SELLING YOUR GOLD ITEMS

You can either visit our shop in Frome, where will will test your gold items then give you an immediate payment or if we need to test, payment within 24 hours.

You can trust us - one of Britain's oldest and longest established jewellers, so look out all those old bits and pieces today and you will be amazed how much you will get!!!

TEMPTED TO SEND AWAY TO ???GOLD? Think first. Many of these companies will often weigh your items only when the stones of rings are removed and then charge you to send items back if you are not happy with their offer. Would you pack £500 in cash and send it to just anyone? Our offer is fully transparent and is one of the highest offers as we will often pay a bit more for items that we can re-sell, so think carefully before you send.

DAILY MAIL ARTICLE 21/11/09. Warning- Dont send to postal gold companies. Many offer as little as 10% of the gold price. Its an article worth reading. If you do send away, many will send you a cheque for as little as just a fraction of its worth, and then make it very difficult for you to return the cheque. We pay  between 65%-80% of gold price depending on items being hallmarked, We pay 90-95% if you part exchange.
BBC tv & RADIO Dec 8th 2009. More warnings about Postal Gold companies. Some offering as low as 50% of gold price per gram. BBC advice is to shop around. Please go to our FAQ  page for full explanation of how we purchase your gold items


EVER THOUGHT ABOUT PART-EXCHANGE? We will give you an EXTRA 20% for your gold items if you part exchange. You do not need to buy an item immediately, we will give you our  GOLD CREDIT NOTE VOUCHER which fixes your gold price immediately, and you can spend your voucher whenever you wish, or even give it as a gift. You can even use it during our SALE, gives you even better value!

ADVICE AND INFORMATION

1. HOW TO LOOK AFTER YOUR JEWELLERY
2. RING SIZES
3. RUBIES
4. EMERALD
5. SAPPHIRES
6. IVORY
7. CORAL
8. JADE
9. PEARLS
10. IMITATION STONES
11. MOURNING JEWELLERY
12. JET
13. AMBER
14. MOONSTONE
15. TSAVORITE
16. OPAL
17. LAPIS LAZULI
18. MARCASITE
19. GARNET
20. MALACHITE
21. PERIDOT
22. SPINEL
23. TOPAZ
24. TOURMALINE
25. TURQUOISE
26. AMETHYST
27. AQUAMARINE
28. TANZANITE
29. CUBIC ZIRCONIA
30. CAMEO AND SHELLS
31. DIAMONDS (and notes about Conflict Diamonds)
32. IOLITE
33. GOLD and its composition including white gold
34. INVESTMENT in gold coins and precious stones

1. HOW TO LOOK AFTER YOUR JEWELLERY

RINGS
When you wear your ring, make sure that occasionally you do check it to make sure that stones are not loose. Its easy to catch claws, and the tell tell signs are often a little bit of fluff from a piece of clothing, a sure sign that a claw needs attention. Bring it to our repair department. If its dirty, or a diamond is dull, you can use a little household soda in warm water, and use an old toothbrush to remove dirt from behind a stone. This needs to be done with care. We do also sell a small pot of jewellery cleaner, thats comes with a brush, and lasts for a long time. For a special treat, bring the ring to us, and our goldsmith will give it a full polish, and check the claws, you will be amazed at how it will look!
Another good tip is that when you are out, many people take their ring off to wash their hands, then promptly forget that they have! Hold it between your teeth,guaranteed you wont lose it then, but ensure you don't suddenly cough!
We often have to cut rings off peoples fingers. If you are struggling to remove a ring, its likely that the problem will get worse. It can be a temporary problem, but if this persists, you really should have the ring enlarged. Cutting it off is painless, but seems to affect many people, and some we just cannot remove, so its a trip to casualty.

NECKLACES & CHAINS
Its ok to sleep with a ring on, but bracelets and chains are a definate no-no. If you do you are definately halving its life span. The movement at night often increases wear and tear, and it will not be long before you lose it altogether or it will need remedial work done by our repair department. Clasps in particular are suspect. If you really do want to wear an item 24-7, then its a good idea to check it occasionally, or bring it to us before the worst happens. Bracelets are just as susceptible.

