02.09.10
See
Told ya I’d make it work.
07.22.09
Link to Ganoskin
The Ganoksin Project - The gem and jewelry world’s foremost information resource on the Internet. Open to the public, Free of charge - a substantial library of articles, publications, reports, and technical data on gem and jewelry related topics; as well as a sizable collection of art and jewelry galleries, for both the casual visitor and the professional.
07.15.09
What your jewelry repair technician won’t tell you
July 14, 2009
What your jewelry repair technician doesn’t like to hear.
3. “I just looked down and this is what had happened to my…”
This comment about a customer’s jewelry usually comes after I’ve made, repaired, or just inspected something and they are back for another visit. The worst one I ever saw was a wedding set that was completely flattened. The woman said “I was just sitting in church and I looked down and this is what had happened to my ring.” I wanted to ask her if she could really see her ring or was she, perhaps, sitting on it? I also wanted to ask her how in the world, with her rings flattened, did she actually have her finger in them and not have to have them cut off her finger or have surgery for a crushed finger. I never got to ask any of these questions as the sales person came along to offer her a drink of water and to assure her that everything would be alright, and that the “jeweler can probably be done with this in the next fifteen minutes for you” (and how could I arrange to THROTTLE THAT SALES GIRL??? for writing checks that she had no funds to cash from MY bank account?).
This customer had just been in the week before to have her wedding set cleaned and checked and it just so happens that I was the last one to touch it before this mishap. So, what this statement usually precedes, whether actually stated or just implied is “You were the last one to touch it and it doesn’t matter that I didn’t buy it from you and/or that you didn’t make it, or even if you just cleaned it and inspected it (surely I’d missed something like a self destruct button inside it), it is now ruined and I know that it is somehow your fault. “
Before I go off on my tangent and little rant about sales people, if you run across one that wants to truly educate you about what you are buying rather than just making you feel good about buying, you’ve got a good sales person. I have worked with them in the past and currently work with an outstanding bunch of salespeople. Good sales people that really want to know and understand what they are selling are worth their weight in gold both to the customers they service and to their colleagues.
I’d like to point out that I like sales people. I admire people that do things that I can’t do. I would prefer that sales people I work with be people that have a clue as to what they are actually talking about when it comes to repairs and how long it actually takes to do something. “Oh, we can completely take care of your ring in 5 minutes. I’ll take that back to the jeweler on my way out to lunch” (and they already have the “ticket” made up with their initials on it so that they get the credit and the commission and I get to explain to the customer why her ring needs to stay for two weeks for a major overhaul, how much that will cost them and the salesperson, by now, is no where to be seen). It never ceases to amaze me how quickly a sales person can take care of a customer’s problem for them, especially when they really don’t have to do anything other than take it from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’ and add up their commission in their head and possibly insist that this job should jump line ahead of all the rest that didn’t just come in. The jeweler, on the other hand, typically doesn’t get paid commission, so for them there is no advantage to doing things quicker than the time necessary to do a good job and to do it right. If they do a poor job they’re also the one responsible to do it over, not the salesperson who had to have it in 5 minutes or less (some sales people, not the customer, are in a hurry because they know that if you have more time to think it over that you might not want to buy what they just sold you and they havne’t gotten your moeny yet).
There are those that don’t know what they are selling or doing (“oh, you’re active, play tennis and lift weights, let me show you this wonderful, dainty, filigree ring for your engagement ring to wear every day for all those activities”) but they still believe that it is their job to make you feel good about your purchase, your repair, etc., and are very good at doing just that. What allot of companies teach as selling ‘technique’ is that the customer must buy and must feel good about buying and that while the rest of the information about the product they sell needs to be learned, that is secondary to selling. Sales and numbers (and don’t get me wrong, I understand that this is the reason for business and how businesses stay open to do business) are the only things that are important and yes, the customer. So, in the effort to sell, jewelry companies nurture and promote the idea of no responsibility on the part of the purchaser.
Now, let me ask you something. When you’ve bought cars in the past, have you ever had a salesperson tell you that your vehicle never needed its’ oil changed? You need a car to get back and forth to work and jewelry is more of a non necessary purchase. It also seems to be common knowlegde and common sense that cars need maintenance. So, it would seem that reminding or informing the customer of any personal responsibility on a jewelry purchase that they don’t really need isn’t really a good sales technique.
