News

The Warrenders treatment: a full list of our services

The Warrenders treatment: a full list of our services

Our Services

At Warrenders we live and breathe jewellery. For the past 70 years, our dedicated team have honed their skills in every area of jewellery from gemology to design. We pride ourselves on being a fully comprehensive jewellery firm offering services that include:

Bespoke Jewellery Design

Our skilled craftsmen can work with you to create a design completely unique to you. Our bespoke jewellery service starts with a personal consultation during which we chat through your likes and dislikes and get a clear idea of the kind of piece that would best suit you. We also have a large portfolio full of beautiful ideas for you to browse should you require a little extra inspiration. 

Following your consultation, our designers create a set of to-scale drawings. Then when you are completely happy with the design our gemologists set about sourcing the finest gemstones and diamonds to bring your unique piece to life.

Jewellery and Watch Repairs

Do you have a much-loved piece of jewellery which needs a little TLC? Our specialist jewellers and in-house goldsmith can undertake all manner of repairs including; ring resizing, chain repairs, watch battery changing, watch servicing and restoration.

Jewellery Engraving

Add a personal touch to a gift or heartfelt message to an engagement or wedding ring with our jewellery engraving service. Our expert engravers can personalise any jewellery piece either by hand or by specialist machine as well as seal and crest engravers, so the item can be marked exactly to your tastes.

Valuations

If you require a valuation for either insurance or tax purposes our expert onsite jewellers can provide detailed printed valuations complete with coloured photographs. All valuations are carried out on the premises so you can rest assured your jewellery is in safe hands.

Jewellery Purchase

Whether it’s an old ring you no longer wear or a broken necklace which has been sitting in the bottom of your jewellery box, we offer highly competitive prices with no obligation to sell. The perfect way to make some money from jewellery you no longer want.

Insurance

We know keeping your treasured jewellery safe is of the upmost importance to you. However, should the unthinkable happen it is reassuring to know that you have comprehensive insurance in place. We recommend T.H March Insurance Solutions for their expertise and straightforward approach to insurance.

Continue reading

Tips for taking care of your jewellery

Tips for taking care of your jewellery

Many factors can affect the condition of jewellery, such as domestic chores, heat and everyday wear and tear. Therefore you should make sure that your jewellery is properly cleaned, repaired and stored to keep it looking its best so it can be enjoyed for years to come.  

General Jewellery Care 

Chores like gardening and washing up can easily harm your precious pieces, so if you are planning to get your hands dirty make sure you place your engagement ring and any other jewellery in a safe place to avoid damage. If however, years of wear and tear do take their toll, we offer a full cleaning and polishing service which will go a long way to bringing back lost jewellery lustre. We have also put together our top tips for at home jewellery care to help keep your pieces in excellent condition.

  1. Gold and silver jewellery can be gently rubbed with a soft, clean cloth to maximise the shine. We also sell impregnated cloths which are able to clean and polish the metal to a high degree.
  2. Silver is a beautiful metal but can be prone to tarnishing. Regular cleaning and polishing with a modern polishing foam restores the original look of silver, but be careful to not be too enthusiastic or you may damage the surface finish.
  3. Jewellery set with gemstones can be brought back to life by soaking in a solution of warm soapy water and gently cleaning with a soft toothbrush. Alternatively, a formulated jewellery ‘dip’ can enhance the items shine. However, take care to use the correct dip for your piece and read the instructions carefully rinsing thoroughly after use with warm water.
  4. To avoid scratching and tangling keep jewellery carefully stored and separated and all chains fastened.
  5. Certain gemstones are more sensitive to everyday wear and cleaning. Great care should be taken with tanzanite, opal, emerald and pearl. If you are unsure, feel free to come in to the store where our expert team will be happy to give you a demonstration.
  6. White gold items are coated with Rhodium - a metal from the Platinum family, which keeps the metal a bright white. However, this coating is readily attacked by household cleaners such as bleach, which will strip the coating to leave a faint yellow hue to the gold. Therefore, these items will need to be Rhodium plated approximately every six months to a year to keep them looking at their best. 
  7. Antique items need specialist care. Always seek advice before attempting to clean them.
  8. It is a good idea to get your items professionally checked each year. This helps to ensure all stones are secure and prevent any foreseeable problems.
  9. Make sure you have a detailed and up to date insurance valuation of your jewellery. This allows us to work with your insurance company to replace any pieces that are lost, stolen or damaged.

