When are you open this CHRISTMAS and NEW YEAR ?
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, we will be OPEN EVERY SUNDAY, opening at around 10:30 a.m.* This will begin from Sunday 1st December at all our shops except Birkenhead, which will start on Sunday 8th December
On normal trading days (Monday – Saturday), our four stores will stay open a little later than normal if enough customers are still shopping, but we usually close early on Christmas Eve.
25th – 27th December : CLOSED
Saturday 28th – Tuesday 31st December : OPEN as normal.
1st January : CLOSED
2rd January : OPEN as normal from now
* Each shop will individually decide its own closing time, judging whether the number of shoppers makes trading viable. To avoid disappointment, if you might be arriving on the later side please call the relevant shop before making a journey. Shop telephone numbers may be found using the Contact Us menu option at the top of the page.
We do not open on Bank Holidays.
What are your Company details, licences, memberships etc?
Miltons (Liverpool) Ltd is registered in England, Company No. 1015468. Registered office address : 71 Church Street, Liverpool L1 1DG. VAT Reg. No. 164 0227 92. A member of both the National Association of Jewellers and the National Pawnbrokers Association. Registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office for data protection, including CCTV (ref Z6390395). Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The company has FULL permission from the FCA which relates to consumer credit activities (exclusively pawnbroking) and is on the Financial Services Register with FRN 741123.
M.S.Milton Ltd is registered in England, Company No. 1914458. Registered office address : 71 Church Street, Liverpool L1 1DG. VAT Reg. No. 421 9981 35. A member of both the National Association of Jewellers and the National Pawnbrokers Association. Registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office for data protection, including CCTV (ref Z5132975). Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The company has FULL permission from the FCA which relates to consumer credit activities (exclusively pawnbroking) and is on the Financial Services Register with FRN 741080.
S.S.Milton Ltd is registered in England, Company No. 1360380. Registered office address : 71 Church Street, Liverpool L1 1DG. VAT Reg. No. 319 6453 42. A member of both the National Association of Jewellers and the National Pawnbrokers Association. Registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office for data protection, including CCTV (ref Z6853162). Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The company has FULL permission from the FCA which relates to consumer credit activities (exclusively pawnbroking) and is on the Financial Services Register with FRN 741254.
All three companies have also signed up to a special agreement under a scheme approved by the then-Business Secretary, the Rt. Hon. Vince Cable MP. This makes Miltons (Liverpool) Ltd, M.S.Milton Ltd and S.S.Milton Ltd all part of the Trading Standards Primary Authority scheme agreed between the NPA and Surrey County Council Trading Standards.
How established or substantial are Miltons ?
The four Miltons shops at Chester, Liverpool ( St.John’s & Church Street ) and Birkenhead employ over 80 people in total and are variously parts of Miltons ( Liverpool ) Ltd, M.S.Milton Ltd and S.S.Milton Ltd, as specified on our Contact Us page. These three businesses are all run by the fourth generation of the Milton family to be in the jewellery / pawnbroking industry. The companies comprise a multi-million pound group, each enjoying memberships of both the National Association of Jewellers and the National Pawnbrokers Association.
Where does your stock come from ?
Our stock is sourced from many places. Some comes from other jewellers for whom we provide an especially generous under-writing service on any items they are offered. We get others from existing customers’ trade-ins and part-exchanges or as straightforward purchases from the public in our high street stores. Some we buy from auctions across the UK, from a small number of quality dealers and other specialist contacts. As we have no bank borrowings and a strong financial position, we are always able to make large payments for stock immediately. Finally, a number of items come from our pawnbroking departments. At any one time we will have several million pounds lent out to customers against the security of their jewellery and watches, and perhaps 10% of them will not return to collect their goods.
Do you sell any new jewellery ?
Our reputation as jewellers has been hard-won over many decades, specialising in sourcing the nicest pre-owned pieces which we find so popular with our discerning clients. Where we find especially nice pieces of new jewellery, there are gaps in our secondhand stock, or clients have said they want to have the option to buy new (wedding rings being a good example), then we will indeed offer new jewellery. Such items can be identified from their stock code, which will have a “3” as the second digit, for example 43-22-096.
Do you use Social Media ?
Yes!
Missed out on a gorgeous pre-owned piece from Boodles, Cartier, Tiffany or David M. Robinson? Someone else made it into miltons before you?
Follow @miltonschester on Instagram, where we hope to show-case the finest pieces as they arrive in stock…
We’ve only just started, so please bear with us. If clients find it useful, we may roll out the coverage to the two Miltons stores in Liverpool city centre and the Birkenhead store, including our Clearance Centre.
Will you buy my jewellery or watch from me, or take it in part-exchange ?
Absolutely. It does not matter if you bought your item(s) from us or from someone else. Simply bring them in to one of our stores with your identification and any receipts, boxes, papers, cards and accessories which came with them so that we can make the strongest offer possible. You may wish to fill in the form on this website or email us for an indicative offer first.
