Clogau Stores
Stockists
We create meaningful jewellery that celebrates the fragile beauty of our flora and fauna, all of which contain rare Welsh gold - the gold of royalty for over 100 years.
Clogau is a second generation family business based in Wales.
Phone: 0345 606 88 77 Lines are open 9am-5pm (GMT), Monday-FridayAlso open 9am-1pm (GMT), Saturday 16th DecemberCall charges from landlines and mobiles may vary. Please refer to your service provider for all charges. Email: sales@clogau.co.uk Or write to us at:Clogau Gold of Wales Ltd Sherbrooke House, 5 Kinmel Park, Abergele Road, Bodelwyddan, Rhyl LL18 5TX Company Registration No. 2146156 Registered in Wales & England VAT Registration No. 713 6009 65 Environment Agency Producer Registration No. WEE/GJ0757ZX
In 1989 a local man named William Roberts made a very unexpected and exciting discovery - an abandoned gold mine in the mountains of Snowdonia. This was the Clogau St. David's mine in Bontddu. Despite its disused state, he planned to transform it into a tourist attraction where visitors could pan for gold. But the idea was opposed due to its location within the Snowdonia National Park. So instead, he decided to gamble on the idea that there would be some undiscovered gold still buried within the mine. To make best-use of this precious gold, William used it exclusively to create jewellery of the very highest quality, beauty and originality, with Wales as his main design inspiration. But it wasn't until 1994 that the first range of jewellery emerged, which consisted of just five pieces that were sold through a handful of small gift shops near the Clogau St. David's gold mine. Luckily by this time they had already amassed a significant amount of high quality gold and it is from this stockpile that most of the Welsh gold that we use in our jewellery today comes from.
The Clogau St. David's gold mine was once the largest and richest mine of all the gold mines in the Dolgellau gold mining area. It is situated in Bontddu, near Barmouth in Gwynedd north-west Wales. After producing copper and a little lead for quite a number of years, the mine developed into gold production in the 1862 'rush' and continued as a major operator until 1911, during which 165,031 tons of gold ore was mined resulting in 78,507 troy ounces (2,442 kg) of gold. It worked the St David's lode of Clogau mountain alongside the co-owned Vigra Mine. For over 150 years, the mine went through mixed fortunes with the gold veins being most inconsistent and difficult to locate. Since 1911 the mine has been re-opened several times for smaller-scale operations. By the late 1990's however, the last train carrying Welsh gold from the Clogau mine clanked to a halt. In 1999 the mine was taken over and held by a local exploration company.
“RJC Members are committed to promoting responsible, ethical, human rights, social and environmental practices throughout the industry in a transparent and accountable manner, from mine to retail. Their commitment aims to reinforce consumer and stakeholder confidence in jewellery products.” RJC
Clogau is a member of the Responsible Jewellery Council, an international, not-for-profit organisation established to reinforce consumer confidence in the jewellery industry. In association with the RJC, we are continuously defining and implementing responsible jewellery practices throughout our diamond and gold jewellery supply chain in order to further establish the RJC’s vision of a ‘community of confidence.
Since 1894, The National Association of Goldsmiths was established to serve and support the Jewellery Industry of Great Britain and Ireland. The Association promotes high professional standards among its membership to inspire consumer confidence and to enhance the reputation of its members. The Association is committed to education and information in legal, technical, and human resource areas. Members must be committed to an honest and knowledgeable approach to their business and adhere to the Code of Practice.
For nearly 125 years, the British Jewellers' Association has promoted and protected the growth and prosperity of UK jewellery suppliers through a wide range of business support services.
The Jewellery Distributors' Association is a non-profit-making trade body specialising in supporting the activities of those who wholesale, distribute, import and export precious and fashion jewellery. The JDA assist and advise Clogau on various aspects of business such as legislation.
As a supplier of prestige products to the Duty Free and Travel Retail industry, Clogau benefits from a specialist recruitment service, industry research reports and news offered by the Tax Free World Association.
The Institute of Direct Marketing is internationally recognised as the leading professional body for the development of direct, data and digital marketing. An educational trust and registered charity, the IDM aids Clogau employees with lifelong learning and encourages business performance.
