13 things your jeweler won't tell you

[Barrett]

Saw this on yahoo news today
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/13-things-your-jeweler-won-t-tell-you-2473062/

 

[maebelle]

Good to see "the word" preached elsewhere other than just pricescope. I feel like she might have copped out a bit with number 8

 

[chrono]

Not bad at all - would be nice to tell reader that not all gemstones are created equally so one has to read up on the care and wear of the particular gemstone since tanzanite and tourmaline were mentioned in #3.

 

[Indylady]

That was actually pretty good.

 

[JewelFreak]

It's welcome in that it gets buyers thinking, instead of simply accepting what the jewelry clerk tells them, no matter how fancy a store. Recent example: When we PSers had a GTG & went into one of this city's nicest jewelers, I tried on an amethyst & diamond ring & asked about treatment. "ALL amethysts are always treated!" said the woman positively, just as if, "well, duh, OF COURSE the moon is made of green cheese, you moron!"

--- Laurie

 

[iLander]

Wow, I learned some stuff about diamonds! (I don't spend any time in RockyTalk).

I didn't realize they are fracture filling diamonds and they are using lasers to remove inclusions!

That's amazing and sad . . .

 

[T L]

Saw this on yahoo news today
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/13-things-your-jeweler-won-t-tell-you-2473062/

I have been known to get blasted in RT for warning people about #6 on that list. People get way too stuck on clarity in diamonds. It's a rip off.

 

[Kunzite]

Did anyone else see the comments? Someone from a jewelry store said:

Also, "blue tourmaline" is actually a sapphire. Just like "red tourmaline" is actually a ruby. So, telling you to ask for a blue tourmaline to save money on a sapphire is just going to ask the jeweller to take advantage of you.

Wow! Clearly not someone who should have been responding...

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Did anyone else see the comments? Someone from a jewelry store said:

Also, "blue tourmaline" is actually a sapphire. Just like "red tourmaline" is actually a ruby. So, telling you to ask for a blue tourmaline to save money on a sapphire is just going to ask the jeweller to take advantage of you.

Wow! Clearly not someone who should have been responding...

Nor does that person know math... How can you double the wholesale price you paid, give 50% off and still make a ton?

Let's see - you buy a ring for $500, price it at $999. Then you discount it 50% so the new price is $500 again. How are you going to pay operating expenses, much less make a profit?

I liked the article. I was expecting a very aggressive, all jewelry stores are out to get you approach but it was very balanced and very right.

The comments, on the other hand... It seems that a lot of people boil the price of jewelry down to the price of gold and stones in it. What about the labor of the benchperson, designer, setter, sales assistant and so on? Their work is worth a lot too! This is like saying that the price of a car should be equal to the cost of the steel and plastic in it.

 

[T L]

Oh yes, and as for #7, that doesn't just go for emeralds, but every gem they sell.

 

[K9]

Did anyone else see the comments? Someone from a jewelry store said:

Also, "blue tourmaline" is actually a sapphire. Just like "red tourmaline" is actually a ruby. So, telling you to ask for a blue tourmaline to save money on a sapphire is just going to ask the jeweller to take advantage of you.

Wow! Clearly not someone who should have been responding...

 

[T L]

Did anyone else see the comments? Someone from a jewelry store said:

Also, "blue tourmaline" is actually a sapphire. Just like "red tourmaline" is actually a ruby. So, telling you to ask for a blue tourmaline to save money on a sapphire is just going to ask the jeweller to take advantage of you.

Wow! Clearly not someone who should have been responding...

Must be a mall jeweler.

 

[Michael_E]

Wow, I learned some stuff about diamonds! (I don't spend any time in RockyTalk).

I didn't realize they are fracture filling diamonds and they are using lasers to remove inclusions!

That's amazing and sad . . .

What's sad is that anyone would sell this without telling the buyer about it. The treatment itself is definitely not sad and can give a person the ability to obtain a diamond which has a bit higher apparent clarity for a lower price, (as long as they know about it). It's just another option in the level of treatment offered. Part of this is understanding what the laser does and doesn't do. It doesn't remove the inclusion. It does drill a microscopic hole into an inclusion, which can then be affected by some other treatment such as boiling out a dark inclusion with acid, making that area white and less noticeable. If you're concerned about laser drilling, just look at the stone with a good loupe or microscope, the laser drill holes look a bit like a fine white hair running part way into the stone.

I really got a kick out of #3 and attempting to sell the most expensive blue stone available, especially talking about tourmaline as an option. 9 out of 10 people have never heard of tourmaline and blues are some of the most expensive of the lot. Selling something like that would be next to impossible for your average salesperson...even if they knew what they were selling.

I'd add one thing to the list:
14. Don't bring a loupe with you and know how to use it when shopping...it'll scare my sales staff and make me nervous. There's nothing worse, for the average jeweler, than dealing with someone who knows what they're doing.

 

[Pandora II]

So true on No. 14...

I have another:

No. 15 - please don't wear a tsavorite ring when you come into my shop, because when I compliment your beautiful 'emerald' you will think I'm a complete ignoramous.

 

[T L]

So true on No. 14...

I have another:

No. 15 - please don't wear a tsavorite ring when you come into my shop, because when I compliment your beautiful 'emerald' you will think I'm a complete ignoramous.

Don't wear your spinels into a shop either because they'll think they're rubies, sapphires, or tanzanite. LOL! Oh, and it's a spinel, not a "spinal" as in "spinal tap."

 

[Aoife]

So true on No. 14...

I have another:

No. 15 - please don't wear a tsavorite ring when you come into my shop, because when I compliment your beautiful 'emerald' you will think I'm a complete ignoramous.

Ditto to the above, except substitute "spinel" for "tsavorite," and "ruby" for "emerald."


EDTA: I see TL and I were posting at the same time...snap!