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Antoinette Corbishley
31st December 2007 14:15

Frequently Asked Questions

 

With Saint Valentines day looming, and many of you out there are perhaps considering popping the question or thinking of buying jewellery as a gift, here are a few hints to hopefully help make selecting your jewellery easier.

What should someone consider when buying jewellery?

What the recipient of the jewellery likes, take a good look at what they wear and their overall style:

What type of jewellery do they wear, mainly rings? pendants? earrings?

Are the pieces they wear subtle, bold, traditional, modern? (you don't want to buy them something traditional and delicate if their existing jewellery consists of big dramatic contemporary pieces and vise versa)

What shapes do they wear? (e.g. looking at the shape of their watch face or glasses frames, stone shape set within current jewellery are good indications)

What is their favorite colour? (coloured diamonds are also available)

What colour of metal do they favor? Whatever diamond jewellery you buy you want them to be able to wear it alongside their existing pieces, and be a metal colour they like and feel suites their skin. To help identify what type of metal you are looking for see www.hkjewellery.co.uk/web/p age/weddingrings-metal/

What is your budget? If you haven't got one in mind, do a little research into what things cost to give you an idea of what you need to expect to pay out (remembering quality is not always like for like but it will give you an average starting point) and will also help you narrow down what type of jewellery you should look for, so you don't end up spending more than you are able to afford.

So to sum up think about the style of jewellery, type of jewellery (ring, pendant earrings etc?), the size/scale of jewellery you are looking for, shape (soft organic and feminine, or straight and angular), colour, metal and budget.

Most importantly always keep the person you are buying for in mind, what would they like and can you imagine them wearing it?

Is it considered OK for a man buy a diamond ring for his girlfriend that is not an engagement ring?

I think it is fine to buy a woman a diamond ring that isn't intended as an engagement ring, I would recommend however to just make this point clear when presenting them with it, so there are no misunderstandings or disappointments. Lots of men buy what are considered engagement rings and give them as an eternity ring, as ultimately diamonds are a symbol of love.

What is the difference between an engagement ring, wedding ring and eternity ring?

An engagement ring is usually a ring made of precious metal set with stones or a single stone (commonly diamonds being the most popular, but there is a whole array of stones to chose from) and is worn after a couple get engaged representing their intention to marry. The engagement ring out of all types of ring is usually the most prominent and eye catching, see see www.hkjewellery.co.uk /web/page/engagementrings-overview/ for examples of engagement ring design styles

Wedding rings are exchanged by the bride and groom during the marriage service as a symbol of their commitment. They are usually less elaborate then the engagement ring, traditionally a simple continuous band showing no beginning and no end so representing ever lasting unity. Many couples that commission wedding rings from us here at HKJD like their rings to show something of their personalities or incorporate a significant moment in their relationship. It is common for couples to also want their wedding rings to match in some way, or for the ladies ring to be shaped and fitted to follow the contours of her engagement ring. Seewww.hkjewellery.co.uk/we b/page/weddingrings-overview/ for wedding ring information and design ideas.

An eternity ring is traditionally given to celebrate the first year of marriage or the birth of the first child. Most traditionally designed eternity rings have channel or invisibly set stones set the whole way around the ring, other popular designs are a band set with three stones just at the front, but the possibilities are endless. See www.hkjewellery.co.uk/web/page/eternityrings-overview for ideas.

How can one avoid buying conflict diamonds?

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme was created by the United Nations in 2002 to prevent conflict diamonds from entering legitimate jewellery supply chains. Around 47 countries now adhere to the Kimberley Process including all member countries of the European Union, and as a direct result of this scheme at least 99.8% of the world's diamond trade is conflict free. Here at Harriet Kelsall's we can guarantee the diamonds we source are conflict free because we work only with diamond dealers who can do the same. We're also members of the Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices who are working collectively to improve the practices of the jewellery industry, in this area as well as many others.

It is possible to buy diamonds from Canada where there aren't the same worrying conflicts in the country, and the provenance of each stone is registered.

The problem with this, though, is that buying from Canada (rather then from the developing countries most diamonds are found in, like Botswana) deprives the government of the revenue they need to then provide health care and education, so this is something we have always avoided doing.

The other thing we often do here is re-use diamonds from old family pieces of jewellery. Although there is no conflict free guarantee when doing this, the history of the piece and the avoidance of mining new stones makes this another ethical way of having a diamond in your jewellery. We've even bought some re-cycled diamonds from a new dealer for exactly this reason, one of which is used in this new and pretty ring in our current Ready to Wear collection

What is fashionable at the moment?

The good old brilliant cut diamond is proving very popular at the moment, like the princess cut (square) it is so highly facetted you are guaranteed endless sparkle. The trend at the moment is classic simplicity but with a modern twist to add a little extra personally and uniqueness to a timeless design.

Antoinette Corbishley
 

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  • Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design, North Barn, Fairclough Hall Farm, Halls Green, Weston, Hertfordshire, SG4 7DP, England
    Phone: +44 (0)1462 790565 Fax: +44 (0)1462 790140 enquiries@hkjewellery.co.uk
  • Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design, 6/7 Green Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 3JU, England.
    Phone: +44 (0)1223 461333 Fax: +44 (0)1223 365269 cambridge@hkjewellery.co.uk

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