The Institute of Directors provides Clogau and its employees with business information, support and advice in order to raise standards at management level.
Ellis Whittam provides business support services to UK employees with the main principal of exceptional quality. Services include HR & employment law, health & safety, training and recruitment.
The Wales Quality Centre is a not-for-profit, membership organisation helping organisations across all sectors of the Welsh economy to develop, improve and grow their business through training and advisory services. With the help of WQC, Clogau has been able to drive key business areas such as sustainability, creativity and new product development via a renewed focus on the need to promote innovation and business excellence.
Clogau has a long-standing relationship with local charity, Hope House Children’s Hospices (Ty Gobaith, in Conwy) who provide respite, terminal care and support to life-limited children, young people and their families. The hospices rely almost completely on charitable donations to support their £4m a year service cost. Clogau regularly fundraises for Hope House through annual fun runs, gala evenings and dedicated jewellery collections. We look forward to continuing our support towards this imperative charity, which is particularly close to our hearts.
We conform to the Kimberley Process and use conflict-free diamonds Clogau operates a zero-tolerance diamond policy and insists on written assurance from each diamond supplier that the diamonds supplied have been sourced from conflict-free countries and conforms to the terms of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. Set up by governments, the international diamond industry and civil society organisations, the KPCS aims to stop the trade in ‘conflict diamonds’ and ensure that diamond purchases do not fund violence. Clogau warrants that with regards to any product fabricated from rough diamonds mined from 01.01.2003 onwards, that the diamonds have been purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict and are in compliance with United Nations Resolutions. We guarantee that these diamonds are conflict free, based on personal knowledge and/or written guarantees provided by the supplier of our diamonds. For any product fabricated from rough diamonds mined prior to 01.01.2003, we warrant that conflict diamonds will not be knowingly sold and that, to the best of our ability, we will undertake reasonable measures to help prevent the sale of conflict diamonds in this country. No-Nickel Policy Clogau declares that all carat gold items we supply, and will continue to supply, conform to the ‘Dangerous Substances and Preparations (Nickel) (Safety) Regulations 2005'.
Every Clogau watch and piece of jewellery contains rare Welsh gold.
The Welsh gold that goes into every piece of Clogau jewellery comes from a stockpile that was mined by ourselves during the late 1990s.
Gold mining no longer takes place in Wales, making Welsh gold one of the rarest golds in the world. For this reason, we can only include a small amount of this exclusive gold in each piece. This allows our jewellery to be not only unique but also affordable to those who wish to own a piece of Welsh and Royal history of their own. It also ensures the longevity of our supplies.
At present, Welsh gold can be valued up to 30 times more than standard world gold. On 28th November 2017, 10 lots of Clogau gold, mined under government lease between 1979 and 1981, were expected to fetch about £9,000. But after going under the hammer at auction in Colwyn Bay, the lots went for £44,000, the auctioneer had been told by experts that Welsh gold was "visibly discernible" from other types and the "Clogau factor" could increase the selling amount. The smallest nugget weighed 3g (0.1oz) had a guide price of £600-£700 but went for £4,000. The 16.26g (0.5oz) of gold flakes and dust was expected to fetch between £1,600 and £2,000 but went for £10,500. The precious metal was mined from Clogau St David's after a farmer in the area, Jack Williams, approached Kerry John Thackwell and his father Ray. The pair came to Wales to mine in Gwynfydd after working in Western Australia. Mr Williams told them he was the last miner to work in St David's in 1939 and could show the men where there were gold-bearing veins. The men obtained a mining lease and extracted the gold over three years.
Since 2014, The Edinburgh Assay Office has continued to work closely with Clogau Gold of Wales developing and witnessing their chain of custody for the addition of Welsh gold to their jewellery products. We are satisfied that the quality management process followed by Clogau Gold of Wales provides assurance of the statement "Welsh gold is contained within each piece of Clogau Gold jewellery" by supporting: • The validity of the source of Welsh Gold used by Clogau Gold of Wales. • That a pre-determined quantity is being included in the production of all Clogau Gold items. • That the quantity is consistent across their range of jewellery. • That verifiable records are being kept to provide clear audit trail to support these assurances. John Fadden Quality Manager Edinburgh Assay Office 18th October 2017
We do not state the % content for a number of reasons. Firstly, the precise Welsh gold content varies with the caratage of the gold in the piece. Also, we do not wish to be obliged to a fixed % in case we are forced to reduce it in the future due to depleting stocks. You can be guaranteed that there is Welsh gold within your jewellery which is shown by the Welsh Dragon stamp which is applied.
