Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of our most frequently asked questions, about everything from who we are, to the custom jewelry we create to the jewelry design process we follow. Click a question below to see our answer.
General
Yes! We are honored to work with you to use the gemstones and metal from your inherited custom jewelry pieces to create new pieces that work with your aesthetic and your lifestyle. We’re often able to combine several pieces in a delightful way into something new that you’ll wear every day and love for a lifetime! We do this by custom designing a new piece of jewelry that we’ll create through fabrication or lost wax casting around the diamonds and gemstones we have. We can often then melt the existing precious metal and preserve it in the new piece. We love using the past to create a beautiful, sparkling future heirloom!
Sure. We love old jewelry! We’ll provide the first ten minutes of jeweler time at no charge, to help you decide what has scrap value, what has only sentimental value, and what we think you should keep as is and/or appraise. After the first ten minutes, we’ll charge for jeweler time at our standard rate, unless we’re working towards using some of the jewelry in a custom project. In that case, there’s no charge for helping you sort.
We do offer jewelry appraisal services at a few levels. We’re happy to provide detailed documentation for anything that we make for you from materials that we source and provide at no additional charge. If we used your gemstones or diamonds in your piece, or if we didn’t make the piece, we use our exceptional in-house appraisers to provide the documentation you need for insurance purposes, starting at $150 per item. Complex items that will take more than one hour to complete will have additional charges. Turnaround time is about two weeks. We’re aware that you can get a cheaper or faster jewelry appraisal some places, but like mom and dad always said, you get what you pay for.
Custom jewelry is not inexpensive, but it’s an incredible value when you ponder what you’re getting, which is a one of a kind piece, designed and made by local artists and jewelers, just for you and your intended. Our commitment and love for everything we do fuels us each day, and infuses the custom jewelry pieces we make with soul. Some people say you can’t buy that kind of love, but we disagree.
Our jewelry repairs, antique jewelry restorations, and custom work are priced from a national guidebook used by most craftspeople in our industry to estimate the resources they’ll put in to any given repair. Therefore, you’ll find similar prices across town on most things. When it comes to full blown custom jewelry work, artists and jewelers –including us–charge based upon their expertise, education, and experience. We believe our pricing structure is fair and transparent, and it will be visible from your very first meeting with us.
We’re the Linden Hills, Minneapolis, MN-based team that has revolutionized local and custom artisan jewelry with an incredibly approachable vibe! We want you to be delighted with everything we do for you, from your experience on our website to the extraordinary customer service we provide, and most importantly, we want you to love your custom jewelry. We treat every customer like family and you’ll feel it the moment you walk through the door. Discover more by meeting our team of custom jewelers and designers!
In plain language, we stand behind our workmanship. Big chain stores make a point of spelling out how they’ll do what sounds like a lot for the lifetime of your piece, but they work that into their prices and they usually require a rigorous schedule of documented examinations. We advise you during your creation process about how to insure your item, and that responsibility does belong to the customer once an item leaves our store. That being said, during the first year that you’re wearing your piece, we assume anything that goes wrong in the absence of a specific accident is our job, and we help you fix it. After that, we offer expert repairs, sizing, and other modifications to the pieces we make at competitive prices. We also offer absolutely free “spa” services for your ring forever, and we’re always happy to see you! We’ll clean up pieces we didn’t make or sell for a small fee and hand them back to you so sparkly your jaw will drop.
Return Policy: Like most art, our gallery items are nonreturnable unless a “gift” exception is explicitly made at the point of sale.
Unfortunately, we cannot. We can talk about generalities when you call, but we really need to see your piece to understand the extent of any jewelry repairs or restoration, and the condition of the piece as well as the scope of the work. We’re located in Linden Hills, a great neighborhood in Minneapolis, MN, with fun places to dine, shop, and drink coffee–so come over to our jewelry store and see us and we’ll be able to give you a more accurate quote.
We seldom buy finished pieces, as that’s not our business model, but we’re happy to consider trade and/or reuse on your pieces when we’re making you something new. If you have something we think we can use? We’ll consider it. Give us a call, and let’s talk about it. We can also help you by polishing and cleaning up pieces that you may want to sell on your own.
