Sunday 31 January 2016

Jewellery Trends 2016

multiple-silver-chainsRoss 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.


multiple-gold-chainsThe 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

Monday 18 January 2016

Gold Jewellery Scams

heavy chain braceletBuying 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

Tuesday 12 January 2016

Costume Jewellery - Pretty or Poisonous?

girl-in-hospitalBuying 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?

Friday 8 January 2016

Insuring Your Jewellery

insurance

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

Saturday 2 January 2016

Pandora"s Motives? Referred to the ACCC



Photo credit: via Foter.com / CC BY-ND

Pandora in Australia is taking a hard line with retailers who wish to stock their brand of gold and silver charms.  Retailers have been warned that they may not stock charms made by US company “Alex and Ani” and distributed by Karen Adcock whilst being an authorised Pandora retailer.


A ‘private and confidential’ email went out from Pandora to their stockists on the 14th of December 2015 stating “Under the terms of your Pandora Authorised Retailer Agreement you must not sell any products that could reasonably be regarded as Competing Products of Pandora Jewelry unless of course Pandora has previously given you written approval to do so.”


Other similar brands of charms to those produced by Pandora, such as “Thomas Sabo” and “Endless” are often seen together in jewellery stores, so is there another reason that Pandora has taken this stand against “Alex and Ani?”


Brian Winther, the (current) president of Pandora Australia was asked to comment about the above point, and said “every situation is different.”


Karen Adcock


Ms. Adcock brought Pandora jewellery to Australia over 10 years ago. She built the business that turns over $200M before selling out to a private equity ahead of it being listed on the stock exchange in 2010.


Her latest venture is to bring “Alex and Ani” online in December and already has 9 retailers on-board.


Interestingly, “Alex and Ani” is made from recycled brass, and so would not be considered anything other than costume jewellery.


So why is Pandora regarding this new line as a competing product? Pandora sells sterling silver and gold charms, clearly these are ‘precious metals’ and not classed as costume jewellery.


The designs I have seen are dissimilar between the two ranges, so it seems Pandora is trying to compare apples and oranges in their bid to stifle competition from stocking “Alex and Ani” alongside their own range.


In my experience the group of people who buy costume jewellery, be it for environmental or financial reasons are unlikely to purchase “high end” precious metal jewellery of a similar design. So is this really a case of Pandora protecting itself from “competing products?”


It is interesting that Brian Winther said that “Ms. Adcock had made similar decisions”  when she was president of Pandora.


The ACCC


At least one retailer has referred this matter to the ACCC for investigation as to whether it breaches the Consumer and Competition Act 2010.


“Exclusive Dealing” is where one person trading with another attempts to restrict the second parties ability to deal with other third parties. Section 47 of the Act says these types of restrictions are against the law when they substantially reduce competition. A form of this is “full line forcing” where a supplier decides not to supply services or goods to a purchaser unless they agree not to also buy from a competitor of the supplier.


The nuances of the law are complex and to a degree subject to interpretation.


So what are the motives?


Clearly, Pandora is threatening it’s authorised retailers that they will not allow them to continue to be stockists if they choose to bring in products from “Alex and Ani.”


Is Pandora really worried that costume jewellery made from recycled brass is in direct competition to their precious metal jewellery? Could a jewellery store customer be lured away from a beautiful silver or gold charm and decide instead to ‘lash out’ and buy a base metal charm?


Could it be if “Alex and Ani” or another similar product was imported and distributed by someone other than Ms. Adcock, that the stance may be different?


My own opinion is that competition should be encouraged and market share will fall to those with the better products, not those with better contracts between the suppliers and the retailers.


I wonder how many jewellers can’t sell (for example) Seiko watches because Timex have “competing product agreements” in place? Most jeweller stock many brands of watches and many have very similar designs, features and materials.


Think about this


Although Pandora has closed a number of outlets, it’s annual revenue (wholesale) at one point was $130M, this represented at least $300M at the retail level. (source www.jewellermagazine.com) With those sorts of figures, how large a threat could recycled brass costume jewellery represent to their continuing success?


 


 



Pandora"s Motives? Referred to the ACCC