FAQ'S
WHY IS ATB DIFFERENT? As a small, independent business we care about our customers; so we love to provide affordable jewellery without compromising quality. We do not take the same profit margin as high street vendors who pay overheads and have head offices. At ATB we can design almost ANY ring you can imagine and we use better quality diamonds and other stones for a reduced price. We also offer services such as resizing, polishing, replating, making redesigns of old rings (we can use your own stones for a sentimental touch and can also give you the value of the scrap gold towards your new ring), custom designs or replication of designs of anything you have seen online. We cater to everyone and keep your budget in mind as much as possible for the best quality.
HOW AND WHY DO WE CHARGE LESS THAN OTHER COMPANIES?
On the high street, jewellers add 500-1000% on their items for their profit margin. We are a self employed small business with minimal overheads or buildings to rent out.
We believe that you don't have to spend a lot of money to get good quality jewellery.
Currently our prices are as follows (subject to change): To see our latest guide prices for our rings please see our Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/ATBJewellry and see our pinned post at the top of the page
WHAT PAYMENT METHODS ARE ACCEPTED? We accept payments via debit and credit cards.We also offer Clearpay as a checkout option. Get in touch via our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ATBJewellry if you need to create an instalment play to pay over a longer period of time.
WHAT IS THE MOST DURABLE WAY TO SET GEMSTONES? With smaller stones if they aren't set in the correct way they will not be durable and are more prone to becoming loose or being lost from their metal setting. The best way for a wedding band to be set is to use channel setting or bead and bright which is like channel setting but with claws. For an engagement ring which usually has one centre stone, 6 claws are always more secure than 4 for round shapes like oval or round (4 claws are best for square or rectangular shaped stones). Bezel setting is another option where there is metal framing all around the stone which makes it the most secure setting with no risk of the stone falling out. Other settings such as scallop, prong or fishtail settings can be problematic due to becoming less secure.
HOW TO GET THE CORRECT RING SIZE: It is important to be correctly sized for any ring. Just like in high street clothes shops where your size varies per shop, ring sizes are also different depending on the design and also the vendor. If you have any questions regarding sizing, don't hesitate to get in touch with us.
WHAT IS HALLMARKING AND WHY IS IT REQUIRED? Hallmarking is a legal requirement in the UK which ensures authenticity and carat that the gold you are buying is. At the hallmarking office, the gold is tested with special equipment to make sure it is real and you can be sure of what you are buying. 9ct gold, for example, will have 375 written inside the band (14ct gold is 585, 18ct gold is 750, platinum typically 950) with ATB's own shamrock company logo and the Edinburgh Assay stamp (castle symbol). Without this hallmarking, your jewellery cannot be valued and cannot be added to house insurance easily.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE MY RING? Please allow 24-48 hours for a full quote. From the day your CAD is sent to you (up to 7 working days) and once approved by you production will take : Normal time frame 6-10 weeks Rush service 4-6 Weeks (£100 surcharge) Redesigns 8-12 Weeks Please remember that in busier seasons (i.e wedding season May- Oct and Christmas) this could be longer as suppliers are in high demand.
WHITE GOLD VS PLATINUM: White gold is yellow gold mixed with palladium to make it white, but still has a yellow tinge so it needs replating every 1-2 years at a cost of £40+ to give shine and prevent scratching. Please refrain from using hand sanitiser or any alcohol based products on or around your ring as this will wear the plating away quicker. We suggest removal of all rings before you clean or exercise to help keep your rings in the best condition. To avoid having to replate the white gold, platinum is a great option and a platinum engagement ring is only around £300 more than a 9ct white gold engagement ring. Platinum only needs to be polished every now and again and with us your first ring polish is free (we can repolish just before the wedding) and only £10 thereafter.
WHY SHOULD MY ENGAGEMENT RING AND WEDDING RING BE OF THE SAME METAL? Wearing two different metals next to each other can wear the less hard wearing of the two down and damage that ring. For example, platinum scores higher on the Mohs scale of hardness than gold. If you place a platinum wedding band alongside a gold engagement ring, it’s almost guaranteed that the gold will become heavily scuffed and scratched over time. Mohs scale: Silver: 2.5 - 3 Yellow gold: 2.5 – 3 White gold: 2.8 – 4 Platinum: 4 - 4.5 Palladium: 4.75 Titanium: 6 (Platinum grey colour) Cobalt: 7 (Looks just like white gold/ platinum) Zirconium 8 (Black, matt metal) Ceramic 9 (Black shiny metal) Tungsten: 9.5 (Platinum grey colour) This is also why we recommend metals like titanium, tungsten and cobalt for customers with manual labour jobs and active lifestyles.
EXTRAS AND ADD ONS: ENGRAVING We offer engraving for silver, gold, platinum, titanium, titanium, zirconium, ceramic and tungsten rings at £30 per ring. BOXES Here at ATB we are pleased to be able to collaborate with some amazing ring box designers. We include a standard or wooden ring box with our couples deals but for something more special we can get your perfect ring box or presentation box designed and ordered for you. We have options such as acrylic, glass, velvet and many, many more luxury options for a small extra fee. Please message for options and more details.