Keeping your pearls perfect

Cultured pearls are particularly susceptible to damage. As they are of organic origin - formed inside oysters or mussels - they are far more delicate than many of their precious gem counterparts and so are vulnerable to chipping and discoloration. There are however measures you can take to protect your pearl jewellery and keep it looking beautiful.  

  1. Always ensure that you use body lotions, perfumes and hairspray before you put on your pearl jewellery. The chemicals in these products can permanently damage the nacre of the pearl so it is key to minimise contact.
  2. After wearing, it also helps to clean all pearl jewellery with a soft cloth.
  3. If you really need to wash your pearl jewellery, do so with water and a drop of detergent but avoid getting pearl stud earrings wet as it can affect the pearl cement.
  4. Wetting pearl jewellery can also weaken the silk used to thread pearls in items such as necklaces and bracelets as can everyday wear and tear. The recommended frequency of rethreading pearls depends on many different factors, but once a year is a good rule of thumb.

Ticking along

Watches are hardworking items; they are usually worn every day and are intricate pieces of engineering which keep on running day and night. A little regular TLC can ensure that your treasured timepiece continues ticking for years to come.

  1. As watches endure daily wear and tear, often the first thing to require fixing is the strap. If you have a leather strap, it is usually easy to buy a replacement however metal straps need tightening and a general check-up to ensure the strap is securely attached to the case.
  2. Mechanical watches should be wound in a clockwise direction and it is recommended that this is done at the same time each day. It is best to remove the watch from your wrist to wind as this avoids putting undue pressure on the winder.
  3. Unless the degree of water resistance is clearly marked it is best not to wear your watch in the shower or pool. Water resistance is often misunderstood, for example a watch saying 30 metres on the dial sounds perfect to swim in. However, 30 metres actually relates to the static pressure that the watch can take. If you really need to know the time when you are taking a dip, it is best to opt for a watch with 100-metre water resistance or more.
Continue reading

Our 70th Anniversary Party

Our 70th Anniversary Party

On Friday 23rd June we held a special champagne reception in the Royal Box at Epsom Racecourse to celebrate our 70th anniversary.

The evening was a fantastic success with over 60 guests in attendance including loyal customers, colleagues, press and even the Mayor of Sutton.

Partygoers enjoyed recalling their favourite jewellery stories and toasted our successful 70 years in business with champagne and canapés. The evening included the unveiling of our new Anniversary Collection followed by a fun quiz with jewellery prizes from Clogau, Citizen Watches and Daisy Jewellery. Guests were also treated to a Warrenders goodie bag complete with a delicious locally-made cream tea.

We had a wonderful time celebrating our Platinum Anniversary and, from the lovely messages we have received, it sounds like our guests did too.

        

Continue reading

Introducing our new Anniversary Collection

Introducing our new Anniversary Collection

Our new Anniversary Collection is now available to order! The exquisite range features a selection of earrings, rings and pendants designed to incorporate specially selected gemstones including stunning topaz, citrine, amethyst and diamonds in a choice of platinum, gold, rose gold or white gold.

We designed the collection to mark our 70th anniversary and to celebrate our achievements so far. We first opened in 1947 with only a receipt book and safe, but have since expanded into a well-respected jeweller offering a wide range of services such as bespoke design, repairs, valuations and vintage jewellery.

Each piece of the new collection features a striking gemstone with a pave diamond halo and a subtle ‘W’ design.

The collection is available to order with your choice of gemstone and precious metal so you can tailor each piece to perfectly suit you. Prices start from £750 and are available to buy and order in-store.



Continue reading

A guide to coloured gemstones

A guide to coloured gemstones

There are many different types of precious gemstone each with specific properties including various hardness and different depth of colour. At Warrenders we use products of nature that fall into the following categories:

Minerals - formed in the earth in the form of rocks and crystals

Gems – organic origin such as pearls and opals

Read on for our breakdown of the most popular coloured stones.

Sapphire

Top of the list is the regal sapphire. Famously used in Princess Diana’s engagement ring which now sits on the finger of the Duchess of Cambridge, sapphires are believed to symbolise wisdom, virtue and good fortune.