The Welsh gold is normally included within the rose gold detailing of the piece (and is not the entire rose gold part, as sometimes assumed). In the items that do not contain rose gold, we incorporate it within the other gold featured in the piece.
Every piece of Clogau jewellery is marked with the Welsh Dragon stamp to indicate that a touch of Welsh gold is contained within. The Clogau stamp identifies the item as a genuine piece of Clogau jewellery.
Assay Office Hallmark Since 2004, each piece of Clogau jewellery is tested and marked by the Edinburgh Assay Office.
Clogau Sponsor’s Mark This identifies Clogau as the manufacturer of the item and is struck by the assay office.
Clogau stamp This identifies the item as a genuine and original Clogau jewellery piece.
Welsh Dragon stamp This stamp guarantees that Clogau Welsh gold has been added to your jewellery. At present, this stamp is not included on Clogau watches although they do contain Clogau Welsh gold.
18ct gold standard mark This identifies an item’s gold purity as 750 parts per thousand.
9ct gold standard mark This identifies an item’s gold purity as 375 parts per thousand.
Sterling silver standard mark This indicates the item contains sterling silver with a purity of 925 parts per thousand.
Platinum mark This indicates the item contains platinum.
Every piece of Clogau jewellery contains rare Welsh gold as used by some members of the British Royal Family for over 100 years. Welsh gold is famous for being selected to create generations of Royal Family wedding rings including those of Her Majesty The Queen, the late Diana Princess of Wales, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, HRH Princess Margaret, HRH Princess Anne, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall, and most recently, The Duchess of Cambridge. This has made Welsh gold some of the most sought after jewellery in the world. Clogau jewellery is guaranteed to contain rare Welsh gold. It carries a unique Welsh Dragon and “CG” mark, stamped during the creation of each Clogau item. Each piece is crafted using traditional jewellery-making techniques and painstakingly hand-finished to give the lasting pleasure which ensures the Clogau jewellery will remain as special as the day you received it, as it is passed down through generations.
Our jewellery is consistently hand-finished to a very high standard using conflict-free diamonds, ethically mined gold and a 7-stage quality control process.
Originally, all Clogau jewellery was manufactured in North Wales, but in 2005 the decision was made to move production overseas in an attempt to fulfill customer demands for shorter manufacturing and delivery times, and to sustain the growth of the brand. The change has meant that the costs to both customer and company have been reduced, and customers now receive their jewellery with 2-3 working days, instead of several weeks. It has also meant that we can keep up with the demand for Clogau jewellery on the high street and, increasingly, internationally. The majority of Clogau jewellery is made up of multiple components due to the addition of Welsh gold (usually in the rose gold detailing), thus complicating the manufacturing process. A team of dedicated employees are responsible for creating jewellery of the utmost beauty and quality.
The quality of Clogau diamonds are typically: • In silver items where the diamond is 0.49ct or under: SI1 (slightly included) clarity and G-H colour (near colourless) • In gold items where the diamond is 0.49ct or under: VS2-SI1 (very slightly to slightly included) clarity and G-H colour (near colourless) • Any diamond 50pts, or more, set in gold or silver: VS1 (very slight inclusions, not visible to the unaided eye) clarity and G-H colour (near colourless)
Gold from the Clogau St David’s Mine, and other Welsh gold, has been mined in an ethically sound manner. Within the majority of our jewellery, however, Welsh gold is combined with World gold. As members of the Responsible Jewellery Council, we are committed to completing the compulsory member certification against the Code of Practices and the voluntary Chain of Custody standard, which is currently under development. The RJC aims to improve the transparency of the full jewellery supply chain; from mine to retail.
