Warranties, Care Plans, & Insurance
You just received your new heirloom, but jewelry requires care and coverage.
Ok, so you just received your new sparkle. You’re excited, ready to show it off, and take care of it properly. But what happens when you need it repaired, have a concern about the metal, or (gasp!) experience a jewelry item loss?
Care Plans, Warranties, and Insurance can be very different. Whereas a Care Plan typically addresses common repairs such as broken prongs, resizing, polishing, and loose gemstones, a Jewelry Warranty typically only addresses manufacturing errors. “And…jewelry insurance? What is that?”
Don’t be confused. Let’s dive into some real-world examples.
Jewelry Warranty
Think of it like your new car's Lemon Law
Say you just bought a brand new, shiny car. You’re probably familiar with the Lemon Law. In short, Kentucky’s Lemon Law loosely states that you’re covered in the event that your new car has foundational defects within 12 months of purchasing that car.
A Jewelry Warranty is similar. My promise to you is that our casting, when my studio provides all of the materials, is not riddled with porosity…which can cause the piece to split and crack 6-12 months later. When proper, expert casting occurs, the final casting should be solid throughout. There are two types of worrisome porosity in jewelry casting: shrinkage porosity and gas porosity.
“Shrinkage porosity”can occur with abrupt changes in the design’s metal thickness, or when the molten metal does not flow evenly from one area of the design to another while casting. Shrinkage porosity can also occur when the cool-down of the casting flask is too long.
“Gas porosity” can occur during the preliminary steps in casting: preparing a flask. If the investment (think a “plaster of paris” type of material) used to make your mold is not devoid of gas before casting the gold, these gases can escape into the metal itself. Molten metal will hold many more times the volume of gas than will remain dissolved in the solidified casting. During solidification of the casting, this gas may escape if the conditions are right; if not, it will remain in the casting and show up as gas on the surface.
We have a Lemon Law of our own around here at The Leake Co.: Our Manufacturer’s Warranty.
JEWELRY WARRANTY:
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- Casting Errors
- Improper stone setting
- Metal quality
CARE PLAN:
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- Common wear and tear concerns
- Buffing & Polishing
- Routine cleaning
- Broken or thin prongs
- Casting errors
- Loss of accent gemstones and diamonds
- Resizing
Care Plan
Addressing common wear-and-tear
Ok, so remember that new car you bought? Well, you accidentally ran into a concrete road divider, about 5 miles from leaving the dealership. Your fender is scratched up, and there’s a bit of a dent in your bumper. Or maybe you’ve driven the car for a few years and now need new tires. That’s not covered under the Lemon Law or any Powertrain warranty, and the dealership drew up a repair quote of $1500 for that fender and about $1200 for the tires.
Likewise, if you wore your ring to the gym, weightlifted like the Hulk, and now your ring is out of round, then your jeweler might slap you with a $200 repair bill. Or you’ve worn your ring for some years, and now the prongs have worn down. Life happens, and that’s why bench jewelers should be your best friends. This is all called “wear and tear.”
Enter in: The JM Care Plan. The JM Care plan is offered to all of our clients who purchase new jewelry from us, with either 3 year terms or Lifetime terms. These Care Plans are available for an additional cost, and trust me –they’re worth it! Each type of plan covers jewelry fender-benders, such as:
Broken, bent, or worn prongs
Broken earring posts
Cracked or thinning band or shank on rings
Broken chain, bracelet links or clasp
Loss of diamonds and gemstones due to a defective setting
Ring re-sizing
For instance, for a $5000 engagement ring, the Lifetime Plan is available for purchase at $424.99. It even covers shipping to and from our studio, should you live outside of Louisville. For the lifetime of the ring, or up to the value of your ring.*. Even better? You don’t have to comply with routine inspections to keep your Care Plan valid, although I’d love to see you every 6 months or so for that.
*Terms and limitations apply. Contact us for more information.
(PSA: Don’t wear your ring to the gym. Follow our care tips.).
Jewelry Insurance
Loss, theft, or disappearance
Going back to our car analogy, we have even worse news. Someone stole your car. Or you had a terrible accident, and it’s totaled. Of course, the dealership isn’t going to give you a new car. But ideally, your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy should have you covered, that is if you have it scheduled on your policy.
Likewise, jewelry insurance will come in and make you whole in the event of severe damage, loss, theft, or mysterious disappearance. Ideally, you should check in with your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance agent the second you get your new jewelry. They will likely want an appraisal or receipt of sale to quote a policy for you. Should your agent not provide adequate jewelry insurance policies, or you simply need more coverage, look into third-party coverage through Jeweler’s Mutual. Keep in mind, you’ll never regret having jewelry insurance especially when you experience damage, loss, or theft.
The Leake Co. is not an insurance provider, and does not provide any insurance products.
Contact Jeweler's Mutual for a quick, free quote.
Make sure you're covered.
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Schedule your fine jewelry on your insurance policy.
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Don’t forget that Care Plans are not a substitute for insurance.
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Taking care of your jewelry daily can prevent or delay common repair concerns.
