tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58442410188436158932024-03-13T21:28:36.340+10:00Chain Me UpChain Me Up is an online jewellery store that exclusively sells Australian made solid 9ct gold and 925 sterling silver jewellery.
Custom made chains in any length with your choice of clasp or padlock.FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.comBlogger271125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-11881765375878063232017-10-25T03:59:00.000+10:002017-10-25T13:59:33.225+10:00How to Style Jewellery<p>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwIAR_4zQWM</p><br/><p> </p><br/><p>Hi everybody and welcome back to my channel. Today I am so excited to bring you a video on five tips for styling your jewelry but before I get into that, if you are new to this channel, thank you so much for stopping by. I hope that if you like this video, you will consider subscribing to my channel and hitting the little bell next to the subscribe button, so that you can be notified each time I upload a new video.</p><br/><p>So without any further ado, let’s get into this. I wanted to talk to you a little bit about jewellery because I love, love, love, jewellery. I’ve always loved jewellery and makeup, those are like my two things. I’m like a jewelry and makeup girl and you know some people love purses and shoes, not that I don’t love purses and shoes because I do, but I love, love, love, jewelry and makeup and in fact when I was in medical school and residency, I actually had a <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au">jewellery business</a>. At the time, my husband was working in San Francisco and I would go up and visit him and in Chinatown they had these beautiful pearl necklaces that were like gorgeous big pink and gray and black pearls and that was when like the really chunky jewelry was in style, like in the early 2000s and the big pendants and I would make all of this jewellery and sell it and to earn extra money and one thing that I really, really loved about making jewelry, was mixing like beautiful things like pearl and more earthy stones and I loved mixing gold and silver.</p><br/><p>I just thought it was so fun to do that, so that is something that I still really enjoy doing with the jewelry that I wear, is kind of like mixing tones, mixing um you know, like earthy elements with more fancy elements like pearls. So anyway, let’s get into a couple of tips. The first tip is do mix metals. So I know that in the early 2000s white gold was super, duper, duper in style and everybody was getting wild everything like and in fact I kind of jumped on that bandwagon myself. I have a white gold wedding ring, my watch is stainless steel like we all were really into white gold you know around 2005 or so but in the last four or five years, gold is totally back in and it is totally okay to mix your gold and silver jewelry.</p><br/><p>So you know when you are layering necklaces you can wear a gold necklace and a silver necklace, you can wear a silver or a white gold ring like I have with a gold right hand ring. You can mix a stainless steel watch with a gold bracelet, all of that looks great and it makes your jewelry wardrobe so much more versatile. So don’t be afraid to mix gold and silver. The next tip is stack your jewelry, that is so it makes your jewelry looks so interesting. So one thing that I love to stack are rings, so this ring which is just an inexpensive costume ring from Costco let’s see if the camera will focus for you, it’s just costume jewellery but it looks like stacked rings. It’s actually like bonded together but it looks like stacked rings and I think that when you stack rings, especially if they’re dainty, it is such an interesting look. If you want to buy costume jewelry, bauble bar as a place that has tons and tons of rings that you can stack, to come up with a really interesting stacked ring look. Another set of stacked rings that my husband got me are these ones, where I mixed all the tones. I have a rose gold, a white gold and a yellow gold set of stacked rings and that looks so beautiful and you know I encourage you guys to, I will link some stacked rings below, did I say that already? Um at bauble bar that you can check out and so that you can kind of get creative with stacking rings.</p><br/><p>You can also stack bracelets, so on my watch and often I will stack two bracelets. This one is Madri, it is from Nordstrom and this is Lagos and notice it’s two-toned it’s gold and silver and I enjoy stacking bracelets with rings. You can also stack bracelets on your right hand. So like an example are these two bracelets right here, that if I could get it open, I would show you. So I would stack these two bracelets together and if I had like three or four more bracelets, that look like they match these two, I would stack those as well. Typically if I’m stacking on one wrist I will not stack on the other. So if I have stacked bracelets on this wrist, I’ll leave this one empty or if I have a bunch on this wrist, I won’t stack them with my watch. The other thing is if you decide not to stack and you just decide to wear like a really big bracelet like this, which I’m going to get to in a little while, I wouldn’t wear stacked on that arm either.</p><br/><p>So a little bit of information really quick about the bracelets that I’m wearing. So if you are looking for some really good quality jewellery that like for nice stackable bracelets, I wanted to share these two companies with you where I got these two bracelets because I think they’re so good. This bracelet is from Ross Simons, now Ross Simon’s I don’t know if you guys have heard of it it’s a company that’s got like catalogs and it’s online and some cities they have stores like in DC. They have a store, I think in Chicago, they have a store in New York, they have a store and at Ross Diamonds you can get like a whole variety of things. You can get like dishes and plates but you can also get really fine jewelry like real diamonds. You know they have the whole gamut of prices at Ross Diamonds, they have very expensive you know real diamonds jewelry, but then they have a lot of jewellery that is cubic zirconia but with gold plated or rose gold plated or sterling silver and at very good price points. So this bracelet is from Ross Simon’s and when I bought it I bought one in rose gold one in gold and one in white gold and I really love stacking those three or stacking them with this bracelet. Um really quick as a side note, other things that I’ve gotten at Ross Simons, actually I’ll get to that with my next tip, i’ll come back to that. So check out Ross diamonds for beautiful stackable bracelets, that’s the price point can be anywhere from like a hundred to two hundred to three hundred dollars. If you want something less expensive, I will link some good stackable bracelets from bauble bar for you, because today have awesome stackable bracelets. Then the other bracelets that I wanted to talk about was ones that are like this which I’m going to link below for you. This is from Henri Bendel, Henri Bendel is a store in New York, they have these bracelets that are made of steel and then they’re like rhodium plated. So they’re kind of heavy, they remind me of the Cartier love bracelets, I don’t have one of those, but they remind me they’re kind of heavy like the Cartier love bracelet but you can get them off really easily, you don’t screw them on and they have ones that have like gold shimmer, like this one but gold. They have ones that have silver shimmer like this one, they have ones that have like little screws that are very reminiscent of the Cartier love bracelet. They have one sand that flowers and they are so, so cute to stack. So I’m going to link all of those below for you. They are super high quality, um you know you can get them wet it’s going to be fine. I mean I don’t shower with this but I’m not worried about getting a wet, I’m not worried about banging it I’m not worried about it discolouring, they are on the more expensive side like there are 118 to 150 dollars. So that’s why I only have one, but they are really cool bracelets.</p><br/><p>So check out the links below and look at the Henry Bendel collection and if you’re interested in stacking bracelets, they’re a really good like gift idea, you know, if you are having a birthday or during the holidays, if you’re looking for a gift for an anniversary they’re neat bracelets to get that you can stack and I think that they’re very, very, good quality. So that is my second rule, do stack or a second recommendation, do stack your jewellery.</p><br/><p>The third recommendation is do layer your jewelry, so right now layering necklaces is very very in style and it just adds a lot of interest, to look. I love stacking dainty necklaces, that’s probably what i do the most just because i dainty necklaces are very, very easy for me to wear, especially when i’m at work. So I typically wear two necklaces, so this one is just like little discs and I think I saw Leanne says wearing a necklace that resembled this and I could just see it on our YouTube channel. I couldn’t see like the details of the necklace but I just saw something that looked like this, that was like kind of shimmering and sparkling off the lights. That was a choker and I loved it so I like search the internet far and wide for this necklace, hers was silver this one’s gold and so I will link it below, it is the cutest even in your 40s and 50s and 60s you can wear a choker. It is very dainty, it is very beautiful, it is I think considered a choker because it’s so short, but it looks really cute if you were a necklace that’s like this length and then you layer it with a 12 or a 14 or a 16-day or necklace and then you can even add a longer necklace, like this and I will link options for you guys below. This is old, but I will find a pretty long necklace that resembles this to link for you below, in case you’re interested in something like that or you could layer a tassel necklace with it. Like tassels are really in right now, this is from bauble bar and so you could wear these small two necklaces with a tassel necklace. Let me stand up for you guys, so you could get that look which looks really cute and really interesting. So I encourage you to layer your necklaces, it looks really, really adorable and you can be super creative and it has lots and lots of interest to outfits. So my next recommendation and again all of these things today are just my recommendations. If you don’t like to stack or you don’t like to layer or you just like a simpler look or you don’t like to mix tones, do what makes you happy. This is just a one girl’s opinion, but my next recommendation is to choose one spot of your jewellery to highlight on your face and neck and then one on your wrist and hands. That’s kind of a rule that I follow for myself, so if I’m wearing a lot of bracelets on this hand, I will just wear a watch on this hand. If I’m wearing a lot of bracelets on this hand, I will not wear a lot of bracelets on this hand, just so that the eye is only drawn to like one area, likewise, if you know I am wearing like a huge bracelet on this hand for example if I’m wearing a huge bracelet like this, I wouldn’t wear those bracelets but let’s say I was wearing a statement bracelet like that on my right hand, I would not wear a cocktail ring on my right hand.</p><br/><p>So let me find a cocktail ring for you. I would not wear a ring like this on my right hand if I have a bracelet like this. I would choose one or the other, as something to draw the eye to. So pick the bracelet or the ring as your focal point, as your statement piece. Likewise, when you were talking about necklaces and earrings, if you are going to wear a lot of necklaces, pick dainty earrings you know I wouldn’t wear a super statement earring if you’re layering your necklaces. So an example is take these earrings right here, these earrings are kind of statement earrings, so I would not choose those earrings if I was wearing like a 3 if I was wearing this layered necklace, look because this is kind of what the eye is being drawn to and so I would wear something really dainty.</p><br/><p>I think something like this is fine or studs or just a dainty earring. I would not wear a statement earring like this, this would be an earring that I would wear with no necklace, like I would wear my hair up and I would wear no necklace at all. So that the eye is drawn to the earring because that’s what you want people to see, that’s like your showpiece. So that is my advice regarding how to pick where you’re putting what, make sure that you choose your focal point, either earrings or necklaces and on your hands, either wrists or statement rings, to be the focal point of your jewelry and then lastly I would encourage you to wear statement piece jewelry.</p><br/><p>So let’s talk about statement piece jewellery. Um I as you guys might have heard, when I did some of my fashion videos, I’m not like super duper great with fashion. I tend to wear a very neutral colour clothing like all black, all white, all grey, you guys notice I don’t wear like a lot of bright colours and that’s just because I’m not fabulous at putting outfits together but what I do like to do, when I’m wearing a lot of neutrals, is we’re a piece of statement jewellery, that really gives the outfit a pop and makes the outfit interesting.</p><br/><p>So this necklace is an example. So let’s say I was wearing this black shirt with some black pants. I would take off all my layered necklaces and I would wear this necklace with some stud earrings and this would be the focal point of my outfit and it can really, really make an outfit, so interesting. Um another idea with statement necklaces, say you’re wearing a black dress and it’s just a plain black dress and you’re going to a wedding or an event in the evening, instead of wearing dainty jewellery like this, consider wearing a pair of stud earrings and a really big chunky statement necklace like this. I got this at bauble bar and I will link something similar to it below, but if you’re wearing a plain black dress adding a statement necklace like this, with no other jewelry except for like maybe some dainty earrings and like your ring and a watch, is a really, really beautiful way to make your outfit pop and add some interest to a plain outfit.</p><br/><p>So that’s how I like to wear statement jewelry, by wearing really plain clothes and then adding the statement jewellery to really add interest to the outfit, even with non dressy clothes you can very easily wear statement jewelry. So a lot of the time in the winter, I will wear this necklace, straighten it out for you guys, I will wear this necklace with a white t-shirt, my moto jacket jeans and Monica moto boots and I love the way that looks, because it’s got some sparkle, it is a statement necklace and this adds a really nice feminine touch to that outfit. So um I encourage you and then I won’t wear much other jewelry, I’ll just for like small earrings and my ring and I encourage you to use statement jewelry to dress-up outfits like that as well, not only dressy outfits. So but just remember if you’re wearing a really chunky statement necklace, go easy on the rest of the jewelry. Coco Chanel once said something like put on all your jewellery and before you leave the house take something off and I think her point was, make sure that you don’t overdo it, kind of pick your focal point. So um if you like statement jewelry, decide if you like more neutral statement jewellery, that’s more my preference, like this which are more subdued colours or like this, which are just very neutral colours. I used to buy more bright coloured statement jewellery, for example this necklace and what I noticed when I was filming one of my first YouTube videos, was that when I wear this necklace, it just does not work for me. I bought this because Erin Busby was wearing this in one of her blogs and she was so amazing, she looked like she walked out of the cover like of a boat magazine with this beautiful red necklace and like a navy blue and white stripe shirt and it looked so awesome and then I put it on and I look like I walked out of a terrible 80s movie. I don’t know why, it just did not work for me it looked beautiful on Aaron but not beautiful on me. I mean to the extent that I actually took down the video where I was wearing this because I just felt like I like I look like an 80s girl. So you know I typically after I saw that youtube video do not go for my bright, bright jewellery anymore, I go for more subdued neutral statement pieces but if you are a person like Aaron Busby who can support this and you look amazing, do it. So take pictures and see how you think you look in pictures to decide what kind of statement jewelry, that looks good on you. So those are my recommendations there was one more thing I wanted to tell you in terms of layering necklaces, Ross Simons has really great necklaces that are so good for layering. So this is a diamonds by the yard, these are cubic zirconia but this is gold covered over sterling silver and it’s like $30, it’s a $30 necklace that you can get at Ross Simon’s but it’s such good quality. I have it in every colour, I have it in gold, I have it in silver, so this is sterling silver with cubic zirconia and I have it in rose gold and the reason that I love these is because I don’t have, because they’re real metals, they’re not like nickel or something like that, I feel like they’re just gonna last longer I don’t need to worry if I get perfume on them or if I get lotion on them that they’re gonna be ruined and they’re only like $30 and they’re from Ross Simon’s and they are so beautiful for layering.</p><br/><p>Another beautiful necklace for layering that I got at Ross Simon’s would be this, sorry, I forgot to talk to you about this earlier guys. Um it’s sterling silver with cubic zirconia, so it’s such high quality but it looks so expensive, so check out Ross Simon’s you guys for beautiful sterling silver and 14-karat gold earrings and necklaces and bracelets at very good price points. If you want to look at bauble bar for super inexpensive pieces to layer. I am going to link a bunch of things below from bauble bar so that you have all kinds of options in terms of things that you can look at for yourself if you’re shopping for jewelry. So I hope I know that was a lot of information, but I hope that you guys enjoyed that video. I’m giving you some recommendations on jewellery, I’ll just recap it really quick, mixed metals don’t be afraid to stack on your rings and rip on your ring fingers and wrists, don’t be afraid to layer necklaces and make sure that you pick one focal point for your jewelry, like something to pop on your hands and wrists and then something to pop either your ears or your necklaces and then lastly do wear statement jewelry to really jazz up an outfit, but make sure that when you wear statement jewellery like big chunky necklaces or big chunky earrings, that those are the focal points of your outfit. So thank you guys so much for joining me today, I really enjoyed making this video and I will look forward to seeing you next time bye.</p><br/><p>Video Credit – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK5aB2dkLd7Nijh9cTdGNEw/featured" target="_blank">Dr Dani Fisher</a></p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-guides/articles/how-to-style-jewellery">How to Style Jewellery</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-22324250727500166042017-08-01T04:04:00.000+10:002017-08-01T14:03:59.667+10:00How To Choose Diamond Earrings<div style="position: relative; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe style="position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; left: 0;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VU-waRP3I9A?ecver=2" width="640" height="360" frame allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div><br/><p>Thank you for joining us on imagine diamonds. There’s a line in Lewis Carroll’s beloved Alice in Wonderland in which Alice asks the Cheshire cat which she should go to. He asks her where she’s going and she replies that she doesn’t know. If you don’t know where you’re going, the cat replies, any road will lead you there. In other words if you don’t really care where you end up, then it doesn’t really matter which path you take.</p><br/><p>I think of this exchange whenever someone asks me for advice on a jewellery purchase, particularly earrings because the types are so varied. If you truly don’t care about the type, style and quality of your diamond earrings, if you’re just looking for something prettier, a quick solution for at last mini gift, it doesn’t matter which pair you choose. If however, you do have preferences, ideas about your perfect pair and would just like to get some help getting there, some help with choosing diamond earrings, let me see what I can do about helping you narrow down the possible paths.