What warranty do you provide with your jewellery and watches ?
Please read the Warranty, Advice, Returns etc page on this website which explains our terms in detail and also contains important advice about jewellery, gemstones and watches. It has been designed as a standalone PDF file so that customers can easily print it out and keep it. For watches, we provide a TWO YEAR warranty on all Rolex and ONE YEAR on all other makes, unless stated otherwise. Click here to go directly to the relevant page.
Will I need to take out insurance on my purchase ?
We strongly recommend that all clients DO insure their purchases. There are many risks not covered by any warranty, such as accidental damage, theft, fire or simple loss. If you crash your car while driving it from the showroom you cannot claim for that under the warranty, nor can you claim under a warranty if you do not follow the instructions and screw a watch crown in before swimming. Such water damage, if it stains a diamond dial and rusts the movement, can run into thousands of pounds! Similarly there are important requirements about cleaning and looking after various types of jewellery. Please read our advice notes and speak to our workshop manager for guidance.
Can I buy anything from you by mail order or online ?
No. Purchases can be made only by visiting one of our four stores in North West England. While we do sell several million pounds’ worth of jewellery every year, we choose to serve only those customers who can visit us, view our stock and pay in person.
Will you move stock from one Miltons shop to another for me?
All four of our shops are within about 30 minutes’ drive from each other and near major public transport links. Since our two websites provide photographs of the dearer watches and jewellery available across the group, we have decided for security and administrative purposes not to move stock from shop to shop.
Can you send me some further pictures of a particular item ?
We regret that, as we do not offer a mail order or internet sales facility, we have chosen not to offer additional photographs on demand. The photographs now provided for all our Rolex and other premium watches / jewellery will be sufficient for most potential customers to know if it is worthwhile visiting the relevant shop in person to see an item. There is no question that one really needs to see and handle an item in person to appreciate it fully.
We have in stock many thousands of items of lower value than those shown on this website, but we cannot justify the massive investment it would demand to photograph them all here. They sell too fast and are for the most part unique; why not visit us to see the range in person?
How can I pay for an item ?
We accept most Chip and Pin credit / debit cards in-store – but not by telephone or over the internet. We do not accept American Express at all.
We will also accept cash, but only Bank of England notes, up to certain value limits and provided we have no reason to doubt its provenance or propriety.
Electronic payments may also be acceptable, but we will not release goods or let title to goods pass until cleared, irreversible funds have been received. Please note that this may be a few days later than you might expect. We normally accept bank transfers ONLY from an account held in the name of our customer. If you wish to have funds paid in from an account which is not in your name, we will need to know the details and understand why before we can accept it – and we reserve the right NOT to accept such a payment.
Unfortunately we can no longer accept cheques, bankers drafts etc.
We will not release goods until satisfied that cleared and irreversible payment has been received in full. It may take slightly longer to confirm this than your bank suggests, but in all matters our decision will be final. In all instances title to property will remain with the relevant Miltons company until cleared and irreversible payment has indeed been received in full.
We choose NOT to accept payment or do business by telephone, mail order or through the internet.
Will you discount for cash ?
No. We price our stock very reasonably at the outset and never have a problem selling it. Our problem is finding sufficient stock! Some dealers will give discount, but ask higher prices in the first instances. We believe our customers deserve better than such sharp practice. All our business is above board and “goes through the books.” We pay the correct tax on all sales.
Can I pay for an item over a few months, or on interest free credit ?
We WILL allow customers to pay a simple 10% DEPOSIT to secure an item, which they may collect when they have paid the balance in full (not later than 12 weeks from the date of the deposit). Please ask in store for details of this simple arrangement, but please note the following : unredeemed pledges (items which pawnbroking clients have not collected in the normal term) may still be reclaimed by the pawnbroking client until the prospective purchaser has paid for them in in full. Around 99% of customers who pay a deposit on an unredeemed pledge won’t have a problem. However, any deposit paid on such an item is accepted only on the explicit understanding that Miltons will have to allow the original pawnbroking client to reclaim the item if they redeem it before you have paid the balance in full. In such circumstances our liability to you will be limited to the funds you have paid so far, which will be repayable by a method equivalent to that in which they were paid. If you PAY IN FULL for an unredeemed pledge, this risk does not exist. In all other circumstances, any sums paid as deposit towards the purchase of an item will not be refunded if payment in full is not made on time, but we may allow you to purchase another item/s with any money that has been paid.
We DON’T offer any sort of finance, interest free credit or “Buy Now, Pay Later” for retail sales. They can be the sign of a desperate retailer, or one with fat profit margins on the product in question. We do not need to offer such a doubtful incentive and would rather price our jewellery and watches as reasonably as possible from the outset. We also have concerns about some of the “Buy Now, Pay Later” products that have developed and we will NOT offer these.
Do you hold a sale at any time, after Christmas for example ?
