More and more of us are now doing more of our shopping online and this can be anything from our weekly food shopping to unique and original pieces of handmade jewellery and semi-precious gemstones. The selection that is available to use on line is greater but there are many things that we have to take into consideration.

While shopping online there are quite a few questions that we have to ask ourselves before making our purchases of earrings, bracelets and necklaces and if we are thinking about making a purchase of handmade jewellery or semi-precious gemstones with which to make these designs then there are precautions that we have to take as many of these pieces can be expensive and we do not want to make any mistakes.

When we are spending our hard earned money we like to get values for it but beware the cheapest does not always give you the best quality and the cheapest does not always work out as being cheap in the long run.

Spend some time doing a little bit of research and compare prices in different stores as you will find big differences and also make sure that you check the reviews so you can see the service that this store offered its previous customers. Jewellery UK has a very good reputation and can provide a large selection of different stones to set in your handmade jewellery designs.

If you are having a stunning piece of handmade jewellery made for you will want to be looking for quality gemstones and the things you need to be looking for in your stones are the colour, this should be clear and deep and have no imperfections. The shape that the stone has been cut into as you will need a different shaped stone to set into a ring that you will a pair of earrings and also the size of the stone. If your jewellery design is large you will need a larger stone for the setting. If you would like a beaded necklace creating from your gemstones then you will need a stone that has been through drilled as cabochon flat backed stones will not work in this design. You will also have a choice of smooth of facted beads, if you are not sure of the stones you are in need of for your jewellery designs you can as your designs and jewellery UK have a great teams ready to give free advice.

Make sure that you take time to make price comparisons as the time doing this could save you a lot of money in your final piece of handmade jewellery and you do not want to find later that you could have purchased your gemstones of the same quality somewhere else at half the price.

Decide which metal you would like the stones setting into and the type of designs your handmade jewellery is going to be as this will influence the gemstones you are going to buy as some stones look more beautiful set in silver and some look amazing set in gold. Turquoise is one of the stones that look at its best when it is set in sterling silver and it has been set in this beautiful blue stone for centuries and today it is one of the favoured combinations that are used by modern fashion jewellery designers. Gemstones that are deep and rich in colours like Garnet, Rubies and Emeralds can look nice in silver but when they have been used in unique handmade jewellery designs of gold they look there most beautiful.

So enjoy the process of choosing your gemstones and having the pleasure of having your own unique and original piece of handmade jewellery made for you and do not forget to ask for advice before making your purchases.