</p><br/><p>Choosing a pair of <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/diamond-set-earrings.asp">diamond earrings</a> comes down to two components, the style and the diamonds. By style we of course mean the type of earrings, are they small and dainty, large and gaudy and when it comes to the diamonds of course we need any all included in the pair whether that means two large studs or dozens of small stones embedded a pair of chandeliers.</p><br/><p>The style, let’s start with that. You’ve heard me say this before and that I’ve always insist that a person start with the overall style they are looking for before turning attention to the actual diamonds themselves, because until you have a framework you hardly know what your diamond needs will be really and as we’ll see, when we get to the diamond section of the post, importance and prominence  of the diamonds and constantly the degree to which you must carefully select, depend entirely on the style of earrings you choose to buy.</p><br/><p>So let’s look at a few examples that should give you some ideas when choosing diamond earrings. Hoops are one of the most commonly seen types of diamond earrings of all time, they’re versatile, can go with anything, ease make them at popular choice. At times I’ve heard complaints that hoops are a bit boring, in that the only aspect you can really customize is the size of the hoops but they’re no fuss, simplicity’s will likely always make them favourite.</p><br/><p>With hoops it’s particularly important to make sure that diamond appears to be uniform in size and colour. If one is noticeably darker than all the rest it will stand out dramatically. Drop earrings are so-called due to the way they literally drop from the ear, usually they bear sizeable gems or perhaps a cluster of smaller gems. These are popular on the red carpet and there’s typically a good variety of options available. Make sure the pair you are eyeing is particularly sizable or gaudy that you make sure that it isn’t too much of a pull on the earlobe itself, as this can distract them the overall presentation.</p><br/><p>Now a few words about chandelier earrings, they got their name from their appearance which hangs down from the earring, ornate and glamorous pattern of sparkle and flair, much like a chandeliers are popular in part, because each pair tends to be very unique. You can go over your whole life and never see a chandelier duplicated and the same type of a variety can be found in the chandelier earring style. Of course one can’t forget the classic and most popular option of all, the stud. Yes diamond stud earrings, though like hoops and the perceived lack of creativity perhaps reign supreme with a higher degree of diamond earrings. One thing to keep in mind about studs, however obvious this may seem, is that more so than any other style of the diamond earring we’ve discussed the diamonds themselves are much more important.</p><br/><p>While you always want to be the diamonds in the earrings to be of superior quality, cut and polish, in the case of studs, the diamonds are the earrings, so you can’t scrimp on a selection. The diamonds, this selection is particularly important if you’re looking into studs or perhaps drops with sizeable diamonds. Again you always want the best diamonds that you can afford, but in the case of say a pair of chandelier earrings embedded with a dozen tiny diamonds you won’t need to opt out for the best.</p><br/><p>The diamonds simply aren’t big enough and hence won’t be noticed in the same way that studs will. But back to diamond education which begins with shape and cut. Studs come in all kinds of diamond shapes, so this becomes a matter of personal preference. Round brilliants are by far the most common brilliant cuts and in general also show more fire and sparkle in the mix or step cut stones like emeralds.</p><br/><p>The bigger the diamonds in your earrings the more important the clarity is. While there’s no need to pay for flawless diamonds, nor should you ever, ever go in anywhere near the other end of the scale. The I1 I2 or I3 category of included diamonds, anything in the VVS, VS or SI1 categories is perfectly acceptable.</p><br/><p>Keep in mind, again, this becomes more important the diamonds are big that si1 diamonds are slightly cooler than that it may be possible though unlikely for some flaws and inclusions to be seen by the naked eye. Colour of course is also exasperated by how big the diamonds are and the bigger they are the more noticeable it will be, if you’ve chosen a colour grade with a hint of borderline yellow. Stick to something in the colourless range, these will have letter grades D, E or F or the near colours range better grades from G through J. Telling me the possibility of faint yellow or brown colour and once you’ve put this all together, the carat weight you will settle for on stud’s will ultimately be determined by your budget.</p><br/><p>Keep it in mind, that you can always tweak any of the four C’s in order to adjust as needed and one thing I’ve always liked to remind people of, is that one needn’t not go big when it comes to studs. Small ones can suffice just fine. I have a pair of studs that I’ve sold to some of my customers one tenth and I don’t feel like a pauper when I give them to the clients. I feel glamorous that people are comfortable wearing these. Why? Because sometimes a small pair of studs defines woman’s beauty and her modesty.</p><br/><p>Lewis Carroll’s analogy of the beginning of the post more likely to end up the perfect pair of earrings if you are coming to the decision already clear on what exactly is that you’re looking for. You’re much more likely to find the correct road to take and to ultimately get there much faster when you have some preferences for the goal. To learn more visit imagine diamonds and just to demonstrate some of the types of diamonds that we’ve talked about today, here’s a few samples.</p><br/><p>This is the popular hoop earrings, as you can see diamonds are clearly set, was the perfect example, then we have the huggy earrings, much smaller than the hoop, but still a very classic look. Okay and then we have the drop earrings, which people like to wear on the red carpet. For more views and details of diamonds please visit <a href="https://imaginediamonds.com" target="_blank">imaginediamonds.com</a></p><br/><p>Thank you.</p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-guides/articles/how-to-choose-diamond-earrings">How To Choose Diamond Earrings</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-37761377686890542622017-07-25T08:51:00.000+10:002017-07-25T18:51:46.996+10:00Gold Testing (What Gold Buyers Don"t Want You to Know!)<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/igaPX22D1CQ" width="560" height="315" frame allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p><br/><p>Right, hi guys. Today I’m going to show you how to check the karat, the weight, and the value of your gold before you send it out to any gold buyers in the mail and or take it to your local jeweller. Get rid of it, trade it out for cash for gold.</p><br/><p>Alright so we’re going to start with this 21 karat <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/9ct-solid-gold-chains-necklaces-bracelets.asp">gold chain</a> I have here, you can see that or not, come closer and but we can do is take a loop right here which I got actually on eBay with all of this stuff right here. This is all the testing solutions for platinum, 22 karat gold, 18 karat, 14 karat, ten and also silver. Got a little stone right here, I’ll show you how, what that is used for in a second and also a jewellers scale right here.</p><br/><p>I got all of these things right here on eBay for 20 bucks okay super cheap and super worth it if you’re going to you know if you’re considering selling your gold jewellery. So you know, have a good idea of what it’s worth before you just blindly put it in the mail and get whatever you get not knowing you know what it’s really worth. Because people will pay you less, not more. So on that note to test this necklace to see if it’s really you know a 21 karat piece, because a lot of times some pieces will be stamped one thing but not read for what it is stamped for it, could be you know nineteen karat or 18 karat versus 21, sometimes that happens you know.</p><br/><p>So what we’re going to do is take this chain and rub it on this stone so we leave a trace of the necklace on the stone. What we’re going to do now is take the highest solution that I have here, the 22 karat, you always no matter what you’re testing, always start with a higher grade of solution and by the way this is a blend of muriatic and nitric acid; highly corrosive, don’t get it on your skin.</p><br/><p><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/9ct-Round-Curb-Chain-HM-CUR-0005-335.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-228" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/9ct-Round-Curb-Chain-HM-CUR-0005-335.jpg" alt="9ct Round Curb Chain (HM-CUR-0005)-335" width="335" height="335"/></a>It’s very easy to manage in these little eyedropper bottles, so just put one drop on the stripe that you put on there, just smear it on there and you wait a few seconds and start to see what happens here is that if the karat of gold it’s less than the solution that you are using on it, it will be dissolved, it will be pretty much disappear under the solution. See how you can see the gold stripe is kind of clearing up, it’s breaking up, the acid is eating the base metals of the little the gold that’s in there, breaking it off the stone. So you know it’s definitely not a 22 karat chain, okay doesn’t say that it is, but that’s what we have to start with.</p><br/><p>So we’re going to wipe it off that stone, we’re going to make another stripe of gold on the stone, okay and then we’re going to go down to the next solution, the 18 karat solution. Now again just a drop is enough, just rub it on there and see what happens.</p><br/><p>Now you may or may not be able to see this but the gold is still on the stone. Okay you can still see the gold particles they’re not lifting off the stone so much as they were when the 22 carat solution was on there. So we know it’s definitely at least 18 carat, if not higher.</p><br/><p>Let’s give it the benefit of the doubt that is a 21 carat gold chain. Clear that up, put that aside, next thing we’re going to do is weigh it. Okay you’re on the jeweller scale you turn it on and you don’t touch it, you don’t touch the table or anything let it set itself at zero and gently put the gold on there and it shows 24 grams.</p><br/><p>You see that? Put it over, 24 grams okay and with that we’re going to calculate the value of the gold. Today on <a href="http://www.kitco.com/" target="_blank">kitco.com</a>, which is the website that most gold buyers refer to when they are checking the precious metal price, the current metal price of the day whether it’s platinum, gold, silver what-have-you. Today was 1181 or when I checked it, it changes all you know minute by the minute by the hour it was 1181 per troy ounce.</p><br/><p>Now there are but I have 24 grams here how does that relate to a troy ounce? Well there are 31.1 grams in a troy ounce, so what we’re going to do, the way we’re going to calculate this, is we’re going to start with the world spot price per troy ounce which is 1181.  Okay 1181 and we’re going to divide that by 31.1 because that’s how many grams are in a troy ounce.</p><br/><p>So we’ll see how much per troy ounce gold is going or how much per gram gold is going for. So divided by 31.1 equals 37.97; okay $39.97 per gram for 24 karat gold. We do not have 24 karat gold here, we have 21 karat gold, divide this by 24, breaking down per carat 24 and then we have to multiply that by the karat that we have. To see what that worth is, times 21 karat equals, so we have here is $33.22 for the karat I have.</p><br/><p>Okay that’s on the world spot, that’s not what we’re going to get. We are going to multiply that by 24 grams, all right and that gives us $797.45 on the world spot price. But we’re not going to get a hundred percent of that, you know we’re going to take whatever, we’re going to get the difference between the gold buyer, what the gold buyer will pay us.</p><br/><p>Typically they’ll keep, you know, if you’re just taking a couple pieces it’s between between 10 and 30% that the gold buyer will keep and you will get the rest. So we get 70 to 90 percent of what the world spot price is of the gold that you have. So on the 797 let’s say I know someone who will pay me 90% okay of world spot price, just for this one piece. A lot of times they’ll pay you more, the more gold the more pieces you have, the more percentage they will give you of the world spot price.</p><br/><p>So let’s say so we’re going to multiply that times 0.9 797 times 0.9 equals $717.71; so this beautiful 21 karat gold chain, I can get today, 717 dollars for. On that note get rid of your old gold and cash out know what you’re taken to the bank pretty much, so you don’t get ripped off and good luck.</p><br/><p>Video Credit – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/sandrodelmundo" target="_blank">Sandro Marino</a></p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-guides/articles/gold-testing-what-gold-buyers-dont-want-you-to-know">Gold Testing (What Gold Buyers Don"t Want You to Know!)</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-59555657268221438322017-07-17T04:11:00.000+10:002017-07-17T14:11:13.678+10:00Charm Bracelets<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6HzTbeToGqI" width="560" height="315" frame allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p><br/><p>The wire wrapping here is quite secure for adding charms to a bracelet. When using jump rings however, it is necessary for them to be soldered closed. A jump ring will easily open if not soldered, so make sure you visit a jeweller to have the jump rings on your <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/gold-silver-charm-bracelets-chains.asp">charm bracelet</a> secured. An alternative is to use Link-Locks, these are very secure and can easily be fitted at home with a small pair of pliers or tweezers. You wouldn’t want to lose your charms because you hadn’t fitted them properly.</p><br/><hr/><p> </p><br/><p>For the charm bracelet base we’re going to start with a length of chain. The chain is cut to the length of what you’d need it for, to fit you and this chain in particular we can either use flush cutters to cut the connectors apart or we can open them up. They’re like these little staples that can be opened and the chain, just take it off. So I’ll save that connector for something else and we’ll start with working with this piece of chain.</p><br/><p>To one end we will add our jump ring, so open up the jump ring and put on the lobster clasp. We’ll have our base bracelet ready to go for making it extra pretty, because I particularly really love this chain. But with all the terms added to it is even better.</p><br/><p>There we go okay for this charm that we’re going to add I’m going to take a head pin and cut off the head and that gives me a great length of wire to work with. Just cut off the head and now I’ve got a length of wire and on one end I will form a wrapped loop. Before I get to the wrapping part I’ll add my charm, so it’s connected securely to the length of wire.</p><br/><p>Open the loop, slip on the loop of the charm, close the loop back up and wrap the wire to complete that wrap loop and securely connect the charm. Now we’re going to do a second wrap loop on the same length of wire so you don’t need to make this section too long, too many wraps, once you’ve got enough and everything’s secure we’ll trim the excess.</p><br/><p>Tuck in that end and then form the second loop above the first. Again we’ll start the loop get it so that I’ve got a nice round at the top and then open that loop up. Add it to the chain, close the loop so it’s connected to that link on the chain and then finish the wrap. You’ll want to work it until it’s a nice neat wrap, trim the excess and tuck in that tail. Make sure that everything is nice and clean, until it’s as perfect as you want it.</p><br/><a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/solid-gold-charms-sterling-silver-charms.asp"><img class="alignleft wp-image-880 size-full" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/fbcharms.jpg" alt="gold bracelet and charms" width="750" height="750"/></a><br/><p>Now the bracelet is ready for some colour. On an eye pin I’ve strung a couple of spacer beads and this beautiful crystal bead and I will form a wrapped loop. Now this is an eye pin so it’s a little shorter, so you won’t have a whole lot of length of wire to wrap with. You could also consider doing a simple loop and that would be fine too.</p><br/><p>We’ll connect it to the chain, pick anywhere you still have a lot of room to work with on the chain, slip it on, close it back up and then finish that wrap. Then once that wrap is secure I’ll use the loop on the bottom that was from the original eye pin. Open that up and I’ll add a bead to dangle which is just a bead add it to a head pin finish with a simple loop; and that gives me a nice extended dangle as well as gives me a some nice movement, on the charm bracelet.</p><br/><p>So we to this point we have our charms added using a double wrapped loop, we have dangles added with a double simple loop and then an additional dangle added with a simple loop on a head pin. One of the other options would be to on a longer head pin create a wrapped loop and add that dangle.</p><br/><p>So we’re really just filling up the charm bracelet. Once the wrap is finished we’ll trim the tail, tuck it in, because you’ll be wearing this you want to make sure all the ends are tucked, in so it’s nice and neat, doesn’t catch on your sweaters or your shirt or your skin.</p><br/><p>You can add a charm also using a jump ring, just open a jump ring slip on the charm and just make sure you orient the face of the charms to feed the same direction as the other charms, so that everything’s facing the right way. For some added extra texture and some movement, I’m going to take a twisted wire jump ring and add it over, well just choose this one. And it’ll just hang down nicely over the bead because it’s just big enough to still have movement, but not so big that it falls down over the beads. Just continue adding it until the bracelet is nice and full and in any pattern that you like. We’ll take our leftovers and we’re going to move into the next project.</p><br/><p>Video Credit –  <a href="http://www.firemountaingems.com" target="_blank">www.firemountaingems.com</a></p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-guides/articles/charm-bracelets">Charm Bracelets</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-81665028722639029952017-07-10T11:04:00.000+10:002017-07-10T21:04:42.959+10:00Jewellery Repair<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pTjR2HmOlPY" width="560" height="315" frame allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p><br/><p> </p><br/><p>Most of the large chain jewellery stores you will find in shopping malls today are simply retail stores. This is a far cry from 30 or 40 years ago, before shopping centres became widespread, and the ‘shops’ you visited on the main street were individual stores run by qualified jewellers.</p><br/><p>Finding a real ‘bench jeweller’ isn’t that difficult and you will get personal service from the actual jeweller working on your jewellery. Being able to directly discuss your requirements with the jeweller who will be doing the hands on work is worth spending a few minutes to find a local jeweller. Recommendations from friends will help to find someone you can trust or contact the JAA for a list of jewellers local to you.</p><br/><p>The charm bracelets that we supply our customers have the charms fitted here at the <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au">Chain Me Up</a> in-house workshop. We also produce our own range of handmade bracelets and earrings, but for complex repairs or creating a new design entirely, we have our own jeweller on the Gold Coast. When our customers come to us with a request for something we don’t have or can’t do, we send them directly to our own jeweller. We don’t charge them or receive a commission for the referral.</p><br/><p>Having jewellery repaired or valued has become a task that nearly all major stores send to an independent technician, rather than having a qualified in-store jeweller. The upside to this is that the technician will usually be used by many of the stores in that chain and will be both qualified and competent. They wouldn’t get repeat business otherwise and a large retail chain will feed them a considerable amount of work. The downside to leaving your jewellery repairs to a national chain store is that they will add a mark-up to any work they sub-contract out, costing you more.