Terms of service

The headings used in this agreement are included for convenience only and will not limit or otherwise affect these Terms.

SECTION 1 - WEBSITE

This website (our/the “Site”) is operated by AuTerra. Throughout the Site, the terms “we”, “us” and “our” refer to AuTerra. AuTerra offers this website, including all information, tools and services available from this Site to you, the user, conditional upon your acceptance of all terms, conditions, policies and notices stated here.
By visiting our Site and/or purchasing something from us, you engage in our “Service” and agree to be bound by the following Terms and Conditions (“Terms”), including those additional terms and conditions and policies referenced herein and/or available by hyperlink. These Terms apply to all users of the Site, including without limitation users who are browsers, vendors, customers, merchants, and/or contributors of content.

Please read these Terms carefully before accessing or using our website. By accessing or using any part of the Site, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to all the Terms and Conditions of this agreement, then you may not access the website or use any Services. If these Terms are considered an offer, acceptance is expressly limited to these Terms and Conditions.
Any new features or tools which are added to the current website shall also be subject to the Terms and Conditions. You can review the most current version of the Terms and Conditions at any time on this page. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to update, change or replace any part of these Terms by posting updates and/or changes to our website. It is your responsibility to check this page periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to the website following the posting of any changes constitutes acceptance of those changes.

By agreeing to these Terms and Conditions, you represent that you are at least the age of majority in your state or province of residence, or that you are the age of majority in your state or province of residence and you have given your consent to allow any of your minor dependents to use this site.

1.1 - ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS AND TIMELINESS OF INFORMATION
We are not responsible if information made available on this site is not accurate, complete, or current. The material on this site is provided for general information only and should not be relied upon or used as the sole basis for making decisions without consulting primary, more accurate, more complete, or more timely sources of information. Any reliance on the material on this site is at your own risk.
This site may contain certain historical information. Historical information, necessarily, is not current and is provided for your reference only. We reserve the right to modify the contents of this site at any time, but we have no obligation to update any information on our site. You agree that it is your responsibility to monitor changes to our site

1.2 - PROHIBITED USES
In addition to other prohibitions as set forth in the Terms and Conditions, you are prohibited from using the site or its content: (a) for any unlawful purpose; (b) to solicit others to perform or participate in any unlawful acts; (c) to violate any international, provincial or state regulations, rules, laws, or local ordinances; (d) to infringe upon or violate our intellectual property rights or the intellectual property rights of others; (e) to harass, abuse, insult, harm, defame, slander, disparage, intimidate, or discriminate based on gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, race, age, national origin, or disability; (f) to submit false or misleading information; (g) to upload or transmit viruses or any other type of malicious code that will or may be used in any way that will affect the functionality or operation of our Service or of any related website, other websites, or the Internet; (h) to collect or track the personal information of others; (i) to spam, phish, pharm, pretext, spider, crawl, or scrape; (j) for any obscene or immoral purpose; or (k) to interfere with or circumvent the security features of our Service or any related website, other websites, or the Internet.

We reserve the right to terminate your use of our Service or any related website for violating any of the prohibited uses.

1.3 - ERRORS, INACCURACIES AND OMISSIONS
Occasionally there may be information on our site or in the Service that contains typographical errors, inaccuracies or omissions that may relate to product descriptions, pricing, promotions, offers, product shipping charges, transit times and availability. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions, and to change or update information or cancel orders if any information in the Service or on any related website is inaccurate at any time without prior notice (including after you have submitted your order).

We undertake no obligation to update, amend or clarify information in the Service or on any related website, including without limitation, pricing information, except as required by law. No specified update or refresh date applied in the Service or on any related website, should be taken to indicate that all information in the Service or on any related website has been modified or updated.

1.4 - USER COMMENTS, FEEDBACK AND OTHER SUBMISSIONS
If, at our request, you send certain specific submissions (for example contest entries) or without a request from us you send creative ideas, suggestions, proposals, plans, or other materials, whether online, by email, by postal mail, or otherwise (collectively, 'comments'), you agree that we may, at any time, without restriction, edit, copy, publish, distribute, translate and otherwise use in any medium any comments that you forward to us. We are and shall be under no obligation (a) to maintain any comments in confidence; (b) to pay compensation for any comments; or (c) to respond to any comments.
We may, but have no obligation to, monitor, edit or remove content that we determine in our sole discretion is unlawful, offensive, threatening, libelous, defamatory, pornographic, obscene or otherwise objectionable or violates any party’s intellectual property or these Terms.
You agree that your comments will not violate any right of any third-party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, personality or other personal or proprietary right. You further agree that your comments will not contain libelous or otherwise unlawful, abusive, or obscene material, or contain any computer virus or other malware that could in any way affect the operation of the Service or any related website. You may not use a false e‑mail address, pretend to be someone other than yourself, or otherwise mislead us or third-parties as to the origin of any comments. You are solely responsible for any comments you make and their accuracy. We take no responsibility and assume no liability for any comments posted by you or any third- party.

