Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Below are a list of questions we get asked on a regular basis.

If you have been sent an LMG cards by your insurers and loss adjusters then we are able to accept the card as a form of payment, please call us to discuss which item you would like to purchase.

The age of a piece can be identified by a few different factors. The first factor is the style of the item, design and the setting. The second factor is the cut of the stones and lastly, the markings/hallmarks on the piece.

It only became legal in 1973 for items to be hallmarked. Therefore, if an item was made before this date it may be stamped with PLAT, 18CT, 18CT&PT or 9CT or have no markings at all.

We will always have a look at your jewellery piece in the shop and advise if it is something we can resize depending on the metal, setting and how many sizes up or down it needs to be adjusted.

Click here to read more about resizing.

Rhodium plating is a coating that is put on white gold items to give them the bright white reflective finish. It is a noble metal that helps to protect the item against scratches and gives the item a beautiful lustre. The cost for this starts at £50.00 per item.

For more information read our jewellery repairs guide here.

Visibly there is no difference between white gold and platinum, however, platinum is a much harder wearing metal and is more rare than white gold. Platinum is a naturally white coloured metal and will not change colour whereas white gold will begin to tarnish slightly over time as white gold is naturally yellow but other alloys have been added and plated to give it its white appearance.

For more information on the different types of metals click here.

We stock a wide variety of gemstones, we have put together a guide explained all the different gemstones we stock.

For more information on gemstones click here to read our gemstone guide

Many of our stones are certified, however, some of  our pieces are antique and therefore preowned so not all of them will be individually certified. To certify a gemstone, it must be removed from the mount and sometimes this is not always practical. However, with all our pieces we will provide a full written valuation document with photographs of the item and the details.

At Mortimer’s we provide a jewellery cleaning service on site. You can bring your jewellery into the shop anytime you are passing, and we will clean your item either while you wait or go and do some shopping. We also send any engagement rings purchased from us to our workshop for a professional clean and polish a few weeks before your wedding. There is no charge for these services.

Services

These are just some of the questions we get asked about the services we offer.

No, we do not offer finance. We offer a deposit system that requires you to pay a minimum deposit of 10% of the item's value. You will then have six months to pay the remaining balance off in full. Meanwhile the item remains in our safe until payment is complete.

Yes, we will always have a look at pieces you have that you would like to part exchange. We would require you to bring your item/items into a member of our team so that we can value them against your chosen Mortimers item. 

Click here to read more about our sell or part exchange service.

Yes we do, we offer two types of valuations, one is for probate purposes and the other is for insurance purposes. Valuations include full documentation as well as photographs of your item/items. All valuations are completed on the premises and take between 7-14 working days depending on the amount of items you require valuing. 

The prices for valuations are as follows:

Probate valuation - £60 + £10 per item + 1.5% of the total value + VAT

Insurance valuation - £60 (which covers you for one or multiple items) + 1.5% of the total value + VAT

Yes, we specialise particularly in preowned antique jewellery and watches. However, we will always have a look at items of jewellery that you are looking to sell. 

We recommend booking an appointment please contact us on 01392 279994 or click here to read more about the items we buy and to book an appointment.

Click here to read more about our sell or part exchange service.

Yes. We require you to bring your item into the shop for us to assess. We will then send your item to our workshop for an estimate. Estimates take approximately 7-10 working days.

Click here to read more about repairs.