</p><br/><hr/><p>Just about everyone has had their jewellery repaired at some point in time. Did you ever wonder what happens to your jewellery when you drop it off at the repair shop? Well today we’re filming from our jewellery repair and manufacturing facility right here at our Beecher road location in Flint.</p><br/><p>To give you kind of a behind-the-scenes look as to what happened the multi-step process that every item goes through when it’s brought to our store for repair. Now this is where it all happens but this obviously isn’t where it starts. It all starts when our customer brings in their jewellery. We never take lightly the confidence bestowed upon us by our customers when they leave their valuable jewellery with us.</p><br/><p>Whether the items have great actual value or just sentimental value, we go to great lengths to see that the items are given the care they deserve. When dropped off the article undergoes its first of four different inspection processes. Our associate inspects the items not only to verify the repair requested by our customers but also to ensure that there aren’t other pressing needs that can be dealt with while the item is in our possession.</p><br/><p>After inspection is finished and all details of repairs explained to the customer, the repair is entered into our computer system detailing a description of the items and a description of the repairs to be done. A digital photograph of each item is also taken, from multiple angles if necessary, that will follow the item as it progresses through each process of the repair.</p><br/><p>We then scan each envelope into our computer so that we know exactly where in the process each particular repair is at any particular time. If the item is a watch the job is handed off to our in-house watchmaker and founder and my father Bob Gaines.  Anything else is carried to our in-house jewellery repair facility.</p><br/><p>Many jewellery stores have to shift their jewellery out to be repaired to a facility out of the city or sometimes out of state, but no frequent flyer miles for the jewellery left here at <a href="http://www.gainesjewelry.com/" target="_blank">Gaines</a>. Barring something very unusual this is as far as any of the jewellery goes.</p><br/><p>After a thorough cleaning one of our Goldsmith’s does yet another inspection of their own before work on the article begins. We do a variety of bench work in our facility ranging from prong work to sizing to intricate design and actual jewellery creation. One thing we are proud of is the fact that we own one of the very few laser welding machines in Genesee County. This new technology allows us to work on a heat sensitive items in a manner that allows us a better repair and it’s safer for the article itself.</p><br/><p>While the traditional method of joining gold is to use gold solder the laser welder allows us to actually melt the metal together. With the laser being so focused all this is done while holding the article in our bare hand it’s, truly remarkable.</p><br/><p>Once the work is completed each piece endures a rigorous polishing cleaning and steaming process. It is after this process is complete that the true beauty of the article becomes evidence. Before releasing the item our Goldsmith’s do yet another inspection just to make sure the repair is correct and the stones are tight and it’s ready to go.</p><br/><p>As a final check each job then goes through one final inspection done by myself or one of our associates, just to make sure everything is clean secure and ready to be worn by the customer. Once that is done the customer is notified that their item is ready. Well I hope you enjoyed our little how we do it repair video. Thanks for allowing us to give you a little behind-the-scenes looking to our repair shop and how things work. Remember if you like to be notified when we put out more new informative videos be sure and click the follow us links it’ll pop up here in just a minute and we’ll see you next time.</p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-guides/articles/jewellery-repair">Jewellery Repair</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-69440485009580128072017-07-04T13:38:00.000+10:002017-07-04T23:38:29.362+10:007 Jewellery Mistakes Men Make<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MrumKaHqIu8" width="560" height="315" frame allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p><br/><p>So what’s the biggest mistake that men make in your opinion when it comes to jewellery?</p><br/><p>Guys, write it down in the comments below before we get too deep into this video. I’m curious because in this video I’ve got 7 common mistakes that men make when it comes to jewellery and I’m going to flip those around and I’m going to give you 7 tips on how you can wear jewellery and look great.</p><br/><p>So my goal with today’s video gentlemen is to point out the mistake and then flip that around and show you how to use it to your advantage because I want you to think about this. Hopefully I’m going to challenge a few of your concepts when it comes to when to wear jewellery, how should it be worn and even a little about what it actually does.</p><br/><p>Now when it comes to jewellery what I’m talking about in this video; bracelets, talking about watches, <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/9ct-solid-gold-chains-necklaces-bracelets.asp">gold necklaces</a>, we’re talking about rings. Basically ornamental pieces that send a signal and that takes me to mistake number one.</p><br/><p>Mistake number one that men make when it comes to jewellery is they assume that it is feminine. Somehow if you’re wearing a necklace, if you’re wearing a bracelet, that this is in the realm of women. That a man should only wear maybe a wedding ring or that he should only maybe wear a watch. Guys, that cannot be further from the truth. We look historically, jewellery, rings all of this stuff it has symbolised power, it has symbolised status, it has symbolised wealth, it has symbolised where you came from and what family you’re a part of. We go back thousands of years, we look at ancient burial sites, where you will find the heads of the tribe. They were buried with their beads, they were buried with the teeth or the bones of the animals they had killed.</p><br/><p>More modern, we see that if you were rich, if you could afford to have gold jewellery, you were perceived as a higher level status person in society. Now today, especially in the modern American society, we tried to move away from that but understand that people still pick up on this. There are many parts of the world where this is still a big deal. Understand that for many people when you wear this, it is still a symbol of status.</p><br/><p>Mistake number two that men make when it comes to jewellery is that they don’t wear it with confidence. Gentlemen, you have to believe in what you’re wearing and you need to practice wearing it. Two parts there, first off you have to like the jewellery, it has to be something that when you look at yourself in the mirror, you’re like, ‘I like the way that looks’, then this part too, you need to practice wearing it. The first time you start to wear a bracelet it’s going to feel odd the first day. After the second day you’re not going to notice it as much and by the third day, you don’t even notice it at all until someone actually compliments you on it. Until somebody says ‘hey that’s a nice bracelet’ or ‘where did you get that, can I see it’ and that’s the cool part. When you start to wear it with confidence it becomes a second skin, it becomes a conversation piece. Now guys, this video is brought to you by Zorrata, they’re the ones that sent me this bracelet. I’ve got some other ones here so if you go check out their website, let me know which bracelet in particular you like, I’ve got some I’m going to be getting rid of and you guys know what that means, I’m going to send them to you guys but you need to go to their website. Did you like their royal collection, did you like their lion collection. What do you think of their anchor bracelets and by the way their anchor bracelets are one of the most popular sellers. It’s a very simple bracelet, let’s start off with, I know many opf you guys love the look of the anchor bracelet, there’s actually a unique stone set right into the anchor. What I love about bracelets like this guys, is they’re not going to break the bank but they will definitely level up your style if you can pull it off with confidence.</p><br/><p>The third mistake that men make when it comes to jewellery is they don’t pay attention to the situation. Understand that if you’re going into an interview and it’s a conservative industry that you wearing a whole bunch of rings, having a nose ring, having earrings, just having jewellery all over the place. It may not send the signal and yes you can say ‘they shouldn’t judge me based off this’ but I understand that people are human. They will judge you, pay attention to those details. Understand that if you go into another culture, if you go into another country they may not perceive that in a positive light.</p><br/><p>Mistake number 4 is over accessorising and this basically is wearing too much and not allowing individual pieces to shine. What I mean by that is you can wear less and allow each piece to shine. A lot of guys may like to wear quite a few bracelets or maybe they’re going to go for quite a few necklaces, I like to keep it simple. In addition I like to spread things out, so if I want to wear a watch on one side then that’s where I would wear the bracelet on the other. Now some of you guys are saying ‘Now Antonio, I just love all my pieces and I’m going to wear them all at the same time.’ To me you should have a rotation, especially if you’ve got a few favourite necklaces; you maybe have a few favourite bracelets. Find a rotation that works for you, don’t wear everything at once.</p><br/><p>Mistake number 5 is not wearing the ‘right’ piece of jewellery for you. You want to pay attention to proportion, you want to pay attention to skin tone. So proportion, what do I mean by this? I’ve got two bracelets right here. I was sent both of these by the sponsor and Zarrata, when I looked at these, I’m like you know, very similar bracelets, but the one I decided to wear and I’ve been wearing is a little bit smaller.</p><br/><p>I’ve talked about this, I am relatively a smaller guy, especially when it comes to wrist size. So because of this I don’t want to wear something that’s oversized or gaudy but if you’re six foot five, 300 pounds and you’ve got huge 8 inch wrists, well in that case, you want to make sure the watch, you want to make sure that whatever you’re wearing is going to be sized appropriately. Otherwise it’s just going to look too small.</p><br/><p>When it comes to skin tone you either are cool tone or you’re warm tone. For me the easiest way to look at this is to look at your blue veins. If you can see the blue in your veins, most likely you’re cool toned. If you’re warm toned, you’re not going to be able to see them very well, but what colours have you always naturally gravitated towards gold or have you gone towards silver?</p><br/><p>The  6<sup>th</sup> mistake men make when it come to jewellery is that they do not maintain it. Guys, this is abig one. It can cost you a lot of money especially if you have some precious stones in your rings. Now my wedding ring, relatively very simple, no stones in it but my wife’s engagement ring I can tell you I spent a lot of money on that thing and I did notice that her stone is starting to become loose. I’m going to take it into the jeweller and they’re going to basically tighten it up and make sure that stone doesn’t fall out. Even if you don’t have stones, understand that you don’t want to be using toothpaste and yes it may give that initial first clean, but that’s so abrasive it’s going to damage oftentimes a lot, it’s can actually damage the metal. If you spent a lot of money on your jewellery you want to take it to a jeweller who can treat it with respect and use the right materials. Things like alcohol cleaners, the problem if you’ve got opal, if you’ve got turquoise, if you’ve got emeralds, these are very delicate stones that can be damaged if you don’t treat them correctly. The worst thing is when you try to take care and you do it yourself and you end up damaging. Take your stuff into a professional jeweller.</p><br/><p>Finally, mistake number 7 gentlemen is don’t shower or wash with jewellery. So with this bracelet right here, it has an elastic band in it. I’m not going to be mistreating this, I’m not going to be throwing it in hot and cold water. It will basically cut the life of this significantly, the same actually for many of your rings. They are going to get soap scum on them, underneath some of the stones that are also going to lose their brilliance because you’re going to get hard water on there. Anyone who does any type of cleaning jewellery can tell you that it’s some of the hardest stuff to remove.</p><br/><p>Video Credit – <a href="http://www.realmenrealstyle.com" target="_blank">Real Men Real Style</a></p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-guides/articles/7-jewellery-mistakes-men-make">7 Jewellery Mistakes Men Make</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-57591391013771717542017-07-03T23:48:00.000+10:002017-07-04T09:48:03.765+10:00The Best Earring Styles For Your Face<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iZBjoIu_Gq8" width="560" height="315" frame allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br/><br/>One of the things that I’ve wanted to do for a really really long time is do a video on what <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/solid-gold-earrings-sterling-silver-earrings.asp">earrings</a> you can wear and so often here in the shop, see customers walk in and they have no idea what kind of earrings look good on them and what they can wear and really get them to think outside of their boundaries and they leave here with earrings bigger than they ever thought they could wear.</p><br/><p>I came up with this device with this chart to show you the easiest way to try and figure out some of the earrings you can wear that you probably don’t think you can wear right now. The first thing you are going to want to do is you’re going to find the widest place on your face. What we did is a chart here and it’s not terribly complicated. Here we’re showing a lot of times, this is a diamond or oval shape, the widest part of her face is her forehead. In this particular face and this lends itself more to the ovals and the rounds, is it is right across the cheek line. This is very important for you to know and also in a square type shape you’re wider down at the bottom.</p><br/><p>The reason this is terribly important that you understand these things is that it is going to help you with the proportions and the length of the type of earrings that you can wear. When we talk about balance and proportion it’s also important to understand your jaw line and what that is. There are 3 types of jaw line, there’s a square jaw line which you see in a square face. There’s a rounded jaw line and all of this is going to affect the shape and the length of the earring you can wear, and also there’s a more pointed.</p><br/><p>I want you to consider that when you start to see some of the earrings that we’re going to show you on these faces. I told you the most important thing you have to work with to decide the proportion and the right earring is where is the widest area of your face. I thought, let’s take these in detail and put some earrings to them to show you how it works.</p><br/><p>In this particular case the widest area is at the forehead and this is a narrower chin line. This is important because this actually is a very popular face style. What a lot of what we see now will work with this and also some other ones that have narrower jaw lines. The area I look at when I’m looking at where I’m going to put the balance of the earring is right in this area here, where I’m looking to put some kind of detail. The weight of my earring, the bulk of the weight of my earring I want to do here in this particular face style, not up here.</p><br/><p>That’s not necessarily a bad thing because one of the things I was taught by a jeweller in Italy was the closer the jewellery goes to your eyes the more you emphasise your eyes. The longer your jewellery goes down, the more it’s going to emphasise your face. This is a sexier look, this is a more romantic look so that’s something to consider that’s beyond of what we can wear.</p><br/><p>Let’s do some particular jewellery lines. This is a bigger one, I’m going to tell you I don’t do little very well, and if I do little, I do it with a bright colour because the only times I do little is if I have a really ornate necklace and it calls for just a little bit of light at my face but the focal point is the necklace. In a situation like this if you can see I put an earring like this on its filling the area that I’m talking about, this is very flattering. In fact it doesn’t really show it here, but when this does on a tilt, this is very sexy and I also like earrings that have movement. This is a nice earring as you can see with this particular style. It’s not necessarily that you can only wear that wider, here is another style that I really like. This goes with a lot of them. I’m going to try to do this without dropping him but you can see what’s happening. Again it’s filling in and it’s down in this area here which gives us the most attractive look. It’s also filling a lot of colour to the face, it helps with your skin tones.</p><br/><p>Your hair colour is going to make a little difference. This is one of the ones I hear that people can’t wear all the time. It’s a long one but it’s very popular. We get a lot of people, see what’s happening here? Your neck will be affected, if you have a shorter neck you don’t want to get too much under here in this particular type earring but a lot of times if you expose your neck and have your neck line exposed you can wear these a little lower because it’s going to settle a little bit on your neckline. You wouldn’t do this if you have a collar because it’s going to be in the way all the time and I think you’re going to be a little self conscious, but it’s really pretty.</p><br/><p>If you want to do that with a collar, this is a great one. This can be as long as you want it and I’ve sold these very, very, long where they were draping down almost to the shoulder.  You see you don’t have to worry because the balance of the earring is up in the jaw line, filling it in and doesn’t she look pretty with that colour? This chain can be as long as you want, I’ve sold them all the way down so this is another pretty look with this one.</p><br/><p>There is a trend more so to clip these days. The reason for that is when you do a pierced; it’s going to pull the earring down. Some of these bigger earrings are a little weightier so you need to do a clip. Also a pierced earring can never be positioned exactly on the ear. It’s only going to be wherever your hole is or where ever it pulls down. This idea of a clip being where you can actually position this on the ear where ever you want is really nice because you can put it in detail to your face.</p><br/><p>There are earrings that have right and left. The ideal way is to have your earring, and this is a good example, flowing always into your face. See how it looks if it is on this side? So on this earring you want to make sure whatever you’re doing, so it always wants to be flowing into your face. This is a lot of tips for how you want to wear it for this particular style and this is an easy one to show.</p><br/><p>The widest part in a round shape is across the cheek line and this shape is a little more demanding. You have to consider if you have a shorter or longer neckline and your hair becomes extremely important in this. One of the easy things right off the bat is, if you don’t do anything, is that you want to start thinking about that area that you have which is right in here. Notice that it’s dropped lower and it’s a little smaller than it would be especially now that might be bigger if you have a longer neck, so you have to take that into consideration.</p><br/><p>Here we have an area and see how pretty this looks, I like a geometric shape when you have a round face because it’s a contrast to the round and it pulls away with that constantly doing that. Another area here that’s always good is if you’re going to wear round earrings, it’s always lucky if you have short hair cuts and you can bring the weight where they’re going to widen you out up here. This will help you a lot to wear more types of earrings too.