Yes, we ship almost anywhere—actually most of our jewels jet off overseas. We’ve got international shipping down to an art (no dodgy surprises, just sparkly arrivals).

Need delivery info for your country but hitting a roadblock? Drop us an email—we’ve got you. ✈️💌✨

We take packaging very seriously—because your new heirloom deserves better than a sad bit of bubble wrap in a mystery envelope.

Every piece arrives in a custom jewelry box (designed to be just right), nestled in our iconic tissue paper, scented with our fragrance of the month, and wrapped again with care. You’ll also find care cards and a thank-you note, lovingly created by Anna, our graphics wizard (and favorite human). That all goes into a branded outer box, then a plain mailer bag for discretion—because some surprises are best kept secret.

This makes our jewelry perfect for gifting—every order comes “gift-wrapped” as standard, whether it’s for you or someone else. Invoices? Never in the box, always in your inbox.

Prefer a no-fuss unboxing? You can opt out at checkout—but don’t worry, we’ll still pack everything up securely. ✨🎁💌

We take all sorts. The big hitters are Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Apple Pay and PayPal. If the piece you’re after is a little pricey you can message us and we’ll knock 5% off if you want to pay via Wise or Bank Transfer - we call this an “Insta Price.”

Sadly we can’t accept cheques, wooden tally sticks, IOUs, livestock to barter, your firstborn (or indeed second) but will trade jewellery for certified wish-granting genie lamps and / or plumbing work.

Generally… no. I love knowing what you're hunting for—it helps me track down pieces I know you’ll love—but bespoke sourcing is tricky. Trust me, if I could make it work, I would!

One week, I’ll stumble across five perfect paperclip chains; the next, they’ll vanish off the face of the earth for six months. Vintage treasure hunting is unpredictable, which makes it impossible to guarantee when (or if) I’ll find exactly what you’re after.

You landed here because you’re a person of exceptional taste—someone who knows that “they just don’t make it like they used to.” Or maybe you’re just here for a deal on fine jewelry (smart move, the secondhand market is where the magic happens).

If your piece arrived looking brand new, that would be a little suspicious. Antique and vintage jewelry comes with history—expect the usual signs of a life well-lived, like scuffs and patina. Most collectors love these details; they add character and soul.

I do my best to call out any flaws beyond normal wear and take clear, accurate photos. But hey, I’m human—if something doesn’t meet your expectations, get in touch, and we’ll sort it out.

Photos are part of the description, so please check them carefully before purchasing. And since our jewelry isn’t new, we can’t guarantee it past the 14-day returns window. We highly recommend wearing your new treasure right away (even if you were saving it for a special occasion) to make sure it fits seamlessly into your life. ✨

Entire books have been written on jewellery care—many books, in fact. But let’s keep it simple. Every piece has its own recipe for the best care, so when in doubt, just ask.

Antique and vintage jewellery can be delicate, so understanding your piece is key. That said, we love gold and precious metals for their durability and repairability.

Water:

Gold and water aren’t the best of friends. Chlorine is a no-go, and even regular water can make gold lose its shine a little faster. That being said, I do wear my heavier gold in the shower, and if a rare pool day calls, I won’t stress over a quick dip.

What worries me more than water chemistry? Snagging. Washing your hair is far riskier for your jewellery than sipping a Martini.

We include a sturdiness rating with every order—use it as your guide. Sturdy? Wear it 24/7. Delicate? Delicate pieces should be kept for those more luxurious moments. Delicate jewellery pairs delightfully with a white wine on a roof terrace I’m told.

Chemicals:

The same as water applies to chemicals of all kinds - cleaning products, skin care, biological weapons, perfume, extra-bad dog farts etc. Best to keep them away. Have I ever sprayed a little perfume accidentally on my favourite Albert? Yes. Would I start bleaching the floor while wearing all my prized jewels? No.

Cleaning 101

Most antique and vintage jewellery just needs a gentle bath—warm water, a tiny drop of Fairy liquid, and a soft children’s toothbrush for any tricky spots. Ultrasonic cleaners? Use extreme caution. Honestly, the toothbrush does a better job.

Your Secret Weapon: A Good Jeweller

Unlike gadgets or shoes, solid gold and silver jewellery can last forever. Make friends with a local jeweller—they’ll be your go-to for repairs, resizing, or making sure your treasures live their best (and longest) life.

