The Heritage Journal

How to Choose an Engagement Ring: The Complete Guide
Everything you need to know before buying an engagement ring — from setting styles and stone shapes to metal choices, sizing, and budget. A practical guide from Heritage & Co. Read more...
Solid Gold vs Gold Plated Jewellery: What's the Difference?
Understanding the difference between solid gold and gold plated jewellery — what they're made of, how they wear over time, and which is the better investment for fine jewellery. Read more...
Moissanite vs Diamond: Which Stone Is Right for Your Engagement Ring?
Comparing moissanite and diamonds for engagement rings — covering brilliance, durability, ethical sourcing, and value. Find out which stone suits your lifestyle and budget. Read more...
How to Plan the Perfect Proposal in South Africa: Ring, Timing and the Moment
The Ring Is One Part of the Proposal: Here's How to Get All of It Right A proposal is one of the most significant moments in most people's lives, and the ring, while important, is only one element of what makes it memorable. This guide covers the full proposal planning process: how to choose the ring without her knowing, how to manage timing and logistics, and how to create a moment that reflects who you both are rather than what you've seen on Instagram. Step 1: Choose the Ring Before... Read more...
Engagement Ring Trends South Africa 2026: What's Leading, What's Fading
How South African Engagement Ring Preferences Have Shifted The South African engagement ring market looks meaningfully different in 2026 than it did five years ago. The dominance of round brilliants in white gold has given way to a far more diverse landscape — driven by global aesthetic shifts, the rise of moissanite as a genuine design-led choice, social media's influence on what couples see and want, and a broader cultural move toward intentional, personal expression over inherited convention. This is Heritage & Co.'s read on what's leading the market in... Read more...
Alternative Engagement Ring Stones: Sapphire, Ruby, Tanzanite and What South African Buyers Should Know
Beyond Diamond: The Case for Coloured Gemstones The shift away from diamond as the default engagement ring stone has opened genuine conversations about coloured gemstones — and in South Africa especially, where tanzanite is mined, sapphires have deep cultural resonance, and individual expression is increasingly valued over convention, alternative stones deserve serious consideration. This guide covers the most popular alternative gemstones for engagement rings — their properties, their practical suitability for daily wear, their price range in South Africa, and where Heritage & Co. currently fits into this picture. The... Read more...
Moissanite Resale Value: The Honest Guide South African Buyers Need to Read
Let's Start With the Truth If you're buying a moissanite engagement ring expecting it to hold or increase its value as a financial asset, this guide will save you from a costly misconception. The resale market for moissanite is limited. Like most consumer goods — cars, electronics, clothing — a moissanite ring purchased at retail will sell for significantly less than you paid if you try to sell it privately. But here's the fuller picture that most guides miss: the same is true of mined diamonds, lab-grown diamonds, and virtually... Read more...
Custom Engagement Ring Design: The Step-by-Step Process at Heritage & Co.
Why Custom? Most engagement rings on the market are catalogue pieces — designs produced at volume, with modest variation in stone size and metal colour. They are beautiful and serve most couples well. But for the partner who has a specific vision, a particular aesthetic sensibility, or who simply wants something that exists nowhere else in the world, a custom-designed ring is the answer. At Heritage & Co., custom design is not a premium add-on or an afterthought. It's built into how we work. This guide explains exactly what the... Read more...
Moissanite Ring Care for the South African Climate: Keep It Sparkling Year-Round
South Africa's Climate Is Harder on Jewellery Than You Might Think South Africa's diverse climate — from Cape Town's damp winters and UV-intense summers, to Johannesburg's dry highveld heat, to Durban's year-round humidity — creates specific maintenance challenges for fine jewellery. Most jewellery care guides are written for temperate northern hemisphere conditions. This one is written specifically for South African wearers. The good news: moissanite is one of the most resilient gemstones available. With a Mohs hardness of 9.25, it's resistant to scratching from virtually all everyday materials. The stone... Read more...
Platinum vs White Gold vs Yellow Gold vs Rose Gold: The South African Engagement Ring Metal Guide
Metal Choice Is One of the Most Overlooked Decisions in Ring Buying Most buyers spend weeks researching stone options and ten minutes choosing the metal. Yet the metal choice affects durability, maintenance, appearance, price, and how the ring ages over decades. This guide covers every metal option available for South African engagement rings — with honest assessments of the trade-offs at each tier. Yellow Gold: The Classic, the Warmest, the Most Forgiving Yellow gold is the original and still the most widely chosen metal for engagement rings globally. In South... Read more...
Protecting Your Engagement Ring: Insurance, Valuation and Care in South Africa
Your Ring Is an Asset — Protect It Like One An engagement ring isn't just a symbol — it's a physical object with real value, worn daily in environments that expose it to knocks, chemicals, heat, and potential loss. Most South African couples insure their cars without a second thought but don't give the same consideration to jewellery worth R15,000–R80,000. This guide covers everything you need to know about insuring, valuing, and caring for your engagement ring in South Africa. Step 1: Get a Valuation Certificate Before you can insure... Read more...
The Ultimate Ring Sizing Guide for South Africa: Order Online with Confidence
Why Ring Sizing Matters More for Online Orders When you buy in a jewellery store, the jeweller measures your finger and adjusts. Online, you're responsible for knowing your size — and with an engagement ring, getting it wrong isn't just inconvenient, it's potentially a proposal-day disaster. This guide gives you every reliable method for measuring your ring size from home, explains South Africa's sizing standards, and tells you what to do when you're between sizes. South African Ring Size Standards South Africa uses the British/Australian alphabetical sizing system — ring... Read more...