</p><br/><p>Another thing that’s different about this hairdo and I’m going to use one of the other earrings, this shape I should say, is you really want to drop. If you have a long neck and a round face I definitely would be wearing the longest earring you can possibly get, because it’s really going to help you. Look at the difference between this and if you drop this earring down here. Again, I’m going to emphasise clip where you can position the earring exactly where you want to. This can be very very pretty and I just might point it out to you, this is definitely very romantic because this is the widest part, so whenever you emphasise up here remember it’s romantic.</p><br/><p>These little round faced people are going to be sexy all the time because they’re going to have longer earrings to draw it out. We’ve come to the part now where it’s mostly identified with square faces and it’s where the widest part of you is at the bottom or around your chin line. This is usually accompanied by more of a rounded or squared chin line. What we want to do here is opposite of what we’ve done with the last two faces. We want to bring the weight away from the widest part of your face and bring it up here more towards your eyes and closer to the ear.</p><br/><p>Just to show you the difference, here’s an earring we used in one of the others and when we were using it, we were using it like this; we were using the weight to drop down in this area and as you can see with this particular type of jaw line, it’s not as good. If we move it up and bring the weight up around the chin line, look how much better that earring looks. It’s really important to understand that you want to keep the weight away from the widest part of your face and it really show here.</p><br/><p>Another good example that we used in one of the others, and this was when we used this one in the round, is remember how we used it in the round, we showed it here and it fit in so nicely. It doesn’t look as well here, look how much better it looks if we take the weight and put it at the top. Again, keeping it in the wider part. Remember a lot of eye makeup here will be very pretty because you’re going to be emphasising your eyes a lot when you have a square face.</p><br/><p>Another one that shows it and this also emphasises that you need a left and a right earring. Now a lot of people think you should bring this shorter here but it doesn’t because the line, it goes out. This is one of those right, but remember we have the weight up by the ear, this is the right side for this earring , that goes into the face and look how pretty that is.</p><br/><p>These are just some of the ideas we have that can show you the kinds of earring you can wear. You can wear bolder earrings and then the right place and you don’t feel uncomfortable. Showing you some earrings that you can wear with certain face shapes to get you the best results but most important is you shouldn’t be missing an opportunity to make yourself look more beautiful.</p><br/><p>Video Credit – <a href="http://www.marilynhellman.com/" target="_blank">Marilyn Hellman</a></p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-guides/articles/the-best-earring-styles-for-your-face">The Best Earring Styles For Your Face</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-61993858676329477722017-06-25T05:53:00.000+10:002017-06-25T15:53:32.841+10:00How To Read a GIA Diamond Grading Report<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1lqm2Zi5aYo" width="560" height="315" frame allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p><br/><p>The diamonds for sale at <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/">Chain Me Up</a> are graded for your information, but as they are below 1 carat they do not have a GIA report due to the cost involved in obtaining one.</p><br/><p>GIA is the creator of the famous four C’s of diamond value and the international diamond grading system which sets the standards for diamond grading, making us the world’s most respected independent authority on diamond grading.</p><br/><p>Each diamond submitted to the <a href="https://www.gia.edu/" target="_blank">GIA grading laboratory</a> is tested to be sure it is actually a natural diamond, a synthetic diamond and to see if it has been treated or not. Then it is graded independently by several highly trained graders.</p><br/><p>This is an example of a GIA diamond report which details all pertinent information about a stones quality and characteristics. This is the date the report was issued. Each diamond is assigned a unique identification number. All the grading information for the diamond is stored in GIA’s global database under this report number. Some people choose to have GIA inscribe the report number on the diamond’s girdle to aid in identifying it. You can also inscribe a special logo, graphic or personal message. This line shows that this stone has been laser inscribed with the GIA report number.</p><br/><p>This diamond has a round girdle outline and the facets are cut in the brilliant style. This is the stones minimum girdle diameter, the maximum girdle diameter and the diamond’s depth. For a fancy shaped diamond the measurements listed are length, width and depth.</p><br/><p>The GIA report also has a facet diagram that approximates the shape and cutting style of the stone. Diamonds are weighed in carats. One carat equals one fifth of a gram. GIA records weight to the nearest one hundredth of a carat which is the internationally recognised practice.</p><br/><p>GIA grades colourless and near colourless diamonds for the absence of colour when viewed through the pavilion from colourless to light yellow or brown by comparing them to GIA master colour comparison diamonds. The scale shows the relative position of the colour grades in the GIA colour scale. This stone, a ‘G’, falls in here in the near colourless range.</p><br/><p>GIA graders examine diamonds for the presence of any internal and external characteristics. Based on the size, nature and number of any clarity characteristics found using a 10 power loupe, they assign a clarity range of flawless to included. Here is the GIA clarity scale, you can see that VS2 falls in the very slightly included range. Significant or identifying characteristics are marked on the facet diagram. The symbols represent the type, position and approximate size of a clarity characteristic and a key to the symbols used is below the diagram.</p><br/><p>Here you can see how cut can affect the appearance of a diamond. This stone shows an even pattern of reflections, this one is dark in the centre and the facets are washed out. The GIA cut grade is used for round brilliant only and is based on the stones face up appearance, design and craftsmanship and it is listed here. This is the scale for the GIA cut grade ranging from excellent to poor. The angles and proportions of the diamond measured with an optical measuring device are presented on the report on this diagram.</p><br/><p>Fish grades include polish which is the overall condition or smoothness of the diamond surface and symmetry which is the exactness of the diamond’s outline and the shape, placement and alignment of its facets.</p><br/><p>If a diamond shows fluorescence to long-wave ultraviolet, the fluorescent colour and strength can help identify it. Blue is the normal colour of fluorescence in diamonds but it may be other colours. If there is no discernible fluorescence or it is very faint, GIA lists ‘none’ on the report.</p><br/><p>Comments describe additional identifying characteristics that are not otherwise represented on the report as well as treatments and if the diamond is inscribed with a special logo, graphic or personal message it is listed here.</p><br/><p>GIA diamond reports are highly valued, to ensure that you are in possession of a real report and not a fake or copy they include a suite of security components including a hologram, security screen and micro print lines in addition to several other propriety security features. The GIA diamond dossier is similar to a GIA diamond report but less expensive. It provides the same information as a GIA diamond report but it does not include a facet diagram and plot of clarity characteristics. Instead clarity characteristics are listed here. This is the only real difference between the information on a diamond dossier and a GIA diamond report and all diamonds submitted for a GIA diamond dossier are laser inscribed with the report number.</p><br/><p>GIA is not affiliated with any retailer or wholesaler or manufacturer giving you peace of mind knowing that your GIA diamond report or diamond dossier represents the impartial opinion of unbiased professionals. It’s the difference between wondering and knowing.</p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-guides/articles/how-to-read-a-gia-diamond-grading-report">How To Read a GIA Diamond Grading Report</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-45181208757622718402017-06-19T09:17:00.000+10:002017-06-19T19:17:25.216+10:00If Jewellery Commercials Were Honest<div style="position: relative; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe style="position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; left: 0;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/giu23Ii3PAA?ecver=2" width="640" height="360" frame allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div><br/><p>Thought this was funny, and not that far from the truth in many high end <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/">jewellery stores</a> that play on your emotions.</p><br/><p>Let me guess, shopping for someone special? These are some pretty rocks we found. They can’t be used for anything and they all cost an exorbitant amount of money.</p><br/><p>Some come in shapes and others come with metal wrapped around them. To get them we turn a blind eye to child labourers in the mines directly financed unsustainable mining practices the world over and in some cases buy diamonds directly from maniacal warlords using the money to buy guns and kill their countrymen.</p><br/><p>You might think that the danger involved is why they’re so expensive but actually it’s just because we decided they are. There are vaults full of these things but we only sell a few a year to keep the price up like a ticket scalper except that a scalped ticket can be exchanged for the experience of going to a live show and these are inherently worthless rocks like this one, one of my favourites.</p><br/><p>This is from our signature shiny rock that we found collection, it’s sure to make that special someone think, “you’re willing to spend too much money on something that shouldn’t cost that much money.” That’s love.</p><br/><p>Actually full disclosure, this is cubic zirconia, it looks basically the same but it costs almost nothing. So we use it as a show model. I’ve got a yellow one and I’ve got one shaped like a square, I call these ones ‘fancy’, so we can charge more. Of course if you’re trying to coat an industrial drill, then real diamonds work better otherwise glass is fine but please buy diamonds instead because they cost so much more.</p><br/><p>What about that one? Oh, that’s not a jewel, that’s just a pretty rock, it’s worthless. Alan, stop putting rocks in the display case unless you put the rocks in that we arbitrarily decided that are worth a lot of money. Sorry.</p><br/><p>Hard to find good help these days when you sell shiny rocks at the mall to idiots. Oh, no offence. So come on down to shiny rock mall store and trade your rectangular pieces of paper and assorted metal disks for these rocks we found. We also accept that you hand us a plastic rectangle and we run it through a computer and hand it back to you. Oh, I’m Roger by the way.</p><br/><p> </p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-guides/articles/if-jewellery-commercials-were-honest">If Jewellery Commercials Were Honest</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-53771508792728506562017-06-12T03:54:00.000+10:002017-06-12T13:54:25.788+10:00Gold Necklace Extenders<p><a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/Silver-and-Gold-chain-extenders.asp"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-926" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/LC80EX-400x400-300x300.jpg" alt="LC80EX-400x400" width="300" height="300"/></a>It can be difficult to know exactly what length you should choose when purchasing a solid gold necklace.</p><br/><p>Often the length will be dictated by the choice of the pendant it carries. You know exactly where the pendant should sit against your chest, and the length of the necklace chain is selected to accommodate this. Being able to buy a necklace of an exact length is one of the major advantages of buying gold chains from Fraser Ross.</p><br/><p>Sometimes however the necklace will be used for more than just one pendant, and you may wish to wear them in slightly different positions. So rather than having to purchase two separate chains, how would you feel if you could make one chain just a few centimetres longer? You can, and it’s called a <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/Silver-and-Gold-chain-extenders.asp">chain extender</a>.</p><br/><p>If the chain is to be worn alone, then you may want to match it to the outfit(s) you are planning on wearing it with. Normally you would want to wear it above or below the neckline of your top. If it sits at about the same height of your collar opening, it won’t be seen, so it would be better to have it shorter or longer.</p><br/><p>We have a few ways that you can change the length of your necklace chain to make it suit more of the clothing you wear.</p><br/><p>One choice is to buy a matching chain extender. If for example, if the perfect necklace length was 45cm to 50cm, depending on your top, you could buy a 45cm necklace and a 5cm chain extender. This gives you the opportunity to wear your chain short to suit a high open neck top, or you can add the extra chain and it will fall nicely over the high collar of a t-shirt. As the chain extenders are only 5cm long, they should remain hidden behind you head and under you hair. If you can see one side, it just looks like the clasp you would normally see on your necklace anyway.</p><br/><p>Another way to have a single chain that can be made to different lengths is the simplest of all. Work out the longest size that you would want for your necklace and that is the size to order. If you choose the right style of chain, it is possible to connect the parrot clasp to one of the links inside the necklace instead of the loop at the end of the chain.</p><br/><p>This requires a style of gold chain that has wide open links so that the parrot clasp can fit inside a link along the necklace. Belcher chains are one style that this becomes an easy option with. Each individual link is normally round although oval belcher chains are also quite common, but both these designs have adequate space inside the links for a parrot clasp to attach. A 55cm chain can easily be shortened to say 47cm by connecting the clasp back down the chain at an appropriate link. The remaining chain simply hangs behind your head from the clasp on your necklace.</p><br/><p>Cable chains and long open curb chains also have links that can accommodate the clasp, so you aren’t limited to one of the belcher chain styles.</p><br/><p>So it is possible to make a necklace shorter by taking advantage of the open link style chains or make it longer by adding a necklace chain extender. In a perfect world we would be able to afford a necklace chain to suit every outfit, with and without a pendant, but that is rarely the case, so now you know how to do the best you can with what you have.</p><br/><p> </p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-guides/articles/gold-necklace-extenders">Gold Necklace Extenders</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-83892027413628375352017-06-08T07:35:00.000+10:002017-06-08T17:35:49.098+10:00Starting a Jewellery Business<p><a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-910" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ipad-website-cmu-750-300x300.jpg" alt="ipad-website-cmu-750" width="300" height="300"/></a>Wow, it’s now 7 years since I launched my <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/">online jewellery store</a> and a lot has changed since day one.</p><br/><p>I really thought it would be easy, I had a long and varied computer background and well understood (or so I thought) how to create webpages, manage a server and hack the odd program to make it work the way that I wanted, not the way the original programmer intended. Seems easy enough.</p><br/><p>Prior to my computer career, I managed and provided all the technical support to a number of photographic labs. These ranged from large commercial providers where we would print photos the size of walls for advertising, through to the everyday, drop your film off and and get the prints and negatives back in a few days. I also installed the first mini-lab for Kodak in Box Hill, a suburb of Melbourne. It was run under a different name so they could get customer feedback that would be unbiased by the having best known brand in the world of photography on their signage. Surely someone with this much experience wouldn’t have any problems taking photos of the jewellery we sell? Being highly technically  skilled does not guarantee you can take a good photo, this is definitely a different skill set.</p><br/><p>Well, let me say nothing is ever as easy as you would expect. Take photographing something really small and very shiny (like a silver charm) for example. Having the correct lighting for the shot is absolutely critical, which in itself is no easy task. When each piece is different in shape and reflects light very differently, the lighting needs to be changed for every photo. The camera position is also critical and needs to be changed to suit each different silver or gold charm to get the best angle(s) of view. Changing this of course means that the lighting has to be re-adjusted, oh dear.</p><br/><p>If you have ever taken a close up photo of jewellery, you will know that this is just the start of your problems. You have to deal with reflections, something that doesn’t happen when shooting products that aren’t a mirror finish like silver or gold jewellery. Taking a single photo usually means that the whole piece is not in focus, it will be sharp at the front, middle or back, but not all three.</p><br/><p>Our photos have changed considerably over time as we have acquired new equipment. A light tent is important as it guarantees constant lighting, unaffected by any ambient light sources, and was the first upgrade to our kit. The first camera we used was a Fuji Finepix, it did an OK job, but lacked any real control over close focusing and exposure compensation. We upgraded to a Canon SLR with a true macro lens. This gave us much better control over all the camera functions and was a big step forward. The real advantage though was being able to connect it to a computer and control everything from the computer screen. Focusing was still a problem as the depth of field when shooting close up is very narrow and our photos where still not in focus all the way from front to back. You can ‘stop down’ the lens aperture to compensate, but this introduces other issues with digital cameras. So to counteract this we invested in some new software that could take multiple images, from the front to the back of a piece with each focused at a different point. A companion software program combines all the individual images into one, that is in focus all the way from front to back. Yeah, a perfectly focused close up photo of a stunning gold charm!</p><br/><p>Of course, getting the photo from the camera is just the start. It then has to be cleaned up in a graphics program to remove the background and any tiny dust spots that may have been missed when shooting. Colour correction is also needed at times and images may need to be lightened or darkened to stand out from the background. To make the images load quickly from our website, they must be as small as possible. There is always a trade-off between speed and quality, so getting just the right balance is important.</p><br/><p>Our website runs eCommerce software that does everything from showing our jewellery products and their options and pricing, searching for items that we stock and looking after the transfer of funds from PayPal when we make a sale. It is comprised of hundreds of individual programs that interact with each other to form the shopping cart sections of our website. The overall layout is now based on bootstrap, which is excellent for creating a responsive design, that views well on computers, tablets and mobile phones.</p><br/><p>Over the years we have made many custom edits to the cart software to make it do things that the software company hadn’t included. This in itself isn’t really a problem, until they release an update and we have to find and re-edit the changes we made earlier in the updated programs. As they are very active in improving their software, these updates are released more frequently than we would prefer. Thankfully, they have also included many of the ‘fixes’ we have custom written into the base product, so we have less to do each time.