No, actually, we can’t. But we would be happy to sit down with you for a free consultation and give you our suggestions for directions we would pursue, and encourage you to check out our custom jewelry design gallery for inspiration. Once you’ve hired us, we perform more complex and concentrated design work to guide our custom jewelry design process and shape as well as reflect your preferences.
Jewelry Repair
We certainly do! We can fix most everything, from your tangled or broken chains, your broken earrings, replace diamonds that have fallen out, even make that ring that was run over look like new again. We examine your piece and make cost effective suggestions on how we can employ our expertise to bring your favorite pieces back to life!
We often can. Costume jewelry repair requires a laser welder, an amazing piece of equipment that allows us to heat up an area on a piece of jewelry smaller than a millimeter in size. Most costume jewelry is made from “pot” metal or base metal, which is unpredictable when subjected to heat and therefore can’t be torch welded. Laser welding is expensive, and it’s an unfortunate irony that our least expensive pieces cost the most to repair. But, if they mean a great deal to you, they’re worth fixing–and we can do that!
We sure can. We have an expert pearl stringer with decades of experience, and she does a wonderful job for us. Pearls can be cleaned, clasps replaced, whatever needs to be done to get them back on your neck. Turnaround time is only about a week–bring ’em in!
Most jewelry is best cared for with an old, soft toothbrush with warm water and kitchen soap. There are exceptions, and we’ll let about you know how best to take care of your new custom jewelry when we deliver it. Feel free to call or stop by anytime for expert advice and cleaning or repair.
Custom Jewelry Materials
We get our metals from suppliers who guarantee the use of 100% recycled metals. We also get our metals from YOU–we will reuse your metals wherever we can, so that the past is preserved in your new piece. It’s good for the earth, it feels good, and it’s just the right thing to do.
Absolutely! We’re aware that some jewelers won’t work with client provided stones. As long as you understand that there is a very tiny chance that sometimes stones chip, we’re good. It happens very rarely, and we have the best possible equipment and expertise to keep it from happening. Doesn’t hurt to knock on wood.
Since 2003, diamonds have been regulated by the Kimberley Process, an international diamonds certification initiative, established to prevent “conflict diamonds” from entering the mainstream rough diamond market. The Kimberley Process was created by United Nations General Assembly Resolution to increase transparency and oversight in the diamond industry in order to eliminate trade in conflict diamonds. In addition to our faith in the Kimberley Process, we love creating with Canadian diamonds and antique diamonds, which we’re repurposing when we design around them.
Yes, but they come in every other color, too! Sapphires are very hard relative to other gemstones, and as such, we love creating around them because they last a long, long time. Did you know that rubies are the same material as sapphires–just a different color? Rubies and sapphires are both color examples of a mineral called corundum. Sapphires come in every color of the rainbow and a variety of saturations, with only green being limited. Check out our custom jewelry design gallery for some stunning sapphires!
Labs are optically and molecularly the same as mined diamonds.
A one carat lab diamond is grown in about a week, and the oldest it can be would be the 1970’s when this process began to create viable gemstones.
An earth mined diamond is billions of years old; that’s billions with a B. As antiquarians, we respect things that are old, and diamonds are probably the oldest objects you’ll ever touch.
Both have environmental implications, just different ones.
Earth mined diamonds have inherent value and hold a percentage of their value over time. Lab grown diamonds are becoming cheaper and cheaper to make, and will be worth less and less over time.
Lab grown diamonds make jewelers a lot more money than earth mined diamonds, and despite that, we’d like you to buy a natural diamond.
While we will sell a lab grown diamond if the client has been educated about them, we prefer to sell natural diamonds.
Engagement Rings
Lab grown gemstones are optically and molecularly the same as their earth mined counterparts.
Like lab grown diamonds, they aren’t old compared to their earth mined counterparts. Both have environmental impacts, just different.
Lab grown gemstones have a significantly lower resale value than their earth mined counterparts.
While we can recommend lab gemstones in some situations, we prefer to sell earth mined gemstones.
