the gemstone or diamond. More importantly, many of us find our hands can change in size during sleep. If your hand swells and circulation is cut off, it may mean you have to have your ring cut off. I am sure a lot of people are saying, “I have always worn my jewellery to bed and never had a problem”. Those people are the lucky ones. I can only say that in our store, we see a lot of nighttime damage and a number of rings that need to be cut off due to a swollen finger having no circulation.

25. Can I swim with my jewellery?

I would not recommend it. The water is cool and acts as a lubricant. The coolness causes most hands to get smaller, and with the lubrication of the water, rings come off with no warning.

26. Will hot tubs hurt my jewellery?

This is not a good idea at all. Hot tubs have all kinds of purifying chemicals such as bromine. Bromine will attack the alloys that white gold is mixed with and harm the metal. A few years ago, a manufacturer actually did a study on hot tubs’ effect on white golds, and some jewellery alloys can have major problems in as little as 50 soaks. The other problem that can occur is that some gemstones (e.g. opal, tanzanite), do not fare well from sudden variation in temperatures. This is called thermal shock.

27. Can you help me remove a ring that is so tight it hurts my hand?

In most cases, we can remove your ring. We have a tool that can cut the ring without hurting your finger. Once the ring is cut, we can spread it open and then the ring can slide off. This process can be repaired. Usually, we suggest waiting for your hand and finger to go back to normal before any repair is done, so that we have a proper finger size.

28. How can you help stop my ring from rolling around my finger?

There are several methods we use to help with this problem. The first is what is called an “arthritic shank”. This is where the bottom of your ring can open so that you don’t slide your ring on, but open the ring and then put it on, shut the shank and done. This is the most expensive of the options. See https://cliqjewelry.com/ , the system we have used for years. If your finger doesn’t have a huge difference between knuckle and finger, we use gold beads or ‘rollers’ to help prevent the ring from turning on your hand. These are not expensive and removable if they bother you. They are added to the bottom inside of the ring and act like little stabilizers.