</p><br/><p>Web design, cart software and photographs are only a small part of what it takes to build a jewellery store in the online world. There are so many other aspects to running a successful online store, each with its challenges. As a small business, we don’t have a massive support crew to call on day and night, so it mostly is a matter of head down and bum up until a solution is found.</p><br/><p>So, would I do it all again? The same way? Hell, NO! Hindsight tells me I should find someone who had already been through all the trials and tribulations I have experienced over the past 7 years and paid them to do it for me. Having said that, I have learned a lot and if anyone needs my help to launch a new online store, I am well armed with the knowledge I wish I had when I started out.</p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-guides/articles/starting-a-jewellery-business">Starting a Jewellery Business</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-2744144802315061922017-06-06T00:37:00.000+10:002017-06-06T10:37:29.902+10:00Jewellery Care<p><a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-885" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/tangled-jewellery-300x300.jpg" alt="tangled-jewellery" width="300" height="300"/></a>We often get enquiries from our customers at <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/" target="_blank">Chain Me Up</a> as to how to properly care for their jewellery.</p><br/><p>The first and most important thing we advise is to store their jewellery correctly. The worst thing you can do is just throw all your pieces into a box or drawer. This can lead to scratches as silver and gold are quite soft and are easily damaged by scraping on the much harder stones such as rubies, diamonds and even the glass stones in fashion jewellery.</p><br/><p>It should also be noted that gold rubbing against gold or silver won’t normally cause any damage. Customers who are unaware of this will order a number of charms from our store and ask for them to be individually wrapped. They then have the charms fitted to their bracelet where they bounce against each other all day long and don’t get damaged.</p><br/><p>It fact the last thing we do with our charms before shipping them is to polish them in a tumbler. This is a rubber barrel filled with stainless steel media, the jewellery, water and a few drops of detergent. The media is made up of balls, pins and saucers (like flying saucers) and this burnishes the surface of the jewellery to harden it and create a beautiful shine. The tumbler turns the barrel for about 8 hours and everything inside is constantly rubbing against and striking the media and each other. So no, your charms won’t be damaged by shipping them all together in one pouch.</p><br/><p>If you own a number of necklaces and store them all together in a box, it is likely that you have found after time and digging through to find the necklace you want to wear, that the chains have all tangled together. Untangling a bunch of fine gold chains is about as much fun as trying to sort white sugar and brown sugar granules from a kitchen spill. The other issue here is that people get frustrated and can apply too much force in trying to untangle the mess and can damage the chains.</p><br/><p>You should store your necklaces and bracelets individually in the box or suede pouch them came in. It will stop them tangling and being scratched by gemstones. You can also hang them one to a peg from a necklace tree and this also makes it easier to find the chain that you want to wear.</p><br/><p>There are some beautiful jewellery boxes that have individual compartments for storing everything from necklaces to rings to pendants where everything can be easily seen as well as protected. The one down side to this is that all your precious jewellery can be picked up together in the event of a robbery.</p><br/><p>Should you find that you need to untangle a mess of gold chains, then there are a couple of helpful hints to make it a little easier. Lay the chains flat on tea towel or table cloth; it is easier if gravity isn’t working against you. A light sprinkle of talcum powder works like a lubricant and helps to get the different chains to separate. A couple of dress makers pins can be used to pick fine chains apart, generally this works better than your fingers, especially with very fine chains.</p><br/><p>One of the most common causes of jewellery losing its lustre is contamination. This may be soap, shampoo or conditioner if you wear your necklace or earrings in the shower. It is also common for people to apply makeup or perfume whilst wearing jewellery, this is not a good idea, put on your jewels last thing after getting made up.</p><br/><p>Silver and sterling silver can be affected by sulphur compounds which cause <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/tarnish.asp" target="_blank">tarnishing</a>. This causes the surface of the silver to slowly turn yellowish. If it is left uncleaned it will eventually turn a very dark grey. This is the same effect as ‘antiquing’ or deliberately darkening silver using liver of sulphur (a mixture of potassium sulphides). A jeweller can clean it for you or you can easily do it yourself with a homemade recipe that we have on our website.</p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-guides/articles/jewellery-care">Jewellery Care</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-77855201713707036632017-06-01T03:15:00.000+10:002017-06-01T13:15:09.090+10:00Charms for life<p><a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/solid-gold-charms-sterling-silver-charms.asp"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-880" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/fbcharms-300x300.jpg" alt="gold bracelet and charms" width="300" height="300"/></a>A quality gold or silver charm bracelet will last a lifetime and will carry the individual memories of each of your achievements. Sometimes <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/solid-gold-charms-sterling-silver-charms.asp">charms</a> are collected just because they are beautiful, but much more often the reason is much more important. Birthdays, weddings, a love of a particular sport, the musical instrument or graduating with a degree are just some of the reasons your charm bracelet keeps growing.</p><br/><p>If you are just getting the bug and starting out a charm bracelet from scratch, there are a few things to consider before taking the leap.</p><br/><p>Most people once bitten, will wear their bracelet nearly every day, some never take them off. Any jewellery that is going to be worn 24/7 needs to be great quality. It is false economy to buy cheap bracelets, they just won’t last the test of time and they could never become the family heirloom. For this reason we only recommend and sell solid precious metal chains and charms. Gold filled, gold or silver plated, rolled gold, vermeil, gold layered and gold bonded are just terms for inferior jewellery, anything other than solid gold or solid sterling silver is really just costume jewellery, and certainly something that will never be passed down through your family.</p><br/><p>The style of chain is also very important, to connect charms with a jump ring, the links in the bracelet need to be open and this is why the belcher chains are so popular with charm collectors. That’s not to say you couldn’t use any other style of chain that you find more attractive, just make sure that a jump ring can easily fit within the chain links. The other advantage of a belcher bracelet is that the links are short compared with other designs. This means that a belcher chain will have more links than a curb chain of the same length for example, the more links, the more ways you can arrange the charms.</p><br/><p>Normally a jeweller will solder the jump rings closed to make sure the charms stay connected to the the bracelet. There are other ways to connect your charms though. Parrot clasps can be used to enable you to move charms around on a bracelet or to another bracelet. For Pandora style snake chains, traditional charms can be fitted to a ‘slider’ that the snake chain fits through allowing you to mix and match bead style charms with traditional charms on the same bracelet.</p><br/><p>Link-Locks are an Australian invention that are just as secure as soldering, but you can fit them yourself. This is usually cheaper than visiting a jeweller, but it is sometimes good to have a professional look over your jewellery to spot and correct any small problems before any damage becomes a major problem. (A bit off topic, but engagement rings and other rings with precious stones should be checked yearly)</p><br/><p>When choosing the charms to add to your bracelet you will very likely be influenced more by what is important to you than anything else. If you are buying for someone else, this should be the only reason you choose a particular charm. A charm bracelet is the very important story of one’s life and the events, achievements and loves that have shaped that life.</p><br/><p>As with the bracelet chains, the quality of the charms is paramount. We only stock solid sterling silver and solid gold charms, anything else will not last, and a charm bracelet is a lifelong endeavour. If you purchase a bracelet and charms in one purchase, we can arrange them and solder the jump rings at the same time. You just have to let us know how you want your charms arranged.</p><br/><p>Poorly made charms abound on sites like eBay and you may be tempted by the ‘great’ prices. In life, if something seems to good to be true, it is. Always. Due to very poor oversight on internet market websites, many charms are made of brass and silver or gold plated and then stamped (hallmarked) as being 925 silver or 375 gold. Only buy jewellery from a reputable site and you will be assured of getting what you paid for.</p><br/><p>I’m sure we haven’t answered all of your questions, so feel free to call or email us. We are open everyday from 8am to 8pm and would love to help you to make the right decision when purchasing quality jewellery.</p><br/><p> </p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-guides/articles/charms-for-life">Charms for life</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-89728018824608386572017-05-29T02:38:00.000+10:002017-05-29T12:38:12.395+10:00Rural Jewellery Shopping<p><a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-862" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/fraserrossblog-300x300.jpg" alt="fraserrossblog" width="300" height="300"/></a>Living in rural Australia has so many benefits, clean fresh air, little traffic, room to run free and massive gardens to plant out all manner of fruit trees and vegetable gardens.</p><br/><p>One of the downsides that comes with living away from major cities though is the lack of amenities and access to great shopping opportunities. With the explosion of the internet and better access to high speed connections, what was once impossible has now become ‘the norm’, shopping online. Other than the delivery times can be longer than for those living in the cities, it matters not where you live anymore. The massive increase in on-line stores has levelled the playing field for everyone regardless of location.</p><br/><p>Most retail jewellery stores, city or country, have a limited range of products due to the high cost of having to hold stock of every conceivable design. The opposite is true of on-line stores like <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/">Chain Me Up</a>. We actually keep no products in stock at all, all of our jewellery is made to order. Not only can we have an incredibly wide range of products to choose from, most can be custom made to your exact requirements.</p><br/><p>As an example, our heaviest gold chain is available in any length, in yellow gold, rose gold and white gold. It can also be made in combinations of yellow, rose and white gold, so you could have 3 yellow links then 1 rose gold link followed by a white gold link and then the pattern repeats. You also have a choice of a parrot clasp or you could decide to opt for a filigree padlock instead. As these necklaces and bracelets are made to order any custom design is possible. For a retail store to offer this choice and have one of each on hand to buy, there would be around $8,000,000 of stock for just one style of gold chain. Clearly this is not economically viable, so the options in a retail store are limited.</p><br/><p>As we produce all of our jewellery to order, there is a small wait (normally 2 or 3 weeks) for your necklace or bracelet to be manufactured. The advantage of custom made is that you don’t have to compromise. You want a 47cm oval belcher chain necklace in rose gold with a padlock clasp? At Chain Me Up, Easy! But I  doubt you would be able to walk into a jewellery store and have them gift wrap one for you, then and there.</p><br/><p>Some people have concerns about buying on-line from a website. At Chain Me Up, we have several measures in place to alleviate those concerns. Our store is entirely run using an EV SSL certificate. This means we have undergone extensive security checks and all information passing between our website and your computer is encrypted, guaranteeing that no third parties can see the communications.</p><br/><p>We have selected PayPal to handle every credit card transaction, during the checkout phase, you are dealing with a massive global business and we never even see your credit card details.</p><br/><p>Over the past 7 years since we first launched our on-line store we have become a well trusted brand with many returning customers and referrals to friends and family of those customers. We also have a 7 day no questions return policy, this means you can buy confidently knowing that the products we supply are exactly as shown in our store and the quality of those products equals or exceeds what you will find in a retail store.</p><br/><p>Lastly our prices are extremely competitive as we largely avoid the overheads of a ‘bricks and mortar’ and not having a keep a massive inventory of products.</p><br/><p> </p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/uncategorised/rural-jewellery-shopping">Rural Jewellery Shopping</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-5488321293590411562017-05-26T13:57:00.000+10:002017-05-26T23:57:26.341+10:00Handmade Jewellery<p><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/sterling-silver-earrings-laycie-750.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-850" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/sterling-silver-earrings-laycie-750-300x300.jpg" alt="sterling-silver-earrings-laycie-750" width="300" height="300"/></a>Creating a range of handmade <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/Handmade-Jewellery-By-Chain-Me-Up.asp">sterling silver earrings and bracelets</a> has given us a chance to develop new skills and expand the range of jewellery we have in our online store.</p><br/><p>We begin with spools of 100% recycled sterling silver wires in different gauges and some pre-made findings. We chose to not create our own findings as the ones that are readily available suit our needs and reduce the amount of work in each finished product.</p><br/><p>We usually start from a design on paper, but sometimes we just play with a number of different rings we have already made and see how they fit together in various combinations. Often the designs on paper change along the way, but having an idea of what we want to achieve give us a point from which to begin.</p><br/><p>To create the rings we wind wire from the spool onto a mandrel that is about 90mm long and of the desired diameter. The smallest rings are about 4mm and this is also the size of the jump rings we make for our charms. The largest rings are about 25mm for some of our earrings, but mostly we use 6, 8 10 and 12mm rings for our bracelets.</p><br/><p> </p><br/><p><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/sterling-silver-bracelet-Celeste-no-clasp-750.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-849" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/sterling-silver-bracelet-Celeste-no-clasp-750-300x300.jpg" alt="sterling-silver-bracelet-Celeste-no-clasp-750" width="300" height="300"/></a>It’s important to keep a constant tension on the wire when loading the mandrel to get rings of consistent size. Depending on the gauge of the wire we get between 50 and 90 rings over the length of the mandrel. The spiral is removed from the mandrel and placed into a jump ring cutter. This is essentially a slotted clamp that holds the spiral firmly. A flexible shaft rotary tool is fitted with a very fine toothed circular saw blade. A special head fits the jump ring cutter and holds the saw blade aligned to the centre of the spiral. When cutting the rings, it is important to use a lubricant and a slow steady pressure to get the cleanest possible cuts.</p><br/><p>Joining the rings together is done using an argon pulse welder. Argon is an inert gas that surrounds the weld position to prevent oxygen being present when the arc is fired. The absence of oxygen prevents/reduces fire scale and the weld is strong and clean. To produce consistent weld quality we developed a jig that keeps the arc distance constant and provides a method to ensure the argon is concentrated at the weld point.</p><br/><p>With smaller ring sizes it is often easier to pre-weld and attach larger open rings that are welded around the smaller rings. When several rings all connect together, this is preferred, but not always possible depending upon the bracelet design.</p><br/><p>The important difference between the jewellery we hand make and that of many cottage/boutique jewellers, is that every link in our jewellery is welded. This creates bracelets that are much stronger and much less likely to break or deform. This is time consuming and is reflected in the pricing, but great quality is the focus of our creations and the only way to produce jewellery that will last a lifetime.</p><br/><p>As with any craft, great results can only be achieved by building from a strong foundation. This means that every step along the way, from the initial creation of each ring, with a perfect cut to the final polish must be perfect. One of the most difficult aspects of creating a bracelet or earrings is ensuring perfect alignment of the ring closure at the point of firing the arc. This takes much practice and a very steady hand and even after performing thousands of welds, it is not a fast process.</p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-guides/articles/handmade-jewellery">Handmade Jewellery</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-41939806447288196372016-08-21T06:29:00.000+10:002016-08-21T16:29:36.537+10:00End of sporting year ideas<p><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Netball-charm-chr-0263-on-45cm-LCD-40-necklace-750.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-834" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Netball-charm-chr-0263-on-45cm-LCD-40-necklace-750-300x300.jpg" alt="Netball charm (chr-0263) on 45cm LCD-40 necklace-750" width="300" height="300"/></a>The Olympics are nearly over and Usain Bolt has quite probably placed himself as the most talented athlete of all time. Who knows how long it will take to find someone who could achieve the remarkable record he has set on the track?</p><br/><p>On a local level, many sporting teams are also coming to the end of their own seasons. Often the year end presentations amount to the handing out of trophies or ribbons for the players who excelled or managed to improve over the season by the largest degree.</p><br/><p>It’s nice to show recognition to the players who perform best, but it is also important to acknowledge that every team member has made contributions to the team. The gift of a sterling silver memento of the sport they love from their club at the end of the year leaves a lasting impression and makes everyone feel appreciated.</p><br/><p>We recently had a request from a netball team in New South Wales to supply them with jewellery they could hand out to all of their players at the season presentations.</p><br/><p>They selected a solid silver netball charm from our range of netball and netballer charms and we sent them one so they could pass it around at the committee meeting. They also wished to consider a necklace but weren’t sure if it would fit into their budget.</p><br/><p>We discussed the options and they decided that a fine width long curb chain may suit, so again we sent them a sample which the committee agreed would be suitable.</p><br/><p>As they were a not for profit organisation, we managed to do a great deal on the combination of both the charm and silver chain. This made it possible for the club to provide both the charm and chain, when they thought the budget would only allow for the netball charm to be given.