While nurturing no sense of responsibility and only pointing out the emotional sentiment that it might represent, or what it will mean to your wife if you buy it for her, etc., this might make the customer feel good when they make the purchase and they will be more likely to make the purchase. BUT, the first or second time that something goes wrong with their purchase because they weren’t informed about any of the fragile aspects, or the “need to clean and care” duties of their piece, they can become quickly disillusioned. By now, they’ve been taught by the salesperson that they have no responsibility regarding the piece, so they want to know what went wrong, can they get their money back or can they get another one just like it now that this one is ruined? The sales person might even go so far as to remind the customer about the maintenance plan that they tried to sell them when they made the purchase that would ‘cover’ such a mishap. They probably will actually sell the maintenance package to that customer, rather than inform them of these qualities because they must make their quota this month for that service.
Having seen what the maintenance packages include, I don’t recommend them. If you were taught a little more about what to do and not to do while wearing the piece, and were willing to heed the advice to not wear it all the time for everything, you could preserve it with less maintenance and save yourself the fees. There is the customer that insists that they will not be taking off their jewelry, that they bought it to wear it every day and everywhere and they will want the maintenance package. This is who the maintenance package is really meant for.
Lets move on to the one kind of incident that I run into from time to time with a customer that actually CAN do something seemingly minor and have something major happen to their jewelry pieces. The information not to wear their jewelry in the pool, hot tubs, not to cook or to do any cleaning with cleaning products, generally doesn’t come with the purchase. No one really thinks about it. Metal is tough as nails and stones are hard, so there shouldn’t be a problem, right?
Chlorine and fluorine are used to refine precious metals and they can also be found in products used to prevent bacterial growth, fungus growth and such in pools and spas. What does that mean to someone that swims or uses the hot tub and doesn’t remove their jewelry? Well, these chemicals are used to remove alloys or “impurities” from precious metal so that the pure gold or silver can be extracted. Over a period of time, these chemicals in a pool or hot tub are breaking down your wedding ring and engagement ring that holds that precious diamond. I’ve had customers come in and say that: “I just looked down and my diamond was gone.” Indeed, the metal can become as brittle as to just fall away with the least little bump. I’ve seen a wedding band that just cracked into two pieces. Upon inspection under magnification, crystalline type fractures can be seen. After some questions, it’s deduced that they swim allot, have a hot tub, or they bleach their tennis shoes or something of this nature and they never take off their rings. Fourteen karat gold jewelry is made of 565 parts of pure gold and 435 parts alloy. The chemicals have removed or reacted with the alloy and left gaps in the crystalline structure in its place that became cracks and breaks that cannot be repaired. Once this type of contamination is set into motion, there is no undoing the issue it creates.
Pearls, mother of pearl, paua shell, and anything else that is organic such as this can be damaged or dissolved with vinegar. Pearls, and similar ‘gems,’ are made mostly of calcium carbonate, which reacts and will dissolve in acid. Vinegar contains acetic acid. So to make a salad with vinegar in the dressing and tossing with clean hands may result in a dull and lusterless pearl ring. Acids found in grout cleaner to make that bathroom sparkle, can completely destroy any organic materials, such as pearls in jewelry. Lapis and turquoise can also be damaged with acids. Some sterling silver cleaners contain acids that can be used on sterling alone, but never on gemstones. AND if the jewelry is left to soak in it, the acids can leach out any alloys (sterling silver is only 925 parts pure out of a 1000, the rest is alloy), leaving only the precious metal behind and will give you what is appropriately called an “acid etch” finish. Soapy water and water with baking soda can help to neutralize the acid after cleaning.
At this point we can say that we’ve all had a chemistry lesson for today. So, until we blog again, have your pieces inspected at least once every six months, clean them with liquid soap, soft toothbrush and warm water. Rinse them and leave them to dry on a soft towel until you wear them again.
07.13.09
What your jewelry repair technician won’t tell you
July 12, 2009
What your jewelry repair technician doesn’t like to hear
2. “But, I paid enough for this that I should be able to wear it however I want.”
