Sterling Silver is the most common form of silver used for jewellery in western countries. It is an alloy of 92.5% silver metal and 7.5% other metal(s), generally copper. It is alloyed because fine silver (99.9%) is too soft be be used for most jewellery.

Sterling silver is usually stamped with 925, although legally jewellery is not required for items weighing less than 7.88g.

Sterling silver should not be confused with silver plating. Silver plating is fine silver which is added using electroplating. These do not require any hallmarks stamp, and it is illegal for them to bear the hallmark for other metals, such as sterling silver.

Yes, unlike fine silver, sterling silver tarnishes just by contact with air. It is the other metal(s) in sterling silver, usually copper, which reactive with the air. This is normally a slow process, but certain substances, such as sulfur dioxide, may make it tarnish very quickly. Tarnish normally comes off easily with a silver polishing cloth.

Most of our sterling silver items are stamped '925', even though they are less than 7.88g, so do not legally require a 925 stamp. However, some of our fine wire pieces are not stamped. However, you can be assured that we routinely test sterling silver items to ensure they are really sterling silver.

Gold-filled, also know as rolled gold, is composed of a solid layer of gold bonded with heat and pressure over a base metal such as brass.

By law, gold-filled items much contain at least 1/20 or 5% karat gold by weight. For example, 14kt GF must be at least 5% 14kt gold.  This means the gold is much thicker than gold-plating, so jewellery can last up to 30 years before it wears through to the base metal

 Orders are normally the day your payment is received.  For bank transfers, this may be will depend on when you make your payment. For most banks, payments made before 10pm on a business day will clear the next morning. Payments made after 10pm on a Friday will be processed until the next business day, and will clear the next morning, normally Tuesday.

Most of our orders within New Zealand are sent by Courierpost. The only exception is if your address has an RD number, in which case it will be sent by ParcelPost Fast, as rural delivery incurs fees which almost double our shipping costs. In either case, your order should be delivered in no more than 2 business days.

Because we are an internet only business. Unlike conventional stores, we do not need to pay high rent on prime real estate or have fancy displays and lighting. Nor do we employ staff to operate check outs and restock shelves, or pay for tv and radio ads advertising 50% off sales every month.

Instead, we try to keep our operating costs as low as possible to bring you low prices. We also have a great relationships with our suppliers and buy bulk to get great discounts.