Roy Jewels vs FreshTrends

Fine body jewelry has evolved from alternative fashion to sophisticated self-expression. As the luxury piercing market expands, Roy Jewels and FreshTrends stand out with distinct approaches to elevated adornments.

At Roy Jewels, we recognize that quality piercing jewelry is an investment that touches both your body and style. Material quality, craftsmanship, and brand values matter deeply when choosing pieces you'll wear for years. Both brands offer a dynamic selection of gemstone nose studs, nose hoops and earrings but with alternate specialties.

This guide offers a straightforward comparison of both brands to inform your selection. We'll examine the heritage, materials, offerings, and customer experience of both Roy Jewels and FreshTrends, highlighting unique strengths to help you find the perfect match for your personal aesthetic and values.

In This Note:

Brand Heritage and Philosophy

Roy Jewels: Heritage of Luxury

At Roy Jewels, our foundation is built on a deep reverence for jewelry's historical and cultural significance. We're a luxury jewelry house dedicated to creating limited edition collections and special order one-of-a-kind pieces that honor both heritage and innovation. Our design ethos draws inspiration from the rich jewelry traditions of India, the birthplace of luxury, while embracing contemporary aesthetics.

As detailed in our brand philosophy, we believe luxury is slow, thoughtful, and deep. This commitment to slow luxury means we value meticulous craftsmanship over mass production, creating pieces that defy time and cement legacy. Each Roy Jewels creation is designed to be remembered, to be passed down through generations as an heirloom that carries with it stories and meaning.

Our approach centers on making jewelry that captures the essence of your spirituality while enhancing the physical being. We view jewelry not merely as adornment but as an extension of the soul, a vehicle for self-expression that connects the wearer to both ancient traditions and modern sensibilities.

FreshTrends: Evolution in Body Jewelry

FreshTrends emerged in 2003 in Palm Beach, Florida, during the early days of online shopping. They began as one of the first online retailers of body jewelry in America, initially focusing on fashion body jewelry before transitioning exclusively to fine body jewelry in 2018. Their journey evolved from a home-based operation to establishing manufacturing facilities with a team of jewelers.

Their philosophy centers on providing tailored, high-end piercing jewelry that customers have always wanted and deserved. FreshTrends emphasizes making custom-made pieces with a wide range of customization options while delivering value and quality. Their mission statement focuses on creating piercing jewelry that reflects individual style and modern trends.

Philosophical Differences

Our approaches differ fundamentally. Roy Jewels embraces jewelry as an art form with deep cultural significance, with each piece telling a story that transcends trends. Our collections revolve around narratives and heritage.

FreshTrends positions themselves as innovators in luxury body jewelry, making high-quality pieces more accessible online. Their focus is creating solid gold body jewelry for the modern market.

Roy Jewels draws from traditions spanning civilizations, while FreshTrends adapts traditional techniques specifically for body jewelry. We see jewelry as inseparable from cultural history; they emphasize contemporary expression.

Materials and Craftsmanship

Roy Jewels: Precious Materials and Exceptional Quality

At Roy Jewels, we work exclusively with the finest materials available. Our commitment to excellence begins with our metal selection. We primarily use 22 karat gold, the gold of Maharajas, which represents the pinnacle of luxury in our heritage pieces. This exceptionally pure gold offers a bright yellow color that signifies royalty, class, and protection. Its natural softness allows us to weave intricate patterns with a level of detail that cannot be achieved with lower karat gold.

We also offer 18 karat gold and platinum options, never compromising on purity or quality. For our diamond pieces, we maintain stringent standards, working only with VS (Very Slightly Included) or VVS (Very, Very Slightly Included) grade diamonds. In fact, our selection process is so rigorous that over 99.5% of diamonds we evaluate are turned away, ensuring that only the top 0.05% make it into our jewelry.

Our emeralds are sourced from across the world, chosen for their vibrant green fire and unique characteristics. We use both treated and untreated emeralds depending on the creative needs of each piece, with many untreated stones selected specifically to showcase their natural jardin (garden) effect.