First, let me clarify that I’ve heard these same words come out of the mouths of people that spent under $100 and from people that spent $1000’s. So “paid enough” means different things to different people, but in this case it means that because they laid out some cash on something, they bought the right to wear it however they please. I would have to say that, indeed, they are correct. They MAY wear the item they bought in any manner and to any function that they please, be it to the gym to squash between weights, or to work to catch in the drawer of a metal file cabinet. They can do whatever they want with it after it has left the store. Far be it from me to get in the way of anyone’s freedom. But, its part of my job to inform people of the basic properties of metals and stones and the ‘wear ability’ of both. Again, I didn’t make those rules, I just try to abide by them and pass them on as I know them.
I’d like to stop here for a second to say “Thank You” to those customers who love jewelry and keep buying it. I really don’t mean to offend you. I’d just like to share some stories, with a sense of humor, in hopes that you might learn something about your purchases and how YOU can make them last longer.
Cars, tanks and airplanes are made of some of the hardest substances known to man, but we still have junkyards full of the ones that no longer run, or have been crashed or trashed in some manner. These are all very expensive items and they come with no guarantee against crashing or being trashed. There is a reason, other than precious metals being expensive, that these types of items aren’t made of precious metals. Precious metals are soft. They bend, break, scratch and wear easily. The reason jewelry is made of these substances is because they don’t react to the acids and other chemicals of the body.
For a little knowledge on the durability of diamonds, the hardest substance know to man, let’s move on to the phrase: “A diamond is forever.” This doesn’t mean that nothing can destroy, chip or damage a diamond. It refers to the symbolism and the reason you give a diamond to the one you love. It’s a romantic notion. It means you care enough to give the very best. The fact is that while diamonds are the hardest substance, diamonds are also brittle. When done just right, you can break a diamond by striking it on any hard surface (without a jeweler even being in the vicinity). They chip and they break. They are not indestructible. This is why it is a very good idea to have all of your most precious pieces insured with your home owners or renters insurance and to have them checked and cleaned at least once every 6 months. For a minimal amount added to that homeowners/renters insurance, they will cover accidental damage and/or the loss of your most prized possessions.
My most recent experience with diamond breakage is a story about a marquise center stone ring with an end prong that was laid over when it came in for inspection. Obviously, the customer had caught it or hit it on something and had damaged the mounting and under some magnification, it became clear that the end of the stone was gone. The customer wanted to know if it was “possible if the jeweler that set it had broken it when they set it and then hidden it under the end prong.” While anything is possible, unless I have a crystal ball somewhere in the shop and can see into that shop and go back in time, there is no real way I would ever know for sure if that very thing actually happened. Given that the current evidence is that the customer has just damaged her ring, I would say that she is the culprit for having damaged her own diamond in the same incident, but her first inclination is to blame the jeweler that set her stone some time ago.
An incident that took place some time ago with a customer that I had some direct dealings with has to do with gardening. Usually, I don’t talk to customers, I work in the shop and the salespeople work with customers. Given that I have now kind of made clear that I like my cats more than people, it’s probably a good idea that I not deal with customers on a regular basis.
In this case a “designer” worked with the customer. Together they designed a beautiful and delicate ring to accommodate diamonds that had belonged to the customer’s mother and grandmother. It was to be a commemorative piece that the customer could wear to remember them by. I made the delicate ring directly in metal. With all its delicate curly cues and little prong mountings, it took me about 5 hours to make and to set the stones. Three months later the owner of the ring is in the store and she is “hopping mad.”