PEARLS & BEADS
Similar to the above problem, and never ever spray any sort of pearl with perfume, it will slowly but surely destroy them. Put the perfume on before the necklet. If they are a bit dull, just run them gently through a soft cloth. Pearls need cleaning professionally, and restringing can be done at home, but our advice is that if the pearls or beads are valuable, then they should be restrung by professionals. Remember, some gems are organic, so do not try dipping them into solutions, pearls of course. ivory, coral, and also opals, which you also have to be careful with.

STORING YOUR JEWELLERY
A jewellery box is the best solution, but make sure that such items as pearls, opals, coral etc are wrapped in acid free tissue. Items stored can also be scratched if mixed with diamonds. If you put away in a safe, then perhaps put a small sachet of silica gel (we can supply free of charge) will keep it dry, plus wrap in acid free tissue.

2. RING SIZES

Most of our ladies' rings are available in sizes I to S, and most of our men's rings in P to Z.

The easiest way to check your ring size is to visit us where our friendly, fully trained staff will measure your finger using an industry-standard ring sizer.

If you cannot get to us, contact us to request a FREE ring sizer.

3. RUBIES

The species name of this gem is corundum, the same family as a sapphire.Being the colour of blood they have always had superstition attached to them and is believed to protect the wearer against illness
The birthstone for July
The largest rubies tend to be around 5 carats
The best stones are Burmese, but lower quality ones come from Thailand are the most usual used in jewellery. They can still be very good quality but are a bit brown red compared to burmese which are more red-pink and are found in older victorian look jewellery.
RECENT NEWS ABOUT RUBIES-BEWARE
In recent months, the international colored gemstone market trade has been confronted with an influx of rubies, mostly from African sources, that appear to have been heated and then filled with lead glass.

Several international gemological laboratories have already researched and identified the treatment, and announced that in and of itself the treatment is relatively easy to detect. However, the gemstone and jewellery trade at large should be informed as to the characteristics of this new treatment.

Prof. Henry Hanni of SSEF Swiss Gemological Institute, Basel, Switzerland, says on the basis of his research that it is not difficult to identify rubies that have been heat treated and filled with lead glass.

Summing up the major characteristics of this treatment, Hanni said that to gemologists and researchers it is basically just another “glass recipe.” His lab has been seeing this type of treatment on and off for a few years. Evidently, the people who do gem treatments have discovered that they can use a particular type of glass [of a low melting point]—also called soldering glass because it can be used in industry to solder sheets of glass together—to heat treat and fill fissures in rubies. The application of lead glass of the most recent composition is rather new.

It should be noted that this particular treatment can be done at lower temperatures than other methods involving glass fillers. As a result, this treatment leaves the natural silk inclusions intact, instead of melting them away. This may momentarily mislead observers—until they observe telltale gas bubbles and strong purplish blue color flashes. That is why the gemstone and jewelry trade should have no difficulty identifying this treatment.

4. EMERALD

The species name is Beryl and is in the same family as aquamarine.

Most show inclusions which is perfectly natural, in fact a perfectly clean stone should be treated with some suspicion, they could be fakes. These inclusions are called curtains (or curtaining). Stones are sometimes ‘oiled’. This is not legal but it has been done be injecting a green oily substance into the stone which fills any fractures and makes the stone look better than it really is. Under a microscope this can be detected.It is the birthstone for MayThe are normally mined in Columbia, the mines are called Muzo, Chivor and Cosquez which still supply top stones. Lower quality stones come from Russia, Australia, South Africa, India and Pakistan, also some parts of Africa. Most set into our jewellery are from Russia and Australia, the better ones from South America.

HOWEVER   you need to read this article about oiled emeralds. A practice much used overseas, so beware!

5. SAPPHIRES

A hugely popular stone and the birthstone for September. They are known to bring the wearer great luck.

They come in most shades of blue but can be almost any colour! The paler blues come from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) the very dark(inky) from Australia. Fine royal blues tend to be Indian or Burmese, but most of the stones set into our jewellery are mid quality from Thailand. Our better stones from Sri Lanka. The paler blue stones are sometimes called cornflower blue.

Presently there is a huge fashion for pink stones from Thailand. These have a lovely pure pink colour almost like a pink diamond.

