Please pay as soon as possible after purchase - if only so that I can get your item out to you quickly!

If you have ordered in error (and we are all guilty of that sometimes) just let me know. Cancellations or amendments must be made within 48 hours of placing your order, otherwise will be subject to a fee as I will have started work on your item.

Please note that until further notice, I have regretfully decided to halt international deliveries.

Quick Reference Guide:

As a guide, UK 1st class is 1-3 days, UK 2nd class is 1 week, International standard is 3-4 weeks, International tracked is 7-10 days.

These times cannot be improved as you are relying on Royal Mail and your local delivery service.

You can check the status of your order by going to the 'You' icon on the top left of the home page, clicking 'Purchases and Reviews' and scrolling to your order.

Laurence & Ruby the Chihuahua

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In general, your order is shipped within 3-5 working days of purchase (see the listing for exact details), often much quicker, unless we have a power cut out here in the middle of nowhere!

If you want to pay for a service not listed on the item, please let me know and I'll be happy to arrange it.

Please note that my FOC UK delivery is 2ND CLASS and my Standard International service is NOT TRACKED (if you would like tracking you'll need to upgrade to INTERNATIONAL TRACKED & SIGNED FOR.

Normal delivery times are as follows:

UK Delivery - Approximate delivery times:

Special Delivery - 1 business day from dispatch.
First Class - 1-3 business days from dispatch.
Second Class and Standard Parcels - 3-5 business days from dispatch.

Occasionally due to seasonal backlog, or busy periods, delivery may take up to 15 business days. Packages can occasionally get stuck in the postal system and take longer than estimated.

International Delivery - Approximate delivery times:

Standard delivery (applied to ALL international orders unless you have upgraded to tracked and signed) takes 5-28 working days and is NOT TRACKED.

International Tracked service is generally faster than standard delivery. Delivery aims are:

two working days after posting to western Europe
four working days after posting to eastern Europe and postal subsidiaries (islands and principalities)
six working days after posting to the rest of the world.

International Tracked is only available to selected countries that can support tracking and service standards.

If you would like to select the International tracked option, please select the appropriate upgrade.

*Customs may occasionally detain a package and therefore please allow up to 30 days for delivery before informing me of missing items.

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How to Care For Your Handmade and Personalised Jewellery

Thank you for purchasing your jewellery from Ruby’s Charms. With the right care, your purchase should last a lifetime and become an item to cherish in the future.

A little info about hand stamping:
All of my jewellery is handmade to order and no machinery is involved in its creation and assembly. I take the individual pieces and hand stamp them to ensure that each and every item is different. Each letter is individually positioned and impressed manually with a hammer, so variations will occur in every piece, and there is a mark left on the reverse of the piece.

This individuality is what makes a piece of handmade jewellery from Ruby’s Charms unique and special to you, and these tiny differences are what makes the whole piece unique.

Your keepsake should be treated like any other piece of costume jewellery, and care should be taken when wearing it. Like all jewellery, daily wear and tear along with pollutants and chemical reactions may tarnish and scratch your keepsake so it is important to follow a few simple steps.

Horsehair:
This is natural horse tail hair and as such is coarser than mane hair or fur. When braided it takes on a strong acrylic quality. However, it is still a natural product and is designed for occasional wear and should not be wetted or allowed to rub against other materials.

Your stainless steel component:
The main, hand stamped part of your keepsake is stainless steel and as such will not tarnish. It may however become scratched from constant rubbing, especially if charms and gems are stacked against the metal. This is unavoidable and can be minimised by storing your keepsake carefully on its own in its box or bag, separate from other jewellery, at the end of the day. Remember too that it is not impervious to everything and can be marked by paint, glues and a whole range of other staining agents, so care should always be taken.

The hand stamped lettering has been highlighted with a jewellery grade marker and its purpose is to highlight rather than colour the text. This is the nature of my jewellery and as such I don’t recommend cleaning this part in an ultrasonic cleaner or by using abrasive creams as they may remove the colouring completely. A soft silversmith’s cloth is a better alternative to take off fingerprints and surface dust.
If your jewellery does get scratched, you should have it professionally polished by a jeweller.

Charms and Findings:
The charms and findings (jump rings, wires and chain etc) that come with your necklace are silver plated and may therefore tarnish. Some of the charms will be ‘antiqued’ and the black oxidised look is part of the look of your keepsake – the item description when you purchased will provide that information.

Tarnish on silver plated Jewellery can look different depending on how long it's been oxidizing, varying from yellow to black. Tarnish occurs when silver reacts with oxygen in the air to form silver oxide on silver surface. Other factors that cause tarnish are exposure to humidity, sulphur, certain acids and a whole range of cosmetics such as lotions, perfumes, deodorants etc. Tarnish is a natural process and not a fault in your keepsake.

A Note on Silver Plated and Gold Plated Jewellery:
Silver and gold plated jewellery gives you the look of silver and gold for a fraction of the cost, where a layer of precious metal is deposited over a metal base.
Plate is subject to wear like any other metal, and constant wear will remove the layer to expose the metal (often copper or brass) underneath. Because of this, I recommend that all of my plated jewellery is not worn constantly or against other jewellery to preserve the finish for longer.

Prevention is better than cure:
Store your jewellery in a cool, dry place. The more moisture in the air, the faster it tarnishes. If you can, store them in individual small plastic sealed zip-loc bags to minimise oxidation. This also prevents scratches and other substances in the air that speeds up tarnishing. Small silica gel packs are now widely available and are useful in absorbing moisture in the air.

Bigger pieces can be wrapped in an anti-tarnish cloth.

Do not wear your jewellery while cleaning, swimming, bathing or taking a shower. The chemicals such as ammonia, bleach and chlorine in water may cause tarnishing or discolouration of gemstones. Perfumes and deodorants will speed up tarnishing and discolouraton, so if you can avoid dousing yourself, your jewellery will last much longer.

Before returning your keepsake jewellery to storage, wipe and clean it with a soft cotton cloth such as a professional silversmith’s polishing cloth to remove any body oils, dirt, lotions etc. Do not use paper towels or tissues to dry your jewellery as they can scratch the surfaces.

Should tarnish or discolouration get too bad, you can clean your jewellery gently by washing in warm water with a mild detergent, then rinse and dry thoroughly with a soft silversmith’s cloth.

Guarantee:
Your handmade jewellery is guaranteed to be free from defect for a period of 60 days from purchase providing you have taken care of the item as above. Unfortunately I cannot guarantee against tarnish, scratching or wear and tear as these are plated and/or polished items and therefore these things will occur.