1.5 - OPTIONAL TOOLS
We may provide you with access to third-party tools which we neither monitor nor have any control nor input over. You acknowledge and agree that we provide access to such tools ”as is” and “as available” without any warranties, representations or conditions of any kind and without any endorsement. We shall have no liability whatsoever arising from or relating to your use of optional third-party tools.
Any use by you of optional tools offered through the site is entirely at your own risk and discretion and you should ensure that you are familiar with and approve of the terms on which tools are provided by the relevant third-party provider(s).

We may also, in the future, offer new services and/or features through the website (including, the release of new tools and resources). Such new features and/or services shall also be subject to these Terms and Conditions.

1.6 - THIRD-PARTY LINKS
Certain content, products and services available via our Service may include materials from third-parties. Third-party links on this site may direct you to third-party websites that are not affiliated with us. We are not responsible for examining or evaluating the content or accuracy and we do not warrant and will not have any liability or responsibility for any third-party materials or websites, or for any other materials, products, or services of third-parties.
We are not liable for any harm or damages related to the purchase or use of goods, services, resources, content, or any other transactions made in connection with any third-party websites. Please review carefully the third-party's policies and practices and make sure you understand them before you engage in any transaction. Complaints, claims, concerns, or questions regarding third-party products should be directed to the third-party.

SECTION 2 - ONLINE SHOP

The term ‘Standard Piece(s)’ refers to all pieces dispatched with specifications as listed on the website. The term ‘Customised Piece(s)’ refers to specialised pieces, including but not limited to one-of-a-kind pieces, wedding and engagement rings, pieces made in karats and colours different to our standard 9K yellow gold or sterling silver, pieces with personalised engraving and any piece with design modifications, and sizes outside of our usual size range. 

2.1 – SERVICE PROVIDER

Shopify Inc.  provides us with the online e-commerce platform that allows us to sell our products and services to you.

2.2 - MODIFICATIONS TO THE ONLINE SHOP AND PRICES
Prices for and descriptions of our products are subject to change without notice.

We reserve the right at any time to modify or discontinue our Service (or any part or content thereof) without notice at any time.
We shall not be liable to you or to any third-party for any modification, price change, suspension or discontinuance of our Service.

2.3 – ONLINE PRODUCTS

These are defined as (a) ‘Standard Pieces’ that are ordered from the website as listed and (b) ‘Customised Pieces’; one-of-a-kind pieces, wedding and engagement rings, pieces made in karats and colours different to our standard 9K yellow gold or sterling silver, pieces with personalised engraving, and any piece with design modifications, and sizes outside of our usual size range.

We have made every effort to display our products as accurately as possible; the colours of precious metals and stones differ in different lights. We cannot guarantee that your computer monitor's display of any colour will be accurate.
We reserve the right, but are not obligated, to limit the sales of our products to any person, geographic region, or jurisdiction. We may exercise this right on a case-by-case basis. We reserve the right to limit the quantities of any products that we offer. We reserve the right to discontinue any product at any time. Any offer for any product or service made on this site is void where prohibited.

Lead times should be considered an estimate only and whilst we take all reasonable steps to meet them, we cannot be held responsible for any inconvenience incurred by the client as a result of manufacturing or dispatch delays.

Auterra utilises the United Kingdom’s ring sizing convention.
We do not warrant that the quality of any products, services, information, or other material purchased or obtained by you will meet your expectations, or that any errors in our Service will be corrected.

Engraving will be done as specified by the client. We are not responsible for any typographical errors or incorrect engravings supplied by the client.

Engraving cannot include any content or material which infringes anyone's copyright or any other rights or that contravenes any applicable law (including, without limitation, any criminal law) or regulation.

SECTION 3 – PAYMENT AND CHARGES

3.1 – ORDERS PLACED THROUGH THE ONLINE SHOP

We reserve the right to refuse any order you place with us. We may, at our sole discretion, limit or cancel quantities purchased per person, per household or per order. In the event that we make a change to or cancel an order, we will attempt to notify you by contacting the e‑mail and/or phone number provided at the time the order was made. We reserve the right to limit or prohibit orders that, in our sole judgment, appear to be placed by dealers, resellers or distributors. If we cannot accept your order for the reasons outlined above, and if payment has been taken, we will refund your payment in full or for the relevant parts of your order.

