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    WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT OUR BAR NECKLACES?

    • WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT OUR NECKLACES? 

       Each Mint & Birch necklace is cut by hand in our studio.  Each one starts out as a large sheet of extra thick, premium, high quality, 14 karat gold fill or solid sterling silver ethically sourced from reputable mills in North America. Each bar is cut lovingly by Jessica, the owner of the company. I personally file, drill and polish each one with my own hands from sheets. Gold fill is made by bonding two sheets of real gold onto a core, and is the best alternative to "solid" gold. It is NOT the same as plated jewelry. Gold fill is valuable, contains real gold and can even be recycled for gold content! Each piece is stamped using hand tools. Each Mint & Birch piece is finished and polished in our studio using professional tools and materials. We promise that our necklaces are worth the price!

      Here at Mint & Birch, we only use ethically sourced, certified gold fill and solid sterling silver sourced from North American mills. Gold fill jewelry must contain a certain percentage of gold in order to be able to be legally called gold fill. This percentage is based on the weight of the piece. We use extra thick and heavy bars for your necklaces so that the weight and amount of real gold that you are getting per necklace is higher. We create our bars out of thicker than average sheets of high quality gold fill or sterling sheets sourced from North American mills. This ensures a luxurious, long lasting piece that you can treasure for years to come.

      We do NOT use gold plated materials, but instead, we use gold fill and solid sterling silver. Gold fill is much more superior to gold plated, and is made by bonding layers of real gold into a base core. Gold plated, which we do NOT use, is simply a microscopic dip into metallic colouring or gold alloy, which is often not real gold, or cannot be certified as real gold because gold plated items are usually sourced overseas. Often, gold plated materials simply refers to the metallic colour in which it has been dipped in, and as such,  especially without certification, could contain heavy toxic metals such as cadmium or lead. Mint & Birch does NOT sell gold plated items. Our pieces are free of cadmium, lead and nickel and do not contain any toxic metals. We use only gold fill or solid sterling silver, as we strive to source the best raw materials in the industry! Our gold fill raw materials are ethically sourced from mills within North America, and we only buy raw materials that can be certified as containing real 14 karat gold, safe to wear, free of toxic metals and ethically sourced. 

      Most importantly, the magic is the process in which we make our bars. We do not use a tumbler, in which many, many pieces can be polished and rough edges removed with little effort by putting multiple pendants into a rotating canister with small steel parts or abrasive compounds such as silicone carbide grit, or ceramic. Tumbling does not always remove all of the rough edges, but simply smoothes them down. Furthermore, tumbling can cause micro scratches and wear down the gold in gold filled pieces, leading to tarnish. We do NOT do this. Instead, we meticulously use hand tools to individually finish each bar. Using hand tools allows us to have a greater degree of control and precision over the piece to ensure that edges are beautifully smooth and that no damage occurs when finishing the piece into shiny necklaces! We have created a unique process of finishing your pieces without a tumbler, but with multiple hand tools, ensuring that quality is delivered. We believe in good old-fashioned hard work done with elbow and grease! Your bar necklace will not flake or tarnish as each one is treated with care individually and not mass manufactured.

      The combination of high quality materials we work hard to source, and our unique process of finishing the bars results in necklaces that will last for years to come. We strive to deliver the very best! Mint & Birch also works hard to create unique designs to hand stamp your necklaces with. We even offer custom engraving! In fact, some of our designs are even created specifically for us and cannot be found elsewhere! 

    Chain Replacement, Adjustment or Repair

    Mint & Birch

    Chain Replacement, Adjustment or Repair

    ♡ THE MINT & BIRCH DIFFERENCE ♡
    $9.00 USD

    Each repair is organized one at a time, re-polished and cleaned, existing chain removed and clasps inspected. A new chain is put together and then assembled onto each necklace. This is a process and I do not make money on repairs. They are a negative cost due to precious metal cost and also paying Rhiannon to help with these. It is often a negative cost, especially if it’s been done complimentary. The delay with Covid was noted on the listing for the repair.

