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Do you know your carat from your karat? Where were diamonds first discovered? We take a look at 10 interesting jewellery facts in our latest blog:

The First Diamond

The first diamond was discovered in India in the 4th century. Of course, back then no-one knew what they had stumbled upon but due to their sparkling nature and amazing durability, they soon became highly valuable.

It wasn’t until the 18th century that people realised that India was not the only source of diamonds and in 1866, a diamond over 21 carats was found in South Africa. Of course, today, the country is one of the leading diamond suppliers in the world. The biggest diamond ever discovered was the Cullinan which weighted an impressive 1.3 pounds.

Diamonds Are Millions of Years Old

All diamonds are over 3 billion years old. They were formed 100 miles below the surface of the earth from heated and compressed carbon. While they are formed below the surface, they are mined in the Earth’s crust. One thing is for sure – if you own a diamond, you can be confident that it’s been around a lot longer than the human race.

The First Engagement Ring 

It is believed that 1477 saw the introduction of the engagement ring. It was given by Maximilian of Austria to Mary of Burgundy as a promise of their impending nuptials. Today, engagement rings are a multi-billion dollar industry. Most engagement rings feature diamonds. The reason for this? Well, it’s largely because they are millions of years old, are largely unbreakable and represent an everlasting bond.

The Most Recognisable Engagement Ring

While we are on the subject of engagement rings, the most recognisable of them all is said to be that of Princess Diana. The blue Ceylon sapphire sat in a circle of diamonds, now sits on the finger of her daughter-in-law, Kate Middleton.

The Discovery of Gold

As a naturally occurring metal, it is believed that gold mining actually took place as much as 7,000 years ago. This is evident by the discovery of several artefacts that date back to 4200-4700 BC. Of course, since then gold mining has evolved and during the 19th century, there were numerous gold rushes in various locations around the globe. It was the discovery of gold in the Witwatersrand that led to the Second Boer War and, ultimately, the founding of South Africa.

China is now the largest global producer of gold followed by Russia and Australia. Gold has always been a highly valuable commodity which has fuelled many feuds, wars and power struggles but has also become a symbol of love and commitment between lovers. 

Interesting jewellery facts snippet – the weight of gold found in Tutankhamun’s tomb was 9 tonnes! 

A Symbol of Position

The Ancient Romans, used to wear jewellery to symbolise their position. Only senators were allowed to wear gold rings while free citizens could wear silver. Slaves were only allowed to wear iron rings. Druids would wear a gold sickle as a symbol of their position too. 

Carat vs Karat

Diamonds and other gemstones are measured in carats. One carat equals 200 milligrams (0.200 grams). There are 453 grams in a pound. 

When used to measure gold, a ‘karat’ is a measure of purity. 24 karat is pure gold. 24 karat gold is very soft, so much so that you can mould it in your hands. For this reason, gold is often mixed with copper or silver to harden and toughen it. Each karat represents 1/24 of the whole. 18 karat gold therefore is 18 parts gold and 6 parts copper or silver.

Pearls

Pearls are the only gemstone that actually come from a living creature making it truly organic. Since the introduction of processing cultured pearls in the 20th century, pearl farms were developed – now almost all pearls are cultured.

A Red Sapphire is Actually a Ruby

Sapphires come in a myriad of colours, in fact, you can get sapphires in every colour except red. That is because red sapphires are actually rubies. Other than the colour and the name, the two gemstones are identical.

Platinum

Did you know that all the platinum in the world would fit into the average sized living room? True story! Ten tonnes of ore must be mined for just one ounce of platinum. This process takes six months. This gives some explanation as to why it is so expensive and such a valuable metal.

Do you have any interesting jewellery facts to share? We’d love to hear them. Just drop them in the comments below. If you are looking for precious gemstones, diamond jewellery, gold, platinum or any other type of jewellery, we would be happy to help at The Goldmarket.

When was the last time you had your valuable items of jewellery appraised? Were you aware that jewellery appraisals should be carried out on average every 2-3 years? The specific length of time between each valuation will depend on the individual requirements of different insurance companies but most will insist on a professional and certified appraisal every 2-3 years. This is important to ensure that you are adequately covered for loss, theft or damage of a valuable item of jewellery or a luxury watch.

The Importance of Jewellery Appraisals

The cost of diamonds, gem stones, precious metals including gold and platinum and watches of significance generally rise over time and are very much subject to rapid changes and trends in demand. As commodities, precious metals can increase in value by quite some margin over short periods which is why certain items of jewellery make such great longer-term investments. What you believe to be worth a specific price could actually be a lot higher in today’s ever changing marketplace.

You might be surprised at just how much that diamond ring you’ve been wearing on your finger for the last 10 or more years is actually worth today. The value of such an item may have risen so much that if anything should happen to it, or you should lose it, you may not be able to afford to replace it. That’s why it is so important to have valuable items of jewellery or watches insured and to do this accuaretely, regularily appraised.