We accept payment through EFT, VISA and Mastercard debit and credit cards.

When submitting your order, you warrant that all the details you have provided are valid and accurate at the time, and that you are authorised by the card or account holder to cause payment to be taken from that card or account.

The submission of personal information through the online shop is governed by our Privacy Policy.

3.2 – PIECES REQUIRING MANUAL INVOICING.

In cases where desired customisations are not facilitated by the options presented in the online shop, orders can be placed manually by contacting info@auterra.co.za. These customized pieces will be manually invoiced. No manufacturing will begin until a 50% deposit has been paid. This deposit must be paid within ten days of receiving the invoice and is payable by EFT or an online payment link that facilitates VISA and Mastercard debit and credit card payments. All deposits for custom pieces are non-refundable. By paying the deposit you agree to be bound by our Terms and Conditions. Balances are due upon being notified of completion of your piece(s) and must be paid within seven calendar days. No order shall be available for collection or despatch until the outstanding amount is settled in full. Should a balance not be paid timeously, we reserve the right, after 30 days, to place the item for sale to defer associated costs. The deposit will be forfeited in this case and we accept no liability for any inconveniences caused.

The price of customised products will be in South African Rand and payment must be made in ZAR unless otherwise agreed in advance.

We are required to charge Value Added Tax (VAT) at the prevailing rate for all local customers. International quotes for customised pieces shall not include South African VAT but you, the client, will be responsible for paying any and all VAT (or your country’s equivalent), duties and import fees as specified by Fedex at time of delivery. 

SECTION 4 – DELIVERY

The manufacturing lead time indicated serves as a guide only and whilst we do our utmost to meet it certain unavoidable delays may occur. AuTerra is not responsible for any damages should your order be delayed.

Products sold by us are shipped directly from our studio in Cape Town. All shipping is handled by independent, third-party courier companies. Once a parcel has been booked in with the courier no amendments can be made to delivery location or type/timing of the service.

The price for delivery is shown separately to the cost of goods at the checkout stage before you place your order.

Time frames given for delivery are estimates only and we shall not be liable for any delay in delivery which remains the responsibility of the third-party.

Auterra reserves the right to refuse any order based on shipping locations should we deem the location to be logistically challenging for any reason whatsoever. In such cases the customer will be refunded in full.

Any customs duties or taxes payable upon entry of any products to any country are payable by the customer and we hold no liability. 

Should ‘self-collect’ be chosen on an order, the piece(s) must be collected within 30 days of receiving notification of completion of your order. Should this time frame lapse we reserve the right to charge discretionary storage fees on the item.

SECTION 5 - VALUATION CERTIFICATES

AuTerra can provide an in-house valuation certificate for any piece over R10 000 which is suitable for most insurance purposes. This is issued free of charge upon request within 30 days of receipt of your customised piece. No certificate shall be possible after this time has lapsed.

Independent valuation and appraisal (conducted by The Gem Lab) can be arranged by special request for a fee of R750. This must be requested at the time of the order being placed. We are unable to facilitate any independent valuations after the order has been collected or shipped.

SECTION 6 – RETURNS, EXCHANGES AND REPAIRS

6.1 - RETURNS AND EXCHANGES ON ‘STANDARD PIECES’

Auterra will facilitate returns or exchanges on any ‘Standard Piece’ within 14 days of collection from the Studio or notification of delivery by the courier service provided that the item is unused, in its original condition and packaging. No returns or exchanges or store credit shall be possible after this time. Refunds can only be made using the same payment method as the order. Exchanges may be limited due to stock availability. In such cases store credit or a refund will be issued. Auterra does not give any guarantees as to when or even if the desired item may be restocked.

Courier fees are not refundable and any courier costs associated with the return are the responsibility of the customer. Auterra will not be liable for any courier fees incurred.

Owing to Fedex restrictions, returns and exchanges on international orders are not possible.

6.2 - RETURNS AND EXCHANGES ON ‘CUSTOMISED PIECES’

‘Customised Pieces’, including one-of-a-kind pieces, wedding and engagement rings, pieces made in karats and colours different to our standard 9K yellow gold or sterling silver, pieces with engraving, design modifications, and sizes outside of our usual size range cannot be returned, exchanged or refunded.