Like many customers, we find it irritating if others price things at a deliberately high level so that they can hold questionable “sales” at various times in the year, in which there are in fact no genuine bargains. We are financially very well established, buy stock well and price it right, so we never need to hold a sale where all our stock is reduced.
We set a fair price for all items from the outset and will only ever reduce a very small percentage, being those items which have not sold within what we consider a reasonable time. This is a consistent, on-going stock management process which means customers can have confidence in our prices and not worry that there is a “good” or “bad” time to buy from us.
Haven’t I seen you on television ?
Probably ! Since 2012 Miltons have been advertising on ITV Granada, while our MD Haywood Milton has over the years been interviewed on BBC1 ( Breakfast Time and The One Show ), BBC2, ITV, Channel 4, Radio 2 ( Jeremy Vine ) and a number of local radio programmes talking about the industry, as well as being quoted often in national and regional press.
You’ve grown a lot. Is Miltons still a family business ?
The third and fourth generations of the Milton family do indeed still own and run “Miltons,” a number of separate pawnbroking and retail jewellery companies with four stores and over 80 staff, including two NAG Registered Valuers, a number with RJDip or equivalent diplomas and / or recognised NPA pawnbroking qualifications, and a number of personnel who formerly worked for Rolex, Omega and Breitling agents.
Aren’t you known for your specialist knowledge of Rolex and other watches?
Indeed so. Only handling, dismantling, examining and recording thousands of such watches as happens at Miltons can give the same depth of experience as we have established and continue to add to. One cannot know everything and the work of the fakers is ever-changing, but we are far better placed than almost anyone to identify quickly what is correct and what is not. Every Rolex crossing our path will have had over twenty elements carefully examined by two different, recorded members of the watch team before sale ! We even have a private collection of extremely rare watches and unrivalled records of case numbers etc, which are a unique resource against which to compare such a piece when it crosses our path. Both the UK National Association of Goldsmiths Registered Valuers and the UK National Pawnbrokers Association have had our M.D. give talks on the subject to their members.
Why do you concentrate so much on Rolex ? Do you sell other brands ?
We find that Rolex make the most commercial, dependable and readily serviced watches, which for the most part also hold their value far better than any other brand. If your budget can stretch to one, it would usually be our advice that you do choose a Rolex. However, we will consider any watch and will usually have an assortment of Breitling, Omega, Cartier, TAG Heuer, Raymond Weil, Gucci and others. Not all of these watches will feature on our website as we sell too many, too fast for it to be worthwhile listing them.
I think I can buy the same watch for less on eBay / from a friend / at an antiques fair…
Good luck with that ! Every week we see disaster stories that began this way, and after the event the sellers always seem to have disappeared, or refuse any responsibility for the problem. You would be most unwise to invest significant sums of money with a seller who doesn’t have great experience of jewellery or prestige watches and whom you can always go back to if something turns out to be wrong. Will they honour an expensive warranty requirement or stand behind a ring with a disputed gem description, or a watch with a “stolen” claim made against it ?
Will you sell spare links for a Rolex obtained elsewhere?
If we have sufficient steel or bicolour links in stock of the type you need, we maybe able to supply you. Our fee is for supplying and fitting the link(s) only and does not include any verification or testing of the watch or bracelet submitted. Please note that we do NOT supply the trade or do any business by post. For more details click here
Can you supply me with any non-genuine parts like diamond dials or bezels to fit on my existing Rolex watch?
No. We won’t encourage you to spoil a good watch with what are commonly inferior parts. Please listen to the sound advice of our watch team on this often misunderstood subject. Remember, as we do not offer “after-market” parts we have no axe to grind when we generally advise against them.
I’m looking to buy a Rolex / diamond ring from my mate / neighbour / another jeweller / chap I’ve just met in the pub / a man on the internet calling himself BigJohn1972. Can you just check the watch over for me for free?
No, but we do offer a chargeable valuation service which may be of use after you have risked your money.
My information is precious to me. Tell me about Data Protection and GDPR!
We don’t carry out any form of direct marketing, so don’t expect any spam from us! There is information that we need from you in order to answer your enquiries, do business with you etc and in line with the General Data Protection Regulation we publish a privacy notice, click here to read.
Does your website keep a track of me?
We can confirm that to the best of our knowledge this website does not retain any cookies (little bits of information about you or your usage). We do not trade over the internet, nor are we interested in harvesting such data. If you email us or fill in a form we will reply in relation to the specific matter but you may be confident that we are not capturing your information in order to “spam” you later. All three companies are registered separately with the Information Commissioner’s Office but as responsible Data Controllers we invite your direct contact immediately if you have any concerns about the use of your data. We maintain a documented Data Protection Policy.
I like your website and its pictures. Can I copy a bit of it?
We retain all rights and legal protections that could apply to the text, images, design and function we have created for this website. Permission to copy any of it or its components in whole or part is not given unless in writing from the relevant Director, contacted through one of the office addresses above.