Pure silver is quite soft, and is usually alloyed with other metals at a 92.5:7.5 ratio to create “sterling silver.” We offer a specialty sterling silver with 6 percentage points of palladium, which creates a harder and more tarnish resistant sterling than “traditional” silver. Silver and its alloys are a bit too soft to go the distance, so we don’t usually recommend them for commitment jewelry–but we do love working with them.
Pure gold is also soft, and is a bright, saturated golden yellow. It is usually alloyed with other metals in ratios of 14:10, 18:6, and 22:4 to make it harder and more cost effective. The more gold in the alloy, the softer the metal will be and the brighter the gold tone. The non-gold metals in the alloy determine the color among white, yellow, rose, and even green gold. 14K White gold maintains a mirror shine longer than other metals, and that’s a plus for some uses. White gold sometimes contains nickel which some folks are allergic to, but that possibility shouldn’t be overhyped.
An interesting gold alloy can be made by adding palladium to the gold mix to make grayish white golds. Palladium white gold is beautiful and durable for those seeking a gray metal.
Palladium on its own is a somewhat soft and lightweight metal. It is hypoallergenic and a cool white color. It’s rather expensive, and its positive qualities don’t really stack up against its price point as a platinum alternative. I wouldn’t recommend palladium on its own in any design that should hold a surface shine or an intricate design on the surface.
Platinum is the heaviest of the precious metals, and it’s a lovely hypoallergenic, true-white metal. It doesn’t hold a surface shine for long but develops a satin-y patina that can be very pleasing to the eye. Platinum is expensive, but it’s the queen of metals and always a lovely and enduring choice.
Titanium is what we consider an, “alternative metal,” along with steel and a few other materials. These materials are not used by traditional metal smiths and custom jewelers like us, but are instead the result of manufacturing processes. We can order an alternative metal band for you, but they can’t be customized or sized and if you ever change size, you’ll have to get another ring altogether–something to consider if you’re the sentimental type. We have lots of edgy options for you to consider, if that’s what you’re looking for–let’s sit down together!
You can start right here! We give you a crash course in diamonds to start, so that you feel confident that you know what you’re looking at when you choose the diamond that’s right for you–and her.
I don’t know anything about diamonds!?
We can help. There’s tons of information about the Four C’s on the internet, but, having too much information can be overwhelming, so let’s reduce it down to the basics. We’re not going to teach you how to grade diamonds, but we can teach you how to buy one. In fact, one of our owners teaches a recurring Minneapolis Public Education class called, “How to Buy a Diamond.”
Speaking of so many sources of information, who do I trust?
There are many sources of “correct” information on the internet (and some sources of not-so-correct information) but we trust the GIA as our primary source. We’re GIA trained and use GIA standards to evaluate diamonds. Established in 1931, The Gemological Institute of America (www.gia.edu) is an independent nonprofit that aspires to protect the gem and jewelry buying public through research, education and laboratory services. All of my recommendations assume that the diamond in question is or has been evaluated according to GIA standards. I do not assume that certifications by other labs and entities are correct, and I evaluate the stone myself in those cases.
Let’s get down to it. Help me understand color.
“White” diamonds are graded for color upside down! They range from colorless to showing significant body color, on a letter scale beginning with D and ranging all the way to Z. DEF at the top is the designation for “colorless,” with GHIJ being “near colorless.” My personal favorite would be an “F” color stone, but most lovely engagement ring choices fall into near colorless, with G and H being beautiful and popular. While I do sometimes fall in love with a stone that is I color or lower, I encourage clients to stay in the upper ranges of near colorless.
Clarity seems important, but complicated. Help me understand clarity.
Clarity is an evaluation of the diamond’s inclusions and surface blemishes. Jewelers make clarity calls at 10x magnification, using “loupes” that allow them to see the diamond more closely. Clarity is a very complex subject, but it can be reduced down to basics. At the highest end of clarity, we have flawless. We rarely sell these for engagement ring purposes as they can be cost prohibitive. At the other end of the spectrum, we have “I3;” the “I” standing for “included,” and the “3” indicating that the inclusions are pronounced and interfere significantly with the movement of light throughout the stone as well as its durability. For our purposes, we will avoid these two extremes of the spectrum.