The owner of the store and the designer tried to talk with her and she refused to be calmed down until she talked to the person that made it. Well the shop is some distance away from the showroom (thank goodness or I’d never get anything done) and by the time I get there and I try to talk to the woman, she is ready to yank my head off. She starts off with a declaration of how she is a good customer and how she has come there for years. I wait and listen to her rant and think to myself that I don’t even know who she is or how she wears her rings or even what is wrong with it, as I haven’t even seen it yet. She won’t shut up long enough for me to even look at the ring, which is still on her finger. So, when she gets to where she is a bit winded and it looks like I can slip a word in edge ways, I ask her to take the ring off so that I can examine it under magnification. This ring, that took me hours to make, has whole prong mountings missing, diamonds have been knocked out of mountings, some mountings are completely flattened and other stones have been chipped. It has gouges in the metal that can only be done with force by some harder substances than what the ring is made of. I point out and make a list of the damage, out loud, to the customer. She replies with a “yes, I want you to tell me why I paid so much for this ring and why it is falling apart.” It’s obvious to me at this point that there isn’t a whole lot to do to placate her or to explain to her because she already has her mind made up that I made the ring to fall apart when she wore it. So I ask her what she was doing when this happened to the ring. She replies that she was “diggin’ taters.” So, my reply to her is “Ma’am, what kind of car do you drive?” She replies with an attitude: “I drive a Cadillac!” And I point out that surely she paid allot for that Cadillac. She replies that yes, she did. “So ma’am,” I ask, “do you take that Cadillac off road, four wheeling?” To this question, she becomes so enraged and unintelligible that the only thing I can make out is “I’m never coming back here and I’m telling everyone I know.”
I didn’t design the ring. The customer and the ‘designer’ designed the ring. I followed the specifications laid out by the “designer” and the customer. When all was said and done, it appeared to the customer that I could be the only one to blame for the demise of her commemorative piece of jewelry. While I take a few moments to go off by myself to meditate about how I may have wronged the entire world with my poor craftsmanship, I take one of my cats with me. 
To sum this up, you CAN do whatever you like while wearing any piece of jewelry that you own, but it really isn’t a good idea. Allot of people are afraid that if they take off their rings that they will lose them or they’ll be stolen. Buy a nice quality, loose link, solid chain. If you participate in an activity where you don’t want to wear your rings, put them on the chain around your neck and tuck it under your clothes. It protects them and you know just where they are.
Antique pieces that have lasted for 100’s of years and are still in good shape were not worn every day by their previous owners. People wear jewelry differently than they used to. Even just 50 years ago a ring was put away in a safe place and only worn on special, “dress up,” occasions. So that ring that you never want to take off because it was your grandmothers and you want to have it with you always, was not designed with this kind of wear in mind and cannot hold up to that kind of wear.
Until we blog again, try to rethink wearing those pieces everywhere and for everything (or just be prepared to have them repaired or to replace them) and have them checked and cleaned at least once every 6 months. In the meanwhile, clean with Windex or warm water and liquid soap and rinse with warm water. Leave them on a soft towel to dry, including the chain we just talked about. AND, if you’re going to have a ring made, make sure that your designer knows what you do with your hands and how you are going to wear it so that you might get the best and longest wear possible (or be prepared to take it off and hang it from your chain and preserve it as long as you can that way).
07.11.09
What your jewelry repair technician won’t tell you.
How to take care of fine jewelry
People who work with their hands and people who sell often have vastly different approaches as to how they deal with people. By and large, people who work with their hands, aren’t as ‘people oriented’ as salespeople. There are those who sell and those who repair and make. Seldom do you see someone good at both.
Lately, I’ve been seeing and reading articles with titles like; “What your doctor won’t tell you.” All in all, people who work with people try not to say certain things to those they service. They strive to be politically correct and treat the customer as though they are always right.
The fact of the matter is that the customer isn’t always right (and everyone out there who has ever worked retail or any kind of customer service is nodding their heads). And the fact is that what some don’t want to say and what some don’t want to hear, could make for better service and communication between servers and “servee” in the long run. One can blame the salesperson, the receptionist, the repair person, and the doctor, whomever all they want, but unless there is some personal responsibility, things typically don’t change for the better, regardless of what product or service we are talking about. What we find is that people by and large aren’t willing to tell someone how they might extend the life of their product simply because what they tell them might offend them or make them not want to buy the product or service. By not telling them they’ve been doing something wrong regarding a product, then the consumer loses, the product is short lived, and the salesperson or service technician might be thought to be to blame for the short lived product.
After almost 30 years of working to make jewelry, repairing jewelry and restoring jewelry, there’s allot I’ve seen and learned about it. There’s also allot I’ve seen and learned about people. If I am to be completely honest, the more I’m around people, the more I like my cats.