    UPDATE DUE TO COVID: Please note that due to covid and health reasons, I am limiting my trips out. Also, we are unable to work together at the office so these are very, very delayed. However, they are not forgotten about and I have hired my husband on as an extra pair of hands! The delay mostly comes from the fact that we are unable to all be at the office together and that I cannot go to my box every day. I want to make sure your necklaces are done properly to my standards. I still recommend having them sent to me to be fixed or adjusted. I make a brand new chain for your pieces - the chain is not burned back together. Please note the significant delays, however we are working hard on repairs. I cannot give an exact date for when your repair will be sent back due to the unpredictability of the situation as well as needing to work separately and not together. Wait time could be as short as a week, but it could be longer than a few weeks. Please note that if you proceed with the repair, that we have been 100% transparent about the situation due to Covid. We will not tolerate any de-humanizing or abusive language regarding wait-times. This is a service I choose to offer. I do not make money on this and it often comes at a negative cost due to the cost of precious materials as well as paying Rhiannon to help with the repairs. 


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    Only for Mint & Birch customers. Please do not send your necklace back until you have checked out with this listing so we know to expect your necklace. 

    The entire length of your chain will be replaced, and you will receive a brand new chain on your necklace. Please select the chain length you'd like your replacement to be in the drop down menu. Chain length is measured with the necklace opened, necklace laid flat out on a table and measured from clasp end to ring end. Clasps will be replaced at our discretion, depending on the condition of your clasp. We will choose the option that is most secure.

    Please check out with this listing on its own, as repairs ship separately. Please note that the turnaround time for chain repairs does not start the day it is delivered or request is placed. I need to retrieve it from my mailbox. (I do not have it mailed to my house as my home address is private.) 

    PLEASE SELECT THE LENGTH YOU’D LIKE THE NECKLACE TO BE USING THE DROP DOWN MENU. Do not leave a note for us to guess the length or look it up as we may not have that information anymore. Please measure it, or select a length or CONFIRM BEFORE the request. We will make the necklace the length you select in the drop down menu. That will be the FINAL selection. ♡  

    PROCESS: 

    1. STEP ONE: REQUEST A SERVICE

      We receive your request via this listing. Please select the material and chain length you'd like. Please use the notes section here to let us know what is on your necklace so we can double check if this is left blank, there may be a delay in your replacement as we will have to manually look for your original order information. 

      Description of services: Repair/Replacements means the broken parts will be replaced. Clasp service means the clasp will be replaced. Shorten a chain means the chain will be shortened to the length you pick. Adding a piece of chain into the chain means that we will add a length of chain into your current existing chain. Your existing chain is not broken. a 1-2 inch section means a total of 2 inch section will be added with a clip in the middle to make it adjustable to 1-2 inches, and so forth. 
    2. STEP TWO:

      SEND US THE NECKLACE (including the pendant) for me TO FIX! 

      FULL INSTRUCTIONS ARE HERE 
      FULL INSTRUCTIONS ARE HERE 

    3. STEP THREE: YOU GET YOUR SHINY PIECE BACK! :)

      When we have received your item, we will ship your repaired necklace with the method of shipping you chose at check out. The shipping fee you pay at check out will be for me to ship it back to you! It will be packaged securely and plainly when it is sent back to you. Once you purchase the listing, please email us back and we will provide you with the address to ship to. 


      All our chains are soldered (welded) for durability. As with any dainty jewelry, it will break if pulled on hard enough. We would see that the chain has been warped or stretched if it has been pulled on. This indicates that the chain links held on as tightly as they could, and stretched with the pressure of the pull before finally snapping. This does not indicate a defective chain - it means it has been pulled on either with enough strength or just the right angle to break. Please contact us directly if you have any questions! 

      Please read ALL of the repair instructions linked in step two. By proceeding with the repair, you acknowledged that you have read the instructions. 

      We HIGHLY recommend tracking or insuring the necklace for the value, we cannot take responsibility of the necklace if it gets lost on the way back to us, and also because if it isn’t, we cannot confirm that it has been sent to the correct address. Please send the necklace back with your name and address that matches the repair request. If it isn’t, I won’t know who’s necklace it is and won’t be able to confirm that I’ve received your necklace to fix or adjust.  By proceeding with the repair you acknowledge this.