After you’ve made your choice, ask about the kind of follow-up services that they offer. Will the store clean and inspect the jewelry at no charge? Many stores do this regardless of whether the piece came from them. Do they have a written or understood warranty against manufacturing defects? Do they have a trade-in policy? What about returns? These are all things you need to be aware of. Most stores love to have you come back for cleaning and checking. The reason for this is two-fold. While they’re cleaning, you’re looking. You may find the next piece you can’t live without! More importantly, having your jewelry checked on a regular basis can save you a lot of money later on repairs that could have been avoided.
Diamonds may be forever but the settings can and do wear out. By having your prongs and connections checked at least once a year, your jeweler can advise you on when to have preventative maintenance done. This may need to be done more often if you wear your jewelry 24-7. It is recommended that jewelry be removed when doing “house-work” kind of activity, gardening and even showering. Showering? Yes and the reason for this is because soap adheres to gems, particularly diamonds and clouds the appearance. This cuts down on the sparkle and when you have nice jewelry, you want it to sparkle! Taking a ring or a bracelet off for the mundane activities around the house will prolong its life and also keep it cleaner.
As for manufacturing defects, they are rare but can happen and your jeweler will know right away if the stone came out due to this or something that you did. More often than not, stones don’t “just fall out”. 99 times out of a 100, it is due to neglect or accidental damage on the wearer’s part. We put jewelry on and forget about it. We don’t realize how many times in a day we knock into something hard (a wall, car door, kitchen table, desk) and don’t realize it. Rings in particular are the most susceptible. All the more reason to have them checked regularly.
Regarding trade-ins, find out if the store is willing to trade up and at what rate of exchange. With regard to returns, we all make mistakes. Every store should have a reasonable return policy and graciously take back any piece within a specified time, as long as it is still in salable condition.
Yantz Bradbury Associates
P.O. Box 10123
Rockville, Maryland 20850
Office: (301) 335-6687
Serving MD, VA and DC Metro Area