In between, we have grades within VVS (very, very slightly included), VS (very slightly included), SI (slightly included), and I (included). Shorthand for the inclusions visible at 10X within these grades would be these:
VVS: Minute
VS: Minor
SI: Noticeable
I: Obvious
You don’t need to learn to identify these grades and all their nuances, only to understand that they exist, and to know where you want to be. My personal sweet spot is an SI1 diamond, meaning one with inclusions that can be seen with the loupe, but most likely not with the naked eye, and not interfering with the diamond’s brilliance. Rules were made to be broken and I’ve fallen in love with other stones, but SI is a good place to be. I should note here that the larger the stone, or if the stone is a fancy color, the grading criteria become “kinder” to the stone and in such cases, an SI1 or even higher clarity graded stone may have inclusions visible to the unaided eye.
Whew! Can we move on to an easy one? How about cut? She wants an oval.
Ah….not so fast. Cut is about so much more than shape! The word, “cut” can be used loosely to refer to the diamond’s shape, meaning round or oval, square, pear, etc. But when it comes to diamond BEAUTY, we’re talking about cut from a mathematical perspective.
This is a good time to mention something called REFRACTIVE INDEX, which is a way to measure how light moves through a substance. Diamonds have a very high refractive index relative to other materials, which is what makes them so darn sparkly. The refractive index of diamonds is higher than that of white sapphire or quartz or glass, which is why a little piece of diamond cut the right way can make us so happy.
So what do cut and refractive index mean to you, the shopper? In order to maximize the “sparkle potential” of a diamond’s high refractive index, it needs to be cut according to some good math. Little details like the percentage of the total diameter of the diamond made up by the table (the table is that flat area on the stone’s top surface), or the depth of the pavilion relative to the total depth of the stone make a huge difference in sparkle. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, that’s okay. Cut is complicated.
So what you should know is that overall cut is graded, from “poor” all the way up to “ideal.” I avoid poor or fair cuts, and try to remain at “very good” or better, because I know that CUT is going to be a diamond’s make-or-break beauty secret. You want brilliance and fire, and cut is essential to that goal.
How big of a diamond should I get? Bigger costs more, right? CARAT WEIGHT:
Bigger does cost more, but in more ways than one. Understanding something called, “critical weights” can help you be a savvy diamond shopper! We know that exceptional diamonds are expensive, and that they’re sold by weight, measured in carats. But here’s something you may not realize. Which do you think is more rare–a half carat diamond, or, a three carat diamond of equal quality? If you said the larger stone, you’d be right. So, as we move up in size, considering diamonds of the SAME quality, the price PER CARAT goes up as well as the upward change in price simply because the stone is bigger.
Here’s how this can help you. A diamond of G color and SI1 clarity with excellent cut weighing .48 carats may cost about $1100, while the very same diamond at .52 carats will be at least $1500. Those .04 carats take the total weight of the diamond over a critical weight of .50, which makes the diamond cost more in TWO ways rather than one. Confused? All you need to know is that staying just shy of critical weights–.50 carat, .75 carat, 1.0 carat, 1.5 carat etc. can help you save quite a bit of money! If you’re looking for a one carat, be open to that .97 to .99 carat stone.
BUDGET: That was all kind of intense, but I think I get it. How much money should I be expecting to spend on this?
Budget is up to you–only you can decide how much you feel good about spending on your engagement ring. You can get a magnificent shy one carat stone (do you remember what I said about shy weights?) for about $5,000. Diamonds are mesmerizing and durable, and they don’t fade with time. You’re buying something that your partner will wear for the rest of her life. I can help you with an engagement ring at many price points, from our Cupid’s Arrow Collection starting at $1,800. Let’s make something beautiful together.
I certainly can. We have a number of paths we can pursue to create your bespoke ring, and they’re all useful in different ways.