Cricket on the arm of the chair
As I’ve read these articles, I decided that blogging could be a good outlet to share some of what I’ve learned and thought that I could start with the following topic.
What a jewelry repair technician doesn’t like to hear
1. “I never take it off.”
Firstly, anything worn next to the skin needs to be removed and cleaned daily. Seriously, is there anything else that you wear everyday and don’t clean before wearing again (and if so, don’t tell me, I don’t want to know)? According to Wiki Answers, our skin sheds 40-50 thousands cells per day. Any open areas under a ring, earrings, or pendant are places for skin, soap film, etc., to find a home. It will eventually clog up the “airlines” and “light lines” so that the entire back is filled with soap, skin, lotions, cosmetics or what have you. Any stones will appear cloudy and the metal gets a film over it and builds up in the crevices. This makes your jewelry appear dull and dirty.
Jewelry has to be almost surgically clean before it can be repaired. If it is not cleaned properly and any heat is used to repair it, dirt will burn under stones and leave marks on the metal that looks like its been thrown into in a camp fire pit full of ashes and soot. While we have powerful cleaners that can usually shake the dirt out in minutes, we prefer to take longer than “while you wait” simply because it’s safer for YOUR jewelry that we do. We really would like to not have your jewelry for very long, especially after you tell us about how all jewelers steal and pull out diamonds and replace them. Not once in my 30 years have I ever seen a craftsperson that I’ve worked with do what allot of consumers seem to think is common practice (the stealing of customers diamonds). I have however, been accused of switching diamonds after cleaning out 2 grams (you bet I weighed it because I was curious as to just HOW MUCH “yuck” could one pack under a stone that size) of “ook” from underneath a stone. The stone DID look completely different and the ring shone with its, now, high polish and the woman walked away, never to come back again and convinced that I had taken her diamond and replaced it with something that she described as “not as nice as hers.” I’m not sure of what she had in her memory as to what it looked like to her (because you couldn’t even tell what color or clarity the poorly cut, almost industrial grade marquise was to begin with and yep, they are called diamonds, but some of them should have been left as drill bit tips….but it was big and certainly, she thought, anyone would want to steal it). I had a pile of sludge at the bottom of my cleaner and dried “ook” that I picked out from under the stone that said that her ring was lighter and looked better than when she’d brought it in. I’ve often wondered if she felt better about it once she’d ‘gunked’ it back up.
One of the worst pieces I’ve ever had to work on, I had to clean every day for 5 days before I could work on it. There was so much “gook” fossilized in the back of it, that it thought it was bigger than I was (and I wasn’t really arguing with it, but I did stand back three feet to throw more soap into the cleaner periodically) and that it had a right to be there.
Secondly, I don’t know of a piece of jewelry that is made to stand up to that kind of wear (I never take it off) with the exception of a plain wedding band. Even those wear out and/or wear through.
Just because you take your wedding ring off to clean it or do to yard work or heavy construction, doesn’t mean that you’re not married. Being married is a state of mind and the jewelry is just a symbol of the permanence of that love and commitment. Wearing a keepsake every day, under all kinds of conditions probably means that you will need a new keepsake from time to time. Don’t “shoot” the jeweler when they tell you that gold, silver and platinum are all precious metals that are very soft and can bend, wear and break. We didn’t make those rules, we just try to abide by them. And no, we really can’t, after something has been completely worn down, chewed up by the garbage disposal, run over by a car because you and your boyfriend had a fight in the parking lot and you threw it at him, but found it, figure out what it used to look like and restore it to like new condition while you wait because you don’t want to leave it. Its times like those that I have to go to a mirror and see if I have a magician’s cape and hat on.
Just when I think I’ve seen it all, someone comes along with something they want made or a repair they want done and I’m learning all over again. Many thanks to the customers over the years and until next blog time, use Windex and a soft toothbrush, rinse in warm water and leave them to dry on a soft towel until you wear them again. Have your pieces cleaned and checked (many offer this service at no charge!) at least once every 6 months to keep stones tight and for the longevity of your piece. They do need regular maintenance with wear just like your house and your car.
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