Does it Cost to Get Jewellery Appraised?

The answer is yes, but it’s a savy investment and the cost is more than justified when you consider the value of your precious jewellery items. Imagine losing your beloved engagement ring, wedding ring, gold chain or luxury watch and not having the insurance to cover it for a like for like replacement. That’s not to say that the sentimental value can be replaced but at least the material value can be.

Insuring Your Jewellery

When it comes to insurance, many policies offer a non-specified single item option which will cover you up to around £1,000 on your home insurance. For more valuable items however, you need to arrange specific cover. In the event of loss, theft or accidental damage, it is important to know the true value of your collection and how much they would cost to replace, as home insurance is often based on a ‘new for old’ basis.

To be sure you have everything necessary for your policy, you should obtain an independent valuation document to verify the current, true replacement cost of any ‘specified’ items. If you bought the item new and have receipts, this may be enough information to provide with your insurance application. For pre-owned, vintage, antique or inherited pieces that have increased in value, you may have no idea of what they are actually worth and therefore rick being under insured without obtaining a current professional valuation certificate.

The Value of Jewellery

While the appraisal value doesn’t necessarily reflect the price you could achieve if you were to sell the item privately, it does give you an insurance valuation price for the cost of replacing such an item with a brand new ‘like for like’ option . Most of the time a jewellery appraisal is necessary to ensure that you don’t undervalue the item. If you declare what you think it’s worth rather than what it is actually worth, you may find yourself under-insured and in breach of your policy, therefore forfeiting any entitlement.

Should the worst happen, and you don’t have an appraisal, it’s unlikely that you can prove the value of these individual items to the insurer that you use. If you are making a specific claim for an item of jewellery, it’s unlikely the insurance company will pay out without an official appraisal and photographs of the item.

Our Jewellery Appraisal Service

At The Goldmarket, we offer certified jewellery appraisals and valuations. We charge £100 for any single item with further items charged at £30 each, regardless of value. This could include the following:

• Diamond rings
• Gold chains
• Diamond earrings
• Luxury watches
• Vintage pocket watches
• Wedding rings, engagement rings and dress rings
• Bespoke items
• Vintage/Antique items

Pop your items into us, we will give you a receipt and prepare your valuation certificate within a matter of days. This valuation certificate can then be submitted with your insurance application to ensure that you are adequately covered and can have peace of mind. You can also use this link to book a valuation online. Just scroll down the page to the valuations section. We have years of experience in certifying jewellery and, as N.A.J accredited Jewellers, have helped many customers with their insurance claims over the past 25 years.

Why take the risk? Contact to arrange your valuation.

It’s fair to say that our jewellers have been kept very busy during the last few months carrying out jewellery repairs on everything from broken necklace clasps to changing the shank of a ring from yellow to white gold. We’ve repaired bracelets, earring, necklaces, watches, chains… you name it, there’s not much we haven’t seen on our in-house workbench.

Sharing 5 of Our Recent Jewellery Repairs

We are very fortunate to have a team of talented jewellers that are highly skilled and experienced craftsmen with an immaculate eye for detail. But, much as we could extoll the virtues of their talents all day, let’s share with you some of their recent work.

Changing the Shank/Colour of a Ring

Have you ever found the ideal piece of jewellery but just wished it was in a different metal? This was the case for a customer who recently purchased the ring below from us. The original sapphire and diamond vintage cluster was actually in 18ct yellow gold. While the customer absolutely loved the ring, its age and its styling – she ideally wanted it to be white gold. The ladies wish was our command. Wechanged the shank from yellow to white and the results were spectacular.

Fixing a Jump Ring on a Necklace

Even simple tasks can improve the quality and longevity of a piece of jewellery. Take this diamond set cross pendant which had a worn jump ring. Unfortunately, once the jump ring becomes weak it can split, so the danger of losing the pendant increases. With a fine piece like this, it needs to be secure so you can wear with confidence. By custom making gold wire from recycled 9ct, we were able to add a new, solid jump ring which will stand the test of time and last for many years to come. Combining upcycling with helping beautiful jewellery live on.

Strengthening a Wedding Band

A wedding band holds huge sentimental value, so its imperative its cared for in the right way. As a wedding band is worn every day, it can be subject to huge amounts of wear and tear over the years. In this case, this gents wedding band was looking very tired and aged. There also wasn’t much metal to work with to re-size the ring, given that the gold had worn away over the years. As you can see from the photos below, we inserted a new piece of gold to bolster the ring, then this was filed down to shape, buffed, polished and returned to its owner looking as good as the day it was first worn.

Replacing a Lost Stone

When the customer lost the bezel set stone from this ring, they were obviously very disappointed. They bought it to us however and we performed our magic! Not only were they able to have the stone replaced, they could also select which stone they wanted. In this case, they opted for a stunning London blue oval cut topaz. Beautiful!

