Here is a set of questions that you, the valued customer, can ask to make a better informed choice as to who you would like to choose as your professional jeweller.

1. Have a look for qualification certificates on the wall to show the jeweller is in fact a qualified professional in the craft. (Many are not and many have never been formally trained properly)

2. Ask, “Do you handcraft all your jewellery here?“ If the answer is “yes”, ask if you can see what he/she has made by way of photos or actual pieces. Even though you don't have a trained eye, you may be able to notice clean, polished surfaces and that the piece actually looks well made and pleasing to the eye.

3. Find out if the jeweller is a member of an association that caters for jewellery artisans, eg. Gold and Silversmiths Guild of Australia.

4. Ask if the jeweller has his/her jewellery valued by a professional valuer who is accredited with a valuers association. A professional valuer has to pass multiple courses from gemology to the making of jewellery to make a professional documented assessment of the true value of your piece. Jewellery valuers use a red seal along with their name and diploma abbreviations for the valuation document to be credible.

5. If you require gemstones, ask if you can view some stones to choose from. Please be courteous and have the common understanding that the jewellers time and money spent on postage and travel to source your stones is very precious and limited; never waste a jewellers time and effort if you don't intend on buying any jewellery from him/her in the first place. It would be common practice for a jeweller to ask for a deposit before sourcing your gemstones.

6. If you have some gold jewellery sitting at home and you'd like to have it melted down and have a new piece made, ask if he/she can do this. If you require the jeweller to use your precious metal, always ask the jeweller to weigh the metal to be used in front of you for your own peace of mind. If there are stones to take out of your old jewellery, take a note of what you have left and what the gemstones are if known. In situations like this, you need to trust the jeweller in determining what sort of gemstones you have if you don't know. You should be able to trust the jeweller you choose after you have done some checking of their professionalism.

7. Ask for your unused gold to be returned to you, this must include catches, resize bits, old settings, for its your gold, or ask for a trade in price.