Six guides along the mandrel
A ring mandrel is the stepped steel rod a jeweller slides a ring onto to read its size. Here it holds six questions about a wedding band, one ring for each guide.
Buying a ring: your rights
What the consumer guarantees promise when a ring has a problem, and what they do not.
Lay-by and deposits
How a lay-by works, what cancelling costs, and what happens if the shop closes.
Gold carats explained
What 9, 14, 18, 22 and 24 carat mean, and how gold gets its colour.
Metals and skin reactions
Contact dermatitis, nickel, and how a doctor works out the cause.
Resizing and engraving
The guarantees that cover work done on a ring after you buy it.
Buying a ring online
Which rights travel with an online order, and which do not.
Five facts to carry to the counter
- A shop cannot remove your basic rights with a “no refunds” sign. The ACCC says nothing a business says or does can strip the consumer guarantees away. ACCC: consumer rights and guarantees
- A ring given to you has the same rights attached as one you bought yourself: in the ACCC’s account, whoever is given a product is treated as though they had paid for it. ACCC: gifts
- A business must give you a receipt for anything over $75 and, if you ask, for anything under $75, within 7 days. ACCC: receipts and proof of purchase
- You can cancel a lay-by at any time before you receive the goods; the business refunds what you paid, less any termination fee set out in the agreement. ACCC: lay-by agreements
- For gold, one carat is one part in 24, so the Perth Mint describes 18-carat gold as 18 parts gold to six parts of another metal. The Perth Mint: understanding gold purity
What this guide leaves out
It gives no style advice and no prices, names no jeweller or brand, and gives no ring sizes. Its subject is the band itself: the rules around buying one, the metal it is made of, the skin it sits on and the work done on it later.