Okay, this is a whole thing, so let’s dive in.

Imagine you go on a bit of a shopping spree: Zara jeans, some costume jewellery from insert the hottest brand of the month, a brand new Honda Civic, a bit of Costco bullion (yep, that’s a thing), and an antique 9ct gold chain from me. Wow. What a haul.

Now, those jeans? Basically worthless. A couple of quid on eBay if they’re brand new. Worn them a dozen times? Not even worth the hassle.

The costume jewellery (and demi-fine) is the same deal. Once you bring it home, it’s worth next to nothing. If it’s designer, you might get a few quid for the brand name, but that’s about it.

As for the Honda Civic—it’s already lost 30% of its value the second you drove it off the lot. It’s still worth money, but every mile you put on it is making that resale value drop.

Now, the Costco bullion. This is the closest thing to an actual investment on your shopping spree. You can’t wear it, and it won’t make you feel glamorous, but Costco is adding a tiny margin onto the cost of the raw gold. As of today, 50g of 24ct gold is going for £4,050, and it’s worth around £3880 in scrap value. The price of gold goes up over time, so in a couple of years, you could probably sell it for a profit.

But here’s where my jewellery comes in. My pieces aren’t sold for the tiny margins you get with bullion. I don’t even buy jewellery for scrap prices because... it’s not scrap! It’s a beautiful, antique piece of jewellery. So if you buy from me and try to flog it to a scrap dealer the next day, you’re going to lose money. I’ve got costs, there’s profit built in, and the person I bought it from has their own costs and profit too. That all gets factored in.

However, unlike those Zara jeans, if you hang onto it (and enjoy wearing it, of course), that piece will slowly increase in value over time. One day, it might be worth more in scrap than what you paid for it.

For example, today (April 2025), a gram of pure gold scraps for about £77. Twenty years ago (April 2005), it was £7 per gram. So, even if you got charged an eye-watering 500% margin, and you paid £35 per gram for your piece (which, FYI, I don’t do), you’d still have over doubled your money.

In short: A big chunk of the price you’re paying for a solid gold piece is for the intrinsic value of the gold, and since the price of gold always goes up, that portion of your purchase will appreciate over time.

Disclaimer: Do I need to say this isn’t financial advice? It’s not financial advice. I am not a financial advisor—don’t take financial advice from someone with a jewellery addiction.

All Our Deliveries Are “Assured” (If Not “Insured”)

So what does that actually mean?

If your item gets lost in the post, you’ll get a full refund from Trash Lobster - no need to pay extra; it's our guarantee to you. Is it just me or is mad not every company guarantees this?!

Touch wood (or, let’s be real, touch something), parcel loss or theft is incredibly rare in my experience. I always use the most secure delivery options available. To prove my point, I’ve sent over 2,500 packages via Royal Mail, and only one has been lost permanently (sorry, Diane 😭). Even when Royal Mail had their big cyber attack in 2022 and parcels were delayed for weeks, every order still found its way home in the end. So, yeah... we’re pretty good at this.

For higher-value items, we do insure deliveries on a case-by-case basis, but no matter what, whether your parcel is worth £20 or £20,000, you’ll be refunded if it gets lost.

However, a quick heads-up: if the postal tracking says “delivered,” we can’t refund for loss. This applies to both insured and assured deliveries. So, don’t let your parcel get left with a neighbour, tossed on a doorstep, or left in the mailbox (trust me, your jewellery deserves better than that). And we also don’t deliver to PO boxes, just in case.

If you think the tracking’s gone rogue and the delivery’s been incorrectly marked as “delivered,” you’ll need to raise this with the postal service. Once they’ve amended the status, we can start looking into refund options.

I don’t hate everything about PayPal. I’m quite fond of the very nice Irish boys who answer the phones in their customer service department and unfortunately due to PayPal’s many many technical issues I am forced to call them regularly. PayPal charge customers absolutely wild fees - much higher than our website partner.

I recommend for Story Sales that you use Wise - a much more transparent and affordable international payment provider. If doesn’t make a difference on my end, but it will be cheaper for you. Also if you ask for my sign up link you will get your first transfer fee-free, and I get a small incentive although this is not why I recommend them - they just offer a superior payment product.