</p><br/><p>Of course there are many other sports, both team and individual where members are part of a club. Tennis and golf, football, soccer, gymnastics and boxing are just a few that come to mind.</p><br/><p>We have a large range of sporting charms that can be used as part of your own end of year celebrations and we welcome your enquiries.</p><br/><p>Most teams will appreciate that it is much more cost effective to purchase sterling silver, especially when there are many team members to buy for. However, for special awards, the budget can sometimes stretch to accommodate a few solid gold charms.</p><br/><p>These can be great for the captain, coach or ‘best and fairest’ to show how much they mean to the way the club functions. Where you may consider giving jewellery to the first, second and third placed competitors in a competition, yellow gold, white gold and rose gold can be used for the gold, silver and bronze medals respectively.</p><br/><p>As much as a trophy is appreciated and shows their prowess, a solid gold charm is something they will wear everyday as a constant reminder of their victory.</p><br/><p>So next time you are planning an awards ceremony, season breakup or awards for a competition, drop by our website for some fresh ideas.</p><br/><p> </p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/gold-silver-charms/sport-and-games-charms/end-of-sporting-year-ideas">End of sporting year ideas</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-37656177610244277842016-05-02T12:40:00.000+10:002016-05-02T22:40:55.093+10:00On Sale Now<p>We have limited stock of the following products and they are all priced to clear.</p><br/><a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-on-sale-specials.asp"><img class="alignnone" src="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/sale-images/3%20120gm-335.jpg" alt="" width="335" height="335"/></a><br/><p>50cm sterling silver ‘GM’ necklace<br/><br/>7.5mm wide, 33g – ONE available – $160</p><br/><p> </p><br/><a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-on-sale-specials.asp"><img src="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/sale-images/3%20curb60-335.jpg" alt=""/></a><br/><p>60cm sterling silver curb necklace<br/><br/>6.9mm wide, 81g – One Available – $400</p><br/><p> </p><br/><a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-on-sale-specials.asp"><img src="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/sale-images/3%20180c-cf2-335.jpg" alt=""/></a><br/><p>19cm curb bracelet with filigree padlock<br/><br/>6.6mm wide, 23g – TWO available – $115</p><br/><p> </p><br/><a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-on-sale-specials.asp"><img src="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/cha-images/eye%20of%20horus%20charm%20(cha-1605)-335.jpg" alt=""/></a><br/><p>9ct Yellow gold Eye of Horus charm<br/><br/>21mm x 17mm – ONE Available – $65</p><br/><p> </p><br/><a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-on-sale-specials.asp"><img src="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/prodimages/mcp1-335.jpg" alt=""/><img src="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/prodimages/mcp2-335.jpg" alt=""/><img src="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/prodimages/mcp3-335.jpg" alt=""/><img src="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/prodimages/mcp4-335.jpg" alt=""/><img src="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/prodimages/mcp5-335.jpg" alt=""/><img src="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/prodimages/mcp6-335.jpg" alt=""/><img src="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/prodimages/mcp7-335.jpg" alt=""/></a><br/><p>MEGA Charm Pack – 101 sterling silver charms<br/><br/>Regular Price – $867, ONE Available at $495</p><br/><p>See all our sale items at <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-on-sale-specials.asp">https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-on-sale-specials.asp</a></p><br/><p> </p><br/><p> </p><br/><p> </p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/solid-gold-chains/medium-gold-chains/on-sale-now">On Sale Now</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-1253396715721150282016-04-24T11:02:00.000+10:002016-04-24T21:02:36.517+10:00Men"s Chains on a Budget<p><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/dollar-pendant.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-822" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/dollar-pendant-204x300.jpg" alt="dollar pendant" width="204" height="300"/></a>Today I had a lady enquire about buying a gold chain necklace for her partner. She had a budget of around $500 to $800 and was determined to find something in that price range come hell or high water.</p><br/><p>We normally recommend that a necklace for a man is at least 5mm thick, anything less than that can lack masculinity. As men would usually wear a necklace around 55cm to 60cm in length, the minimum price is closer to a range of $1000 to $1200 dollars for our lighter style figaro or belcher chains.</p><br/><p>More masculine chains with a thicker heavier link as you would find in a round curb are closer to the $1800+ mark. It is important that you understand that a manly gold necklace will be fairly weighty and that is the single biggest factor when calculating price.</p><br/><p>Not long after we first opened our <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/">online jewellery store</a>, a lady bought her husband a 1.2mm thick 40cm chain necklace.</p><br/><p>It was around $90 and she said she thought it was 1.2cm wide. Now 12mm is quite a thick chain and I’m not sure why she thought it would be possible to buy one for less than $100, I guess she hadn’t been anywhere near a jewellery store to do some research and comparisons.</p><br/><p>Think about that for a moment.</p><br/><p>It was way too short to fit around his neck, and very delicate and fine. She thought she was doing the right thing by buying him a solid gold chain, but really hadn’t thought it through properly. Such a gift is very likely never to be worn, even if it was long enough. Being the nice guys we are, we allowed her to return it and gave her a refund.</p><br/><p>The only time a man should wear a thin gold necklace is when it holds a pendant, ring or cross that is in proportion to the chain. A delicate gold necklace should never be worn alone by a man.</p><br/><p>Everyone, I’m sure, would love to be able to give their partner a thick solid gold chain necklace or bracelet, but not everyone has the budget that allows it. I strongly recommend NEVER buying a piece of jewellery for a man that is less than masculine, it will be a complete waste of money. It will cause him to be embarrassed because it really won’t be what he wants, and it will find its way to the bottom of his sock drawer, never to be seen again.</p><br/><p>Personally, I believe it would be much better to look at silver necklaces, if you want to keep in the $500 to $800 range. We have some really solid, beautiful and manly chains that sit right in that price range and will make your man proud to wear them. Ok, they aren’t gold, but solid sterling silver is a quality material that rivals gold for beauty and is priced at a level many more people can afford.</p><br/><p>Many men prefer to wear silver toned jewellery, so if you can’t afford to lash out on white gold, sterling silver is just as attractive and far more reasonably priced.</p><br/><p>If they really must wear yellow gold, and price is not a concern, then go for it, solid gold.</p><br/><p>A gold plated sterling silver chain (vermeil) will look great for a month or two and then it will begin to look terrible as the plating wears through.</p><br/><p>Don’t do it!</p><br/><p>It is a waste of money, stick to sterling silver or if you really must have gold, buy a gold plated brass chain for a lot less money. At least then when you throw it away it won’t have cost you a fortune.</p><br/><p>The other advantage of sterling silver is that you can have a thicker more masculine necklace at a very reasonable price and it will last a lifetime if made well.</p><br/><p>The major disadvantage of sterling silver is that it will tarnish over time and need more regular cleaning than solid gold will. Fortunately it is really easy to restore that brand new look to silver jewellery with a glass bowl, a square of aluminium foil, some baking soda and salt and a little hot water. We have an article on our website that shows how easy it really is to <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/cleaning-techniques.asp">clean silver jewellery</a>.</p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/solid-gold-chains/thick-gold-chains/mens-chains-on-a-budget">Men"s Chains on a Budget</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-3924007772818561892016-04-12T07:25:00.002+10:002016-04-12T07:25:03.630+10:00Young Girls and Marriage Breakdowns<p>How can you stay<a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/separation.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-805" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/separation-300x300.jpg" alt="separation" width="300" height="300"/></a> close to your daughter when time and distance push you apart? A <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/solid-gold-charms-sterling-silver-charms.asp">charm bracelet</a> may just hold the key to her heart.</p><br/><p>The separation of parents can make it more difficult for fathers to maintain a close relationship with their daughters. It normally means you will spend less time together and sometimes you may even live at a distance that makes regular face to face visits difficult.</p><br/><p>As the child becomes a teenager and starts to search for her own identity, there may an emotional gap that begins to widen too. The teenage years are when girls are transitioning from childhood to adulthood and beginning to really develop a sense of self. During this time they can push aside their parents and start to take control of their lives and make their own decisions.</p><br/><p>For better or worse they will have to live with the consequences of the choices they make during a period where the guidance of the parents may have less of an influence on them.</p><br/><p>It can be easy to be critical of their choices when they seem to be completely ignoring the advice you give, knowing what you do now, until you remember how much you thought you knew at their age. Being there to support them and letting them know how important they are to you and how much you love them, is the often the best you can do.</p><br/><p>Adolescence is very probably the most difficult and confusing time of our lives. Just when we are discovering our values and the ethics that we will embrace, Mother Nature loads us full of hormones and randomly turns our world upside down.</p><br/><p>There’s nothing you can do about nature’s cruel chemical attack but you can reinforce the love you have for your not so little girl.</p><br/><p>When you don’t have daily contact because of a relationship breakdown it may help to have a reminder of your love that she will always have close at hand.</p><br/><p>A wonderful way you can do this is with a charm bracelet. It will always be right there with her to remind her of you. Over time and on birthdays and Christmas you can add charms to celebrate achievements and events that have a positive meaning in her life.</p><br/><p>Even as she passes into adulthood, a t will have many more opportunities to grow as she turns 21, and then marries and has children. What a lovely way to keep a record of the important milestones because of the special gift you gave from your heart.</p><br/><p><a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/">Fraser Ross</a> has many quality sold gold and sterling silver bracelets to choose from and over 4600 different charms so you can always find the perfect mementos to suit your special girl. Quality will last forever and one day your grandchild will love something that was so special to her mother.</p><br/><p>A charm bracelet is so much more than a stunning piece of jewellery.</p><br/><p>It is a precious diary of all you hold dear, the achievements you have reached and the things that you love. In the same way you write in a paper diary, you add a new love, experience or success to your bracelet with a new gold or silver charm – To Remember.</p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/solid-gold-chains/charm-bracelet-chains-solid-gold-chains/young-girls-and-marriage-breakdowns">Young Girls and Marriage Breakdowns</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-87965519334533277892016-04-05T09:38:00.002+10:002016-04-05T09:38:26.447+10:00Online Jewellery Stores<p><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/shop-online.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-802" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/shop-online-300x225.jpg" alt="shop online" width="300" height="225"/></a>Today we are taking a look at the pro’s and con’s of shopping at an <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/">online jewellery store</a>.</p><br/><h3>Pro’s</h3><br/><h5>Lower Pricing</h5><br/><p>Online stores have lower overheads than their retail store rivals and often can offer much better pricing on the same or similar jewellery. Retail stores often have very high markups to compensate for the 50% off sales they seem to run every two weeks. Online stores tend to keep their prices relatively stable, but may have special offers from time to time where you could save further.</p><br/><h5>Open All Hours</h5><br/><p>An online store runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week which makes it very convenient to shop when the mood takes you. Retail stores have fixed hours and these may not suit someone working long hours away from shopping centres. Customers living in rural areas may not have access to more than one or two small jewellery shops without considerable travel, whereas shopping online opens the doors to many jewellery stores without leaving your seat.</p><br/><h5>Product Range</h5><br/><p>The range of products available from a single online store can be considerable and may well match or exceed that of a bricks and mortar store. Some websites have a smaller range of products that won’t compete with a large retailer. However the range available from the websites of all the online jewellers well exceeds that of any single retail shop. Some online jewellers will have a range of products that are exclusive and cannot be found anywhere else as well as other manufacturers products.</p><br/><h5>Payment Choices</h5><br/><p>Most web based jewellers will accept the same credit cards you could use in person, but may well offer additional payment methods. PayPal is probably the most widely used online payment gateway and it also gives a level of protection to the buyer if things go wrong. Many stores offer additional processors including AmzonPayments, Authorize.Net, WorldPay, Paygate or Eway.</p><br/><h5>Product Comparisons</h5><br/><p>Having so many stores available at the click of a mouse gives customers a great opportunity to make comparisons between the products, services and pricing of different stores. Two or more shops may have the same products available and it would be wise to consider not only the pricing of the product, but the shipping and handling fees and delivery times. You should also consider the amount of time each store has been in business and the customer satisfaction levels of each. A simple search will provide the thoughts and experiences of previous customers experiences with the business you are considering purchasing from.</p><br/><h5>Product Reviews</h5><br/><p>Many online stores will follow up their customers after a sale with a request to provide their feedback on a purchase. This feedback can be invaluable in determining not only the product itself, but the service they received. As these reviews are entirely voluntary, bear in mind that people are more likely to respond to leaving reviews if they were disappointed or exceptionally pleased with the product or service. These reviews should be a good guide as to the service you might expect to receive, especially if there is a trend across many product reviews.</p><br/><h3>Con’s</h3><br/><h5>Trust</h5><br/><p>This is probably the biggest single issue when customers are considering a purchase from an online store. There are many smaller retailers and boutique jewellers that are not household names, and these businesses can have trouble establishing trust with new clients.</p><br/><p>Anyone can write anything they like on a website, so customer reviews are often viewed with a level of suspicion.</p><br/><p>Look for a business running a secure website with an EV (extended validation) certificate. A thorough check must be done by the issuing entity before an EV certificate can be implemented.</p><br/><p>Search the business name with these additional words – scam, problems, reviews. This will reveal any complaints about the business which you should consider before buying. Although rare, some negative reviews are written by competitors, so keep that possibility in mind.</p><br/><h5>Delivery Times</h5><br/><p>Normally there will be a delay of a few days or weeks between placing your order and receiving it. Products need to be packaged, labelled and shipped by the store and then there is a delivery time set by the courier. Stores where the products are made to order, like Fraser Ross, will take longer to deliver than stores where the jewellery is held waiting for despatch. The store should have information on expected delivery times and charges clearly listed.</p><br/><h5>Touch and Feel</h5><br/><p>You obviously can’t touch and feel the products when buying online. To compensate for this, the website should have detailed information and photos and be clear with their dimensions, materials and weights.</p><br/><p>A fair returns policy should allow you to return the goods if they don’t match the description on the website without any penalty to you.</p><br/><h3>Summary</h3><br/><p>It is possible to purchase online and be very pleased with the outcome.</p><br/><p>Be diligent and investigate the store if you have not dealt with them before.</p><br/><p>Even large national stores that are household names don’t always provide exception products and service, a quick business name search with ‘review’ will quickly show who they are.</p><br/><p>Small businesses often provide exceptional products and service and rely on word of mouth to grow their businesses.</p><br/><p>A recommendation from a friend who has shopped there previously can be more valuable than any claims printed on a website.</p><br/><p> </p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-guides/articles/online-jewellery-stores">Online Jewellery Stores</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-57221246590829168932016-04-02T13:16:00.002+10:002016-04-02T13:16:02.181+10:00Recycle your Jewellery, but be careful.<a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/scrap-gold.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-779" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/scrap-gold-300x199.jpg" alt="scrap gold" width="300" height="199"/></a><br/><h3>What do you do with old jewellery you no longer wear?</h3><br/><p>Maybe you have an old <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/9ct-solid-gold-chains-necklaces-bracelets.asp">gold chain necklace</a> that has broken and it sits at the bottom of your drawer gathering dust.</p><br/><p>Why not consider selling it as scrap and use the money to buy something new? (or pay down your credit card)</p><br/><p>This seems like a good idea, as even broken jewellery has a value for the precious metals it contains.</p><br/><p>Jewellery that is in good condition may well be worth more than the scrap value if you can find a buyer.</p><br/><h3>Do I sell or scrap?</h3><br/><p>No matter the condition of your jewellery, the lowest price you should get is the scrap value of the piece.</p><br/><p>With broken jewellery, the scrap value is the best price you will be able to achieve.</p><br/><p>If your jewellery is in good condition, consider selling it as is. You should achieve a price above the scrap value, but if it doesn’t sell you can always decide to scrap it later.</p><br/><p>There are many places you can sell your jewellery on-line including eBay, Gumtree and the Trading Post. If you have a Facebook account, you could consider letting your friends know you have jewellery for sale too.</p><br/><h3>How can I tell what the scrap value is?</h3><br/><p>In the case of a piece of solid gold jewellery, there are a couple of factors.</p><br/><ul><li>How much does it weigh?</li><br/><li>What is the carat of the gold?