Certificate check
Send the grading report. We read it the way the trade does, flag what's priced in, and tell you what the grades won't show you.
Jewellery consultancy
Independent advice on everything jewellery, from the stone to the storefront.
Ask The Jeweller is an independent consultancy run by a GIA-trained grader with years at the bench, in the trade and behind an online jewellery brand. Private clients ask us about a diamond or a commission. Businesses ask us to set up a brand, a catalogue and a shop. Nobody is sold anything. They are told what we would do.
GIA graduate
Years at the bench
Trade sourcing, UK and UAE
Built and run an online jewellery brand
No commission, no stock
Under the loupe Table
Move over the stone. Fifty-seven facets, and we can tell you what each one is doing to the price.
What you can ask
What clients bring us. Private buyers and the trade alike.
Private clients, jewellers, retailers and new brands. Every answer comes from someone who has graded the stones, made the pieces and built the business, and who has nothing to sell you but the advice.
Pre-purchase second opinion
Comparing two or three stones or rings from different jewellers? We rank them, price them against the market, and say which we'd buy.
Sourcing brief
A client's ring or a retailer's range. Tell us the budget and the brief; we tell you what is achievable, what to target and where to buy it.
Bespoke jewellery, made
Your idea, designed with you, the stones sourced, and the right manufacturer chosen to make it. We oversee the build from CAD to final inspection.
Valuation guidance
Inheritance, insurance or a sale. We explain what the piece is, what it's worth in each context, and whether a formal valuation is worth paying for.
Independent opinion
A purchase, a repair, a claim or a supplier dispute. We give a plain-English assessment you can put in front of the other side.
Setting up a jewellery brand or online business
Brand, catalogue, e-commerce, pricing, suppliers, photography, payments and marketing: the whole launch, planned in the right order by someone who has built and run one. What that covers.
Diamond consultancy
The 4Cs are where the report starts. Not where the price does.
This is an example grading report for a one-carat round. Most buyers read four of its fourteen lines. Nine of them change what you should pay. Press a line to see what we check on it. The answer for your stone is the consultation.
Diamond Grading Report
Example report · Natural diamondReport 2215 7739 04
Issued 12 Mar 2026
Issued 12 Mar 2026
Results
Inscription: 221577390 4 on girdlePress a line to see what we check
What we check
What it means for your stone and your price is what you are paying us for. Ask about yours.
How it works
Send it. We look. You decide.
1
Send what you have
A certificate, a listing, photos, a CAD, a business plan or just the question. Use the form below. If it is not enough to answer properly, we will tell you what else we need.
Takes you five minutes
2
The consultant looks at it
Not an assistant, not a chatbot. Every brief is read by the person who runs the consultancy: a GIA-trained grader who has set stones, made rings, bought on the trade floor and launched a brand.
Within two working days
3
You get a straight answer
A written reply you can act on or forward, with the numbers, a recommendation, and what we would walk away from.
Yours to keep and to quote
Jewellery making consultancy
Have it made. Properly.
You bring the idea. We design it with you, source the stones, and choose the manufacturer to make it. Years of making mean we know which workshop to trust with a pavé halo and which with a heavy signet, and we check the piece at every stage until it is right.
- DesignA sketch, a photograph or a piece you already own, turned into a CAD you can see from every angle before anything is made.
- StonesNatural or lab-grown, sourced on the trade floor at the price the trade pays, with the certificate to match.
- The makerWe source and brief the manufacturer: caster, setter and polisher chosen for the piece, in the UK or overseas. You never deal with them directly.
- OversightWax, casting, setting and finish each inspected against the approved design. Nothing is signed off that we would not wear.
Some of the pieces we have worked on
At the bench
Who answers
One consultant reads every brief. Here's who.
TrainingGIA graduateGemological Institute of America, diamond grading and gemmology
The benchYears of makingSetting, mounting, repair and finishing. Knows what a design will do in the hand, not only on screen.
