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FAQ - Frequently Asked Your Jewelry Questions

FAQ - Frequently Asked Your Jewelry Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Store Information

Our Store hours are 10AM through 6PM Monday through Saturday.

We are located at 3155 Dowlen Road, Beaumont, TX 77706. Just look for our fountain.

Our showroom is open. We are requesting all clients without vaccinations to wear masks. We do have fresh masks available for you. Vaccinated clients may choose whether to wear a mask during your visit.

You do not need an appointment. We are happy to see you whenever you choose to visit during our operating hours.

You can reach us by phone at 409-861-3005 or email us at brian@hellodiamonds.com

Repairs and Services

We offer jewelry repair services on almost all types of precious metal jewelry.

We are happy to replace your watch battery for FREE. We do this as a service to our community. If you wish you may leave a gratuity in one of our canisters supporting Jewelers for Children and the Humane Society of Southeast Texas. We offer watch repair services through factory authorized service centers. This way it gets done correctly for you.

Watch and Jewelry service times can vary from as soon as same day for simple requrests to 12-16 weeks for more complicated projects. On average, most repairs are completed in a 3-10 business day window.

No appointment necessary. Please come see us.

No appointment necessary. Please come see us.

No appointment necessary. Please come see us.

We recommend that we clean and check your jewelry at least once every six months. We are thrilled for you to come see us as often as you like.

The old adage "if it isn’t broke, don't fix it" applies to most current watch models. A watch that runs fast or slow is telling you it needs our attention.

We perform 1000s of jewelry evaluations for our clients every year.

Evaluations are needed to properly insure your jewelry against loss or damage (which we hope never happens). it is also needed when a family is dealing with a jewelry estate.

In most cases, jewelry evaluations for Replacement Cost (which is for insurance) or for estate values, is the least expensive method and is accepted for all purposes 99% of the time. A full appraisal requires more in depth research and independent market evaluations for comparisons. This is similar to a real estate appraisal.

Here at Alter's, we have Graduate Gemologists experienced in retail sales performing our evaluations. Not every jeweler is a graduate gemologist. And not every graduate gemologist has retail experience.

We offer independent opportunities to obtain jewelry insurance with three difference insurance companies. This allows you to separate your jewelry insurance from your homeowners insurance.

We are thrilled to clean and check you jewelry at any time during working hours. In most cases this can be done while you wait. If the store is busy or if we are in the middle of a major shopping season, like Christmas, we may ask you to leave your jewelry with us for a day or two to complete this free process.

Policies

We warrant every new watch we sell for five full years regardless of brand. See store for details.

We offer our exclusive Preferred Jewelers International warranty at NO Charge on any diamond sale. There is also the Preferred Platinum program that for a onetime fee extends and expands this warranty.

We generally provide an Insurance Evaluation on every purchase of $499 and more.

All sales are final. We may at our discretion allow for returns and/or exchanges.

If we permit a refund in most cases you will receive a full refund. In some cases there may be a restocking fee that is calculated at 15% of the retail price of the item.

Credit Card refunds can be completed while you wait if you have the original credit card with you. Refunds involving cash over $50 and any checks are completed by company check. These are usually issued Friday of the week of the return.

We can ship any of our merchandise at your request to any in the United States. Whether there is a fee is based upon the service being provided and the value of the item(s) being shipped.

Sizing and Fitting

This can be accomplished if you can borrow a ring commonly worn on that finger You can also try and gauge it by placing a ring commonly worn on that finger on one of yours. Please make note of whether the ring is wide or narrow in design.

The best way is to visit our store and let our professional staff help with this.

Comfort fit rings are usually made with additional gold or platinum softly doming the inside of the ring, adding to the comfort and durability.

If this happens (rarely), please accept our apologies and come back to see us.

We can adjust the bracelets on most brands of watches.

Jewelry and Metals

Jewelry is most commonly created using gold, silver, or platinum. There are also now a plethora of metals in market such as tungsten, titanium, cobalt, ceramic, and many more. Gold, silver and platinum are precious metals, meaning they have value in and of themselves, and usually allow for jewelry adjustment and repair when needed. The other metals are not considered precious and do not allow for adjustment or repair.

Platinum is considered the most durable metal and is usually the purest alloy. Gold is most commonly requested and provides the most options for jewelry. Silver is commonly used to keep costs down. The non-precious metals are the least expensive.

We love to redesign your old jewelry into new designs that fit your current lifestyle. If it is not prudent to do this, we also allow you to trade your old jewelry towards new jewelry in our inventory for that special occasion.

Rhodium is a precious metal that is used to cover over white metals such as white gold to make them silvery white and shiny. Most of the white metals are not as bright as rhodium.

This is called tarnish and is quite common as the silver reacts with the world around us. It is usually easy to remove.

The best way to clean your jewelry is to bring it to us. Otherwise use warm water and gentle liquid cleaners. Rinse thoroughly and dry with a soft cloth like a diaper. Soft gems like tanzanite, emerald and opal for example, need to be cleaned professionally as they are quite fragile.

The best way to care for your jewelry is to keep it special. Make it the last thing you put on and the first you take off.

  • ArtCarved
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Diamonds and Gemstones

Karat denotes the purity of the metal. 24 karat is pure. So 18 karat, for example, is 18 parts gold and 6 parts other metals. This is reflected by a hallmark of "18K" or "750" (18/24ths). Carat is the weight (not the diameter) of a diamond or gem. Carat is a metric weight = 1/5th of a gram. The term is derived from the carob seed which in ancient times was used as a universal weight measure due to its consistency in weight regardless of where grown in the world.

Carat Weight, Color, Clarity, and Cut (precision of cut).

The 4 C's of diamond grading are Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat Weight. The combination of all of these factors determine a diamond's value. The closer to absolutely colorless and the fewer inclusions, will a diamond make it more rare and expensive. Large diamonds are also more rare than smaller ones. Cut refers to how well a diamond is finished from its rough form.

See above for handling and cleaning of jewelry.

A synthetic gem has the same chemical and optical properties of the same gem found in nature. It is just created in a laboratory rather than in the ground.

The primary reason clients select synthetic gems is a combination of their appearance and their less expensive price.

There are a finite number of natural diamonds and gems in nature which is what makes them rare and valuable. Synthetic gems and diamonds can be replicated over and over.

In short this is a tracing process that insures the diamonds at which you are looking are properly mined.

Gemologists analyze, describe, and certify the quality and characteristics of gemstones. After using microscopes, computerized tools, and other grading instruments to examine gemstones or finished pieces of jewelry, they write reports certifying that the items are of a particular quality.

Custom Design

We love to create custom jewelry for you.

Use this space to save the products you like. To add a product here, simply click the icon.

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