</li><br/></ul><p>The weight for scrap is the weight of the gold components in the jewellery. You need to remove any stones and the spring steel in the clasps for an accurate weight.</p><br/><p>The carat of the gold should be stamped into the piece. It will be written as a carat – i.e. 9ct,  14ct, 18ct or as a number 375, 583, 750.</p><br/><p>The actual value of the gold in the jewellery is</p><br/><ul><li>the weight in grams <strong>x</strong> the carat <strong>/</strong> 24 <strong>x</strong> the current price per gram for gold.</li><br/><li>the weight in grams <strong>x</strong> the number <strong>/</strong> 1000 <strong>x</strong> the current price per gram of gold.</li><br/></ul><p>The <a href="http://www.kitco.com/" target="_blank">current price for gold</a> can be found here.</p><br/><h3>How much will I get paid?</h3><br/><p>The best place to sell your scrap is to a bullion dealer (or precious metal refiner). They will give you the best price, which is normally around 90 to 95% of the gold value. They will not pay for any other precious metals in the jewellery. So a 9ct chain will have some silver and copper as well as the gold, but you will only be paid for the gold content.</p><br/><p>Pawn shops will normally offer you about 30 to 50% of the gold value even if your jewellery can be sold as is. They are not the best place to sell your jewellery unless you are prepared to take a low price but get paid straight away. They are in business to make a profit and if they can’t sell your jewellery quickly, will turn it into scrap, so they must have a margin between the scrap price and what they pay you (even if it is huge!)</p><br/><p>Gold buyers in shopping malls will normally offer a very low amount, similar to pawn shops, so avoid these too unless you need the money right now.</p><br/><p>There has been a surge in the number of businesses that buy your gold on-line. Typically they will send you a ‘kit’ in the post which has some information and an envelope to put your jewellery into and post to them. Most of these places don’t show the current price they are paying and have been known to pay well under the prices you could expect from a bullion dealer. Proceed very carefully.</p><br/><h3>Other Options</h3><br/><p>If you have other things to sell, you might consider having a garage sale, a market stall or a car boot sale. Make sure you know what the scrap value is, and never sell for less than this amount.</p><br/><p>You could also take your jewellery to a jeweller and have them use the gold to make you something new. That way you should only be paying them for their labour and creativity.</p><br/><p> </p><br/><p> </p><br/><p> </p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/solid-gold-chains/charm-bracelet-chains-solid-gold-chains/recycle-your-jewellery-but-be-careful">Recycle your Jewellery, but be careful.</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-78981050537340053412016-03-28T09:15:00.002+10:002016-03-28T09:15:30.981+10:0050% Off (half price) Scams<h3>50% off – WHAT A BARGAIN! – NOT!</h3><br/><p>Have you ever wondered how the major jewellery retailers can have a ‘<a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/half-price-scams.asp">half price</a>‘ sale every two weeks and NOT go out of business?</p><br/><p>We will lift the lid on these legal but immoral practices that are designed to fool the consumer (you) into thinking that you got a great deal when in fact you didn’t.</p><br/><h3><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/half-price-man-on-50.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-754" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/half-price-man-on-50-300x300.jpg" alt="half-price-man-on-50" width="300" height="300"/></a>Fact 1</h3><br/><p>Retailers buy direct from a manufacturer or wholesaler and ‘mark up’ the price of the item to sell in their retail business.<br/><br/>This occurs in all businesses and the price mark up has to pay for the running costs of the business.<br/><br/>Running costs include rents, wages, power bills, telephones, advertising etc.</p><br/><p>A business operates to produce a profit, so the sales must outweigh the costs.<br/><br/>Charging for labour, or making a ‘margin’ on sales are the two most frequent ways for a business to run at a profit.</p><br/><h3>Fact 2</h3><br/><p>Retailers regularly selling goods at 50% off ARE NOT losing money on the sale. *in 99% of cases unless clearing items that don’t sell etc.<br/><br/>This means the ‘regular’ price is incredibly inflated above the cost of the product they pay to the manufacturer or wholesaler.</p><br/><h3>Fact 3</h3><br/><p>For an item to be sold at 50% off, and not lose money, the store must AT LEAST double their own cost; just to break even.<br/><br/>Think about this (where the retailer often has 50% off sales):</p><br/><h4 style="padding-left: 30px;">This doesn’t happen</h4><br/><ul><li>Buy a widget for $100 from the manufacturer.</li><br/><li>Price tag it for $200 for sale in your store.</li><br/><li>Profit to store $100.</li><br/></ul><ul><li><span style="line-height: 1.5;">Buy a widget for $100 from the manufacturer.</span></li><br/><li>Price tag it for $200 for sale in your store.</li><br/><li>Have a 50% off sale and sell the widget for $100.</li><br/><li><span style="color: #ff0000;">Profit to store $0.00 – Really, why would you do this?</span></li><br/></ul><h4 style="padding-left: 30px;">This does happen</h4><br/><ul><li>Buy a widget for $100 from the manufacturer.</li><br/><li>Price tag it for $400 for sale in your store. As a <em>minimum</em>.</li><br/><li>Profit to store $300.</li><br/></ul><ul><li>Buy a widget for $100 from the manufacturer.</li><br/><li>Price tag it for $400 for sale in your store.</li><br/><li>Have a 50% off sale and sell the widget for $200.</li><br/><li><span style="color: #ff0000;">Profit to store $100.00 –  This is what really happens.</span></li><br/></ul><h4>Fact 4</h4><br/><p>The first jewellery manufacturer I dealt with supplied a very large national retailer of jewellery exactly the same jewellery I was buying (at the same price).</p><br/><p>They would ship directly to the retailers’ central warehouse, from where the jewellery would be shipped out to the individual stores.</p><br/><p>The manufacturer was provided with the retailers branded price tags and pre-priced the jewellery for the retailer (at the price they were told by the retailer)</p><br/><p>What absolutely stunned me at the time was the REAL markup that the retailer was applying to the jewellery they were selling.</p><br/><p>I saw silver chains with <span style="color: #ff0000;">retail price</span> tags of <span style="color: #ff0000;">$350.00</span> being packaged for the stores. These same silver chains were <span style="color: #ff0000;">costing me $50.00</span> from the factory.</p><br/><p>This means that the store was making a <span style="color: #ff0000;">profit of $300</span> on a chain that cost them just $50.00 on a <span style="color: #ff0000;">day to day</span> basis.</p><br/><p>This means that the store was making a <span style="color: #ff0000;">profit of $125.00</span> on a chain that cost them just$50.00 during their <span style="color: #ff0000;">50% off sales</span>.</p><br/><p> </p><br/><p>Next time you’re tempted into buying something because it is ONLY half price, you may wish to consider if that retailer often has half price sales; and if so, do you really want to support a business that will rip you off blind every other day of the year?</p><br/><p> </p><br/><p> </p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-guides/articles/50-off-half-price-scams">50% Off (half price) Scams</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-66325103601042467672016-03-19T09:46:00.002+10:002016-03-19T09:46:43.805+10:00About Chain Me Up<p><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/charm-bracelets.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-741" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/charm-bracelets-300x211.jpg" alt="charm-bracelets" width="300" height="211"/></a>Chain Me Up has emerged in the jewellery market as an expert in custom-made jewellery chains and charms made in solid gold, silver and sterling silver.</p><br/><p>In early 2010, Chain Me Up was just a small online store selling a limited variety of gold and silver chains for bracelets, anklets and necklaces. Ross Fraser is the founder of Chain Me Up, and his 10 years of experience working for a local chain manufacturer prompted him to open his very own jewellery store. His time as a computer technician meant that friends and family were always putting in requests for precious metal chains at the manufacturer’s price, so Ross was inspired to start his own business to provide them with gold and silver chains at affordable prices.</p><br/><p>Chain Me Up originally specialized in just precious metal chains, but before long Ross gathered a few more manufacturers from his native Australia into the fold. Charms made of solid 9ct gold and sterling silver were added to the lineup of products. Each charm is original and handmade, but the initial count of different styles was only 700. After finding another producer, the selection quickly grew to almost 4000 charm styles. In order to make <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/solid-gold-charms-sterling-silver-charms.asp">charm bracelets</a> more customisable, Chain Me Up started to offer open or closed jump rings as an option for attaching charms to bracelets.</p><br/><p>More requests for different options came in, and parrot clasps were added as well because they allow the customer to attach and reattach charms to different bracelets with ease. Link locks became another popular option because customers could assemble their charm bracelet on their own and securely lock the charms in place without having to pay a jeweler to do it. Shoppers who wanted to turn charms into earrings were able to do so with the addition of shepherd hooks. The shepherd hooks acted as earring findings and were added to the choice of fittings when ordering charms.</p><br/><p>As if these options weren’t varied enough, every chain and charm is orderable in yellow, rose or white gold, and also in sterling silver. This wide variety of choices can’t be seen in traditional high street shops. Being able to customise orders to this degree has become Chain Me Up’s main focus. The company prides itself in supplying customers with high quality precious metal jewellery, affordable prices and reasonable delivery time frames. The sheer number of choices means that there’s a certain wait time for each order, but the level of customisation Chain Me Up provides is worth the time it takes.</p><br/><p>Over the years, more selection and store items have been added to the product range. More and more options are added every year. The most recent additions are the selection of pendants and bangles requested by some of Chain Me Up’s returning customers. After being impressed by the service they received and requesting these items, Chain Me Up came through and now offers over 550 pendants and 100 bangle designs available with precious and semi-precious gemstones.</p><br/><p>When trading began, Chain Me Up’s two main objectives were simple. Number one was to have the widest product range possible in order to meet customers’ needs and individual tastes. Every request is important; if a customer asks for a necklace that’s 95cm long, they should be able to get it. This dedication to customers is one of the main differences between Chain Me Up and other jewellery stores that only offer jewellery as is at a set price. True, strange requests have been asked of Chain Me Up, but rare is the occasion where a request cannot be filled.</p><br/><p>The second objective was to stay true to Australian heritage and stock only local products. Since their opening, Chain Me Up has worked with quite a few different manufacturers, some of which have come and gone as the market continues to shrink. However, over 95% of Chain Me Up’s stock is made locally, while only 5% is from overseas suppliers. A little creativity and ingenuity was needed to find local manufacturers, as other jewellery companies tend to play things close to the vest. A company’s suppliers are practically trade secrets.</p><br/><p>In order to grow their product line and offer even more variety, new manufacturers who produced products Chain Me Up hadn’t yet stocked were found. Chain Me Up’s reluctance to stock rings was merely because of the difficulty of properly sizing the ring for the customer. Luckily, some simple recoding allowed the company to provide an online ring sizing application, as well as new and improved e-commerce software for customising size, material, length and clasp type.</p><br/><p>Chain Me Up’s customer base consists of satisfied, returning customers who make sure to recommend the retailer to friends and family. New customers shop their selection daily. Online chat and phone support are available from 8am to 8pm on any day of the week. Chain Me Up’s dedicated customer service representatives are ready and willing to answer any questions you may have.</p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/gold-silver-charms/charms-of-a-birthday/about-chain-me-up">About Chain Me Up</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-60285925112634874832016-03-11T06:29:00.002+10:002016-03-11T06:29:40.987+10:00Real Customer Service<a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/service.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-736" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/service-300x212.jpg" alt="service" width="300" height="212"/></a><br/><p>Fantastic service, great product,<br/><br/>I ordered a chain and received a call not long after from one of the members of staff who was processing my order. He enquired about the size necklace I was after (custom order) and said it would be too small and advised another size. Turns out he was correct, and the new size fits like a dream. I was so grateful for the call, and pleased to see they care about customer service: they could have just taken my money and made the wrong size. Have used this company for a while for silver chains – and will keep coming back.<br/><br/>Serena</p><br/><p>Hi there,<br/><br/>just wanted to let you know that I received my order today and I am very pleased with the charms. Thank you.<br/><br/>Kind regards,<br/><br/>Linda</p><br/><p>Morning Ross,<br/><br/>Just got back from picking up my charms. As I was expecting no dissapointment. I love them. Now my partner will link them up to my bracelet. Many thanks. Will definately keep in touch.<br/><br/>Anabella Jarmine.;)</p><br/><p>Hello Ross,<br/><br/>Necklace arrived at noon today, Glenda say’s to thank you for your efforts and that she is delighted with her 50th wedding anniversary present [ she was able to wear it at our special luncheon today ].<br/><br/>Kind Regards,<br/><br/>Mervyn</p><br/><p>I received the 5 link locks yesterday. Prompt and reliable service. I’m impressed with the wide range of your products. I will definitely shop with you in the future. Most of all I’m interested in bracelet charms. I wish more businesses offered service you provide.<br/><br/>Anabelle Jarmine. happy customer.:)</p><br/><p>Good Afternoon<br/><br/>My chain arrived this morning, I love it. Regards<br/><br/>Pauline.</p><br/><p>Ross<br/><br/>Thank you very much for your help while ordering the links.surely will shop with you in the future. Had a look at your selection and I like it.your service was exceptional.<br/><br/>Anabelle.</p><br/><p>Hi there,<br/><br/>Just to let you know I have received my beautiful love birds charm. Thank you so much for excellent customer service. Rest assured I shall return for future purchases.<br/><br/>Judy</p><br/><p>Hi Graham,<br/><br/>received the chain this morning and could not be happier with it, beautiful & I will definitely be getting myself one next year & I will be passing your business onto friends and families! Thank you again and wish you and your family a very happy Christmas & New Years<br/><br/>Janine</p><br/><p>Hi Fraser Ross<br/><br/>Just wish to advise that I have received my order and it is just beautiful. Very happy. Thank you.<br/><br/>Suzanne</p><br/><p>Hi Ross<br/><br/>The beautiful cross arrived today and we are over the moon. It is really exactly what I wanted.<br/><br/>Many thanks and best wishes.<br/><br/>Diana Schofield</p><br/><p>Hello – I purchased a white gold bracelet and charm from you some time ago and was very happy with my purchase.<br/><br/>I am buying this charm for my granddaughter and was hoping, if at all possible, to receive the charm by early next week.<br/><br/>Kind regards<br/><br/>Teresa</p><br/><p>Hi Fraser Ross<br/><br/>Just a quick note to say I received my order today and I am absolutely thrilled with it.<br/><br/>I had been looking for years for a 9 ct. yellow gold pentagram. The workmanship is exquisite.<br/><br/>Thank you.<br/><br/>Suzanne</p><br/><p>Delivered…just love my new chain…I have hung a giant heart and spinner onto the chain…looks wonderful!<br/><br/>Thank you Susan</p><br/><p>Dear Ross<br/><br/>My parcel arrived safely this morning. I am really very grateful that you managed to get my order to me so quickly and in time for me to pack into my bags to take on holidays tomorrow. It is my daughter’s birthday while we are away so I have something very beautiful (and small) to give to her.<br/><br/>Our daughter has a lovely charm bracelet that her Dad gave to her when she was born and every year we buy her charms for her birthday to add to this bracelet. Each charm represents something wonderful or exciting that happened within that last year. It truly is a time capsule and a wonderful idea.<br/><br/>The charms from you are probably two of the best I have seen so I will no doubt be buying more from you in the future. Your range is quite extensive as well which makes buying the right charm for the right occasion so much easier.<br/><br/>So very big thank you for all of your help in getting these charms to me and in time. I have also appreciated you keeping me up to date with where my order was so I had no need to stress about it at all. Thank you also for pushing your suppliers to ensure my order was filled. It really has been so nice of you.<br/><br/>Thanks again and kind regards<br/><br/>Elizabeth Mackie</p><br/><p>Hi,<br/><br/>I received my order yesterday. Many thanks for excellent customer service. I am very happy with the final product.<br/><br/>Allison</p><br/><p>Hi Ross,<br/><br/>Just letting you know I received my order today. All good, thanks very much and the Gold Care Kit gift is a nice touch and much appreciated. It will come in handy.<br/><br/>Kind regards,<br/><br/>Carmen</p><br/><p>Hi Ross,<br/><br/>Just wanted to let you know that the chain arrived today and it is exactly what i was after! Thank you so much for your help and speedy responses.<br/><br/>Cheers,<br/><br/>Anne</p><br/><p>Thanks again for your personal service. The charms you sent me in November last year were just perfect and they arrived in record time for my daughter’s birthday!<br/><br/>Kind regards,<br/><br/>Sally Wood</p><br/><p>Thanks very much for the speedy delivery Ross.<br/><br/>Received the charms last week, but was delayed getting to the post office.<br/><br/>They look great.<br/><br/>David.</p><br/><p>Hi there,<br/><br/>I just wanted to thank you for your wonderful products and service. My 9ct pentagram charm arrived today and it’s beautiful! Very happy!<br/><br/>Thanks again, have a great weekend.<br/><br/>Regards<br/><br/>Michelle</p><br/><p>Dear Ross,<br/><br/>Thank you for sending my order. It arrived yesterday and I am very happy with it. This charm has been purchased in memory of my husband and I am sure he would have been very pleased with the detail on the bike.<br/><br/>Regards Diane Smiles.</p><br/><p>Dear Ross<br/><br/>Thank you for the information. The last charms I purchased were for a special purpose. My mum passed away in New Zealand and my sister and I could not get to see her before she passed. My sister was very close to mum so I made her a little hanging of crystals and in it I wove the knitting, reading, flower and doll charms as these were all things my mother loved.<br/><br/>My sister has hung it up where she can see it.<br/><br/>It was good to create something with personal meaning from these charms.<br/><br/>I was so happy to find them among your products.<br/><br/>Kind regards<br/><br/>Jocelyn</p><br/><p>Hello Ross,<br/><br/>I wish every success with your business you have truly given exceptional customer service and this I am very thankful for.<br/><br/>Kind regards<br/><br/>Denise Bowness</p><br/><p>Love your products, my husband and sons found your site before I did so got me a charm for my birthday. Very happy with it and the other one that I recently purchased.<br/><br/>Thanks<br/><br/>Lois Wilson</p><br/><p>Received chain today. Am very happy with service and product. Will definitely buy from you again.