6. IVORY

Is in fact bone. Like any tooth, it has a hard end, and a hollow middle. It is very easily cut and honed to create the most fantastic carvings. However luckily it is no longer imported into this country unless from sources of animals which have died naturally. There is no real market for ivory jewellery any more.

7. CORAL

This comes from the sea creature coral polyp in sub tropical waters, from pink to deep red, this being called ox-blood. The best colours, orange red, come from the Med region around Algeria and Tunisia, also Japan. Coral is usually cabouchon cut ( this is a non faceted dome shaped stone, find one in our shop). You may sometimes see a twig like coral necklace, this is its natural state.

8. JADE

Jade (or jadeite as its known) is pale to dark green normally, although sometimes white, mauve and pink. The best forms are minty green almost clear from China sometimes called imperial jade.

However there is another form of jade, called Nephrite. This comes in dark green, rather opaque, called spinach jade, brown, yellow and grey. The very dense white form is called mutton fat jade. This form is less valuable than jadeite. This comes from many parts of the world, but mostly China.

9. PEARLS

Pearls are formed in a mollusc (oyster) covering a small piece of grit with layers of nacre. The grit is an irritant which cause the mollusc to secrete this. A natural pearl is in fact an oyster which has created a pearl naturally, the irritant usually sand. These pearls are normally white, but are also grey. The more round it is the more valuable it is, and this is the same with size too, large pearls are very expensive. These are usually found in Japan.

Cultured pearls are formed in the same way as natural but its a process aided by man. A tiny glass bead is inserted into the oyster and it then does the rest. Cultured can vary in price from small white to the most expensive cream pink(see colour section below). If formed correctly these will be perfectly round. Of course the oyster does not always get it right, well rarely actually, and the result is blistered pearls which are lower in price, as they are rejected to some degree, but have their own character and are favoured by many. It should be said that pearls do not like perfume, and rows should always be put on after perfume has been applied. Also, human skins acids help to bring out the lustre of a string of pearls, and the more they are worn, the better they look. Pearls should always been cleaned with a soft cloth before wearing, and restrung every three years if worn often.

Freshwater pearls are abundant in many colours, and these are in fact stained to give the variation. In the main come from mussels that have had a disolveable tissue inserted that disappears then the mussel forms a rice krispie looking product. However there are also very round, but usually white fresh water pearls too.

Simulated pearls are in fact glass beads, coated with a fish scales product, the better the coating, the longer they will last, and better quality pearls will last for many years. Imitation pearls are usually the same product, but with a fine layer of coating. Tell the difference between cultured and simulated by gently rubbing against the teeth. The former will have a gritty feel, the latter, smooth.

10. IMITATION STONES

You may have heard the word paste used about jewellery. This is in fact glass. It was popular in the 17th century and could be any colour. It very often has a foil background and this increased its lustre. Never put paste with foil backs into a cleaning liquid. Modern paste is not as well made and in the 20th century it is called diamante. This is mostly used in costume jewellery and quite flashy. You will see these stones (sometimes Swaroski crystal) set into some of our gold plated brooches.

11. MOURNING JEWELLERY

Particularly worn in the victorian era especially after the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victorias husband. Most items were enamelled in black with perhaps words written on it, or ‘in Memoriam’ or a persons name. Very usual would be a plait of hair set into the rear of a brooch or pendant, even a ring, of the departed person. Not really that valuable as it seems to only have value to the family of the deceased.

12. JET

As black as coal, well it almost is, as its fossilised wood. Mostly found near Whitby in Yorkshire it has always been linked to mourning jewellery being black. It is more popular today as fashion dictates and can be carved quite easily. To test if real, burning with a hot needle it will smell like burning wood, plastic and glass will not!

13. AMBER

This is fossilised resin and between 8 and 30 million years old. The resin comes from pine trees and sometimes catches small insects in its path. This then is fossilised and many millions of years is found as amber. It comes in many colours, orange, red, white, green. It is mostly found in the Baltic washed up on the shore or in shallow mines. A rough test to find out if amber is real is to place a tiny piece of paper under it, rub the amber hard, and it will pick up the paper. This is caused by static electricity.

14.MOONSTONE

This are a translucent blue white milky colour. They are used mostly in silver jewellery the best ones having a bluish tinge, the yellowy ones bring not so good.

They are from Sri Lanka, Burma and India.

