So I went to a local jeweller today and...

[LaraOnline]

Please allow me a small rant for a sec.
I took in my lovely vintage amethyst trillion cab earrings, set in 18k YG.



The owner of the store takes one look and says, 'oh they're probably gold plate'.
I point out the mark, which he says is an unusual mark (the stamp is '18K')
He then goes on at great length to tell me about a company in Bankok called 18K, and how they sell to gullible ebay buyers.
He has to do a scratch test to prove it is 18k gold...

fuming inside, I waited while he defaced my earrings.
To my utter NON surprise, they were 18k.

I am so annoyed. I feel he went out of his way to humiliate me, merely to prove the point that I didn't buy them in his store!
I told him (pleasantly I hope) that I felt he was trying to make me learn a lesson of shopping only at retail.
(I bought them from a gemmologist-qualified antique dealer several years ago).
He replied that shopping local kept people employed.
When I responded, ' well you wouldn't stock earrings of this style', he replied that he could make me anything I wanted.

All I wanted was to enquire about having the clip on converted.
The conversation was over. He retreated to his back room, and I managed to tell his assistant that I didn't think we should bury lovely jewellery with the older generation.
In my opinion, fixing up estate stuff is part of his job.

Yes the economy is bad...yes small business is struggling....
but HUMPH!

 

[movie zombie]

personal opinion: if I went for a repair I wouldn't be engaging about if he wanted to prove 18k or not.
If I know for a fact, why allow the discussion to go that way and/or have him scratch my earrings?
pure and simple, I want a repair. can you do said repair to my specifications?
if no, i'll move on.

oh, and btw: I LOVE YOUR EARRINGS!

 

[Karl_K]

He was a jerk about it but it is a good idea to check material before doing a job.
If they were plate they would be destroyed if some of the techniques for gold are applied.
On the flip side doing the test on plated pieces can damage them if the plating is removed in a small area the base metal will quickly tarnish.
It is a bit of a catch 22 for a jeweler.

I hope he used a non visible part for the test or you should raise a huge stink.

 

[Circe]

Idiot. That man has obviously never encountered the idea of customer service. It is usually part of a bench jeweler's job to do repairs on pre-owned pieces: would he be this unfriendly if you'd brought in your grandmother's heirloom pieces? If he's so desperate for business he's willing to be rude to people over it ... he might benefit from learning that being rude to potential customers will alienate them. That would definitely not encourage me to ever do business with him again: if anything, it would provide additional incentive to shop online, far, far away from the bad manners!

 

[smitcompton]

Hi Lara,

I so empathize with you. I have a similar problem and it annoys me as well.

I go to a jeweler who has a sister who works for him. Usually I bring in a stone and setting to be set. She examines everything with a loupe and quizzes me on it. She also checks to see if its gold filled. You should see her loupe my stones, the last ones were emeralds. If she measured them, I could understand, but she examines them, and then says nothing. But, maybe Karls point has merit and I will be less annoyed. Funny, she also charges me more than the owner.

I love your earrings too.

Annette

 

[LaraOnline]

Thank you lovelies.
I feel 'heard'.

Yes I think he was being uber careful - and being a jerk about it lol.
I really don't need a lecture about my love of vintage things...
I asked him to write a note on letterhead confirming they were 18k LOL, just so I never had to go through another scratch test...(really to make a little more trouble for him for being a jerk about it).
He said there was nothing to say another jeweller would actually believe his written recommendation!

Karl, he did mark very carefully on the inside of the clip mechanism...but ...
just a few courtesy remarks would have been great before going in to the 'well I believe your word and your mark is garbage'...
Old jewellery, like old ladies, need appreciation!!

And when I've gone in browsing previously, I've always been so nice to him. Unfortunately his market is not totally where I am at in terms of what I want to add to my collection (9k starter engagement rings, some arty silver, 30 point stones, biker rings lol ) , but he is good at what he does and I've told him that in a previous meeting with him...I was even considering having him do a brooch for me with a couple of loose turquoise (PICKED UP FROM THE INTERNET ).

You meet all types I guess, and it is easier to be nicer to low-worth customers when you're not worried about the wages bill.
I get that. But still... TRY TO BE NICE

 

[Karl_K]

Karl, he did mark very carefully on the inside of the clip mechanism...but ...
just a few courtesy remarks would have been great before going in to the 'well I believe your word and your mark is garbage'...
Old jewellery, like old ladies, need appreciation!!