“A trusted technique, hand-in-hand with an organised approach to the supply chain ensures that product quality is consistently high and low fault rates are maintained.” Ben Roberts, Managing Director. The quality of construction, finish and methods used are under constant review and improvement, and are written into the Service Level Agreement for suppliers. The agreement covers manufacturing requirements such as high quality alloys to be used in the anti-tarnish casting grain, German findings/clasps and chain sourced from the UK. A stringent 7-stage quality-control process is in place: • Porosity check on cast “tree” • 1st stage component 1 surface finish check • 1st stage component 2 surface finish check • Solder/laser check & pre-polish • Final surface polish check • Construction & size check • Final check
Get free UK delivery with all web orders and free next working-day delivery with oprders of £250 or more
Every order we send will arrive in an anonymous package, without any Clogau branding. So don’t worry if you're buying a gift for someone, we won’t spoil the surprise.
Orders of £249.99 or less are sent by Royal Mail Recorded Signed For™ (these usually arrive within a few days but can take up to 12 days on rare occasions, excluding Sundays). You can upgrade your postage to next working-day delivery for £7.00. Orders totalling £250 or more are sent by next working-day delivery free of charge which is guaranteed by Royal Mail to reach you by the next working day (excluding bank holidays) if you place your order before 4pm and all of your items are in stock. All deliveries require a signature on delivery. During very busy periods (such as Christmas) your order may be despatched the next working day.UK delivery times
Yes you can, thanks to our new Collect in-store service.Please note that it takes at least 24 hours to arrive in store depending on which delivery option you choose. Before your visit, contact the store to confirm that your order is ready for collection. Print out or show your order confirmation email when you visit us. You have six Clogau stores to choose from: Broughton (Unit 13b, Broughton Shopping Park, CH4 0DP) Cardiff(St David's Dewi Sant Shopping Centre, CF10 2ER) Bridgend (Store 5, Bridgend Designer Outlet, The Derwen, Bridgend, CF32 9SU) Cheshire Oaks(Unit 120b, Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet, Kinsey Road Ellesmere Port, CH65 9LA) Birmingham (Resorts World, Unit 45, Pendigo Way, Birmingham, B40 1PU)London(Unit 2110, First Floor, Westfield London, Ariel Way, London, W12 7GF)
Yes, even if it is your first order with us.
Yes, but you must have an online account with us (which is free of course). Simply click the ‘Order Tracking/History’ link once you have signed in to your account.
Orders delivered to non-UK addresses cost £30 and are posted by FedEx International. A signature is required on delivery.
We offer our customers 14 day returns*
We offer all of our direct customers (excluding retailers) a 14-day “no quibble” money-back returns policy. If for any reason you are unsatisfied with your Clogau jewellery or watch, you may return it unworn and in its original presentation packaging, and within 14 days of receipt for a full refund or exchange. This policy does not apply to earrings (for hygiene reasons), soldered and engraved items, or vouchers (whether physical vouchers or e-vouchers), which cannot be returned (this does not affect your statutory rights). Returns may be subject to postage charge, depending on circumstance.
We pride ourselves on producing high quality jewellery and watches, however, if your jewellery or watch has a manufacturing fault, please return it to us so that we can assess the item before handing it to our craftsmen. If your jewellery or watch is damaged in any way that does not appear to be a manufacturing fault (for example, if it was accidentally damaged), we will discuss with you any repair options and costs before proceeding. Please note that jewellery must be returned in its entirety, such as a pendant with a chain, both earrings, etc. Items returned for repair may be subject to postage costs if not covered by warranty.Arrange a repair online now
Whether you wish to return, exchange, service or repair your item(s), you can arrange an online return quickly and easily. Simply follow the instructions on-screen to see whether your item is suitable for return. Arrange a return online now
If the item(s) you want is more expensive than the original item(s), please have your credit/debit card details to hand and we will process payment for the additional amount required. If the items(s) you want is less expensive than the original items(s), we will reimburse your credit/debit card or your PayPal account (depending on your initial form of payment) for the difference in cost. Postage costs are applicable to exchanges made during the returns period.Arrange an exchange online now