Part of the Corundum family, sapphires are second in hardness only to diamonds which makes them an excellent choice for frequently worn pieces such as engagement rings. Sapphires are most often thought of as blue in colour and they do come in some beautiful blues ranging from delicate baby blue to darkest navy, with cornflower being the most sought after. However, sapphires also come in pronounced shades of yellow, green, pink, purple and orange. The best sapphires generally hail from Sri Lanka, where many of the cornflower coloured specimens come from, but excellent stones are also found in Kashmir and the USA while many of the other colour shades come from Madagascar.

Ruby

Also from the Corundum family and famed as one of the hardest minerals on earth, the blushing ruby is a beautiful addition to any jewellery box. This exquisite stone comes in a range of colours from pale rose-red to deep carmine, with the finest jewels having a pure, vibrant red colour. They are believed to represent love and power and have held an important place amongst many cultures throughout history.

Unlike other gemstones, inclusions do not tend to affect the quality of a ruby, unless they change the transparency of the stone or are located right at the centre of its table. Rubies are mainly sourced from Burma, Thailand and Sri Lanka. They are found in very few places due to the essential compound chromic oxide being a scarce substance, which makes the best rubies very rare.

Emerald

Favoured by Cleopatra who was said to have a huge collection of emeralds, this dazzling stone is part of the Beryl family and comes in a wide spectrum of different greens. Emeralds are prone to inclusions and therefore an unflawed emerald is very rare and one of the most expensive gemstones on earth. Emeralds are believed to represent healing and fertility, the vibrant green of the stone also suggests the concept of eternity, growth and renewal.

Interestingly the colour of an emerald varies depending on where it was formed, so you should be able to tell its origin just by looking at it. The most desired emeralds are bluish green to pure green and have vivid colour saturation. As early as 2000 BC emeralds were mined in the Cleopatra Emerald Mines near the Red Sea in Egypt. However, today the main sources of fine emeralds are Brazil and the Colombian Andes.

Aquamarine

Evoking the cool blue of seawater, the beautiful aquamarine is part of the Beryl family. Ranging in colour from almost colourless blue to a vibrant azure blue, this popular stone is almost always free from inclusions, has excellent hardness and breath-taking brilliance.

Symbolising happiness and everlasting youth, in the past the most valuable stones were green in colour, today however intense, bright blue stones fetch the highest price.

The majority of aquamarine gemstones are sourced from Brazil, however they are also found in Nigeria, Madagascar, Mozambique, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Opal

The opulent opal traditionally hails from Australia and can come in a range of colours including black, white, blue, green, red, pink and grey.

Opals are often characterised by the flashes of coloured light which appear to radiate from within, however not all opals possess this quality. The iridescent colours of precious opals are caused by the minute spheres of amorphous silica that make up the stone, these interfere with the reflection and refraction of light creating a play of colour within.

The most valuable opals tend to be black or dark bodied stones as they often display the colours more vibrantly.

Amethyst

Favoured by royals the world over, the vibrant amethyst ranges in colour from delicate lilac to deepest purple. The Victorians were fond of the paler shades which were sometimes called the Rose De France. However, the richer shades are often the most valuable – especially a rich purple with rose flashes.

Amethyst is typically found in Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia and Argentina as well as some African countries.

Pearl

Beautiful and traditional, pearls have been treasured by many for thousands of years. Even the Romans valued pearls so highly that they passed a law permitting only people of very high rank to wear them.

Pearls are divided into two main groups, freshwater and seawater. Freshwater pearls are generally made by Mussels who are able to create several pearls at a time, whereas seawater pearls come from Oysters which only produce one pearl.

Typically, an Oyster pearl is shapelier with a superior lustre which can mean that these are more coveted than their freshwater counterparts. Lustre, colour, shape, size and clarity all determine the quality and value of a pearl. Cultured pearls can also have different ground colours including; white, silver, pink, yellow, green, gold and bronze. They also come in fancy colours, the most common being blue or black.

Larger pearls of 9mm and above tend to come from warmer climates and are known as South Sea Pearls. Pearls are commonly sourced from Japan, China, the Persian Gulf, Sri Lanka and the North-West coast of Australia.

Continue reading

Hayley wears Warrenders

Hayley wears Warrenders

We were delighted to see former jockey and racing presenter Hayley Turner wearing our 18ct White Gold Diamond Necklace and 18ct White Gold Diamond Earrings at The Investec Oaks at Epsom Racecourse on Friday.


Hayley paired our beautiful jewels with a stunning red dress coat and looked the epitome of elegance as she took viewers through the day's dramatic events.


