Case Study – W.E Clark & Son
W.E. Clark & Son are a multi-award winning independent family-owned jewellers established in 1819. They have showrooms in both Lewes and Uckfield where they offer an extensive variety of jewellery, and as gemmologists specialise in and source rare gemstones that design their ‘The Clark Collection’. The company has been developed and expanded by Managing Director and the fourth generation of the Clark family, David Clark (FGA. DGA. MJVA. PJDip. PJGemDip).
W.E Clark & Son recently made the decision to acquire a Niton DXL, a countertop XRF precious metals analyser into their business
“In the main we are using it as part of our service to purchase precious metals off the public through our retail shops. One of the major attractions is, with little training you are able to put the item securely inside the cabinet of the tester and 10 seconds later you have your result. Everyone on the shop floor confidently uses the DXL and is relieved to not be having to use dangerous acids any longer. Another use we have found is for our workshop. Often our goldsmith needs to know what a piece of amalgamated alloy tests as, or to identify a piece that has been in stock for some time. It has also come in use to identify claws on an antique ring, so that the right techniques and alloys are used on the pieces, which are very often very delicate”
Managing Director, David Clark
With the recent soar in gold price, it has become more important, and more common for jewellery shops such as W.E Clark & Son, to invest in high-tech equipment to ensure they are accurately purchasing the correct Carat of gold, and as importantly not taking in any plated items thanks to the DXLs AuDIT function.
“We were finding that whilst traditional methods such as acids and electric testers were ok, we were getting a lot of false positives, and it was starting to lose us quite a bit of money. On top of which the less scrupulous of people who try to trick us, by making base metal pass as precious metal was becoming a bit of an issue. I was also attracted to the idea of paying for the exact content of the precious alloy.”
As the DXL is analysing such high value items, it’s very important to ensure the calibration is within specification. Niton UK offer a variety of different services packages at our in-house service department based in Winchester. David Clark recently had his analyser service and calibrated under our Platinum Service Contract, which he adds:
“From the outset I was impressed by the way that I was dealt with. The offer of an on-site demonstration was great, as this gave me the confidence to move forward and confirm the benefits of the DXL. Once I had decided to purchase, I decided to use finance to purchase the machine, which just spread out the initial purchase. Niton were able to help advise on a finance company, again this was painless. On the machines 1 year anniversary, I decided to sign up to the Niton maintenance plan. The plan I went for allows for a loan machine to be sent out by Niton, and then the arranged for the collection of my machine to be collected and serviced by Niton UK.“