15. TSAVORITE

Tsavorite is a light-green type of garnet found in Africa (primarily Kenya but sometimes also Tanzania and nearby countries) named after the Tsavo River in Kenya where it was first found. Since 1968, fifty or so deposits have been discovered, but only one has not yet been exhausted. Because it is usually found as a pebble near a river, large tsavorites are extremely rare, and even the small gemstones are very expensive.
We predict this stone to become very desirable very quickly.

16. OPAL

The birthstone for October.

These are normally white with iridescent colours found within them. The more water in the stone, the more colour is seen, giving a rainbow look. Opals are soft and will crack easily. Australia and Mexico are the major sources. In Australia, Lightning Ridge is one mine, another the famous mine at Coober Pedy. Black opals are also known, and have a dark grey colour with rainbow colours within.

Fire opals are orange in colour and are usually cut with facets, and are clear.

Note that some opals have a black backing. These are know as doublets. They have a thin slice of real opal applied to a backing of black plastic.

17. LAPIS LAZULI

Normally known as lapis. Usually a royal blue specked with gold which is caused by iron pyrites. The main source is Afghanistan and South America. Usually cut for signet rings, or cabouchon for ladys rings.

18. MARCASITE

You will find this in our stock, usually set in silver. Popularised in France it became fashionable here in the 19th century. Its cut from iron pyrites and has a steely look to it, always facetted.

19. GARNET

The Birthstone for January

The most usual type in our stock is the dark red Pyrope garnet. Mined in Europe.

Almandine garnets are usually found in antique jewellery and have a purple tinge in a very deep red. They come from India and ususally were set in ‘romantic’ pieces. We may have a piece or two in our 2nd hand stock.

Other garnets are demantoid, which are bright vivid green but are rarely seen.

20. MALACHITE

A strong green colour with bands running through it, the colour caused by the presence of copper. Normally seen cut flat with irregular attractive patterns running through the stone. It comes from the Urals in Russia, also Australia, mostly seen in brooches, sometimes cut for boxes and clocks

21. PERIDOT

The birthstone for August

A bright green transparent stone, almost an oily green, and popular in victorian jewellery. Found in the Red Sea area, also Australia and South America.

Normally facet cut, but sometimes cabouchon and found in many forms of modern jewellery today, but mainly a semi precious gem.

22. SPINEL

Very much set into cheaper forms of jewellery and are many colours. Can easily be confused with rubies if care is not taken. White spinel is often set instead of a diamond, but is easily recognised as it will have no fire and will seem dull in comparison.

23. TOPAZ

The birthstone for November. Topaz are normally green and are a valuable gem if of good quality. The colour is normally a sherry yellow colour if good, and is also seen in a pink colour. It should not be confused with Citrine, which is also a yellow colour, but is semi precious. It is not easy to tell the difference. Perhaps a topaz if good, is a brighter more vivid colour. Pink topaz is rare. However you will have a few blue topaz stones in your stock, This in fact is a yellow topaz of perhaps poorer quality, but enhanced by heating the gem which gives it a bright blue colour, and much more attractive. Topaz comes from Brazil.

24. TOURMALINE

A gem with many colours. If one sees the gem in its pure form, you will see a green top running through paler to pink, pinky red then white.

Sometimes a large gem is cut showing both the green and pink colours, sometimes called a watermelon tourmaline.

Most gem colours seen are the green or pink tourmalines.

25. TURQUOISE

The birthstone for December. This blue stone is always cut cabouchon. It sometimes varies from blue to pale green, sometimes having lines running through it, this is called matrix. Scent will cause discoloration. Mostly from Mexico, it is used in all forms of jewellery and ornaments.

26. AMETHYST

Almost always a purple colour, the better ones are darker in colour. Worn originally to ward off drunkeness! Heat treated amethyst will turn yellow, this is citrine. Mostly found in Brazil and Russia although some tiny ones have been found on British shores.

27. AQUAMARINE

The birthstone for march. The name means sea water, and comes from the early examples that were a sea green colour. Today the best colours are a sky blue. Often cut as a square gem, with steps (step cut) Mostly from Russia and India. Most are heat treated to bring out the colour, quite normal for gem quality stones.

