Frequently Asked Questions

Why is all your jewellery measured in imperial, not metric?

Almost all of our jewellery is made in America, where they use the imperial measuring system. Since the vast majority of the world's best quality jewellery is made there, any non-America companies have also maintained the imperial measuring system to ensure compatibility across the brands. We have included the metric conversion wherever possible, in the hopes of minimising confusion.

Why do I have to buy each part of my jewellery individually, which can't I just pick one option for a complete piece?

Body jewellery is very versatile, and very varied. The combination of pieces available just on the website (and believe me, there are a LOT more) would range into the thousands, creating more work for us to create each of those options, and more work for you to find the option you are looking for. It may seem like more work now, but we tested it, and this is actually the more straightforward option. If it seems overwhelming, please feel free to get in touch with the studio and we will help you out one on one.

How does this style of jewellery work?

If in doubt, select "Pickup from Studio" for delivery option. When you come down, we can install it for you so you don't need to worry about a thing!

Why don't you carry externally threaded jewellery, or acrylic?

As members of the Association of Professional Piercers (the APP), we adhere to certain standards when it comes to jewellery design. There are a variety of products that are being made that are not safe to be worn for a variety of reasons, and we will not put your health in jeopardy. Externally threaded jewellery, for instance, can not be made from implant grade materials, and the exposed threading can pose a danger to your piercing as it passes through the fistula. Acrylic jewellery has been proven to leak carcinogenic chemicals into the body, increasing the risk of cancer.

Why do you talk about your steel and titanium jewellery being implant grade, but not with your niobium and gold? Are they not as safe to wear?

That is a technical question. Implant grade materials are ones that have been designed (in this case, by alloy composition), and tested to live safely in the body without risk of complication such as allergy or poisoning. The most common use for these materials is in medical situation, like bone pins, or joint repair/replacement. Implant grade steel (316LVM ASTMF138) is cheaper and easy to manufacture, and implant grade titanium (Ti6Al4V ASTMF136) is a little more expensive, but is lighter and can be anodized.

Commercially pure niobium (99.9%, or .999) has been tested to be safe in the human body, but it does not have an implant grade designation because it is not used in a medical capacity; the piercing industry is not large enough to drive a campaign to have one officially written.

Gold also does not have an implant grade designation as it has a historical precedent as being safe in the human body, and has been used for implants (such as tooth fillings) for around 200 years, and as body jewellery since before Homo Sapiens walked the earth (yes, gold body jewellery predates our whole species!). Having said that, not all gold is made equally, and 14kt/18kt is not in itself a mark of quality when it comes to implantable materials. All of our gold is sourced from specific gold body jewellery manufacturers to ensure there are no nasties in the alloy that can cause you problems.

So in short, even if the products don't have an implant grade standard, they are still 100% safe to wear.

Do you carry anything in 9kt gold, or something gold plated?

The gold plating on jewellery can be worn or scratched off, not only leaving jagged edges on your jewellery, but also exposing you to the chemicals of whatever mystery metals are sitting underneath.

9kt gold is only 37.5% gold, which in this writer's opinion, makes it metal lying about being gold. If your morning OJ was 62.5% water, would you still call it orange juice? Too high a percentage of gold can jeopardise the piece (gold is very soft and can be damaged easily), so all of our gold comes at 14-18kt (58.3-75%) to ensure that you are getting what you pay for, and safely.

I don't know what size jewellery I need!

That's not a question, but we can still help! Please come on down to the studio so we can measure you up and find out!

When is [x] coming back into stock?

All our jewellery is made to order, so the time between ordering and receiving stock can vary from weeks to months depending on manufacturer. We usually have a general idea of when certain pieces will become available again, so please feel free to contact the studio and we will do our best to update you.

I saw something on your social media, but it's not on your store?

We are a small team doing our best to keep on top of things, and some aspects of the job take longer than others. It is possible that we simply haven't gotten around to getting it online yet, it may have already sold out, or perhaps the piece was a custom order that was never going to be available on the store. Feel free to get in touch with the studio and we'll get you all the information you need.

I would like to order something custom/I saw something on another website...

Absolutely! But that is not something we can do via the online store. Get in touch with the studio, we can make an appointment for you to get all the details of the jewellery you are after and get the ball rolling on your unique piece!