<br/><br/>Thanks<br/><br/>Glenda</p><br/><p>Thank you Chain Me Up I received my order and it is awesome<br/><br/>Cheers<br/><br/>Graham Waring</p><br/><p>Thanks for my charm, received to-day.<br/><br/>I am very happy with it.<br/><br/>Please send me some of your pamphlets and I will put them on my work notice board.<br/><br/>Thanks Daphne Morgan</p><br/><p>Dear Ross,<br/><br/>my purchase has arrived safely and it is EXACTLY as you described.<br/><br/>Thank you SO much!<br/><br/>I would love to leave some positive feedback for your wonderful customer service – how do I find the Customer Feedback page or do I just email you at this address?<br/><br/>Thank you so much – a ten year old niece will be VERY pleased!!<br/><br/>Cheers,<br/><br/>Barbra</p><br/><p>Thank you for the charms I ordered. Loved them so much I’m replacing some older ones that aren’t as nice as yours!<br/><br/>Kim</p><br/><p>Ross,<br/><br/>Thanks very much. It looks great!<br/><br/>Kind Regards,<br/><br/>James</p><br/><p>Yes. Have received my items. Thank you they are lovely. Will be a returning customer for sure.<br/><br/>Stacey.</p><br/><p>I recently purchased some charms for my bracelet from chain me up, I am sorry I did now as they make the ones I purchased from our local jewellers look cheap and nasty, the price was the same but the quality and size left the jewellers for dead, I was absolutely blown away with them, I wish I had found your web site much earlier. Thank you chain me up I will only buy my charms from you from now on.<br/><br/>Yvonne Ratcliffe</p><br/><p>Hi.<br/><br/>It’s Beau-Marie Mann. I’ve received the necklace and it’s perfect.<br/><br/>Thank u.</p><br/><p>Received my goods and I am very happy with them all, very good quality, the wait was well worth it. browsing for my next order thank you chain me up<br/><br/>Yvonne Ratcliffe</p><br/><p>Hey Ross,<br/><br/>received the goods. Absolutely amazing thank you heaps. Looks amazing!<br/><br/>Alex</p><br/><p>Thanks for your delivery.<br/><br/>On checking them I am very happy with my order.<br/><br/>Cheers Helen</p><br/><p>Hi Ross<br/><br/>Just a quick note to let you know that the charm arrived today!<br/><br/>Thank you for your speedy service and for checking with me today that I had received it.<br/><br/>The Tea Pot charm is great – very happy – thank you!!<br/><br/>Regards<br/><br/>Yvette</p><br/><p>Good afternoon Ross,<br/><br/>Thank you for your email, the charm arrived on Friday afternoon.<br/><br/>I appreciate the effort you put in getting this charm for me.<br/><br/>Bronwyn</p><br/><p>Hi Ross,<br/><br/>Many thanks for speedy delivery on this. Arrived today. Very happy.<br/><br/>I was unable to find this in any Brisbane jewellery store.<br/><br/>Thanks Again<br/><br/>Andrew Skerman</p><br/><p>Ross,<br/><br/>The chains have arrived already… Great work (both in product and service).<br/><br/>Geoff</p><br/><p>Received my order yesterday and totally love them!!!!<br/><br/>Thank you very much. I will be back.<br/><br/>Hopefully you can help me find a boot similar to this one without the 4 figure price tag…. (Louis Vuitton)<br/><br/>Cass Jeffery</p><br/><p>Hi Ross,<br/><br/>I’ve just received my chain and bracelet, they are beautiful, however I am wondering if they have been stamped 9ct, I can’t seem to find a stamp on the chains? There does appear to be a stamp on the clasp, but not on the chain, should the chains also be stamped?<br/><br/>Thanks,<br/><br/>Angela<br/><br/>(our reply) The clasp is the only place where a chain is hallmarked, most charms are also hallmarked, but some are too small. Nonetheless, they are 925 sterling silver or 9ct gold.</p><br/><p>Thank you for your service Ross. The charms are lovely.<br/><br/>Thanks<br/><br/>Christine</p><br/><p>Hi Ross,<br/><br/>Just wanted to say thanks, love it, its perfect. I may get a slightly smaller one made for the super skinny girls though. I also wondered if you could give me an indicative quote for the same thing in gold. Don’t mean to sound cheap but the cheapest option please!<br/><br/>Many thanks again and I will be in touch very soon.<br/><br/>Kind regards,<br/><br/>Lisa</p><br/><p>Thanks Ross<br/><br/>Arrived today… looks great.<br/><br/>Thanks mate.<br/><br/>Dan</p><br/><p>Ross,<br/><br/>thanx for the call.<br/><br/>Great, Best customer support,<br/><br/>Ever.<br/><br/>Thanks Mate.<br/><br/>Jez</p><br/><p>Ross,<br/><br/>I just received my Charm (Baby booties). they are beautiful.<br/><br/>Thank you for your help with my order & the polishing cloth & keyring.<br/><br/>Heather Bowes.</p><br/><p>Hi Ross,<br/><br/>Just letting you know the chain arrived this afternoon, safe and sound and signed for. My son loves it and the case was a surprise and very nice touch. Thank you!<br/><br/>Hope you have a good weekend,<br/><br/>Carmen</p><br/><p>Received today and looks great. Thank you! <img src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-includes/images/smilies/simple-smile.png" alt=":)" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;"/><br/><br/>Rick Meredith</p><br/><p>Hi Ross,<br/><br/>Just letting you know my order arrived today, thanks. I’m very happy with it, exactly what I was expecting.<br/><br/>Thanks again,<br/><br/>Carmen</p><br/><p>wow my bangle is grrreat thankies beautiful <img src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-includes/images/smilies/simple-smile.png" alt=":)" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;"/><br/><br/>Viv</p><br/><p>Hi Ross<br/><br/>The charms arrived yesterday and they are exactly what I ordered so thanks very much.<br/><br/>Regards<br/><br/>Martin Dutton</p><br/><p>Hi Ross,<br/><br/>Got the chain, thanks so much, it looks great and she is so happy she can wear the pendant again.<br/><br/>Thanks again,<br/><br/>Andrew</p><br/><p>Dear Ross,<br/><br/>Received the Mickey Mouse gold charm today and it’s absolutely gorgeous! Love the emails advising the status of delivery as well.<br/><br/>Will shop with you again.<br/><br/>Thanks, Leanne</p><br/><p>Hi Ross,<br/><br/>received my chains yesterday – very speedy. Items are exactly what I wanted (it’s always a surprise to see how clean and bright silver is when it’s new, my current collection has that well-worn patina!) Thanks, great service and product as always,<br/><br/>kind regards,<br/><br/>Clare McElroy</p><br/><p>Hi there,<br/><br/>I just wanted to thank you for the chain it is fantastic, thank you so much for getting it to me so quickly <img src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-includes/images/smilies/simple-smile.png" alt=":)" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;"/><br/><br/>I will be back again<br/><br/>Kind regards<br/><br/>Elli</p><br/><p>Hi ross recieved my wifes package on the 14/5,Thanks heaps for the great service my wife was stoked when she opened it look forward to shopping with you again,Have told all our friends and family about your great store<br/><br/>Regards<br/><br/>Dave L</p><br/><p>To the Management and staff of Chain me up, I would like to say thankyou for the prompt delivery of the items that I ordered, they arrived on Friday afternoon, just in time for my sisters 60th Birthday, she was delighted with them and other guests asked of their origin, and of course I told them of Chain me up and their service.<br/><br/>With thanks<br/><br/>Margaret Weightman</p><br/><p>Hi Ross,<br/><br/>received my order today. Thank you for your excellent service and prompt delivery.<br/><br/>regards<br/><br/>con</p><br/><p>HI Ross,<br/><br/>Thank you so much for your help. I am very impressed with your customer service. I have told a lot of people about you guys so hopefully you will get some business from them.<br/><br/>Thanks Emma</p><br/><p>Just to let you know that the chain and fob arrived on Friday. It is beautiful and we will be recommending you to our friends.<br/><br/>Kind regards<br/><br/>Andrew & Margaret</p><br/><p>I just want to say thank you for the beautiful charms. i have never known such fast delivery especially at this time of the year. i will definately order from you again. Thank you so much.<br/><br/>Kind Regards<br/><br/>Lesley Armstrong</p><br/><p>Hi Ross,<br/><br/>Just a quick note to let you know the chain arrived safe and sound this morning.<br/><br/>And it’s perfect!<br/><br/>Thanks so much,<br/><br/>Natasha</p><br/><p>Hi There,<br/><br/>Just a quick note to say a huge thank you for your efforts to make sure my order arrived in time for a birthday. Your service and communication was fabulous. My order arrived in time and I was very happy with the product. I will be sure to let my friends know about your great service.<br/><br/>Thanks again<br/><br/>Linda</p><br/><p>Hi, Sorry for the late feedback, the chains arrived when expected and are exactly what I wanted, the graduations work fantastically. The communication from you was great and the overall deal excellent value. I have no hesitation in recommending you to all my friends.<br/><br/>Many Thanks<br/><br/>Lynne</p><br/><p>Hi,<br/><br/>I received my order today. I just wanted to let you know i am very pleased and i just made another order. My charm bracelet is looking great and will be finished with this final order. I will be recommending your sight (sic) to friends for sure.<br/><br/>Regards Jessica</p><br/><p>Hello again,<br/><br/>Sorry I just missed your call.<br/><br/>Thank you for the effort you are putting in, but especially for following up & letting me know.<br/><br/>I also appreciate that you are being up front & not “promising me the Earth”!!!<br/><br/>I really hope it gets here in time, but if not, there’s not much we can do…<br/><br/>I’ll have to issue an IOU.<br/><br/>Anyway, thanks again & fingers crossed things go according to plan.<br/><br/>Cheers Ross,<br/><br/>Tiana.</p><br/><p>Thank you for your prompt supply of my order. Received Friday, was as seen on website. very pleased with item.<br/><br/>Regards. D.Lynch</p><br/><p>Hi Ross<br/><br/>Just wanted to thank you for the chain I ordered. I received it today and it was exactly what I was after. And you where right about the weight – it was about 3 or 4 grams heavier than estimated on your site. Great value compared to other jewellery stores! Anyway, appreciate the sale and service you provided me (including the email responses and phone call) and will definitely recommend your business to others and might have to buy myself a matching bracelet soon as well.<br/><br/>Thanks Again<br/><br/>Glen</p><br/><p>Hello Ross<br/><br/>I received the gold chain today, my wife loves it, thanks very much. For interest, we visited some well known jewelers in Perth and none seemed capable or maybe interested in creating a gold chain of a specific length. All they wanted to do was to sell their standard shelf stock!<br/><br/>Once again thanks, the service was very good.<br/><br/>Regards<br/><br/>Rob</p><br/><p>Hi Ross,<br/><br/>Just a quick email to let you know we got the chain, and (thankfully!) she loves it!<br/><br/>Thanks again,<br/><br/>Bryan</p><br/><p>Morning Ross,<br/><br/>My order arrived yesterday and everything is perfect.<br/><br/>Those little chain charm holders are great and I hope to get some gold ones when I have tried them out a bit or I might have to order some more as gifts. They might be a hit at the markets.<br/><br/>Thanks Susan</p><br/><p>Hello Ross,<br/><br/>Picked up my order from the post office. Everything great.<br/><br/>Thanks Sue</p><br/><p>Hi Ross<br/><br/>I just wanted to let you know I got the chain yesterday. It looks great and thanks for the fantastic turnaround.<br/><br/>Rachel</p><br/><p>Hello Ross,<br/><br/>The silver bracelet arrived yesterday – thank you so much.<br/><br/>It was a pleasure doing business with you – I expect you will be hearing from us again with another order. I will also be telling family and friends of your online store – you are doing a great job.<br/><br/>Good luck with it all.<br/><br/>Kind regards,<br/><br/>Renee Young</p><br/><p>Feedback already left and you are wonderful, professional and a pleasure to do business with<br/><br/>Thanks & best regards,<br/><br/>David</p><br/><p>Hi Ross,<br/><br/>The explanation is clear thank you. I also appreciated the phone call. Your Customer Care service has been excellent. As soon as I receive the chain I will be leaving a glowing feedback on the site…..<br/><br/>Thanks & best regards,<br/><br/>David</p><br/><p>Hi Ross<br/><br/>Ok great I will go on your site and order the necklace today. Thanks for your help and your quick response to my enquiries.<br/><br/>Thanks again,<br/><br/>Rachel</p><br/><hr/><p> </p><br/><p>These are some of the real comments left by our customers over the past few years. We work bloody hard to make sure every one of our customers is happy with our products and service. Maybe that’s why we get a lot of new customers by referrals from their friends and family.</p><br/><p>Thank you to all of the people who have make the effort to leave <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/feedback.asp">feedback </a> for us.</p><br/><p>Cheers</p><br/><p>Ross</p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/jewellery-guides/articles/real-customer-service">Real Customer Service</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5844241018843615893.post-78024675344736382192016-02-23T11:57:00.002+10:002016-02-23T11:57:46.610+10:00Stopping The Scammers<a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/scam.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-726" src="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/scam-300x212.jpg" alt="scam" width="300" height="212"/></a><br/><p>Our previous article focused on securing an e-commerce website against hacking.</p><br/><p>This article addresses the ways you can reduce the chance of fraudulent transactions being successful (in a bad way!)</p><br/><p>Our website sells <a href="https://www.chain-me-up.com.au/">silver and gold jewellery</a>, a desirable commodity for potential scammers. They seem to think that is ok to steal from anyone without a thought to the consequences of their actions. Over the past 5 years I have seen many different ways that these a**holes will try to game the system and I have had to devise a number of methods to reduce the chance of their success.</p><br/><p>Firstly, as an on-line store, there must be a way to collect payment from our customers. We offer several methods of payment, some more secure than others.</p><br/><h3>Cash Payments</h3><br/><p>Cash is not an option as your customers physically cannot hand it to you. Sending cash through the post is not advised as no-one will insure against it not arriving. For an on-line store it simply is not an option and leaves the customer in a vulnerable position.</p><br/><h3>Money Orders</h3><br/><p>Money orders sent through a post office are the equivalent of cash. The customer pays the post office for the money order with cash or a bank transfer and the money order is sent by post to the store. The store receiving the money order is paid in cash at the post office, and is normally required to present proof of identity at that time. Once cashed, they cannot be withdrawn.</p><br/><h3>Direct Deposits</h3><br/><p>Direct deposit into your bank account is by far the best option for a merchant. Once the money has been transferred, you are absolutely assured it is yours. The customer cannot reverse the transfer. It can only be reversed (refunded) by the account holder receiving the deposit. This is the payment method you should promote to your customers. Giving a discount for direct deposits may convince the customer to complete their order.</p><br/><h3>Cheques</h3><br/><p>Cheques are generally safe but the funds can take 3 to 5 days to clear and arrive into your account. If the owner of the account disputes the cheque payment, the bank may decide to reverse the payment and you could lose your money. Insist on additional proof of identity before accepting a cheque for payment.</p><br/><h3>PayPal</h3><br/><p>PayPal is seen by many people as being safe and is often the preferred method of payment for a customer. From the customers point of view, the ‘buyer protection’ offered by PayPal makes this a ‘feel safe’ method of payment.</p><br/><p>If a dispute arises, PayPal will negotiate between the merchant and the customer to achieve what they consider to be a fair resolution. Another advantage to the customer is that the store never sees the customers payment details. This means that a customer can pay by credit card and only PayPal has the details of that card. The store is made aware that a payment has been made with a credit card, but has no further details.</p><br/><p>PayPal allows payments to be made to a merchant in two ways. Firstly a customer can use a credit card as described above. Secondly a customer can use a PayPal account which either has a sufficient balance to make the payment or is linked to a bank account/credit card from which the payment can be sourced.</p><br/><h4>Using a credit card</h4><br/><p>When a sale is made and the payment is by <strong>credit card</strong>, the store receives an email advising of the payment. In this case the buyer is protected if the merchant fails to deliver goods or services matching what the customer had purchased (and the customer can provide sufficient evidence). The seller is offered NO PROTECTION from the credit card being misused, as in the case where the card details have been stolen and used without the card owners knowledge. The card owner tells their bank to stop payment, this is known as a chargeback. PayPal will ‘act on your behalf’ but invariably they refund the bank after garnishing the disputed amount from your PayPal account.</p><br/><p>In this situation the store owner should make an extra effort to ensure that the order and customer are legitimate.</p><br/><h4>Using a PayPal account</h4><br/><p>When a customer pays for their order using a PayPal account (not a credit card via PayPal) the buyer and seller are both protected by PayPal. The email advising payment will include a declaration that the seller is eligible for ‘seller protection.’ Should it be found that the PayPal account had been misused by a third party, the seller is unlikely to suffer financially as a result, with some big IFs.</p><br/><p>IF the goods are not shipped to the address on the payment advice sent by PayPal at the time the sale occurred, you will not be able to claim seller protection.<br/><br/>IF you can not provide proof of delivery to the address on the payment advice sent by PayPal, you will not be able to claim seller protection.</p><br/><h3>Signs a customer may not be genuine</h3><br/><ul><li>The use of free email accounts. Hotmail and G-mail are two of many free email accounts that anyone can create. Orders from one of these email accounts are much more likely to need extra attention.</li><br/><li>Their name and address is not in the phone book. Some people don’t have home phones or may have unlisted numbers, but again take extra care.</li><br/><li>They give an unlisted mobile number. Search using a reverse lookup site and Google, again take extra care.</li><br/><li>They want delivery to a P.O.Box or a delivery address different to their home address.</li><br/><li>They paid with a credit card. (no seller protection)</li><br/><li>The IP address the order was placed from is not from the same area as the address they gave.</li><br/></ul><p>None of the points above (either alone or together) mean that the order is not genuine, but they are all factors that should make you pay extra attention to the sale.</p><br/><p>The more of the above points that are true, the more suspicious and careful you should be.</p><br/><h3>Fraud</h3><br/><p>Fraud is becoming more and more of a problem and at the end of the day there is only one loser.<br/><br/>It isn’t the customer, it isn’t the bank, it isn’t PayPal.<br/><br/>It’s YOU. The merchant.</p><br/><ul><li>When you are in doubt, ask to customer to provide proof that they are who they say they are.</li><br/><li>All of the clients I have requested further information from have been happy that I made the effort to check.</li><br/><li>Every one of them was able to provide what I asked for, and there were no issues with the sales.</li><br/><li>The ones who ‘promised’ to send me the extra information I requested and never did were all scammers and in each case PayPal later alerted me to “unusual account activity” and a chargeback was instigated by the account owner.</li><br/></ul><p>If you are in doubt that an order is above board you may be better to cancel it.</p><br/><p>It may be better to lose a little profit, than a large outlay for stock you just handed to a scammer.</p><br/><p>Personally, I’d rather not give them the satisfaction.</p><br/><p> </p><br/> <br/><a href="http://blog.chain-me-up.com.au/solid-gold-chains/thick-gold-chains/stopping-the-scammers">Stopping The Scammers</a>FraserRosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11741629155767324256noreply@blogger.com0