07.13.09

What your jewelry repair technician won’t tell you

Posted in Uncategorized at 5:20 pm by Administrator

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).

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