Policies

Guarantee:

I ship with insurance and delivery confirmation, so full refunds are available for items lost or damaged in shipping. If you are not completely happy with your purchase, return it within 30 days in the same condition as when it arrived and I will issue a refund less shipping cost. All of my jewelry is guaranteed for one year against defects (pieces that have been dropped and broken, or have been subjected to abuse are not guaranteed). If a piece breaks due to a defect, it will be repaired or replaced, or a full refund will be issued minus shipping costs. Simply return it via any insured, trackable method, I cannot be responsible for items lost or damaged in the mail. I will also repair pieces that are older than one year or have been damaged due to abuse, contact me with a description of the piece and purchase info, and I will provide a quote (please note that some unique beads are not replaceable).

Payment:

I accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Debit cards and PayPal via my PayPal merchant account in my Online Store. You DO NOT have to have a PayPal account to pay with a credit/debit card instead of PayPal. I also accept e-checks through PayPal, but the item will not be shipped until the funds are released by the bank. Texas residents are subject to 8.25% state sales tax.

Shipping:

Shipping to all U.S. states and territories is free. All items in my online stores are in stock and ready to ship.  Your purchase will ship within 2-3 business days, and you will receive an email when it ships. Custom orders may take longer, I will notify you with an estimated time frame for delivery. All items are shipped via the U.S. Postal Service with insurance and delivery confirmation. Earrings are shipped via First Class Mail Parcel, necklaces and bracelets are shipped via Priority Mail.

Materials:

I use .925 sterling silver and gold filled wire in my jewelry designs. Gold filled is higher quality than gold plated, with a much thicker layer of gold (5%) over a brass core (100 times more than plated). It will not wear off like plating, and will last for many years. For strung bead pieces, I use 7 strand nylon coated steel wire, except for knotted pearl strands in which I use sturdy silk thread.

Sterling silver is a little softer than the metals used to make manufactured jewelry, because it is so pure (92.5% to be exact). Pure gold, for example is 24k, but you mostly find it in 14k and 18k because it is mixed with other metals to make it harder and stiffer. It's best to remove sterling silver jewelry before taking clothes on and off, that seems to be the primary cause of breakage. I've only had to repair 3 pieces so far (out of several hundred), and all were broken due to getting caught in clothing.

Many modern quartz beads are lab-grown. They are real quartz which has been melted and reformed and/or hand faceted. My listings will say if I have used lab grown quartz. Many gemstones (rubies, green amethyst, blue topaz, chalcedony, for example) are heat treated or irradiated to change or enhance the color. Most freshwater pearls that are not white, cream, pink, peach, copper, grey or black are dyed. I use both natural and dyed pearls, but unless stated otherwise, all pearls and gemstones I use are to my knowledge natural. However, I must rely on the information provided by the supplier. Although I have not experienced any problems, I cannot guarantee that the color enhancement and dying processes described above produce lightfast colors. To be safe, I recommend that all colored pearls and gemstones be kept away from strong light and stored in a dark place when not being worn. It is also best not to use harsh cleaning chemicals. An excellent pearl safe jewelry cleaner I recommend is Jewel Brite.

With the exception of abalone shells purchase from a sustainable source (farm raised) in New Zealand, I do not use any purchased coral or seashells in my designs because I cannot verify how they were obtained. The huge market for red coral jewelry worldwide is depleting the species. There has been a movement to put red corals on the threatened species list, but the proposal has been blocked by nations who are benefiting financially from the sales of red coral (the US is the biggest buyer of red coral). A new campaign to increase awareness in the fashion and design industry —aptly titled "Too Precious To Wear"— has been launched by SeaWeb, one of the Coral Reef Alliance's allies in the reef conservation movement.

All sea glass used in my designs was collected by me on Caribbean beaches during my scuba diving trips, and with the exception of drilling holes and some occasional minor touch up, it is unaltered. I do not use glass that has been frosted in a rock tumbler, or purchased at craft stores.

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Links:  I actively trade links with quality web sites with content related to jewelry making. With the exception of a few friends, I do not list individual jewelers. I always ask for permission, so please ask for permission before linking to me. I do not knowingly link to sites with adult or offensive material, excessive popup windows or invasive marketing techniques.