Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

General

Is your work "handmade"?

That depends on your definition of "handmade". I feel that it is better to describe what we do and let you decide. In general we make our pieces from raw materials such as precious metal wire and sheet, purchased components such as chains and charms, and precious and semi-precious stones. Some people feel that the use of purchased charms or commercial machine cut gemstones excludes the piece from being "handmade".

These are assembled using many techniques such as piercing or sawing, soldering, filing, finishing, and stone setting. The majority of the tasks are performed using hand tools, in some cases using techniques going make thousands of years, but we do not do some steps such as finishing entirely by hand. We use machines such as tumblers to assist in the finishing process. This produces a finish that is as good or many times better than work done by hand and allows us to decrease the cost of the pieces by $20 to $30 each, or more on very intricate designs, since there is much less labor involved in the process. If you would like a piece that is totally hand finished, we will be happy to quote you a price based on the extra work involved.

We will shortly have pages on the making of a Dragon Ring and one of our Fantasy Pendants that provide detailed information on the steps involved.

Do you have a print catalog?

No, we currently do not have a print catalog. We have thought about creating one, but it would be outdated before we got it printed. We are constantly trying to add new pieces to the site, and many of them are one-of-a-kind designs that sell out quickly.

Do you sell loose stones?

Yes, we have a large selection of cabochons and faceted stones available. Please see our loose stone galleries for some of the more popular stones. If you do not find what you are looking for there please email me at pewing@shiningmoon.com and I will see if I have it available in my stock.

Do you have a wholesale program?

Yes, some of our pieces are available wholesale to qualified retailers. Please fill out our Wholesale Application and we will send you information on our wholesale terms.

Would you be interested in exhibiting your work in our festival or fair?

We are always interested in finding new fairs or festivals to partner with. We are currently trying to confine out events to Texas and the surrounding states, but we may occasionally venture farther afield if we feel that we would have a good fit with the event.

Ordering

What method of payment do you accept?

We accept Discover, Visa, and MasterCard for United States orders only. We also accept orders by e-gold, money order, and check. Please see the policies page for more information on payment terms.

Is my order secure?

Yes, we use a secure server to collect your credit card information. We delete this information from the server after we have processed the credit card; usually this is within a few hours. After your credit card information is not stored on any of our computers. To find out more about our security and privacy measures please read our policies page.

How soon can I expect my order to arrive?

Each item in the galleries lists when the item usually ships. Made to order items may take longer. If you need to have an order delivered by a certain date, for a birthday etc., please note that in the message area of the order form and send an email alerting us of the need to expedite the order. There is no charge for this, but please don't abuse us and remember that we may have to tell you that a date is not possible given our schedule.

Our normal shipping is by United States Postal Service Priority Mail. Priority Mail delivery usually takes two to three days in the continental United States. If you want even faster delivery we also offer USPS Express Mail which is delivered to most places in the US overnight.

Do you ship outside to United States?

Yes we are happy to ship orders internationally and have satisfied customers in Australia, Canada, Germany, and Switzerland. All international orders are sent Global Priority Mail if available. Delivery times average one to two weeks for European orders. Please note that there are some countries that do not allow the importation of jewelry. We will not ship to those countries and will inform you if there is a problem with shipping to your country.