We realize, as investors and responsible jewelry owners, there may be some questions you need answered on how to protect and properly care for your jewelry. We have answered a few of your most commonly asked questions below, but if you still need answers, please contact one of the professionals at Pav & Broome Fine Jewelry via email, or call us at 228-863-3699.
As with all jewelry, the price for custom design pieces can vary greatly. The cost to create an original piece is dependent upon the materials used and many customers are pleasantly surprised at how affordable an original can be, especially in comparison to similar, manufactured pieces. At Pav & Broome Fine Jewelry, our customers work directly with our designers and master jewelers to create a piece that is truly one of a kind and unique to their desires.
With four full-time jewelers and three watchmakers on staff, Pav & Broome has been repairing our customers’ watches and fine jewelry right here on site for more than 40 years. Bring in your antiques, heirlooms and time pieces today; whether they’re in one or many pieces, we will do our best to restore its original beauty. Consultations are provided at no charge.
If you are looking for a special design and do not see what you are looking for on our website, come by our Gulfport store on Hwy. 49. Our inventory is much too large to show you everything on the website…and if you do not see what you want in the store, we can create your look or find.
We do offer a one-year warranty on all jewelry, and most of our watches carry a limited manufacturer’s warranty. We stand behind all of our fine jewelry and will work with you to ensure you have something meant to last.
Pav & Broome Fine Jewelry accepts all major credit cards and offers in-store credit, with up to 12 months same as cash, to those who qualify.
Yes, chlorine can eat away at the metal and damage your gold, especially white gold, because it is covered in a slightly more delicate metal called rhodium. Studies have shown that even small amounts of chlorine such as what is used in swimming pools and spas can erode the nickel alloy in white gold, causing prongs and mountings to break.
In order to protect your jewelry, you should remove it before swimming or cleaning. Many household chemicals contain ammonia or “chlorinated” bleach, are harmful to precious metals and gemstones, and can leave chlorine deposits on your jewelry. Washing your jewelry will not necessarily remove these deposits and some soap can even leave your fine jewelry dull.
Jewelry should be cleaned and inspected for wear or damage every six – twelve months. Rings that are worn daily are susceptible to wear and tear and should be professionally inspected at least two or three times a year. In addition, if your jewelry has been dropped or bumped on a hard surface, it is a good idea to bring it in for an inspection to prevent the loss of a stone or the entire piece. If you are looking for a jeweler in South Mississippi, visit our store in downtown Gulfport. Pav & Broome Fine Jewelry has four master-jewelers and three watchmakers on staff, enabling necessary repairs to be done in-house.
Oftentimes, gold jewelry can cause a blackening of the skin underneath the ring, but there are several reasons beyond the purity of the gold that could be the cause. Because gold is a relatively soft metal, most jewelers mix it with other metals such as silver, copper and nickel to increase its hardness and durability. The purity of gold is measured in karats (not to be confused with carats, which is used for measuring diamonds), and 1 karat (kt) equals 4.166% gold by weight, while 24kt gold is 100% pure gold. Most jewelry is 14kt or 18kt gold, which means that the jewelry is made up of approximately 50% of these other metals, which often cause skin discoloration.
However, some people will still experience discoloration with even the purest of gold jewelry, while others still will not, regardless of the purity. This is due to other environmental, chemical and biological factors.
On the Coast, we have a lot of salt, and therefore chlorine, in the atmosphere. Elements such as sulphur and chlorine react with the other metals in the gold jewelry, causing it to corrode and turn black, thus blackening the skin underneath.
The abrasive particles often found in cleaning chemicals and even make-up can cause the metals to break down more rapidly and expose the base metal(s) or generate fine dust, which would show up as a blackening of the jewelry and/or skin.
Before you get rid of your gold jewelry—or the person that gave it to you—because it’s causing skin discoloration, we recommend you remove jewelry before swimming, exercising, doing physical labor, cleaning or anything else that may scratch or otherwise damage the gold. It is also important to clean your jewelry with appropriate jewelry cleaning solution to remove any dirt, sweat or chemicals that could react with the metals in your gold jewelry and prevent breakdown or damage.