Each Roy Jewels piece is meticulously handcrafted by master artisans who employ traditional techniques passed down through generations. This heritage craftsmanship is combined with contemporary design sensibilities to create pieces that honor the past while looking toward the future.

FreshTrends: Quality Body Jewelry Focus

FreshTrends works primarily with 14 karat solid gold (not plated or dipped) for their body jewelry. Their gold is nickel-free, making it suitable for those with sensitive skin. They emphasize that their gold is sourced from recycled materials, which they highlight as part of their commitment to sustainability.

FreshTrends offers a range of gemstone options, including diamonds, pearls, and opals. While they do use natural diamonds in their pieces, they do not specify the same level of strict grading standards that we maintain at Roy Jewels.

Their jewelry is handmade to order in California with a team of in-house jewelers. FreshTrends emphasizes the custom aspect of their process, highlighting that each piece is made specifically for the customer rather than being mass-produced. This approach allows them to offer various sizes and customization options.

Craftsmanship Comparison

Our craftsmanship differs primarily in materials and techniques. Roy Jewels uses 22K gold with greater purity than FreshTrends' 14K standard, allowing for richer color and distinctive designs.

While both brands create handcrafted jewelry, Roy Jewels focuses on heirloom-quality pieces using centuries-old artisanal techniques. FreshTrends adapts traditional methods specifically for body jewelry, prioritizing proper fit and comfort for daily wear.

Roy Jewels maintains exceptionally strict quality standards, particularly for diamonds and gemstones. Our rigorous selection process admits only the finest materials, while FreshTrends ensures quality through their custom process without specifying the same level of material selectivity.

Product Offerings

Roy Jewels: Curated Collections and Bespoke Creations

At Roy Jewels, our product portfolio consists of two primary categories: signature collections and special order pieces. Each signature collection has a distinct story and aesthetic connected to cultural heritage and luxury traditions.

Our signature collections include:

  • Alchemy Collection: Our foundation collection featuring gold jewelry that crosses borders, cultures, and time. This collection includes staple pieces like paperclips, Cuban links, and hoops in 22 karat gold.

  • The Nose Jewel Collection: Fine nose jewelry crafted in 18k gold, featuring pieces like Pragya, Saral, Kanduka, Shikara, and Shabnam. These pieces range from minimalist hoops to diamond and gemstone adorned pins.

  • Pearls and Stars Collection: Features both Tahitian and Akoya pearls harvested from the Pacific Ocean and Japan, symbolizing a graceful blend of Eastern traditions and Western aesthetics.

  • The Cricket Club Collection: Platinum and diamond jewelry inspired by the cultural impact of cricket in India, featuring bracelets, chains, and anklets.

  • Snow Diamonds Collection: Features rare GIA-certified diamonds handpicked from exclusive suppliers.

  • Love In The City Collection: Engagement rings and love-inspired jewelry, each piece custom designed as a one-of-a-kind creation.

Beyond our collections, we specialize in Special Orders, which are completely bespoke pieces created through intensive collaboration between our designers and clients. These one-of-a-kind creations are designed to reflect the wearer's personality, lifestyle, and aspirations, and are made with the highest quality materials available.

Our price points reflect our premium materials and craftsmanship, with pieces ranging from approximately $200 for single nose jewelry pieces to over $100,000 for special order engagement rings and statement necklaces.

FreshTrends: Diverse Piercing Jewelry Selection

FreshTrends focuses exclusively on body jewelry, offering a broad range of options for various piercing types. Their catalog covers jewelry for nose, belly, eyebrow, tongue, lip, nipple, septum, and multiple ear piercing locations including cartilage, conch, daith, helix, forward helix, industrial, lobe, plugs, rook, and tragus piercings.

Their product types include a variety of body jewelry styles:

  • Captive bead rings
  • Circular barbells
  • Clickers
  • Curved barbells
  • Flat back studs
  • Hoops
  • Industrial barbells
  • Seam rings
  • Straight barbells
  • Accessories like chains and charms

FreshTrends works primarily with 950 platinum, diamonds, pearls, and opals for their materials. Their price range spans from under $150 to over $500, making their offerings more accessible to a wider customer base.