Click here to browse our collection of diamond jewellery.

Continue reading

The Warrenders guide to diamonds

The Warrenders guide to diamonds

Finding the perfect diamond can be a little daunting as they come in a wide variety of colours and sizes. Choosing the right diamond for you requires knowledge about cut, clarity, carat and colour. Read on for our basic guide on these four big Cs which need to be considered when choosing your dream stone…

Cut

The cut of a diamond refers to how the proportions and finish of a diamond affect its overall appearance. The facets allow light to reflect from one to another determining the brilliance of the stone. The most popular cut - the round brilliant - can have 57 or 58 facets. Other cuts include emerald, pear, marquise, princess, radiant, oval and heart. The cut is graded on a scale from excellent to poor and incorporates the diamond’s brightness, fire, scintillation, weight ratio, durability, polish and symmetry.

Colour

The more colourless a diamond is, the rarer and more valuable the stone. The colour of diamonds can vary greatly, ranging from totally colourless through to a yellow, grey or brown hue. The coloured tinting found in most diamonds is caused by minute impurities within the stone. Each stone is colour graded to a precise scale from ‘D’ (colourless) to ‘Z’ (saturated).

Diamonds can also occur in other colours, including pink, blue, red, green and brown.  These diamonds are graded by their intensity and colour, which ranges from ‘pale’ to ‘fancy vivid intense’.

Fluorescence refers to the emission of visible light from a diamond when subjected to ultraviolet radiation. The terms for describing the strength of fluorescence are: None, Faint, Medium, Strong and Very Strong.

Clarity

A diamond’s clarity is determined by the degree to which it is free from naturally occurring inclusions under ten times magnification. The number, type, colour, size and position of these inclusions can affect a diamond’s value. Virtually all diamonds have imperfections called inclusions and blemishes. The fewer inclusions, the rarer the stone. The diamond clarity ratings range from FL (flawless) to I3 (heavily included).

Carat

One carat equals 0.20 grams and is divided into 100 points. A diamond weighing 50 points is half a carat. Diamonds of equal size can have very different values, depending on their cut, clarity and colour. However, when considering larger stones, they will have considerably more value. Usually a two-carat diamond will be more than twice as valuable as a one carat stone with the same grading. Large diamonds of high quality are very rare.

At Warrenders we are experts in precious gemstones meaning we are able to handle certificated diamonds and have all the knowledge required to assist you in choosing your dream stone. We only use GIA (Gemmological Institute of America) certificated diamonds – the leading and internationally recognised grading system for classifying diamonds.

Continue reading

Win £1,000 to spend with us!

Win £1,000 to spend with us!

To mark our 70th anniversary, we are running an in-store prize draw giving one lucky customer the chance to win £1,000 to spend with us.

All you need to do is spend £100 or more in our shop* and you will be automatically entered into the prize draw. 

The draw ends November 2017 and the winner will be announced shortly after. Visit us to find out more or browse online for some shopping inspiration!

*Terms and conditions apply. Ask in store for details. 

Terms and Conditions

The Terms and Conditions include but are not limited to the following…..

1. Customers making a purchase of any stock item/s or special order over £100 from Warrenders Jewellers in a single transaction will be entered into the prize draw.
2. The promotion does not include services, such as repairs or valuations etc.
3. Contact details are to be left at time of purchase.
4. Entrants are entitled to one entry per transaction over £100.
5. Subsequent purchases meeting the required criteria may also be entered into the draw.
6. Warrenders reserve the right to refuse or withdraw the promotion at any time. 7. No cash alternative is available.
8. Employees, associates, family or friends of Warrenders are not permitted to make use of this promotion.
9. The promotion is offered solely at the discretion of Warrenders, its directors and store manager.
10. Any queries or complaints regarding the promotion should be made in writing and addressed Warrenders, 4 Cheam Road, Sutton, Surrey SM1 1SR.
11. Only applies to items purchased in store (not applicable to online purchases.)
12. Winner will be notified by phone or email and invited to attend Warrenders prize draw presentation – Thursday 7th December 2017 (date may be subject to change).
13. Prizes are non-transferrable, can only be redeemed at Warrenders and cannot be used in conjunction with any offer, discount or sale items.
14. The winner’s name and photograph may be displayed on the website and any related public relations material
15. Any personal data relating to the winner will be used solely in accordance with the UK’s current data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent.

Continue reading