Customer Service

Thank you for taking the time to visit and consider us for your gem, jewelry and lapidary needs. It's important to us that your experience is an enjoyable one -- enough that you'll want to return, time and time again -- because, after all is said and done, if you're not happy, it doesn't just affect us; it also limits those we're hoping to help, and their experiences matter to us, too.

The Basics...

All prices shown are in U.S. Dollars ($), and are effective January 1, 2004.. All standard inventory items purchased from this site may be returned for exchange or refund within 10 days of purchase, so long as they are in their original condition and accompanied by a receipt. While we will go out of our way and make all reasonable attempts to keep our customers satisfied, we do not permit refunds of any kind on custom cutting or jewelry design orders, regardless of reason. If you are a member of the jewelry trade and can provide us with at least five verifiable references, we will consider you for memorandum priveliges. On all memorandum goods, the recipient agrees to accept complete and unconditional responsibility for the care, repair to original condition or replacement of all goods so entrusted, from the moment of receipt until the moment of return. On custom ordered gems, jewelry or in-store faceting demonstrations, a non-refundable "commitment deposit" of 50% of the order total is required at time of order. No materials will be ordered or work begun until this deposit has been received and has cleared our bank. We will assess a $25.00 fee to any check returned to us by our bank. All original concepts, artwork and designs remain the exclusive property of Turet Design. All rights to develop, enhance, modify, manufacture or otherwise produce and market, license or otherwise distribute said designs shall remain with the designer, and shall be defended.

Ordering

In order to assure that your shopping experience here is as effortless as possible, we accept payment via money orders, personal or business checks and most major credit and/or debit cards (Visa/MasterCard/Discover/AmericanExpress), and ship quickly to all verifiable addresses.

• Credit cards: To pay with your credit or debit card, simply click on the "ADD TO CART" button below the item in question and you will automatically be linked via secure connection to a dedicated Paypal.com shopping cart, which handles these transactions for us. When you arrive there, please take the time to register and verify your account with Paypal if you have not already done so. Why? Because it's quick, easy and free, and assures everyone involved that you truly are the legal cardholder, which protects all of us from the scourge of credit card fraud. We gladly ship all orders to the address of record for Paypal "verified" buyers within 48 hours of purchase (or less); all other orders will be shipped as soon as payments are verified. If you live outside of the United States, this confirmation is even more important, as we will not ship to unverifiable cardholders or addresses in foreign countries.
  
• Checks or money orders:
  If you are an United States resident and would prefer to pay via either personal or business check, simply send an email with your name, address and phone number(s) and a list of the items you're interested in to sales@turetdesign.com. When we receive it, we will place those items on hold for seven days, pending the arrival of your payment, and will call or write to inform you of the shipping and handling options available to you, and their related fees. We gladly accept payment via teller's checks or money orders issued by U.S. banks or the U.S.Postal Service, and will ship all such orders within 48 hours of receipt, or less. If you'd prefer to pay via personal check or one from any country outside of the United States, we'll wait until it has cleared our bank before shipping your order.
  If you would like to order from outside of the United States: we would still appreciate your business, and we will gladly accept either Certified Checks or money orders drawn upon American banks such as Wells Fargo, Citibank and American Express, among others. To order, simply send an email with your name, address, phone and fax number(s) and a list of the items you're interested in to sales@turetdesign.com. When we receive it, we will place those items on hold for seven days, pending the arrival of your payment, and will call or write to inform you of the shipping and handling options available to you, and their related fees. Once your payment arrives and clears our bank, we will ship your order.
  
• Taxes and tariffs: If you are a resident of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and have not filed a business certificate with us, we must add 5% to the cost of your order to cover MA Sales Tax. If you reside anywhere outside the U.S., you are responsible for any taxes, tariffs or import duties your government may levy as a result of this order. If payment of these is required during the course of shipping (as is the case with shipments to Canada, for example), they will be added to the overall cost of the order.
  
• Custom orders: On custom orders of gems, jewelry, gemcutting or in-store faceting demonstrations, a non-refundable "commitment deposit" of 50% of the total amount is due at time of order. No materials will be ordered or work begun until such time as this deposit has been received and has cleared our bank.

   

Warrantees and Returns

Whether online or in person, we operate by some pretty straightforward guidelines:

1) WYSIWYG. When you place an order with Turet Design, you can count on quality products that will look, wear or perform exactly as advertised here, and you can count on them to arrive in good condition and within a reasonable amount of time.

2) Your satisfaction matters to us. We want you to enjoy your shopping experience today and, even more importantly, we want you and your friends to visit and shop here frequently. If you love something of ours, please tell us and everyone else you know about it. If not, please, tell us about it, first! If you're ever unsatisfied with a product you've purchased here, let us know within ten days of its arrival and we'll let you return it for either a refund of your money or an exchange of merchandise, as long as the product in question has not been damaged or altered in any way. (If you scratch, chip, dent or grind on it, you own it. If not, we believe that your money will feel a whole lot better in your wallet than in ours.) Again, this whole process is about your satisfaction and success first, and ours, second.

3) There are no stupid questions; only unanswered ones. If you're unclear about something, and need either clarification or advice on how best to approach, use, set or apply it, by all means, ask! While you're at it, if you can think of any ways in which we can make our work easier for you to view or order, (or if you have any other constructive criticisms to offer), by all means, drop us a line and share them with us. We welcome your suggestions and comments, and expect that you'll play an integral part in our growth in the months and years to come.

A few thoughts about our services and labor rates...

Two of the greatest challenges facing small businesses today are determining appropriate labor rates, and establishing the transition point from which meeting and greeting the customer transitions to the task at hand. Nowhere is this more true or misunderstood than in markets like the jewelry and gem businesses, in which cost-conscious shoppers frequently opt to buy extremely inexpensive, mass-produced merchandise, and then are surprised to learn that it will cost as much or more to have that item repaired by a highly-trained craftsman as to purchase another item, new.

It has always amazed us that some clients will think nothing of investing $29.95 into a 10-minute oil change for their cars -- which amounts to paying a poorly skilled worker $170.00 an hour for labor and $10.00 for materials -- but will then turn around and balk at paying $65 or $70.00 an hour for the masterful eye and touch of a fine craftsman, and the costs of his materials. Pretty ironic, isn't it?

Here at Turet Design, we dedicate a great deal of time to the consideration and planning of each material's unique characteristics before the first tool touches metal or stone. In some cases, this requires setting up diagnostic equipment; in others, it involves dedicating time to plan out and diagram the many small factors that will affect our final product. Because of this, we charge a "Basic Setup Fee" for each service that we offer. What each of these fees cover is explained in detail on the page upon which it appears. This is not about "price-gouging" our customers. It is about taking as much time as is necessary and doing whatever it takes to provide you with the highest possible quality of products and services, without either of us feeling as if the other is taking an unfair advantage.

Thank you for understanding and for taking the time to read this. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at sales@turetdesign.com.