FAQ’s

Below are some common questions and answers around The Village Goldsmith's approach and processes for design, manufacturing, and information about our services, store policies, sourcing, and more. Please contact us if any of your questions remain unanswered. Our friendly team is always happy to help.

General

Glad you asked. We have a lot of experience working with clients from all over the world. Read some of our client reviews and stories. We can work with you through email, phone or virtual consultation via video call to turn your ideas into your perfect jewellery design. Learn all about our custom design process which includes five key stages: design consultation, quoting, review & refine, crafting, our hands to yours.

Yes. Learn all about the revolutionary setting of The Floeting® Diamond. 

Of course! We’d love to talk to you and are always happy to answer any questions you may have. Contact us here. 

The Village Goldsmith is an award-winning global design studio based in Wellington, New Zealand. For nearly half a century, clients have trusted our extraordinary team of designers and expert jewellers to capture their stories and memories with handcrafted fine jewellery of exceptional beauty, quality, and value.

While online sales are an important part of how we serve clients worldwide, we also operate two fine jewellery showrooms plus a design studio and workshop in New Zealand where we’ve been in operation handcrafting stunning pieces since 1981. We partner with world-leading diamond cutting partners and precious metal suppliers who care as much as we do about ethical sourcing. Learn more about our standards and practices in ethical diamond sourcing and ethical precious metal sourcing.

Our friendly team are always happy to give you a virtual tour around our showroom and we invite you to read client reviews and stories.

Custom Bespoke Jewellery Design and Manufacturing

Depending on the design it will take approximately 3-6 weeks to handcraft your piece. However, if you have an urgent request we will do everything possible to accommodate you. In stock and ready to ship items typically ship within 1-3 working days. Find out more about shipping and returns.

Our team of in-house jewellers at The Village Goldsmith specialise in designing and handcrafting custom bespoke jewellery. We are happy to provide jewellery repair and restoration services for any Village Goldsmith piece and as a service to our clients for other jewellery on a case by case basis. Learn more about our jewellery repair and restoration service.

Let us know what you have in mind for engraving and we can advise on the best approach for your specific piece. Please note that if your item is engraved it cannot be returned.

Creating extraordinary custom jewellery of outstanding quality and value is our specialty. We have years of experience collaborating with clients to design and craft custom bespoke jewellery. We’re passionate about capturing stories and crafting memories so please reach out to learn more about how to bring your dream jewellery to life. We’d love to work with you. 

Clients are often surprised to learn that a custom designed piece of jewellery from The Village Goldsmith can often be created for a similar cost, or even less, as compared to a mass-produced item from a regular jeweller. We’re proud to create jewellery of extraordinary quality and value designed to be treasured for generations. Learn more about pricing of custom bespoke jewellery.

Diamonds

Our friendly team is here to advise you on how to secure your perfect diamond. There are many considerations when evaluating the best quality and value diamond for your budget and design. Learn more in our engagement ring buying guide. We recommend prioritising quality of cut to ensure maximum sparkle and scintillation. A slightly smaller diamond, meticulously cut, will often have more impact than an averagely cut larger one. After cut, we recommend to bring together the best combination of size, colour and clarity within your specifications and budget. Get in touch with our expert team for help sourcing your ideal diamond.

Hearts and arrows diamonds are precision-cut round diamonds that exhibit a symmetrical hearts-and-arrows pattern when viewed under magnification. The symmetry and precision cuts enable this pattern to emerge. This type of diamond makes up ~1% of round cut diamonds meaning they can be more expensive

Up to a third of diamonds will glow or fluouresce a blueish light (they can also emit yellow or orange) when exposed to long-wave ultraviolet rays from sources like the sun. Fluorescence may reduce the price of a diamond, but it can sometimes help the diamond look whiter to the eye. While some people prefer fluourescent diamonds because of their beauty and impact, others may not. We recommend comparing diamonds under different lights to choose one that you love.

For ethical and proven provenance reasons we do not work with externally sourced diamonds. The only exception to this rule is for diamonds already set into an existing piece of jewellery, in which case this would fall into our jewllery remodelling service. We’re confident that our direct access to the best diamond cutting companies in the world ensures we can provide unbeatable quality and value to our clients. Please get in touch with our expert team to discuss your requirements so they can provide you options and quotes for your perfect diamond.