One of the first questions I ask is, do you have some pictures she’s given you or shared with you on Pinterest of rings she likes? This is a great resource for us as we create. I also ask if she likes traditional white diamonds, or, prefers something different. I like to know things like, does she wear jewelry every day and change it out often, or is a she more of a tried-and-true type? Does she wear yellow or white metal? If you know her size, that is a big plus, but we can do good guesswork if you don’t.
The different options we have include choosing from our gallery of ready to wear, exceptional engagement rings at a wide range of price points. These are rings that we made from our own imaginations, and we hope you’ll find something you love.
As an expansion to our one of a kind gallery items, we have relationships with a number of high quality jewelry mounting companies that have designed and made available hundreds of spectacular looks for us to choose from. This option means choosing a mounting that already exists–we simply order it in your ring size and optimized for your center stone size and shape.
New Gild also creates full custom engagement and wedding ring designs. This means that we choose a center diamond or other gemstone together, then design and make a ring around that stone. We go through a series of steps–concept sketches, CAD images, wax models, and finally the manifestation of your love and our artisanal craftsmanship–the one-of-a-kind engagement ring.
We sure can. We love non-traditional, custom engagement rings, and we have the imagination and the experience to help you create a piece that will wow her without diamonds. We’re experts in gemstone rings and even non-traditional diamonds that make wildly wonderful rings–take a look at our custom jewelry design gallery! We love sapphires and other gemstones, and will be happy to share our passion with you.
The Four C's
You can start right here! We give you a crash course in diamonds to start, so that you feel confident that you know what you’re looking at when you choose the diamond that’s right for you–and her.
We can help. There’s tons of information about the Four C’s on the internet, but, having too much information can be overwhelming, so let’s reduce it down to the basics. We’re not going to teach you how to grade diamonds, but we can teach you how to buy one. In fact, one of our owners teaches a recurring Minneapolis Public Education class called “How to Buy a Diamond.”
There are many sources of “correct” information on the internet (and some sources of not-so-correct information) but we trust the GIA as our primary source. We’re GIA trained and use GIA standards to evaluate diamonds. Established in 1931, The Gemological Institute of America is an independent nonprofit that protects the gem and jewelry buying public through research, education and laboratory services. All of the recommendations provided by New Gild Jewelers assume that the diamond in question is or has been evaluated according to GIA standards. We do not assume that certifications by other labs and entities are correct, and we evaluate the stone ourselves in those cases.
“White” diamonds are graded for color upside down! They range from colorless to showing significant body color, on a letter scale beginning with D and ranging all the way to Z. DEF at the top is the designation for “colorless,” with GHIJ being “near colorless.” A personal favorite would be an “F” color stone, but most lovely engagement ring choices fall into near colorless, with G and H being beautiful and popular. While we do sometimes fall in love with a stone that is I color or lower, we encourage clients to stay in the upper ranges of near colorless.
Clarity is an evaluation of the diamond’s inclusions and surface blemishes. Jewelers make clarity calls at 10x magnification, using “loupes” that allow them to see the diamond more closely. Clarity is a very complex subject, but it can be reduced down to basics. At the highest end of clarity, we have flawless. We rarely sell these diamonds for engagement ring purposes as they can be cost prohibitive. At the other end of the spectrum, we have “I3;” the “I” standing for “included,” and the “3” indicating that the inclusions are pronounced and interfere significantly with the movement of light throughout the stone. For our purposes, we will avoid these two extremes of the spectrum.
In between, we have grades within VVS (very, very slightly included), VS (very slightly included), SI (slightly included), and I (included). Shorthand for the inclusions visible at 10X within these grades would be these:
VVS: Minute
VS: Minor
SI: Noticeable I: Obvious
You don’t need to learn to identify these grades and all their nuances, only to understand that they exist, and to know where you want to be. Our personal sweet spot is an SI1 diamond, meaning one with inclusions that can be seen with the loupe, but not with the naked eye, and not interfering with the diamond’s brilliance. Rules were made to be broken and we’ve fallen in love with other stones, but SI is a good place to be.