SourcingDiamonds and coloured stones, bought on the trade floorNatural and lab-grown, certified and uncertified, in the UK and overseas
BusinessBuilt and run an online jewellery brandBrand, catalogue, pricing, photography, e-commerce, suppliers and marketing, from the first sketch to the first sale
PositionIndependentNo stock, no commission, no referral fees from any jeweller, supplier or platform we recommend
“Whatever I'm asked about, a stone, a piece or a business, I look at it as if it were mine. Then I tell you what I'd do.”
Brand and business consultancy
Most launches spend the money in the wrong order.
A jewellery brand is not a logo and a website. It is a position in the market, a priced catalogue, photography that sells metal and stones, a checkout people trust with four-figure sums, suppliers who deliver, and the systems that hold it together. Each costs real money and each is easy to buy twice. We have built and run our own, and we plan yours with you before anything is commissioned, whether you are starting from nothing or taking an existing shop online.
What a brand set-up covers
- BrandName, positioning, identity and the house style your photography and copy will follow.
- Catalogue and pricingWhat to sell, made to order or stock, metal and stone pricing that survives a gold price move.
- ImageryProduct photography, CAD renders and on-model shots that make a ring look worth its price.
- E-commercePlatform choice, the build, product configurators, ring sizing, payments and finance options.
- Suppliers and operationsManufacturers, stone sourcing, certification, insurance, packaging and delivery.
- Launch and marketingShopping feeds, social, email and the first ninety days of trading.
Agency quotes, platform fees, photography days, stock: we help you decide which to pay for, which to defer and which to skip.
Working together
Three ways to engage us. All of them before you commit.
Every engagement is scoped with you first, in writing, so you know exactly what you are getting and when. Some questions take an afternoon. Some launches take a season.
A question
One stone, one piece, one business decision
- A written answer from the grader
- Certificate, listing, quote or proposal reviewed
- A clear yes, no or what to ask for next
Most asked for
A consultation
A shortlist, a design, a supplier or a business plan to talk through
- In person in Manchester, or by video
- Stones, designs or plans examined together, under the loupe where possible
- Written notes and a target specification afterwards
- Follow-up as the purchase or the project progresses
A retained engagement
A significant purchase, a commission or a business launch
- Sourcing and vetting stones on your behalf, including at auction
- Overseeing a bespoke build from CAD to final inspection
- Setting up a brand, catalogue and online shop, start to finish
- Available to you throughout, on your side of the table
Ask
What are you working on?
A stone, a piece or a business: tell us what it is and where you have got to. Attach a certificate, a listing, a CAD or a plan if you have one. We reply by email, and agree the scope of anything beyond a quick answer with you before work starts.
- Certificates: GIA, IGI, HRD, GCAL or none at all
- Natural, lab-grown, and the ones nobody is sure about
- Loose stones, finished rings, antique and inherited pieces
- Brands, shops and ranges at any stage, from idea to relaunch
Prefer to talk? Call 07793 219535.
Before you ask
Things people wonder first.
Do you sell diamonds or jewellery?
No. We hold no stock, take no commission and accept no referral fee from any jeweller, dealer or auction house. You pay for the advice, which is what keeps it independent.
Do you work with businesses as well as private clients?
Yes. Roughly half of what we do is for jewellers, retailers and new brands: supplier and pricing questions, range planning, and setting up a brand and online shop from scratch. The other half is private clients buying or commissioning a piece.
What do I need to send?
Whatever you have: a certificate, a listing, photos, a quote, a CAD or a business plan. If it isn't enough to answer properly, we'll tell you what else we need.
What do I get back?
A written answer you can keep and forward, or a consultation with notes afterwards. The scope is agreed with you in writing before any work starts.
Is it confidential?
Yes. Nothing you send is shared with any jeweller, dealer or auction house, and we never contact a seller on your behalf unless you ask us to.
Do I need to be in Manchester?
No. Most work is done by email and video. In-person consultations are available in Manchester by arrangement, and we travel for retained engagements.