Ethics and Sustainability

We go to great lengths to ensure the quality, value and provenance of the diamonds and precious metals we use to craft every Village Goldsmith piece. We only source the highest quality diamonds that have guaranteed provenance, are Kimberley Process compliant, and are from our trusted supplier network who are all members of the Responsible Jewellery Council. Learn more about our ethically sourced diamonds. Additionally, all of the metals we use to craft our pieces come from recycled jewellery or are ethically sourced precious metals from our reputable supplier partners.
We are proud of our ethical sourcing standards and practices and welcome enquiries. Please reach out with any questions. 

We’ve put a lot of time into researching lab-grown syntheic diamonds and other synthetic simulants such as moissanite. The Village Goldsmith is committed to creating extraordinary jewellery that will be treasured for generations which is why we do not work with synthetic or lab-grown diamonds or gemstones. Learn more about our position on lab-grown diamonds. 

Sizing, Cleaning and Warranty

Don’t worry, we understand it’s tricky to discreetly measure the correct ring size for your partner’s engagement ring while keeping it a surprise. That’s why The Village Goldsmith offers one complimentary resizing within 60 days on the purchase of an engagement ring for up/down 1-2 sizes. For personal ring purchases, please measure your ring size or try it on before you buy. Learn more in our ring sizing guide. Our experienced master jewellers can still resize your ring to ensure the perfect fit, but there may be a modest charge for this service. Please note that some rings cannot be easily resized due to design complexity or other factors so please discuss this with our expert team when deciding on your ring design and size. 

Because we cannot guarantee the quality of workmanship done outside of our workshop, the warranty will be voided if a Village Goldsmith ring is resized or altered by a third party.

It’s easy to clean your ring at home. Read our helpful jewellery care guide for tips and tricks. 

After being in the jewellery industry for nearly half a century, we've developed a few ways to help client's estimate ring size. We’ve also created a handy ring sizing guide

Here are some tips:

  • Find another of your partner's rings that you know fits on their ring finger. Trace around the inside circumference of the ring and measure the diameter. Tell us the measurement and we can approximate a ring size from this.  
  • Put your partner's ring onto one of your fingers and work out where it stops on the finger. Pop into The Village Goldsmith or your local jeweller to check which size ring fits on your finger in the same place.
  • If your partner doesn’t have any rings you could ask some friends to stop in at a jewellery store next time they're out together to try on some fashion rings. Get them to take note of your partner's size and we can estimate their engagement ring size from that.  

If none of the above are possible, send us photos of your partner where their hands are in shot (preferably holding something for scale such as a glass or their phone) and we can make an educated guess as to the size. 

Remember, if after you’ve presented the ring and it doesn’t quite fit, we offer one complimentary resizing within 60 days for engagement ring purchases as long as the size difference is around 1-2 sizes. See our ring sizing guide for helpful tips.

In short, yes, we recommend your jewellery is cleaned and checked annually by The Village Goldsmith to ensure your warranty is still valid. This service can be facilitated by courier anywhere within New Zealand. If you live outside of New Zealand, please get in touch and we will refer you to an authorised jeweller.

Please note that if your Village Goldsmith jewellery is altered or repaired by an unauthorised
third party this will void your warranty.

Finance and Purchasing

We recommend spending an amount you're comfortable with while considering that your partner will be wearing the ring for the rest of their life. Our friendly team is here to provide expert advice. They will work with you to understand your design requirements and budget and help you find or create the perfect engagement ring. Learn about finance and payment options and tax free purchases. Also learn more about selecting the perfect engagement ring in our helpful engagement ring buying guide. 

Our friendly team will always do their best to work with you to find or design your dream piece of jewellery to fit your requirements and budget. Learn more about finance and payment options.

Shipping and Returns

How long it takes for your order to get to you will depend on your location. Visit our shipping and returns page for helpful information about typical shipping time and costs or contact us with questions.

The Village Goldsmith regularly ships our fine jewellery to the United States, Canada, Europe, United Kingdom, Australia, and across New Zealand. Please visit our shipping and returns page for more information. If you have a shipping enquiry or would like a quote, please contact us.

Shipments bound for destinations outside of New Zealand cannot be delivered to a Post Office or P.O. Box. You can arrange to collect your order from a local FedEx Depot. Items shipped within New Zealand can be delivered to a P.O. Box or selected Post Office.

Returns and exchanges are subject to terms and conditions and a quality assurance check. Click here to learn more about our Returns policy.