6.3 - REPAIRS

Any damages that result from a manufacturing defect under conditions of reasonable wear will be repaired free of charge within 30 days of collection from the studio or delivery by the courier. Repairs requested after this warranty has lapsed or are the result of mishandling will have a repair fee. Any repairs or modifications undertaken by other jewellers on our pieces voids this warranty. We reserve the right to refuse any repair requests outside of the initial 30 day warranty.

Due to the nature of the metals certain ring designs have limitations on how many sizes they can be resized up or down (if at all). A re-sizing fee will apply.

Chains cannot be repaired.

You, the customer, will be responsible for all courier costs incurred.

SECTION 7 – GIFT CERTIFICATES

The recipient of the gift certificate will be entitled to AuTerra’s products to the amount specified.

Neither the gift certificate nor products purchased with a gift certificate are redeemable for cash.

Gift certificates can be used to buy goods to a value lower than the amount of the gift certificate; the balance remains available to spend until the gift certificate expires.

Gift certificates expire 3 years after the date of issue.

SECTION 8 – INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

We retain ownership of, and exclusive rights to use, all design rights, intellectual property rights, image rights and copyright to all designs produced in our studio. We do not offer any exclusivity in relation to one-of-a-kind or customised designs.

We reserve the right to use photos and/or videos of any customized pieces designed and produced for you on our website, social media profiles, presentations, and any other marketing material for the purpose of promoting AuTerra’s business. This will always be done anonymously (unless otherwise authorized by you) and in a time-sensitive manner.

AuTerra is the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in (a) our Products, (b) our Website, and (c) in the material published on it. That material is protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All such rights are reserved.

Our status (and that of any identified contributors) as the authors of content on our website must always be acknowledged. 

All material on our website is either owned by or is licensed to AuTerra and cannot be redistributed or reproduced without prior permission. This material includes, but is not limited to, jewellery designs, website design, photography, content, and logo. All worldwide rights are reserved. 

Unauthorised use of this website and the materials within it may give rise to a claim for damages.

SECTION 9 – GENERAL

9.1 - DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES; LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
We do not guarantee, represent or warrant that your use of our Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free.

We do not warrant that the results that may be obtained from the use of our Service will be accurate or reliable.

You agree that from time to time we may remove our Service for indefinite periods of time or cancel our Service at any time, without notice to you.
You expressly agree that your use of, or inability to use, our Service is at your sole risk. Our Service and all products and services delivered to you through our Service are (except as expressly stated by us) provided 'as is' and 'as available' for your use, without any representation, warranties or conditions of any kind, either express or implied, including all implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, merchantable quality, fitness for a particular purpose, durability, title, and non-infringement.

In no case shall AuTerra, our directors, officers, employees, affiliates, agents, contractors, interns, suppliers, service providers or licensors be liable for any injury, loss, claim, or any direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, special, or consequential damages of any kind, including, without limitation lost profits, lost revenue, lost savings, loss of data, replacement costs, or any similar damages, whether based in contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability or otherwise, arising from your use of any of our Service or any products procured using our Service, or for any other claim related in any way to your use of the service or any product, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of the service or any content (or product) posted, transmitted, or otherwise made available via the service, even if advised of their possibility. In jurisdictions that do not allow the exclusion or the limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, our liability shall be limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

9.2 - INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless AuTerra and our affiliates, partners, officers, directors, agents, contractors, licensors, service providers, subcontractors, suppliers, interns and employees, from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorney’s fees, made by any third-party due to or arising out of your breach of these Terms  or the documents they incorporate by reference, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third-party.

9.3 - SEVERABILITY
In the event that any provision of these Terms and Conditions is determined to be unlawful, void or unenforceable, such provision shall nonetheless be enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, and the unenforceable portion shall be deemed to be severed from these Terms, such determination shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any other remaining provisions.

8.4 - ENTIRE AGREEMENT
The failure of us to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms and Conditions shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.
These Terms and Conditions and any policies or operating rules posted by us on our site or in respect to our Service constitutes the entire agreement and understanding between you and us and govern your use of our Service, superseding any prior or contemporaneous agreements, communications and proposals, whether oral or written, between you and us (including, but not limited to, any prior versions of the Terms and Conditions).
Any ambiguities in the interpretation of these Terms and Conditions shall not be construed against the drafting party.

8.5 - GOVERNING LAW
These Terms and Conditions and any separate agreements whereby we provide you Services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of South Africa.

8.6 - CONTACT INFORMATION
Queries regarding the Terms and Conditions should be sent to info@auterra.co.za.