Ah….not so fast. Cut is about so much more than shape! The word, “cut” can be used loosely to refer to the diamond’s shape, meaning round or oval, square, pear, etc. But when it comes to diamond BEAUTY, we’re talking about cut from a mathematical perspective.
This is a good time to mention something called REFRACTIVE INDEX, which is a way to measure how light moves through a substance. Diamonds have a very high refractive index relative to other materials, which is what makes them so darn sparkly. The refractive index of diamonds is higher than that of white sapphire or quartz or glass, which is why a little piece of diamond cut the right way can make us so happy.
So what do cut and refractive index mean to you, the shopper? In order to maximize the “sparkle potential” of a diamond’s high refractive index, it needs to be cut according to some good math. Little details like the percentage of the total diameter of the diamond made up by the table (the table is that flat area on the stone’s top surface), or the depth of the pavillion relative to the total depth of the stone make a huge difference in sparkle. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, that’s okay. Cut is complicated.
So what you should know is that overall cut is graded, from “poor” all the way up to “ideal.” We avoid poor or fair cuts, and try to remain at “very good” or better, because we know that CUT is going to be a diamond’s make-or-break beauty secret. You want brilliance and fire, and cut is essential to that goal.
Bigger does cost more, but in more ways than one. Understanding something called, “critical weights” can help you be a savvy diamond shopper! We know that exceptional diamonds are expensive, and that they’re sold by weight, measured in carats. But here’s something you may not realize. Which do you think is more rare–a half carat diamond, or, a three carat diamond of equal quality? If you said the larger stone, you’d be right. So, as we move up in size, considering diamonds of the SAME quality, the price PER CARAT goes up as well as the upward change in price simply because the stone is bigger.
Here’s how this can help you. A diamond of G color and SI1 clarity with excellent cut weighing .48 carats may cost about $1100, while the very same diamond at .52 carats will be at least $1500. Those .04 carats take the total weight of the diamond over a critical weight of .50, which makes the diamond cost more in TWO ways rather than one. Confused? All you need to know is that staying just shy? of critical weights–.50 carat, .75 carat, 1.0 carat, 1.5 carat etc. can help you save quite a bit of money! If you’re looking for a one carat, be open to that .97 to .99 carat stone.
Budget is up to you–only you can decide how much you feel good about spending on your engagement ring. You can get a magnificent shy one carat stone (do you remember what we said about shy weights?) for about $5,000. Diamonds are mesmerizing and durable, and they don’t fade with time. You’re buying something that your partner will wear for the rest of her life. We can help you with an engagement ring at many price points, from our Cupid’s Arrow Collection starting at $1,800. Let’s make something beautiful together.
One of the first questions we ask is, do you have some pictures she’s given you or shared with you on Pinterest of rings she likes? This is a great resource for us as we create. We also ask if she likes traditional white diamonds, or, prefers something different. We like to know things like, does she wear jewelry every day and change it out often, or is a she more of a tried-and-true type? Does she wear yellow or white metal? If you know her size, that is a big plus, but we can do good guesswork if you don’t.
The different options we have include choosing from our Cupid’s Arrow Collection of $1,800 diamond engagement rings. These rings feature classic solitaire styling and carefully curated diamonds that represent the best in their class. While some choose to upgrade their diamonds later in life, these rings are beautiful and can go the distance.
We also have our New Gild Classics selection of ring models that represent our most popular engagement ring styles. These are classic and timeless looks, like halos and three stone rings, that are ready priced for the mounting and accent stones at approachable budgets. All we need to complete these looks is to choose a center stone that meets your size and budget criteria, and we make up the mounting just for you and your center diamond.
As an expansion on the New Gild Classics, we have relationships with a number of high quality jewelry mounting companies that have designed and made available hundreds of spectacular looks for us to choose from. This option means choosing a mounting that already exists–we simply order it in your ring size and optimized for your center stone size and shape.
New Gild Jewelers also creates full custom wedding ring designs. This means that we choose a center diamond or other gemstone together, then design and make a ring around that stone. We go through a series of steps–concept sketches, CAD images, wax models, and finally the manifestation of your love and our artisanal craftsmanship–the one-of-a-kind engagement ring.
