I ordered 2 little sterling silver "urns" to put a little pinch of Gypsy's ashes in. They're from a company in the States called Ashes to Ashes. I had looked in town first because I do like to try and shop local, also, if you have a problem with something, it's so much easier to run downtown as opposed to long distance calls and emails and credit card rebaits and so forth.
However, we only have 3 jewellery stores in town, and two had never heard of them, and the third, Delamonts, had some (they are called "cremation jewellery") but they were $199.00 each while they were nice, they were just plain silver, and not what I had envisioned. I think they had a ball, a heart, a cross and a small teddy-bear. I wanted something with a paw-print on it.
So, I found this company and they had exactly what I wanted, and as well, they were waaaay cheaper. The total, including shipping, for the 2 pictured here, was $117.00 (Cdn) Plus they came with the tiny heart shaped screwdriver to open the small space, as well as a tiny funnel to fill, and they arrived tucked into 2 small black velvet bags. That's $117.00 for BOTH, not each.
However...when I went to put my silver chain in the star one, I realized that all my chains have too large of a closing link thing, and none of them would fit. Damn it!
So, off I went to Delamonts to see about having a small silver link put through the teeny hole in the star. They told me it would only take an hour, and cost about $10.00, which was pretty much what I figured they'd charge.
On the way out the door I spotted a nice silver chain, nicer than the one I was going to use, plus it was a box-link, which is much sturdier. I asked the lady to set it aside and I'd pay for it when I returned. Long story short...when I came back, the jeweller hadn't put the link in, he wanted to ask me if the chain I was buying was for the urn, because this chain fit perfectly through the little hole. If not, he said, he would quickly do the link in two minutes. He came out from his jewel-room and showed me the whole thing and explained which way he thought would be best, both in sturdiness and visually as well.
I was really impressed that the saleswoman mentioned it to him, and that he waited to talk to me, instead of just doing it and making a quick $10.00. And yes, $10.00 for that link isn't a lot of money to him or to me, but the point is, he (and she) paid attention to me, the customer, and I was really very appreciative of this. Good customer service is just so hard to receive these days. Plus, he (this is Mr. Delamont, for those who are in Cranbrook and area) put the little urn on the chain, and put it in a lovely blue velvety-type case. And then they put the whole sha-bang in a nifty yellow gift bag. And this chain wasn't an expensive one either, but they made me feel like I was a valued customer.
So "Hooray" to Delamonts for being such good sports for what they thought could easily just have been a $10 sale. I have shopped there before, and I will assuredly shop their again.
Finished product. So now I wear a bit o' Gypsy near my heart.