Their custom order system allows customers to select from various options for each piece, including size, gold color, gemstone variations, and backing styles.

Product Range Comparison

Roy Jewels offers both collections and fully bespoke jewelry with cultural heritage emphasis, extending beyond body jewelry to traditional fine jewelry formats like engagement rings and necklaces.

FreshTrends has focused exclusively on body jewelry since 2018, specializing in diverse piercing locations and jewelry styles.

For customization, Roy Jewels Special Orders involve collaborative design for completely unique pieces, while FreshTrends offers option selection within established designs.

Customer Experience

Roy Jewels: Personalized Luxury Service

At Roy Jewels, we provide a distinctly personalized customer experience focused on collaboration and crafting pieces with deep personal meaning. Our approach to customer service, particularly for Special Orders, involves intensive one-on-one consultation with our design team.

For Special Orders, we begin with a private appointment where clients share their vision and story with one of our designers. This personal designer becomes their dedicated point of contact throughout the entire process, available via phone, email, and text. After the initial consultation, we provide 3D designs and renderings, allowing clients to visualize their piece before final approval. Once approved, our master artisans bring the design to life using traditional techniques combined with modern expertise.

Our customer service extends beyond the purchase. We offer resizing as many times as needed for engagement rings and other jewelry, handling all insured shipping to and from our location. All Special Order pieces come with a GIA certificate, and we provide Certificates of Appraisal and Retail Replacement Value.

We also offer complementary standard shipping on all orders worldwide, with options for expedited signature delivery at a nominal cost. Our return policy allows free returns within 60 days.

FreshTrends: Digital-First Guidance

FreshTrends takes a digital-first approach to customer service, centered around their Piercing Advisor service. This complimentary consultation helps customers select the correct size for their piercing jewelry and ensures an ideal fit.

After placing an order, customers can add the Piercing Advisor service to their cart. A consultant then reaches out within one business day via email or phone to help determine if the selected item is perfectly tailored to the customer's piercing. The service includes size confirmation and discussion of what jewelry works best for specific piercings.

If a customer uses the Piercing Advisor service and still needs a size adjustment, FreshTrends covers the alteration and shipping at no additional cost. For customers who don't use this service, resize fees and shipping rates apply for adjustments.

FreshTrends offers a 2-year manufacturer warranty against defects but does not accept returns due to the customized nature of their products. Their warranty covers manufacturing flaws but excludes normal wear and tear, improper use, or modifications made by third parties.

For shipping, FreshTrends charges $6.95 for standard domestic shipping, with expedited options available at checkout. International shipping costs vary based on destination.

Service Approach Comparison

Our service approaches differ in personalization depth. Roy Jewels delivers a high-touch luxury consultation creating personal pieces with historical significance, mirroring traditional jewelry houses while using modern communication.

FreshTrends offers structured digital service focused on proper fit and function. Their Piercing Advisor specifically addresses the challenge of selecting correct sizes online.

For policies, Roy Jewels provides 60-day free returns, while FreshTrends restricts returns but offers free alterations when using their advisor service. Both brands provide warranties.

These models align with brand positioning: Roy Jewels as a luxury jewelry house with heritage craftsmanship versus FreshTrends as a specialized online retailer focused on practical fit.

Sustainability and Ethics

Roy Jewels: Heritage with Responsibility

At Roy Jewels, our approach to sustainability and ethics is deeply integrated with our commitment to traditional jewelry-making values. We understand our responsibility to both the environment and the communities involved in our supply chain.

For our metals, we adhere to stringent environmental and social guidelines in sourcing. Our suppliers certify the chain of custody and support fair mining and fair trading initiatives, particularly those supporting artisan projects. This careful sourcing ensures our precious metals meet both sustainability and ethical standards.

Our diamonds strictly adhere to the Kimberley Process, which establishes formal requirements for human and labor rights along with stringent environmental standards. This internationally recognized certification system bans regions where diamonds are trafficked to help finance conflicts, ensuring our diamonds are completely conflict-free.

