FAQS - Frequently Asked Questions

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Who are you? What makes ELVIE unique?
We are John & Nicolle, and this is our family business. We design our pieces and personalise them for you by engraving them, we call these pieces our Monogram collection. 

How long does the engraving take?
Engraving is available on our Engraved Collection. For online purchases, we endeavour to have the Engraved pieces dispatched within 48 hours of you placing the order.

Please note this does not apply to our Custom Collection, ie Custom name Necklace, these pieces take about 4 weeks.

Please note: Products that have been engraved cannot be returned for a refund for change of mind.

How much is engraving?
We engrave our Engraved Collection pieces complimentary, no charge. This is subject to change. 

Can I see what the engraving will look like?
Yes, we have a preview feature online, you can select the font and insert what you would like engraved, and the product picture will update to show you what the engraving will look like. 

The preview is very similar to the actual engraving, but of course each piece is customised, so some difference may occur.

If I purchase Engraved Collection pieces without engraving, can I have them engraved at a later time?
Yes, you can purchase Engraved Collection pieces with no engraving and then come in at a later time and have them engraved. Currently there is no charge for this but it is subject to change. 

Can I order online and pick up in store?
No, sorry we currently do not offer store pick up. Our store in now closed, and we are only online.

I'm buying this as a gift, can the receiver have it engraved later and what is the charge?
Yes, you can purchase our pieces with no engraving and then have them engraved at our QVB store at a later date. Engraving on our Monogram collection is complimentary.

Can I bring in my own jewellery for engraving?
No, unfortunately our machine is set up to only engrave on our pieces, we can not engrave other jewellery. 

Do you have a physical store?
No, unfortunate our QVB store is now closed, we are only online.

Where are you located?
We based in Sydney.

What material is your jewellery made from?
We use a few main types of materials, 316 Stainless Steel, 925 Sterling Silver and 14k Gold.

Stainless Steel
Unless otherwise stated, our Monogram pieces are made from Stainless Steel.

Our Stainless Steel is surgical grade stainless steel. Most people, even if they are prone to metal allergies, do not experience reactions to 316 stainless steel. Some advantages to using stainless steel jewellery include:

* 100% skin friendly and safe.
* High polished sheen that adds to the allure of the pieces.
* Cold, smooth finish that makes it a joy to wear the jewellery.
* The plating, colour and sheen are long lasting without damage.
* Affordable jewellery that creates the same elegant and rich look as pieces made from precious metals.
* Stainless steel is stronger and it has a better lustre than other metals
* The base metal and the ion plating can endure a significant amount of wear and tear without giving in.
* It’s very easy to maintain jewellery made from stainless steel.

925 Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver consists of 92.5% silver, and the remaining part consists of copper – mostly copper. This is the reason why Sterling Silver is popularly referred to as 925 Sterling Silver or just 925 Silver.

The reason silver needs to be combined with other metals is that it is very difficult to make great designs with just pure silver, which is very soft and malleable. A bit of hardness has to be introduced, by adding other metals such as copper. That’s why jewellers are capable of making the most intricate and complex designs with 925 Sterling Silver.


Is the jewellery plated?
The silver colour stainless steel pieces are not plated. This is the colour of stainless steel. Gold and Rose Gold stainless steel pieces are plated in 18K gold and rose gold.

925 Sterling Silver pieces are generally plated in 18K gold.


How are your Stainless Steel pieces plated?
We plate our stainless steel jewellery using a technique called Ion Plating, also known as IP Plating, this is one of the newest surface coating procedures and also the most advanced till date.

It involves adding a titanium nitride layer to the base metal, in a vapor form. The end result is a harder and more durable surface which offers greater brightness and sheen than the traditional methods of plating.

In fact, experiments conducted to gauge the durability of ion plating have shown that IP plated surfaces are five to eight times more durable and resilient to corrosion and wear as compared to surfaces obtained through other plating processes.

The high chemical stability of titanium nitride, which forms the surface layer in this method, is what gives IP plated surfaces their resilience and durability. To begin with, a layer of titanium nitride is added to the base surface of stainless steel. Additionally a final plating metal is added to the surface; the thickness of this layer is no more than 0.3 urn. This top layer is what gives the plating its color.
The process is carried out in a vacuum environment as low pressure has to be created for the evaporation of solid metal. Electric ions are produced when the vapor is heated and bombarded with electrons. This plasma is accelerated by the magnetic field induced, as it covers the base metal. Given its durability and chemical stability, ion plating is rightly called “permanent” coating. Since metal vapor (plasma or ions) is used in the coating process, the cost of production is lower than that of wet plating methods.

Although IP plating can be used on just about any metal or surface, stainless steel is a favourite choice because it is considered an affordable alternative to gold, platinum and silver. Yet, there is no compromise on the aesthetic value of the product. Also, stainless is more durable and hypoallergenic compared to other metals.

Combined with IP plating, stainless steel offers versatility both in terms of design and colours and can easily be used to emulate the finish of precious metals such as rose or yellow gold. The best part is that unlike electric coating, ion plated jewellery stays looking as good as new for decades.

What fonts can I use?
We offer 4 different fonts.

Classic- This is a timeless font, similar to Times Roman, easy to read and see. This font is best when you want your engraving to be very legible. It looks especially great for one or two initials.

Script - This is a dainty and elegant cursive font that, because of how fine it appears, can be a little bit more difficult to read. It looks great for names, words or a phrase.

Modern - This is a very clean and minimal font. This looks great for words in all caps. It is a very fine engraved, with just a single line made by the engraver.

Bold - This is essentially the same as modern but bolded, about 3 times the thickness of the Modern font.

What is the engraving process?
It's very simple for our customers, you simply come to the store (or order online), pick the piece you would like and then tell us what you would like engraved. 

We have a very specialised machine that engraves the jewellery. It is NOT engraved by hand. So the finish is of a very high standard. Of course, with anything that is personalised, there may be slight imperfections, but we do our best to minimise these. 

The whole engraving process takes a matter of minutes. In most cases it takes longer for customers to decided what they would like engraved, than is does for us to do the actual engraving.

Can I wear my jewellery in the shower?
See our blog post about this here.