While gluhwein and eggnog warm us down to our baby toes, a heartwarming festivity known as Christmas in July brings out our evergreen Christmas trees and decks these - and our halls - with tinsel and bauble cheer. 'Tis the...

Isn’t January the most wonderful month? Like an exquisite rosebud, her days unfold like petals, to reveal the beautiful moments and magical opportunities that await us at the start of each year.   What exciting, new beginnings does this year...

Anniversary Gifts Year Jewellery Traditional Modern 1 Fresh Water Pearl/ Gold Jewellery Paper Plastic 2 Rose Quartz/ Garnet Cotton Cotton/ Calico 3 Crystal/ Pearl Leather Leather 4 Amethyst/ Topaz Fruit/ Flowers Linen/ Silk/ Nylon 5 Turquoise/ Sapphire Wood Wood 10...

Buying a Watch Aspects to consider when buying a watch Antimagnetic A watch constructed from metals resistant to the effects of magnetic fields, as magnetic fields could disrupt accurate time keeping. Shock Resistance Many modern watches are protected with internal...

Insurance It is important that you choose your insurance provider with care especially on higher value products. Many insurance providers will not give you the option to replace your jewellery from the original jeweller but will stipulate where you may...

Coloured Gold While pure gold is yellow in colour, it can be changed into various colours. These colours are generally obtained by alloying gold with other elements in various proportions. For example, alloys which are mixed 14 parts gold to...

Grading of Pearls Orient/Lustre The thicker and more perfect the nacre/surface the higher the lustre. Surface The cleaner the surface the higher the quality. Shape Rounder pearls are more precious. Colour Pearls come in several natural shades. White-silver with slight...

Combination Metal Jewellery Diamonds may be the hardest natural substance known to man, but can still be damaged, chipped, abraded or scratched.  Therefore, don’t jumble your diamond jewellery together or with other pieces, because diamonds can scratch other jewellery and...

Conflict Free Diamonds Diamonds sold to fund weapons of war used against recognised governments are known as conflict diamonds. In 2002, fifty-two governments from around the world ratified and adopted the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme in order to fully combat...

Overall Appearance The objective in cutting, sculpting and polishing transparent gemstones is to enhance their exquisite brilliance, transparency and translucency. There are many classic outlines, the best known are ovals, rounds, cushions, emerald cut, pears, marquise, squares, triangles and cabochon...

Jewellery, Diamonds & Gems Diamonds may be the hardest natural substance known to man, but can still be damaged, chipped, abraded or scratched.  Therefore, don’t jumble your diamond jewellery together or with other pieces, because diamonds can scratch other jewellery...

The History of Gold The Golden Rhino A golden rhinoceros was found at Mapungubwe, which is a valuable part of our heritage. When Mapungubwe was abandoned in about 1270, Great Zimbabwe became the new centre of the gold trade for...