FAQ

Q: There are a lot of online jewelry stores. What makes Dream of Gems different from the others?
A: True, there are thousands of stores. Dream of Gems, however, really is different! Here's how:

• What you see really IS what you get, no substitutes, no excuses, no anxiety, just high quality jewelry or related products as pictured. Most jewelry marked "Dream of Gems" is one of a kind to ensure a special look for you! Whenever possible, we give you plenty of detailed unretouched photos to help you make an informed, comfortable decision.

• Prices that are kept low to ensure you get MORE quality than you pay for. And for our registered clients, if you're in love with something we sell, but you still feel it's a little expensive for you at the moment, call us, or write us, and ask if we can make the deal a little better. And if we can, we will!
  

• A small business "customer first" attitude means that we're here not only FOR you, but BECAUSE of you.
  

• We give you a free retail replacement value appraisal with any purchase of new jewelry built or assembled by Dream of Gems. This includes a detailed description of the item, its component parts, sizes, weights, clarities, colors, and its average replacement value, based on similar quality items through other sources, and on the actual cost value of components plus average standard industry markup.

• High-quality packaging and gift boxes on jewelry items

• Free gift wrapping on most items (unless specified in the product description)

• A clear-cut 30-day return policy with no restock fees! Purchased gifts are covered, too.
  

• We frequently custom-build fine jewelry for our customers, if it's something we don't already feature on the website.
  

• We use only excellent quality, finely finished, sturdy solid Karat Gold, Sterling Silver, or Platinum mountings made and/or distributed and supported by the same US companies who supply your favorite fine jewelry stores, all with quality marks and trademarks. No junk, no flimsy gold, no gold-over-silver, and no advertising gimmickry. Gems are better-grade cuts, clarities and finishes, and are predominantly natural-mined gems which have received only industry-common treatments, or no treatments at all. And when a lab-grown stone is featured on our site, the words "LAB-CREATED" will be the first words of the product's title, so there's no question about the stone's origin. We don't like confusion, and we'll make sure we don't confuse you, either.
  

• We use fine-make white diamonds (E-H in color and typically VS1/2, and sometimes fine-make G-I/SI1 clarity) and VS or SI clarity color-enhanced, irradiated diamonds. Other accent stones are always high-clarity, nicely matched stones that rival the quality of the primary stone. We see no point in degrading a fine center stone with inferior accent stones, like so many companies do in order to keep prices low. We will never compromise quality just to keep a price down, because we don't think you, as our trusting clients, would appreciate that either.
  

Q: Is my financial information secure on this site?
A: Yes. We've taken steps to secure the website wherever you need to deal with private information, which includes the whole checkout process. No credit card information is ever stored on this site. All transactions are processed by PayPal, Inc., a world leader in high-encryption payment processing, or by Authorize.Net, highly respected for its secure payment processing. We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and JCB in addition to American Express and PayPal account payments. The identity of Dream of Gems is warranted (and therefore, so are you for relying on that information). You can click the Comodo logo on any page to view that security information, or click the Authorize.Net logo for our merchant verification.

Q: Is it required that I register on this website?
A: No, it's optional. However, registering on the site ensures quicker checkout; a direct communication channel between Dream of Gems and you when there are special deals, new items, or a reason to contact you about a previous order; etc. Plus, you receive a special discount code just for registering, which can save you even more on your first (or on a future) purchase! Additionally, other deals in the form of discounts can only be sent to you as a registered site user. The only moderately private information we ask you for in registering is the month of your birth. That's so that we may acknowledge your birthdays with special savings, and track which birthstone gems are most common, or which of them deserve more focus.

Q: How do gift certificates work?
A: Ultra simple. Click the Gift Certificates link on the navigation bar, decide whether you want to email it, the recipient's name, phone and email address, your name, and the amount. If you want to put a message in there, you can do that, too. Then just add it to the cart, like any other product. That's it. It has no expiration date, and it doesn't have to be used all at once. In fact, if you don't want to email it, you can just purchase it, and send portions of it as gift certificates to different people if you wish.

Q: Do you ship outside the United States?
A: No. We ship only to the US 50 states at this time.

Q: How is shipping calculated?
A: By service types, such as "Priority Flat Rate Large Box." In some cases, we already know that a particular product has to ship in a particular size container, so we will just list that shipping price on the product page. In that case, that product is not considered in the calculation of additional shipping charges on checkout. An example is the 64-ounce JewelBrite cleaner, which weighs several pounds and which, due to its size, must ship in a larger box by itself. It therefore carries an additional shipping premium. Sometimes we give you the opportunity to remove that extra cost when you know the total of your shopping cart will exceed a certain amount.

Q: I don't see many wedding and engagement rings. Do you sell them?
A: The world of wedding or engagement rings is huge, and styles number in the tens of thousands. Because of the significant cost involved, we will not stock them. However, we will only show items on this site that are typically available in 1-2 days. Also, don't forget that we can probably find you something very, very close to that designer brand you saw and liked, while saving you literally hundreds in the process! Or if you see something on another website you really like, tell us about it, and we'll see if we can beat the price.