100% agree there is no excuse for being a jerk.
It is really a catch 22 for me answering on one hand I want to post.. got ball bat will travel on the other hand I try to bridge the gap between jewelers and consumers with education on both sides and its an educational conductive topic.

 

[VRBeauty]

Your earrings are lovely! I hope you find someone who can do a good job of converting them!

 

[LLJsmom]

I'm sorry Lara. That would have really pi**ed me off too! I agree. Be a professional and courteous. That would get him a lot more business than being insulting and presumptuous.

 

[LaraOnline]

Your earrings are lovely! I hope you find someone who can do a good job of converting them!

There was a big discussion about whether we should send them off for laser or whether the earrings should be done in house with rhe stones taken out while the posts are added.
I leaned towards laser; he said take out the stones.
His reason being that there was a setting glue around the sides of the stones and although the earpad (where the post would go) is raised off the surface of the back of the earring, the heat could discolour the original glue around the perimeter of the stones??
This may have a darkening effect in a small spot at the top of the earring (if the glue did discolour) he said.

I had come into the store thinking laser.
So we couldn't completely agree and we left it at that, sorry to say.

I didn't want to take out the stones?? He has no laser himself.

 

[Circe]

Wise decision, as he doesn't know what he's talking about/is making stuff up: the stones are bezeled, and you'd basically have to wreck the settings to get them out. There also doesn't need to be any glue to hold them in - can you actually see glue? I am beginning to wonder if he just makes stuff up altogether, because the whole point of using the laser is to keep from overheating the setting! And even if there is any or if it discolors, just steam them and remove it and tighten the bezel. Yeesh ....

 

[LaraOnline]

The ear pads hang down from the apex of the triangle,
I actually feel the risk of glue discolouration is very small.

I need to find a good local jeweller, yikes!!

 

[kenny]

Cool earrings.
Sorry you had to deal with this jerk.

Yes it sucks the Internet has put some people out of business.
It doesn't suck that it has created jobs too.
Electricity put a lot of people out of work too.

But the march of progress has been happening since humans started.
Adjust!

 

[tyty333]

You did well if you managed to stay pleasant. Me and my money would be outta there!

 

[ame]

I hope you told him he owed you money for the damage he just insisted on doing to your earrings. Glad you didn't let him do any more to damage to them. HE is someone that should be out of job with such customer service "skills". That behavior is why some of the internet vendors are taking out local shops.

 

[AGBF]

I'm sorry that converting your earrings has caused you so much trouble! I wouldn't have thought it would be such an ordeal!

Big hugs,
Deb

 

[JewelFreak]

With his attitude, his small business will be joining those he mentioned are having a hard time! What a nit. It makes sense for him to test the gold but not to be such a jerk about it -- and I don't buy that glue business one bit either. Doesn't make any sense.

Super earrings, I really LOVE them! Hope you find a good bench nearby soon. Glad you didn't let this clod wreck them.

--- Laurie

 

[Karl_K]

It is possible they are glued in, without looking at them I can not say.
Heat will discolor glue that is true.
However imho the risk of damage to the setting and the stones is very high if they are removed.
At this point I would go elsewhere. Find someplace with an in house benchman and a laser welder and talk to them.

 

[caf]

Some jewelers delight in making customers feel "less." This happens in all lines of work but we want our jewelers to be above this kind of behavior. Find another jeweler. There are lots of terrific ones out there who do wonderful work and don't criticize your jewelry. Your earrings are pretty and special.

 

[Dandi]

Aww, I'm sorry the jeweller was such a douche Lara! He had no right to speak to you the way he did, what a twat. Your earrings are so beautiful, I hope you find someone worthy to work on them for you.

 

[arkieb1]

They are really beautiful, I think it's time you shopped around and found a new & much more polite jeweller!

 

[azstonie]

First of all, those earrings are wonderful.

I've learned here to never hand my jewelry over a counter to anyone unless I already know them and how they will handle my pieces.

I've been in local jewelry stores wearing my pieces and been asked by staff if they could look at them. I usually just extend my hand or wrist or lean in (necklace) a little. I've seen store staff drop jewelry and stones (not mine thank god) and I know that if they have my ring in their hand and they want to poke and prod they will! So I don't hand anything over.

When staff tell me they want to clean my jewelry I usually kind of laff and tell them I do that myself, thank them anyway.