28. TANZANITE

This gem has become extremely popular in the last few years and we now have some in our stock. Very much a purply blue colour, sometimes in artificial light will turn slightly violet. Found in Tanzania and Kenya, now increasing much in price due to its popularity.

29. CUBIC ZIRCONIA

Now the most popular white imitation stone. These are actually grown in crystals in labs and then cut by machines to produce all sizes of stone now immensely popular for all forms of lower priced jewellery. They have the look of diamond, and a bit of sparkle. They dull with age, but when new are bright and look very much like diamonds, its hard to tell the difference! The best way is to look into a stone closely, a diamond will have more tell tale signs, like small flecks and dots. Otherwise the safest way is a diamond tester. Today, even the testers get it wrong as Moissonite has been invented, in fact it is a diamond, but grown in a lab, industry does to a raw material in a few days what it has taken nature millions of years to produce. .

30. CAMEO & SHELLS

A cameo is in fact a shell. The outer portion is cut away leaving the design in white or cream, the background the cut away portion, being brown. A good cameo is only as good as the artist who cuts it, and now many cheap versions are cut by machine. The come from Italy in the main.

Conch shells are also cut as cameos, but are pink/white

Paua shell, many iridescent colours are cut for jewllery, and come from New Zealand.

Tortoiseshell is cut from the Turtle (not a tortoise), it has a beautiful translucent yellow brown colour. Happily most examples are now plastic imitation.

31. DIAMONDS

History of Diamonds

It should come as no surprise that our culture was not the first to be lured by the hypnotic spell the diamond casts. Consider the ancient Greeks and Romans who believed diamonds were the tears of Gods and splinters from falling stars.
Then there were the  Hindus,  who  attributed  so  much  power to these precious stones. They went so far as to place diamonds in the eyes of some of their statues.

Through the centuries rings have perpetuated the talismanic role of the diamond. 
In the Middle Ages and Renaissance period, every ring that was set with precious stones was not considered so much as a piece of jewellery but more as an amulet that conveyed magical powers like fearlessness and invincibility upon the wearer.
This myth laid the groundwork for monarchs to begin wearing diamonds as their symbols of power.

Today diamonds continue to hold a deep fascination as the worlds ultimate symbol of love. The diamonds rarity and natural beauty are the qualities that have contributed to making the diamond such as special and magical gift.
Not only  was it believed  that  diamonds  could bring  luck and success, but also that they could counter the effects of astrological events.  There  were  many that wore diamonds as charms  believing  in  their  ability to heighten sexual prowess and attract others. Plato even wrote about diamonds  as living beings embodying celestial spirits.

The  diamond  achieved its unique status as the ultimate gift of love as far back as the fifteenth  century  . The  tradition  of  giving  a  diamond engagement ring as a promise for  marriage  began  in  1477 with Archduke  Maximillian of Austria and Mary of Burgundy.   At  that  time  diamonds  were  looked  upon  as  talismans or charms that could enhance the love of a husband for his wife. Even Cupids arrows were said to be tipped with diamonds that had magic that nothing else could equal.
From this time forward  the  royal tradition of giving  diamond  engagement  rings began to be embraced by people  around the  world., eventually becoming as mucha milestone in ones love life as the engagement itself.
Wearing  a  diamond  ring  on the  fourth  finger  of  the left hand  dates far back to ancient Egypt where it is believed that the vena amoris ( the vein of love) ran from that finger straight to the heart.

When diamonds first began to be given as engagement rings settings were elaborate and did not necessarily show the diamond in its best light. It was not until the discovery of diamond mines in Africa in 1870 that diamonds became available to a wider public increasing demand and influencing design.
Diamonds were formed under immense heat and  pressure  hundreds  of miles below sea level. It is the hardest substance on earth but their appeal goes far beyond that of durability.  Adding to the mystery and aura of what makes  diamonds so sought after approximately 250 tons of ore must be mined and processed in order to produce just a single one carat polished and cut gem quality diamond!
It was  over  4000  years ago that the first  diamonds  were mined  in  India.  Modern mining as we know it today began in South Africa in the 19th century.  Today the top seven diamond producing countries accounting for 80% of the worlds rough diamond supply are Botswana, Russia, South Africa, Angola, Namibia,  Australia & Zaire.
Cut and cutting style work in harmony to create a diamonds brilliance. Cutting style is categorized into three basic types: Step cut, brilliant cut and mixed cut. The difference between these three types is the number of facets in each cut. A facet is the edge that is cut into a diamond. A 58 facet diamond will have 58 edges cut and polished into it.

