“Hi my name is Carol Clarke and I would like to welcome you to my blog in which I write about jewellery matters and try to reply to any questions I am asked on a daily basis”
In today’s world, jewellery and precious stones are becoming an increasingly popular investment. From matrimonial rings, family heirlooms, or any jewellery collection, everything is precious and worth a lot of money. This is why it’s important to ensure that it’s properly valued, especially now with the surge of lower quality Lab Grown Diamonds. Here are some of … Read more
Lab grown diamonds are, as they say, “diamonds that are grown in a lab,” although they are more like huge, massive factories with huge metal vats in them and lots of pipes coming out from them than actual ‘laboratories’. In this article, I look at the processes involved in manufacturing lab-grown diamonds and discuss why … Read more
By Carol Clarke This is one of the most common questions I get asked by clients when I am valuing their branded jewellery. At the moment, there are so many different types of branded jewellery, with more brands springing up every month. In my opinion, there is an important distinction to be made. On … Read more
I am always asked this question mostly from people who are going to buy diamonds abroad. There are many different laboratories that issue diamond certificates around the world. There are the major ones like GIA, HRD, IGI and others like EGL and GAA. As a GIA gemmologist myself I am slightly biased as I know … Read more
Now, I most certainly am not an advocate of the “free cleaning service” which I do not offer and for good reason. Firstly, before any piece of jewellery is professionally cleaned it must be fully checked by a gemstone setter to make sure that it is suitable for professional cleaning. By “professional cleaning” I mean … Read more
It is very fashionable to travel to Antwerp to buy an engagement ring as it is perceived as being “a lot cheaper” than buying in Ireland. As a jewellery valuer I do not believe it is “a lot cheaper”. If one adds up all the cost involved and then what happens when it all goes … Read more
Recently, we were asked to provide an expert opinion for an interview with Beyond4Cs; a website dedicated to consumer education. Over 100 industry experts were interviewed including appraisers, wholesalers and retailers. Here’s the excerpt of our response from the write up: When do I think is the best time to buy an engagement ring? Well … Read more
Well you may ask what is a micro set ring?. I am sure you all know that the word “micro” is short for microscopic which means very small among other things. So micro set rings are rings set with small stones which have extremely small pieces of metal on each stone and so, there lies … Read more
Antique Ring Valuations I have numerous calls from people about to buy an engagement ring and get asked various different questions regarding the same. However, last week I had a call from a young couple who wanted to know if the percentages of the star facet in relation to the width of the table would … Read more