We actively monitor the environmental impact of our operations throughout the entire supply chain, not just the final delivery to customers. By vetting all vendors and suppliers, we've developed internal metrics to minimize environmental impact across our production process. This holistic approach reflects our belief that luxury should never come at the expense of our planet or its people.

FreshTrends: Modern Environmental Initiatives

FreshTrends approaches sustainability through several modern initiatives. They emphasize using recycled precious metals in their jewelry, noting that the quality remains the same as newly mined gold while avoiding ethical concerns associated with mining.

For their gemstones, FreshTrends works with suppliers that comply with the Kimberley Process and are certified by the Responsible Jewellry Council (RJC). The RJC audits members to ensure materials come from sources that practice safe extraction and ethical treatment of workers.

A distinctive element of their sustainability program is their partnership with Ecologi, through which they plant one tree in an area at risk of deforestation for every order placed. This initiative allows customers to make an environmental impact with each purchase.

FreshTrends also emphasizes their domestic production, with design in Florida and manufacturing in California. They highlight that this US-based production ensures transparency about where their jewelry comes from and prevents issues associated with overseas production like mistreated workers and poor wages.

Ethical Approaches Comparison

Both brands prioritize ethical sourcing and environmental responsibility, though with different emphases. Roy Jewels focuses on traditional quality control and ethical supply chain management, integrating these practices into our established luxury jewelry protocols. Our approach centers on meticulous supplier selection and internal monitoring processes.

FreshTrends takes a more consumer-facing approach with clearly marketed sustainability initiatives like tree planting and recycled metals. Their program makes sustainability a visible part of their brand identity and purchasing experience.

For sourcing ethics, both brands adhere to the Kimberley Process for diamonds. Roy Jewels extends ethical sourcing practices across all our materials, while FreshTrends particularly emphasizes their recycled gold program.

In terms of production ethics, Roy Jewels maintains a global production network built on personal relationships with top suppliers worldwide. FreshTrends highlights their entirely domestic production ecosystem as a key ethical advantage, emphasizing transparency and American craftsmanship.

Pricing and Value

Roy Jewels: Investment in Timeless Luxury

At Roy Jewels, our pricing reflects the exceptional quality of materials, heritage craftsmanship, and enduring value of our pieces. We work with the finest precious metals and gemstones, including 22 karat gold and VS or VVS grade diamonds, which naturally command premium pricing in the luxury market.

Our nose jewelry collection starts around $200 for simple gold pieces and extends to $1,000+ for intricate diamond designs. Our signature collection pieces like necklaces and bracelets range from approximately $1,400 to $77,200, reflecting the substantial gold content and exceptional craftsmanship in each piece.

For our Special Order engagement rings and bespoke creations, prices typically start around $8,800 and can exceed $100,000 for exceptional pieces featuring rare diamonds and complex designs. These prices reflect not only the material value but also the intensive collaborative design process and heritage techniques involved in creating truly one-of-a-kind jewelry.

The value proposition of Roy Jewels extends far beyond the immediate purchase. Our pieces are created to be heirlooms, designed to appreciate in both monetary and sentimental value over generations. We see each creation as an investment in legacy, something to be treasured and passed down through families.

FreshTrends: Accessible Fine Body Jewelry

FreshTrends positions their pricing to make fine body jewelry more accessible to a wider audience. Their pricing structure spans from under $150 to over $500, with most pieces falling within this range.

Their value proposition centers on offering solid 14k gold body jewelry that's nickel-free and handmade to order, but at more accessible price points than traditional luxury jewelers. By focusing exclusively on body jewelry and creating a streamlined online business model, they've developed a specialized niche that allows them to offer fine materials at lower price points.

FreshTrends emphasizes that their direct-to-consumer approach allows them to provide luxury jewelry "without the mark-ups," suggesting value through pricing efficiency rather than through historical heritage or exceptional rarity of materials.

Value Proposition Comparison

The fundamental difference in our value propositions lies in the definition of luxury itself. Roy Jewels represents what we call "slow luxury" – thoughtful, deep, and committed to historical excellence. Our value lies in exceptional materials (22k gold versus 14k), stricter gemstone standards, cultural significance, and pieces designed to appreciate over generations.