Increasing the Size of a Ring

While decreasing the size of a ring is a fairly straightforward procedure, increasing the size is a different method entirely. With a reduction, we remove a piece of the metal shank. With an increase in size, we can either cut and add a piece of gold or, in some cases (when working on a plain band with enough substance,) we can ‘stretch’ the ring. The photos below show the latter. The stretching machine is used to increase the size of the ring and then the ring is re-finished. Lacomite is applied to stop the rhodium plate covering the yellow gold which you can see in the 4^th image below before the ring is buffed and polished.

Repairing Your Valuable Jewellery

There is not a lot that the team at The Goldmarket can’t do and 90% of our jewellery repairs are carried out on site and often, the same day, or within a matter of days. We pride ourselves on the quality of our work and the intricacy of the repairs that our team fulfil.

If you have a piece of jewellery that you would like repaired, re-sized, restored or given a new lease of life to, please give us a call, drop us a message or call into our shop 23 High Street Weston-Super-Mare. You will be greeted with a smile and a warm welcome and we will take good care of you and your valuable possessions.

After a year of having the shutters down on the shop for lengthy periods of time and wondering when we will get back to some sort of normality, it is absolutely wonderful to be able to open our doors again. We have taken the time to refit the shop bringing the jewellers bench out front for all to see and we have made some fabulous improvements. What hasn’t changed however, is our commitment to quality and service. at The Goldmarket, everyone is treated like a VIP!

This has been re-affirmed by the wealth of reviews we have received over on our Facebook and Google pages during the last month or so. In fact, the reviews below have all been received in the last 4 weeks. It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of the team to receive such glowing feedback from our valued customers.

A Legacy Commission with a Personal Story

Kelly came to us for a pair of bespoke diamond earrings in what we call a ‘legacy commission’. They were made from a gift from her mum who sadly passed away last year. She wanted something that would last a lifetime and remind her of her mum. She was absolutely delighted with the service and the earrings and kindly left this review on our Facebook page.

“10 out of 10 for customer service. Would highly recommend the jewellery shop to anyone – best in town and surrounding areas. Had these beautiful handmade diamond earrings made for me. And i even got to pick my own diamonds. The diamond earrings are extremely personal to me as I had them personally made for me from a gift from my Mum who sadly passed away in December so a beautiful gift to myself from my mum. I would highly recommended Matt who listened to everything I said in our consultation and customer service is 10-10.”

Kelly Kelster Scholtz

Necklace Repair

Laura wanted her necklace repaired. Thanks to our onsite jewellers’ bench, and extremely talented team, the necklace was repaired within a couple of hours. As you can see, not only was Laura delighted with the repair, she also thought the team were lovely. So nice to receive such lovely praise.

“Amazing service, I’m really happy they managed to fix my necklace, and they did so within a couple of hours of me visiting. Something that makes this place amazing is the people, they are absolutely lovely in there. Wouldn’t go anywhere else now. Thank you!”

Laura Martins

Solid Gold Bangle Repair

Edvard visited us when his solid gold torque bangle snapped in the middle due to wear and tear. Within a couple of days, the bangle was repaired and as good as new. While in the shop, Edvard also picked out a new heavy gold ring and treated himself.

“Thank you so much to Matt and Andy. Went in with my unique twist solid gold torque bangle which snapped in the middle from wear and tear. Was told a couple of days for the repair, they also sorted me out with a new gold heavy ring at a great price. Top lads, amazing service. Also, I’ve just picked up my bangle now. Absolutely outstanding job Matt, skilled professional of his craft. Can’t say how pleased I am.”

Edvard Lavard

Broken Clasp

The broken clasp on Brent’s solid gold chain was another recent repair. The chain holds great sentimental value to him so, even in our busier periods, we were able to complete the repair within a few hours.

“It’s good to know in these strange times, that you can still get such an excellent service. I had a clasp break on a chain which has great sentimental value; even though they were extremely busy, the guys got it repaired within a few hours. Great craftsmanship, great knowledge and a welcoming smile, what more could you ask for. Many thanks.”

Brent James

‘Invisible’ Earrings Repair

Another thing we pride ourselves on, in addition to our commitment to 5 star service, is the attention to detail and the fact that you don’t notice the repairs. We have a team of very skilled jewellers who are fastidious with their work and ensure that when your repaired item is returned to you, you are unable to see where it was every broken. This was most certainly the case with this customer’s earrings.

“Fantastic service doing a repair on some earrings that is totally invisible! Could not be happier with the service they provide and the staff are incredibly friendly and helpful.”

Alex Binding

At The Goldmarket, customer service is our priority and EVERY customer is treated like a VIP. No job is too big or too small and we are always happy to help. You will get a very warm welcome from the team and can be assured of quality workmanship. Call in to see us at 23 High Street, Weston super Mare or call us on 01934 628361.