On the website I am much obliged if you chose to pay via card, but PayPal is there as an option if you wish to use it.

Hallmarking is a trusted international standard for determining gold purity so we base our descriptions on the hallmarking. Where there is either no hallmark, or doubt over the hallmark (eg. it is possible parts of the piece have been altered) then we have our pieces XRF tested. This is a x-ray that penetrates the metal to test the composition without leaving any trace and is the -pardon the pun- gold standard of metal testing. In my opinion, acid testing is pretty much a waste of time and I would not sell something as gold based on an acid test alone.

When it comes to gemstones, I currently do not sell gem-set pieces where the gem stone represents a major part of the value of the piece. This is because I am not a gemologist and cannot personally test the stones. If I know for a fact that a piece features a certain gemstone I will write that. If I think it is very likely a particular gemstone I will write eg. likely-garnet. If I am unsure I will write a descriptor eg. garnet-coloured.

Gem testing is a very specialised skill and even then, a somewhat imprecise art when it comes to stones set in jewellery. People who do possess this fantastic skill will tell you that they are accredited gemologists. Anyone else who boldly claims pieces to feature particular gemstones without explaining how they know that are probably (but not always, of course) talking out of their bottoms.

By writing this disclaimer I am trying to be as upfront as possible - it would be easier to do as the crowd does and say nothing on the topic. I have no interest in over-selling jewellery - I want to sell you the best pieces I can, at fair prices, honestly.

All this to say we do our very best.

I do edit my photos. As you may have experienced in your own life photos don’t always capture a scene as we see it in real life so I edit my photos to as closely as possible resemble what I see in front of me.

Unfortunately not. I have to handle pieces to know if they’re something l could sell. Some vintage business are about volume and giving people an absolute treasure hoard to sift through (amazing!) but mine is very much about my personal curation and so having a relationship and touching and considering every piece is very important to me - so I don’t buy remotely.

Seen something you love but it’s just not quite right? In most cases we can have it adjusted for you - either for free or a small fee. This includes making bracelets and necklaces shorter, changing clasps and re-sizing rings. Just drop us a message and we will get back to you with options and quotes if applicable.

Indicative prices: To add an antique dog clip is the most expensive alteration and adds £100-£150 to the price. To add a modern dog clip would cost £30-£50. Sizing a ring down would be around £15. Sizing a ring up would usually cost around £30-£50. We can shorten most bracelets and necklaces for free. We can also turn a long necklace into a bracelet and necklace for the cost of the second clasp.

We can also have pieces gold plated for you - eg. perhaps you like the look of a rosey coloured chain but would prefer it plated in a more bight yellow gold. Still solid gold, but with a layer of yellower gold improving the colour. We can also have silver jewellery plated with gold to create your very own bespoke vermeil. We always opt for the thickest coating of gold available to get the most long-lasting results and will advise you on how to have pieces re-plated when the time comes.

Turn around time varies, a rule of thumb is four weeks, but we can accommodate rush requests depending on the complexity of the work.

Update: I am currently trialling a self-service layaway on pieces listed on the website. You can select to pay in instalments - 30% due to secure the item and then you will be emailed payment reminders after 30 days and 60 days. You must keep up with payments promptly. If your payment is not made within 14 days of the deadline, the initial payment will be kept as a cancellation fee and the item re-listed. Any problems, or if you want to pay the item off early, drop me an email - I'm always on hand to help. Do note; items will only be dispatched after all payments are made.

---



If a piece has been listed for over a week I may consider a layaway on a case-by-case basis. The maximum layaway period is a month. All layaways are via direct payment - eg. PayPal F&F, Wise or Bank Transfer and are non-returnable. Deposit is 25% and the balance must be paid within 31 days. If you wish to suggest alternative terms please do get in touch and I will review. If you change your mind mid-layaway the deposit is non-refundable. I will nudge you on payment twice and if I do not hear from you all monies paid will be forfeited and the piece will be re-listed.

The website also allows you to pay via PayPal Pay-in-3 which is essentially a layaway operated by PayPal. We dispatch your items right away, as we would usually do, and you enter a contract with PayPal to repay your purchase over time.

I'm so glad you asked! Brand Design by Anna at Doorway Studio. Copy collaboration with Charlotte at Studio Sonder. Web Design by Alyssa at ATNN Design.