Volle Jewellery FAQS

Trust is the most valuable asset a reputable Jewellery Company must have.

First of all, our Senior Team Members are Certified Gemmologists and Diamond Graders which means they have the highest Industry Qualifications. They are in charge of traning the sales team so we can provide to you only accurate information when you consult us.

Second, we are members of the Jewellers Association of Australia (JAA) and the Gemological Association of Australia (GAA). We follow the rules and regulations from both organizations that make sure the industry maintains its integrity.
Those rules include steps for selection of stones, manufacturing and commercialisation of our pieces. You should only buy from a store that is a member of the JAA, to avoid being misled or deceived.

Yes, every piece comes with a certificate of authenticity in which details of the piece are clearly disclosed. A certificate is a legal document in Australia which discloses all details from the piece.

Opals, Pearls and Pink Diamonds are unique gemstones in their own right and the only way to evaluate them is when you see them with your own eyes. We would suggest for you to only purchase in person to make sure you are getting what you expected.

Our Sterling Silver jewellery has been carefully crafted. We add a layer of rhodium so it keeps that beautiful and shiny silver colour for a long period of time without tarnishing.

A presentation chain is used to display some types of jewellery like pendants. They are gold/silver plated only. All pendants come with a complimentary presentation chain as usually customers already have their own chains. We also stock a range of solid silver and gold chains if required

Opal is formed from a solution of silicon dioxide and water which has been cristalized through thousands of years underground.

Different opals come from different areas. The rarest opal is black opal and the most common is white opal. Solid black opal comes from Lightning Ridge (North NSW); boulder opals come from Queensland area (mainly from three mines: Opalton, Jundah and Yowah); and white opals come from Coober Pedy and Andamooka in South Australia.

The attribute of an opal to show you an array of colours is called “Play of Colour”. Technically, the play of colour in an opal depends on the diameter of silica spheres that were cristalized in it. Small spheres produce opals of blue colour, whilst larger spheres produce red (rarest colour). The order of colour in terms of rarity from the rarest to the most availabe is the following: red, orange, yellow, green and blue.

High quality solid opals are considered precious gemstones along with diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires. Like most gemstones, they are classified by a set of standards. In the past ten years, solid opal prices have increased 10-12% every year. Opals with almost no play of colour are considered common.

Fire is a very important element to look in an opal, which means the brightness or reflection of light that the stone has. Then the preference of colours will depend on your personal taste. In terms of rarity, red is the rarest colour to be found (only 2% of the opals in general will show the red fire), but there is an inmense range of colour play combinations to choose from.

The myth of “bad luck” is a result of long time misinformation, superstition and tales, created by diamond traders trying to increase their business especially around 1960s. Actually opal is considered the stone of determination and overcoming obstacles. It also is the birthstone of October.

The only opals that are considered “fake” are syntethic Opals which are lab produced using resins. Triplet opals consist of a thin slice of opal glued to a quartz crystal on top and a black backing. Doublet opal consists of a thin slice of opal glued to a brown backing. Triplet opal is designed to imitate the black opal and the doublet opal is designed to imitate the boulder opal.

The hardness of opal is 5½ -6½ in Mohs’s scale.

Treat your opals with care as you would any fine jewellery. Here is some practical advice to look after your opals:

1. Take opal rings and bracelets off before doing any washing, swimming, gardening or housework.

2. Avoid using harsh chemicals or ultrasonic jewellery cleaner to clean them.

3. Once a year have a jewellery professional verify that the opal on your claw-setting ring is securely mounted.

4. If your opal needs polishing, take it to a qualified jeweller who can provide a professional polishing service.

5. Doublet and triplet opals should never be immersed in water.

Fresh water pearls are cultured in mussels, one big mussel can produce from 20 to 40 pearls at a time. South sea pearls are cultured in an oyster, one oyster produces only one pearl at a time. South sea pearls are much rarer than the fresh water pearls.

