It is an exciting process to buy something as complex as jewelry on the web. It can also raise many questions about the process and general concerns. We understand and appreciate your concerns and will do our best to calm any nervousness you have and answer all of your questions. We believe in getting questions answered, curiosities explored and providing information and education to assist you in your decision making.
Below are some of the questions we often hear. We know there are others, so if your question is not answered here, please visit our contact us. We will get back to you with an answer as well as post it for others to read.
Q: How can I do business with you when I don't live near your store?
A: All the education and “right” choices mean a lot. AND bottom line is you want a stone or jewelry that looks great and are good values for your money. We offer a pre-setting inspection period so you can SEE how our stones perform. By getting a first hand look at items sent on approval, you can be assured of getting exactly what you are looking for. For details of how this works, visit our Terms and Conditions section under Guarantee.
To make your choosing easier, there are many designs in our gallery, jewelry store and our linked supplier colleagues’ sites. We work to make jewelry the way you want it.
Q: What kind of customer service can I expect?
A. We have been in the jewelry business for over 30 years with our sole means of advertising being reputation and word of mouth. We take great pride in helping our customers get exactly what they want, and also by letting them know up front if we cannot provide what they are looking for. We believe in customer satisfaction and service and will answer concerns and be sure we are talking about the same thing every step of the way. We pride ourselves in being successful in the “people” business as well as the “jewelry” business. We are successful when you are happy. It is as simple as that.
Q: How do purchases through you work?
A: Very easily. We take personal check, Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express, debit cards or personal check as well as PayPal payments to sheila@winkjones.com . Once we receive payment, we’ll send stones out for a ten day “see for yourself” inspection if so desired. Mountings carry our 60 day “we’ll make it right or your money back” guarantee. We make treasured jewelry to your specifications and save you money by not carrying a huge inventory of unwanted or loved pieces.
Q: If you are purchasing specifically for what I want, doesn’t that process take longer?
A. This answer requires two parts. 1) Because I have been in the trade for so long and have WONDERFUL relationship with my suppliers, we receive great service and pass that along to you.
2) The second part of the answer is yes, sometimes that takes longer if you want something very specific that may require special order cutting. The good news is that by having personal connection to some of the finest suppliers in the world, you will end up with something truly remarkable as a result of your wait rather than something someone had to move off their shelves to turn inventory. .
Q. What is your guarantee?
A: We offer a five star guarantee. For specifics, visit our Guarantee section.
Q. How can I insure my jewelry?
A. We can help you with insurance through Jewelers Mutual, a company that works exclusively with jewelers. The rates vary state to state, but are usually lower than your homeowners. Once every two years you have the jewelry inspected by a store who works with Jewelers Mutual and resubmit your premium for another two year's coverage. This is information we provide without compensation so we have no vested interest in offering it to you. The benefit to you is that if your jewelry is lost or damaged, Jewelers Mutual will send you to us for replacement – no looking for someone to do “sort of” what we did.
Q. Boise doesn’t seem like a jewelry Mecca. Why Boise, Idaho?
A: Wink loves to kayak, hike, camp, and just plain enjoy being out of doors and away from the maddening crowds, as does his wife and children. We can take advantage here of availability and access to wonderful products worldwide and yet live in a place that supports our other interests. Lifestyle has a lot to do with Wink’s being so happily married for more than 30 years.
Q: How do I know you are going to be there tomorrow?
A: Wink has been here all of his life except for eight years with the Marine Corps that took him to Vietnam, and Brazil where he became enamored of the gem trade. He’ll be here as long as he lives. Winfields can be checked out with the Better Business Bureau or the Chamber of Commerce, neither of which has ever had a complaint filed.
Q: Why are your prices so much better than others?
A: Because our thirty years in the trade have enabled us to find out who are the best suppliers, and to gain their trust and confidence. Our word is our bond in a wonderful business that is still done on a handshake. Wink is known both nationally and internationally by people he can count on to provide us with the best product at the best values, so that we can pass those tremendous values on to you!
Q:Why are you so easy to buy from?
A: Quite frankly, because we love what we do. Wink gets up every morning excited that he gets to help people like you pick out the glorious stones that will become the symbol of the love and honor with which you regard the recipient. Take a look at a few of the many testimonials we’ve received and you will know what keeps our batteries charged!
Q: Many sites have a much larger selection of jewelry than yours, why is that?
A: We’re really glad you brought that up. We specialize in making jewelry to fit your stones. We have at least two designers working with us at all times for your complete customization of jewelry. We also work with several catalog houses whose designs you can choose to have made to fit your stones. We find this more efficient than having large quantities of finished jewelry where you are stuck with something we have already made. This allows us to have made a piece that fits the stones you choose. Doing it this way helps us to keep our costs low. We will be constantly in the process of putting examples and approximate prices up on the gold and platinum section of the site so keep checking back.
Q: I have some nice jewelry but would like it updated. Can you help?
A. One of the wonderful things about our cz’s is they can provide different lives to your current jewelry at little cost for updating. We are happy to bring new life to old jewelry by refurbishing, redesigning, resetting, or replacing stones. Give us a call if you have something you might like to redo and take from the bottom of the jewelry box so you can wear it and enjoy.
Q: I’d like someone to take my ideas and design something special. Can you help with that?
A. The cost is just $200 to have one of our designers do up a design for you. This is non-refundable, but does apply towards the cost of making the design should you decide to have us do that for you.
Q: What takes so long when we special order stones?
A. As the term “special orders” implies, these stones are not in stock – they are being “specially made” for you. In the case of cz’s what that means is, we contact our supplier who chooses rough, cuts the stones to the specifications ordered, polishes them, packs them individually, processes them for shipping and ships them from overseas to us. Since the suppliers deal in large numbers of stone orders and they, like us, cannot second guess what people will want in fancy colors and shapes, it takes some time to get a complete order selected, cut, polished and shipped to us. We keep rounds and princess shapes in stock in the most popular sizes. We do our best to keep a supply of the other most popular shapes, sizes and colors also. We may need to order that “special” stone you want, however, and now you will know what your stone is doing on its way to you.
