Jewellery guarantee vs insurance? What’s the difference? Do you need both? Many consumers believe that these two policies are the same. However, they actually offer completely different levels of protection. Here’s a look at both of them in detail.
What does a jewellery guarantee cover?
Fine jewellery should come with a free guarantee that covers manufacturing defects. This shows the jeweller has a high level of confidence in its craftsmanship and product quality. To make this easier to understand, let’s quickly compare buying jewellery to buying a car. If you buy a new car and its motor breaks down within the warranty period, then the dealership will replace or repair it for free.
A jewellery guarantee is very similar. If a jeweller sells you a product that is flawed from the start, and this defect comes to light within the guarantee period, then the jeweller will repair or replace the item free of charge.
What jewellery guarantee DOESN’T cover
Let’s go back to the car comparison again. If you have a car accident (whether it’s your fault or another driver’s) or your car is stolen, you must have insurance to get compensated for the damage or loss. In the same way, if you accidentally lose, damage or have your jewellery stolen, a guarantee won’t cover these instances. You would need to have jewellery insurance to get compensated.
Remember, a guarantee only covers “normal wear”
You also need to know that a jeweller’s guarantee covers manufacturing flaws that appear during “normal wear”. What does this mean? Let’s say for example, that a diamond falls out of your ring under the guarantee period. This could happen due to a manufacturing flaw in the setting that holds the diamond in place. If so, then a jeweller would normally replace the diamond for free.
However, the diamond could also fall out due to accidental damage. For instance, if you stumble and knock your ring against something, lift weights regularly at the gym or carry something hard and heavy. These types of activities or situations can bend metal or crack gems. These situations are not considered “normal wear” and won’t be covered by a jewellery guarantee.
It’s a common misconception that diamonds, metals and gemstones cannot break. Don’t forget that to shape a diamond from the rough, a gem cutter can ‘cleave’ it by giving it a sharp blow in the right direction, so equally, a hard knock or continuously applied pressure can split a diamond. Precious metal jewellery can be hardwearing or delicate, depending on the design, but even a thick platinum wedding band can break or bend if you apply enough pressure in the right place.
How to determine “normal wear”
A jewellery expert can usually tell if your jewellery has a manufacturing fault that appeared during normal wear or if it has suffered accidental damage. Even for a layman, it can be straightforward to see the difference when looking at the item through a powerful magnifying glass called a loupe. If there is a dispute, as a last resort a piece of jewellery can be sent to an independent mediator who will rule either in favour of the customer or the jeweller, depending on their investigation.
This diamond eternity ring was accidentally damaged by a hard knock – it’s easy for both a jeweller and a layman to see through a magnifying glass. It’s clear that the diamond hasn’t simply come lose from its setting due to a manufacturing fault. Instead, there is breakage in the diamond along its cleave lines and a sizeable dent in the white gold band, showing that the ring has been knocked hard against something. This kind of damage would not be covered by a jeweller’s guarantee. The owner would need insurance to have it repaired or replaced.
So what does jewellery insurancecover?
A good jewellery insurance policy gives you total peace of mind because it offersfull, worldwide cover for loss, damage or theft, your claim will be hassle-free and you don’t have to pay an excess. You don’t need to be a rich collector to have your jewellery insured. You can also protect single items. Jewellery insurance premiums start as low as £19.00 per year.
Getting the quote is free. Jewellery insurance is considerably cheaper than, for instance, mobile phone insurance. Expert insurers that only provide jewellery insurance policies tend to offer attractive premiums with total coverage anywhere in the world. This means you’ll never need to worry about home insurance limitations or travel insurance.
Jewellery guarantee Vs insurance – THE FINAL VERDICT
A jeweller’s guarantee is a fantastic thing to have because it will protect you against any post-sales problems arising from manufacturing flaws. But if you want total peace of mind and to protect your jewellery from theft, damage or loss, then you need jewellery insurance.
Jewellery guarantee vs insurance? What’s the difference? Do you need both? Many consumers believe that these two policies are the same. However, they actually offer completely different levels of protection. Here’s a look at both of them in detail.
What does a jewellery guarantee cover?
Fine jewellery should come with a free guarantee that covers manufacturing defects. This shows the jeweller has a high level of confidence in its craftsmanship and product quality. To make this easier to understand, let’s quickly compare buying jewellery to buying a car. If you buy a new car and its motor breaks down within the warranty period, then the dealership will replace or repair it for free.
A jewellery guarantee is very similar. If a jeweller sells you a product that is flawed from the start, and this defect comes to light within the guarantee period, then the jeweller will repair or replace the item free of charge.
What jewellery guarantee DOESN’T cover
Let’s go back to the car comparison again. If you have a car accident (whether it’s your fault or another driver’s) or your car is stolen, you must have insurance to get compensated for the damage or loss. In the same way, if you accidentally lose, damage or have your jewellery stolen, a guarantee won’t cover these instances. You would need to have jewellery insurance to get compensated.
Remember, a guarantee only covers “normal wear”
You also need to know that a jeweller’s guarantee covers manufacturing flaws that appear during “normal wear”. What does this mean? Let’s say for example, that a diamond falls out of your ring under the guarantee period. This could happen due to a manufacturing flaw in the setting that holds the diamond in place. If so, then a jeweller would normally replace the diamond for free.
However, the diamond could also fall out due to accidental damage. For instance, if you stumble and knock your ring against something, lift weights regularly at the gym or carry something hard and heavy. These types of activities or situations can bend metal or crack gems. These situations are not considered “normal wear” and won’t be covered by a jewellery guarantee.
It’s a common misconception that diamonds, metals and gemstones cannot break. Don’t forget that to shape a diamond from the rough, a gem cutter can ‘cleave’ it by giving it a sharp blow in the right direction, so equally, a hard knock or continuously applied pressure can split a diamond. Precious metal jewellery can be hardwearing or delicate, depending on the design, but even a thick platinum wedding band can break or bend if you apply enough pressure in the right place.
How to determine “normal wear”
A jewellery expert can usually tell if your jewellery has a manufacturing fault that appeared during normal wear or if it has suffered accidental damage. Even for a layman, it can be straightforward to see the difference when looking at the item through a powerful magnifying glass called a loupe. If there is a dispute, as a last resort a piece of jewellery can be sent to an independent mediator who will rule either in favour of the customer or the jeweller, depending on their investigation.
So what does jewellery insurance cover?
A good jewellery insurance policy gives you total peace of mind because it offers full, worldwide cover for loss, damage or theft, your claim will be hassle-free and you don’t have to pay an excess. You don’t need to be a rich collector to have your jewellery insured. You can also protect single items. Jewellery insurance premiums start as low as £19.00 per year.
Getting the quote is free. Jewellery insurance is considerably cheaper than, for instance, mobile phone insurance. Expert insurers that only provide jewellery insurance policies tend to offer attractive premiums with total coverage anywhere in the world. This means you’ll never need to worry about home insurance limitations or travel insurance.
Read this article to learn more about how jewellery insurance works.
Jewellery guarantee Vs insurance – THE FINAL VERDICT
A jeweller’s guarantee is a fantastic thing to have because it will protect you against any post-sales problems arising from manufacturing flaws. But if you want total peace of mind and to protect your jewellery from theft, damage or loss, then you need jewellery insurance.
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