No, the Black South Sea Pearls (Tahiti Pearl) comes from Tahiti Island, French Polynesia and Cook Islands where the black lip oysters (Pinctada Margaritifera) can be cultivated. In terms of colour and quality best pearls are from Tahiti Island, which is from where we acquire ours.

Nowadays, 99% of the pearls traded worldwide are cultivated. Natural pearls can be obtained but are extremely rare and command the highest price points. Natural pearls look quite similar to cultured pearls, but usually they come more often in baroque shapes. They can be mainly differentiated when X-rayed.

Wearing your pearl is the best way to enhance its beauty, as the pearl is lubricated with the oil from your own skin. However, you must keep in mind that pearls are produced by a living organism; they contain calcareous crystals that are sensitive to chemicals and acids. They also contain water and protein, thus requiring to stay in the open air.

Some practical advice to look after your pearl:

1. Avoid using ultrasonic, steam cleaners, detergents, baking soda, bleaches or any ammonia-based cleansers.
2. You should apply perfume or hair spray before wearing any pearl jewellery and it is important to put jewellery on once chemicals have evaporated.
3. Avoid using toothbrush, scouring pads or abrasive materials to clean pearls, as they can get damaged.
4. Avoid commercial jewellery cleaners, unless they are specifically made for pearls.
5. Avoid storing pearls in plain boxes, or where the air is too dry or too hot. Never wrap them in cotton or wool.
6. Keep and store pearls separate from other jewellery to avoid scratching.
7. Take pearl rings and bracelets off before doing any washing, swimming gardening or housework. Pearls like clean water, but excessive moisture can make settings loose.
8. You may polish your pearls once a year with a cloth containing a drop of olive oil so that they maintain their lustre and do not dry out.
9. When taking off a pearl ring or earrings, grasp the shank or metal part rather than the pearl.
10. Once a year have a jeweller verify that the pearls on your jewellery are securely mounted or that the string is still strong.

Diamonds are the hardest natural substance known to man and it is formed by a single element: carbon. For some coloured diamonds, what turns a colourless diamond into a naturally coloured one is the presence over thousands of years of an added element. For example, boron will form blue diamonds and nitrogen will create yellow diamonds. For pink diamonds the only element present is still carbon, but what brings the pink colour up is when the light passes through this diamond which has latice or structural dislocation and reflects pink colour. White diamonds have their layers of carbon perfectly aligned while pink diamonds have their layers of carbon not perfectly aligned (or dislocated) and will make the colour different.

While most diamonds are formed in a host rock called kimberlite, the Argyle Diamond mine of Australia is a lamproite ore mine, the only mine like this in the world. This may be why Argyle produces nearly all the world’s pink diamonds. Pink diamond is believed to have been created through structural pressures exerted on carbon molecules during diamond formation up to three billions years ago.

Pink diamonds are very rare. For example, in 2007Argyle produced about 30 million carats of diamonds but only about 0.1% were pink diamonds. Because of the rarity of such scarce commodity, they have become very valuable. They are a truly solid investment with continuous increase in value every year.

Pink diamonds need caring to keep them looking at their brilliant best in the same way as white diamonds. Some helpful hints you should keep in mind:

1. Avoid wearing diamond jewellery when doing rough work or dishes. Despite the durability of the diamond, it can be chipped by a hard blow along its grain.
2. Take care when doing housework, avoid letting diamond jewellery come into contact with chlorine bleach, as it won’t harm the diamond but can pit or discolour the mounting.
3. Keep away from skin oils, soap, cosmetics or cooking grease.
4. When placing diamond jewellery in a jewellery case, make sure to wrap them individually as they can easily scratch each other, as well as other gem jewellery.
5. Take your diamond jewellery to your prefered jeweller once a year for cleaning with ultrasonic machine. But if you decide to clean it at home, there are several ways of cleaning diamond jewellery:

1. 1. Use a small bowl of warm suds with any mild liquid detergent. Immerse jewellery in the suds and brush gently with a soft brush. Rinse under warm running water and pat dry with a soft, lint-free cloth.
   2. Use one of the liquid jewellery care products. Follow the instructions in the kit.