FreshTrends delivers value through accessibility, offering solid gold body jewelry at price points that make fine materials more attainable for everyday wear. Their focus on practical customization for piercing jewelry provides functional value for customers seeking quality body jewelry without traditional luxury markup.

These different approaches serve distinct customer needs. Those seeking investment-quality pieces with cultural significance and heirloom potential will find greater value in Roy Jewels' offerings. Those prioritizing everyday wearability of fine materials at more moderate price points may find FreshTrends provides better immediate value.

Both brands deliver quality appropriate to their market positioning – Roy Jewels as a traditional luxury jewelry house with contemporary sensibilities, and FreshTrends as a specialized fine body jewelry provider making quality more accessible online.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's different about nose jewelry from Roy Jewels versus FreshTrends?

Roy Jewels nose jewelry features higher gold purity (18k and 22k gold) with designs inspired by cultural heritage. Our pieces often incorporate VS or VVS grade diamonds and natural gemstones like emeralds and rubies. Each piece connects to our broader design philosophy of creating jewelry with cultural significance and lasting value.

FreshTrends offers nose jewelry primarily in 14k gold with various design options focused on everyday wearability. Their pieces emphasize proper fit for various piercing types with practical customization options. While both brands create quality nose jewelry, Roy Jewels focuses on heritage luxury while FreshTrends specializes in practical body jewelry solutions.

Is Roy Jewels' gold better than FreshTrends' gold?

Roy Jewels primarily uses 22k and 18k gold, while FreshTrends uses 14k gold. The difference lies in gold content – 22k gold contains 91.7% pure gold, 18k contains 75%, and 14k contains 58.3%. Our higher karat gold provides richer color and allows for more intricate traditional designs, particularly important in our heritage-inspired collections.

FreshTrends' 14k gold offers practical benefits for everyday piercing jewelry, including greater durability for daily wear. Both options are nickel-free and suitable for sensitive skin, but represent different approaches to jewelry making – Roy Jewels emphasizing luxury material content and FreshTrends balancing gold content with practical wearability.

Which brand makes better custom engagement rings?

Roy Jewels specializes in bespoke engagement rings through our Special Orders process, with a focus on creating unique heirloom pieces that reflect personal stories and cultural heritage. Our process involves in-depth consultation, 3D renderings, and handcrafting by master artisans using traditional techniques. We primarily use natural VS/VVS diamonds and 18k gold or platinum.

FreshTrends focuses primarily on body jewelry rather than traditional engagement rings. For those seeking a truly custom engagement ring with cultural significance and investment quality, Roy Jewels offers specialized expertise in this area. Our collaborative design process and heritage craftsmanship create truly one-of-a-kind engagement rings meant to become family heirlooms.

Why is Roy Jewels more expensive than FreshTrends?

Roy Jewels commands higher prices due to several factors: we use higher karat gold (22k and 18k versus 14k), stricter diamond grading standards (VS/VVS only), and traditional artisanal techniques that require extensive handwork. Our pieces are created as heirlooms designed to appreciate in value over generations.

Additionally, our collaborative design process for Special Orders involves significant time investment from our design team, and our global sourcing of exceptional materials contributes to higher costs. While the initial investment is greater, our pieces represent the slow luxury philosophy – timeless quality over immediate affordability.

Which brand is more ethical and sustainable?

Both brands demonstrate commitment to ethical and sustainable practices, though with different approaches. Roy Jewels adheres to the Kimberley Process for conflict-free diamonds and maintains stringent supplier vetting for ethical metal sourcing. We monitor environmental impact throughout our entire supply chain and have developed internal metrics to minimize our footprint.

FreshTrends emphasizes recycled gold usage and partners with Ecologi to plant trees with each purchase. They also highlight their domestic production as an ethical advantage. Both brands prioritize ethical sourcing and sustainability, with Roy Jewels focusing on traditional supply chain management and FreshTrends offering more visible consumer-facing sustainability initiatives.

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