Your Guide to the 4 C's

Carat  Size
This determines the size of the diamond, One carat=100 points, therefore half a carat is equal to 50 points, quarter carat, 25 points and so on

Clarity
This determines how clean the stone is. VVS, is almost totally clean, VS may have tiny inclusions only seen by an expert with a loupe (eyeglass 10x) . Si, has tiny inclusions easily visible with a loupe, and PK, usually seen with the naked eye. Inclusions are small spots of carbon, or small feathery marks

Colour
Diamonds are white (although diamonds come in many colours) but the grade for colour starts with normally D, fine white, E good white F white G off white H slight tint, I slight yellow, K yellow/white and so on down to brown

Cut
Most are round facetted, or brilliant cut. Some are shapes, as shown here:

The term carat is a derivative of the word carob. Carob seeds are surprisingly similar in height to one another thus they were used in ancient civilizations as a reference tool to measure the weight of a diamond. One carob seed equals one carat.

Many people are confused by how diamonds are priced. The best explanation is like asking for the price of a diamond is like asking for the price of a house. An estate agent can't quote you a price for a house without knowing its size, condition, location etc. This process is the same one used when you wish to buy a diamond. A diamonds beauty rarity and price depend on the interplay between all of the 4C's: carat, clarity, colour and cut.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT CONFLICT DIAMONDS: Charles Hart as a company completely abhors the mis-use of labour to mine, cut or polish diamonds, nor do we support regimes that use diamonds to fund wars, aggression, or ignore human rights of its own or its neighbours people. We ensure that each supplier to us confirms that this is their policy when supplying us with diamonds or any other product.

32. IOLITE

Section about Iolite.

33. GOLD

gold is a precious metal which has other metals added to make it an alloy. Its 24 parts, and therefore brass is added to make 9ct yellow gold, which is 15 parts brass, 9 parts gold, 18ct, 18 parts gold, 6 parts brass. Red gold, has copper added, and white gold has silver/palladium added. The latter is often rhodium plated, this stops the white gold going slightly yellow, which is a problem with some white gold. You should know that many white gold rings will lose the rhodium plating over time, it can be re-plated, but any existing marks like hallmarks may therefore fade with a new layer of plating

34. INVESTMENT

       
We are able to provide gold sovereigns for most years by request. These can be full or half, from Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II.  We can also supply Kruger Rands, Guineas, £5 pieces etc. Also, we can obtain loose diamonds for you, and these only carry a handling charge by us of a small percentage, enabling you to purchase diamonds at what quality and at what carat you require. Please e mail us at enquiry@charleshart.co.uk for full information

EARPIERCING ADVICE AND CARE
We only have one person who pierces ears. She has been with us many years and really knows what she is doing! She does not work every day, so you need to ring us to check which day she is in.
Please note
That she will not pierce ears of children under ten
Minors (ie under 18) must be accompanyed by an adult, or have a signed letter of authority by a parent/guardian
We only pierce ears.
We accept no reponsibility for after care. The risk is entirely with the patient. Care guides are given.

A short care guide:

DO NOT:

• Remove the studs or handle your ears and/or studs unnecessarily
• Push the butterfly along the post towards the ear - the butterfly must always be positioned at the tip of the post. Feel the back of the butterfly each time you cleanse the ear - it must feel smooth.

DO:

• Leave studs in ears for 6 weeks continuously (12 weeks for cartilage).
• After 6 weeks (12 weeks for cartilage), the studs can be removed and other post-type earrings may be worn continuously.
x Use only post style earrings continuously for the first 5 months from piercing (12 months for cartilage). The post should be surgical stainless steel or other hyper-allergenic material.
• Keep hairspray, soap, shampoo and other preparations away from the ear. After shampooing the ear should be rinsed with clear water and then prepared with a a solution such as Savlon • Minor pain/redness may occur immediately - this is normal. This should settle within 48 hours provided proper after care is carried out. If undue pain/swelling/redness occurs at any time, seek medical advice immediately, before removing the ear-piercing stud.

Contact: