FAQ's
| Does A Beautiful Story gives warranty on their products? | Satisfied customers are our top priority. We want nothing more than for our consumers to continue to tell our wonderful stories! That’s why we offer a one-year warranty on all our items. The receipt is your proof of purchase. If a problem should occur after this year, please feel free to contact us. We can try to help you find a solution, and in some cases will offer you some compensation | ||
| Why have the Lucky Bracelets become more expensive? | Indeed, they do not come cheap. However, compared to jewelry available at your local jeweler, the prices are similar. The prices depend on a number of things. First of all, the items contain a lot of silver. To protect all the shards and other shackles, they are completely inlaid in silver. This means they will last for a long time. Silver is a precious metal and so it is quite expensive. Secondly, producing the bracelets is time consuming. It takes a silversmith two to three days to make the bracelet, completely by hand. Add to that all costs for transportation, stamp duty, VAT charges, packaging, marketing, promotion and a profit for the organization here and the price balances out. | ||
| According to tradition, a Buddha must be a gift from someone else. "May" I buy a Lucky bracelet for myself, or is that bad luck? | There are several myths about buying a Buddha for yourself. If you ask the Buddhists in Nepal, they have never heard of the tradition, but there are indeed many people who believe in this. If you don’t want to risk it, make sure you receive one as a present. | ||
| I have a nickel allergy; can I wear the Lucky bracelet? | Lucky Bracelets and all our other products are made of sterling silver; this is an alloy of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. This is exactly the same silver you find at jewelers. So people with a nickel allergy can easily wear it because it is bullion. | ||
| How can I see it is genuine silver? | All of our jewelry items are completely hand made from sterling silver (92.5). In the Netherlands, the law requires for all silver products to be inspected. We do that at Precious Metals Deposit in Joure Netherlands. There, they determine the levels of bullion in decorative and functional items and provide these items with the corresponding statutory hallmarks. Consumers who buy products from A Beautiful Story can be completely certain that the specified levels of bullion are correct. On each ornament you will find the inspector’s mark. It is not visible with the naked eye, but if you look through a magnifying glass you see the initials CL and the outline of the A Beautiful Story logo. | ||
| How do I take care of the Lucky bracelet, is there a certain way I should clean it? | The Lucky Bracelets and other silver products are maintained just like all other silver items, namely with a silver polishing cloth (with silver polish). Silver will eventually blacken slightly. After cleaning, the bracelet will regain its shine. | ||
| Are the Lucky bracelets made exclusively for A Beautiful Story? | Yes, the Lucky Bracelets are designed by A Beautiful Story, along with the makers of the silver factory in Nepal. These are made exclusively for us. The idea could not be protected. So the fact remains that you can sometimes encounter for example shards jewelry elsewhere. | ||
| Are the Lucky bracelets designed by A Beautiful Story? | A Beautiful Story developed the concept, together with the silver factory in Nepal. The story behind it is that we initially wanted to work with gem stones. Since gemstones are very expensive materials we could not afford the high costs as a startup company. So we needed materials that were special and beautiful, but more affordable. The Chinese teacup which at that time we drank tea in gave us the idea! The design for the fragments to assemble by the silversmiths in Nepal was born. | ||
| How long does it take to make a Lucky Buddha bracelet? | Making a Lucky Buddha bracelet takes about 16 hours! All components are made by hand. A job that requires a lot of precision and workmanship. | ||
| Seasons must haves. What material are the closings made of? | The clasps vary per model, the knitted bracelets have a fabric loop fastening, which is tied with a bead. Other chains have silver clasps (made in Dambar's silver factory). | ||
I have a nickel allergy; can I wear this product? | Most products are suitable for people with a nickel allergy. We use special silver clasps. The knitted necklaces and bracelets all have fabric fastenings. The only products you need to be wary of are those with metal charms. | ||
| Is A Beautiful Story a ‘fair trade‘ certified company? | A Beautiful Story is currently in the process of Fair Trade Certification with WFTO (World Fair Trade Organization); we expect to obtain the label this year. We have been working according to the Fair Trade criteria from the onset, but deliberately chose not apply for certification immediately since it is a very expensive process. Because we often work directly with the manufacturer we know how the work is done and that it is done in a good and responsible manner. | ||
| Do you support specific projects with the profit you make? | We do not support any specific projects at this time. The prices we pay to the producers are far above the average market prices. This money helps producers pay their workers well and if necessary to invest in factories or workshops. A Beautiful Story is in the process of creating a foundation that will help producers to develop further (not exclusively with A Beautiful Story). This could mean that some producers will be eligible for microcredit loans to invest or that they can have money available for training etc. | ||
| What portion of the proceeds from sales goes to the manufacturers? | This is a question we often get. The actual salary varies by product manufacturers. All salaries exceed in any event the minimum of the specific countries and are often far above the so-called living wage. The makers can use this for themselves, so that their families are well maintained. Furthermore there are many others costs in the consumer price such as VAT (19%), the margin for the shopkeeper, transportation and packaging costs and of course a margin for the company A Beautiful Story, for such costs as marketing and communication activities. | ||
| When I travel to developing countries, the products are very cheap, how can your products be so expensive? | A Beautiful Story imports products that are not of the same quality as found on the local markets in developing countries. The materials we use are of much higher quality, so the products last longer. Furthermore, at the local markets there are often very low prices and so the creators are poorly paid. There are also many costs to get the products to the Netherlands; think of transportation, packaging, import duties, VAT (19%). And finally people in the Netherlands earning their share to be able to do this work. We always pay attention that this is in line with similar products in other stores. All in all, a fair market. | ||
