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Businesses and homes across Harrogate, North Yorkshire, lost power on Saturday. This forced many businesses, including ourselves, to close early.

We, at Stoners of Harrogate, lost power at 2.30pm on Saturday which meant that we had no lighting, heating, payment facilities and most importantly our security was affected – which is really worrying for a jewellery store such as ours.

As a member of the steering committee for the Harrogate Town Centre Development Group, a key objective of the group is to encourage shoppers to “buy local”. So it was a shame that Harrogate encountered this problem on one of the busiest shopping days of the year as it probably forced some shoppers to visit nearby city centres.

Fingers crossed Harrogate doesn’t have a repeat performance of this black-out!

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What’s the first thing you think about when purchasing a diamond? The colour, clarity or the size?

Some people may argue that the size of a diamond is the most important factor.  But there are a couple of things you should also think about when purchasing a diamond -the clarity, cut, and colour.

We, at Stoners of Harrogate, often advise customers to go for a better quality stone as opposed to the biggest one. The colour of a diamond can be so important. Next time you’re in a jewellery store have a look at the colour of the diamond rings – does it look a little yellow? The poorer the colour of the stone the more yellow it becomes in its appearance.

An interesting issue to note is that the size of the stone is often a misleading term. It’s the carat value that’s important which relates to the weight not the size of the diamond but I’ll save this discussion for another time……..

Stoners of Harrogate’s experienced team are on hand to help with any diamond related questions via enquiries@stonergroup.co.uk or on 01423 561 458.

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At Stoners of Harrogate, we’re really privileged to have been able to donate a £2000 diamond to help raise funds for the Being Bel Trust.  This is in aid of lovely Bel Young, a ten year old local girl from Harrogate who was tragically left quadriplegic after falling off a climbing frame a year ago.

The sparkling diamond was donated as the raffle prize at a fundraising event to raise money for special equipment, therapy and care for Bel.

Raffle winner and West Yorkshire resident Nigel Jowett was so touched by Bel’s story that he donated the precious diamond to Bel and was thrilled to present it to her in person.

We, at Stoners of Harrogate, will help Bel to design her own bracelet using this diamond which has been specially named ‘Bel’s Bracelet’.  Brave Bel has asked Christopher Stoner, owner of Stoners of Harrogate, to design a bracelet incorporating the letter “B” encrusted with the dazzling diamond.

Christopher Stoner said: “Bel is an inspirational young girl who is extremely courageous and it’s tremendous that we have been able to help boost her quality of life in this fundraising venture.”

We’re committed to putting back into our local communities, so we’re keen on getting involved in worthy charitable activities such as this.

We’re delighted that this story has gathered much press coverage and raised the profile of fabulous Bel.

http://harrogate-news.co.uk/2011/11/28/brave-quadriplegic-receives-dazzling-donation/

http://communitychannel.mediatrust.org/news/2011/11/28/raffle-winner-donates-2k-prize/

http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/raffle_winner_donates_2k_prize_1_3290879

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What are your thoughts on a Christmas proposal?

We’ve designed and handmade a stunning diamond engagement ring for someone recently who intends to propose to his fiancée on Christmas Day. He plans to put the ring in a cracker and propose in front of his whole family. At least this saves the couple having to ring all their relatives telling them the good news! He is quite nervous about getting down on one knee in front of everyone but both he and his fiancée are very close to their family.

So look out ladies, it might be you. Check the contents of your crackers as there might be a surprise waiting for you.

Read more]]> This is the age old question that many men worry about. Isn’t the answer simply that a man should spend the equivalent of three month’s wages? It is difficult to apply such a narrow answer to such an open question. Everybody’s circumstances and points of view on the matter are different. It also depends on whether the bride to be is a jewellery fan! If she is then perhaps their expectations might be higher.

An engagement ring is an important purchase, so there can be a lot of pressure for men to choose the right ring at a price they are comfortable with. There is hope though, as the Stoners of Harrogate team use their 30 years of experience to help guide men through the engagement ring buying process. As specialists in designing and making beautiful jewellery, Stoners of Harrogate ensure your bride to be receives the perfect ring within the desired budget – what more can you ask for!

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We love meeting brides-to-be and hearing all about their wedding plans. We did just that at the Ripley Castle wedding fair yesterday. We met some lovely brides and some great wedding suppliers.

We’re really looking forward to meeting the brides again and designing and making their wedding rings for them. Creating the perfect wedding rings for a couple is so just exciting.

Read more]]> A lovely gentleman came in to the Harrogate store yesterday worried about his Rolex watch which he’s had for 10 years. It’s his pride and joy but it’s losing time. Chris Stoner asked whether the watch had ever been serviced and unfortunately it hadn’t.  The gentleman wasn’t aware that Rolex watches should be serviced every 3-5 years.

He was apprehensive about servicing his watch as it had taken a couple of months in some cases for his friends to have their watches serviced at Rolex. Chris re-assured him that this wouldn’t happen with us as servicing is carried by our authenticated Rolex watchmaker within 15 working days. This, along with our current £50 off Rolex watch servicing offer simply made this gentleman’s day. We aim to please!

For more information visit http://www.stonersofharrogate.com/rolex/50-off-rolex-watch-servicing/

Read more]]> At our Stoners’ Harrogate launch earlier this year, we launched our pledge to raise £25,000 to fund a Marie Curie nurse for a year. Attached is a video shot at the launch event showing interviews with a number of key attendees at the event.

Stoners of Harrogate launch with a Marie Curie pledge

To support our team of runners at this year’s Great North Run and help us towards our target then please go to www.justgiving.com/stoners. Your support is much appreciated!

We will also be putting a team in to the Walk Ten at Bolton Abbey on the 28th August and there are still places available. So, if you’d like to join us for our twilight walk, then please contact Rachel McTigue and she’ll put your name down for a team place.

Read more]]> Surely it only seems fair that men have the opportunity to wear a beautiful engagement ring as well as their bride-to-be.

Increasingly men are choosing to wear an engagement ring. Perhaps this is a symbol of their commitment to getting married. It might be that their future wives prefer that they wear an engagement ring.  Or maybe it just boils down to women starting to take the bull by the horn and proposing to men. And why not!

Whatever the reason, the Stoners design team have certainly seen a rise in the number of men asking for bespoke engagement rings.

Contact our design team for more information on designing your perfect engagement ring.

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Plush Magazine’s editor, Ali Schofield asked Chris for his top engagement ring buying tips for men. Some of Chris’ pearls of wisdom include asking very close friends or family for their opinions and considering the lucky lady’s lifestyle.

Do you want to know more? Just click here for the full interview in June’s edition of Plush magazine.