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Should I insure my Brian Gavin Signature diamond jewelry?

Should I insure my Brian Gavin Signature diamond jewelry?

I’m in the process of shopping for an engagement ring online and am wondering how your lifetime warranty compares to the lifetime warranty and diamond loss coverage that is provided by some of the jewelry stores in my area. One of the stores that I’m considering buying from told me that they will replace any diamonds in the ring which are lost as a result of normal wear and tear, providing that I bring the ring to them for inspection every six months, but they only guarantee the mounting against defects in workmanship and materials for one year… which doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. What advice can you give me regarding warranties on jewelry and how to best protect my investment? – Bobby S.

Lifetime Warranty on Brian Gavin Signature Jewelry:

While it is unlikely that you will experience any issues due to defects in workmanship or materials, each piece of jewelry offered by Brian Gavin is covered by our lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects.

This applies to jewelry that has not been worked on by a third party jeweler, and has been worn under normal wear and tear conditions. This means that the warranty is null and void if you allow any jeweler other than Brian Gavin to repair or work-on jewelry purchased from Brian Gavin, this is because we simply cannot be responsible for loss or damages which may incur as a result of a jeweler who may not be qualified or experienced working with our jewelry designs… this clause is standard for practically all jewelry designers, the odds are that if you buy a piece of “designer jewelry” from your local retailer, that they will send it back to the jewelry designer for ring sizing and repairs.

What is considered to be “Normal Wear and Tear Conditions?

The nature of some jewelry designs are more intricate and delicate than others, thus it is important to recognize that a piece of jewelry like the Belle micro-pave halo style engagement ring, pictured to the left, is not necessarily designed to be worn in all circumstances… the reality is that the little prongs which are designed to hold all of those little diamonds in-place, are not sturdy enough to keep the diamonds in-place if you wear your ring while doing things like rock climbing, working out with weights, playing various competitive sports where impact is likely, etc., and for this reason we recommend taking off and storing your jewelry in a safe place while participating in certain activities.

Even something simple like housekeeping and doing laundry can result in stone loss, think about how often we bang our hands through the course of the average day, and then imagine that many of those haphazard moments result in our rings taking a direct hit, which may or may not result in stone loss.

Believe it or not, one of the most common causes of stones becoming loose in a setting and falling out, is the percussion damage created by clapping our hands together, such as when we give applause to celebrate a live performance, or even when we tap to the tune of our favorite song on the steering wheel of our car while stuck in traffic.

It can be easier to determine what is not considered to be normal wear and tear, than it can be to cover all of the circumstances which are normal, for instance damage caused to a ring while you are rock climbing and smashing it against the surface of rocks while you are rappelling through the air, is not covered… neither is damage caused by dropping your ring down the garbage disposal while it is running, or damage caused by the ring being run over by a car, or damage which is caused to the ring if you hurl it through the air at your fiancé and it gets stuck in the living room wall; as you might imagine, these are all examples which we’ve borrowed from the real lives of our clients and the damage which their jewelry has incurred as a result of these circumstances.

A good rule of thumb to follow is that if you find yourself wondering whether you should take your ring off while participating in some sort of physical activity, such as while packing moving boxes, working in the garden, or even scuba diving, then you probably should take your ring off and store it in a safe place!

Suffice to say that if you experience a problem with your jewelry, and it has either been worked on by a third party jeweler, or has experienced abnormal wear and tear, we will gladly accept it for repair and we will try to restore it to its original condition for a fee to be determined.

How to insure your Brian Gavin Signature Diamond Jewelry:

While lifetime warranties against defects in workmanship and materials are great, the reality is that they only really cover losses which result as the direct result of workmanship and materials… and those “diamond replacement policies” which are supposedly included as part of your purchase with some retail jewelry stores are essentially conditional insurance policies which are rarely worth the paper they are written on.

The bottom line is that regardless of whether you buy your diamond engagement ring from Brian Gavin or some other jewelry store, you should arrange for jewelry insurance that covers the specific item for accidental loss, damage, theft and fire. Jewelry insurance policies tend to be extremely affordable, and are generally available from the same company which you use for homeowners or renters insurance.

If you do not have homeowners insurance, then you can obtain insurance for your Brian Gavin Signature diamond and engagement ring through Perfect Circle Insurance from Jewelers Mutual, with whom we have no affiliation, nor are we an agent, we are merely suggesting them as an option which you might want to consider while shopping for jewelry insurance coverage.

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