Q: Is your jewelry guaranteed?
A: The simple answer is, "yes." We have a separate page labeled "Guarantee" (see link at the bottom of this page) that you should read. The obvious exception to our ability to provide warranty coverage is abuse or accidental damage. In other words, we rely in part on your honesty, just as you rely--and rightfully so--on ours. If you've damaged something, just tell us what happened. It's important to understand the cause of damage, in order to understand the best course of repair, or to pass on quality information to our vendors. Ideally, the best solutions always come when both buyer and seller have a confident relationship.

When we sell a new jewelry item we build or assemble ourselves, we provide you with a "retail replacement value appraisal." We write that appraisal ourselves, based on actual material costs, and comparable values had the piece been purchased through a retail store at a non-sale price. Retail gem prices are based on suggested retail per-carat prices available through our vendors. If the value of the item is such that you wish to insure it through your personal property insurer, you can use that appraisal to estimate coverage. We will always estimate the value on the low side of average. If the piece should be stolen or damaged while you own it, you then have the option of filing a claim to have it repaired or replaced as the case may be, in accordance with the terms of your policy. Items we sell but do not build or assemble will not include an appraisal, but rather, a detailed sales receipt, showing MSRP and the price you paid.

Q: I'm having some problem placing an order, and my browser doesn't seem to want to take me to the payment page. Any idea what it might be?
A: What we've seen more often than not, is that Internet Explorer 7 is overly protective due to its security settings. Here are a few things you can check that SHOULD be set as recommended here to successfully use the browser for online purchases:

1. first, with Internet Explorer open, go to the TOOLS menu link, then to INTERNET OPTIONS, then to various tabs as shown below
   1. on the GENERAL tab, the most important item is under the BROWSING HISTORY > SETTINGS button. That should be set to check for new pages "Every visit to the site"
   2. on the SECURITY tab, click INTERNET, and then CUSTOM LEVEL
      1. roughly in the correct order you'll see them, from the top, down, set the following items
         
         1. .NET FRAMEWORK-RELIANT COMPONENTS > run components not signed with Authenticode > Prompt
         2. ActiveX Controls and Plugins > Binary and Script behaviors > Enable
         3. ActiveX Controls and Plugins > Download signed ActiveX controls > Prompt
         4. ActiveX Controls and Plugins > Download unsigned ActiveX controls > Disable
         5. ActiveX Controls and Plugins > Run ActiveX Controls and plugins > Enable
         6. ActiveX Controls and Plugins > Script ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting > Enable
         7. Downloads > File download > Enable
         8. Downloads > Font download > Enable
         9. Enable .NET Framework setup > Enable
         10. Miscellaneous > Allow META REFRESH > Enable
         11. Miscellaneous > Allow scripting of Internet Explorer web browser control > Disable
         12. Miscellaneous > Allow script-initiated windows without size or position ... > Disable
         13. Miscellaneous > Allow webpages to use restricted protocols for active content > Prompt
         14. Miscellaneous > Display Mixed content > Enable
         15. Miscellaneous > Software channel permissions > Medium
         16. Miscellaneous > Submit non-encrypted form data > Enable
         17. Miscellaneous > Use Pop-up Blocker > Disable
         18. Scripting > Active scripting > Enable
         19. Scripting > Allow websites to prompt for information using scripted windows > Disable
         20. Scripting > Scripting of Java applets > Enable
         21. click OK to close that Internet Security window
             
   3. Still on the Security Tab, click on "Trusted Sites" then Sites button
      1. type in https://*.dreamofgems.com, and click ADD, then say OK
   4. On the Privacy tab
      1. Uncheck the "Turn on Pop-up Blocker" box
      2. Click ADVANCED button (and this is probably the most important point)
         1. Check the "Override automatic cookie handling" box
         2. Make sure "First-party Cookies says "Accept
         3. Third-party Cookies may say "Accept" or "Prompt". If you set this to Prompt, you will have to accept or decline a LOT of worthless cookies that various outside sites try to place on your machine when you're on the Internet. But it also gives you a very good idea just how much marketing information is often collected without you even knowing about it. So I prefer to set that to "Prompt."
            
         4. Check the box that says "Always allow session cookies". Many e-commerce sites require a cookie that limits itself to the length of your session on that site, rather than a cookie that expires months in the future.
   5. On the ADVANCED tab > under BROWSING
      1. check the third and fourth boxes (disable script debugging)
      2. Near the bottom of the BROWSING section, UNCHECK the box that says "Reuse windows for launching shortcuts"
   6. Down further on the ADVANCED tab > SECURITY section
      1. check the box called "Empty temporary Internet files folder when browser is closed"
      2. under Phishing Filter, "turn off automatic website checking"
      3. check the following 3 boxes:  Use SSL 2.0, Use SSL 3.0, Use TLS 1.0
2. Click APPLY and OK and close Internet Explorer, and then reopen it. The changes should take care of any problems with error messages or inability to get to the payment page, on this site or others where you may shop. Incidentally, if you repeatedly do business with particular sites, then add them to the "TRUSTED SITES" section we mentioned, using the format:  https://*.domainname.com, where "domainname" is the main website address. Of course some sites end in .com, some in .org, some in .edu, some in .gov, etc. Make sure to use the correct one.