How do jewelers react when you pull out your calipers or loupe?

Date: 7/13/2009 4:38:10 PM
Author: fatafelice
I would be pretty upset if this was a jeweler I had purchased from before and had a good relationship with. I understand his concern about losing business, BUT I saw the pics you posted of that setting... It is lovely, but please, it is a wide band with a bezel-set stone! It's not exactly a complicated design, nor is it something that he alone has invented. He should have realized that reacting like that is going to lose more business than letting you take a few measurements.

Date: 7/13/2009 6:39:19 PM
Author: whitby_2773
hi uppy :)

i would think - 'wow, another moron! who knew?.....ooh yummy - starbucks!'

and i'd wander out of his store to whatever it was that had just caught my eye and never give him a second thought except in context of 'oh - there's that store that i don't go into for some reason that i can't remember....ooh look - shiny!' (wanders off into different store)

it'd just be a complete and immediate shutdown for me.

actually, i might actually *say* 'wow - you're a moron...who knew?'

i'm a polite woman, but i'm a true consumer.

Date: 7/13/2009 2:35:52 PM
Author: DiamanteBlu
What a turd.

I guess that the economy is so great that he doesn't need your business - nor does he need the business of any of the people to whom you will recount the experience.

I think that you need to write a letter to the editor of your local paper commenting on 'how well this guy must be doing in spite of the crappy economy' and integrating your experience within that context. Make sure you send a copy to the jeweler so you are sure he sees it.

Date: 7/13/2009 7:31:46 PM
Author: strmrdr
lesson, ask for a ruler then pull one out if they don't have one.
If someone pulled out a caliper in a store I owned I would ask for the ring back for 2 reasons:

1: potential copyright issues
2: potential damage to the stone/setting.

It is a dog eat dog world out there and sometimes you have to protect your chow.

Date: 7/13/2009 7:40:46 PM
Author: Gailey
Strm, 99.9% of the time I bow to your superior knowledge in all things. But an existing customer who had already been discussing with the owner fabricating a setting to fit her stone?

There's protecting your chow and then there's chasing out your customers with a witch broom. And like a previous poster mentioned, did you see the ring in question on Uppy's other thread? We are hardly talking originality to the nth degree.

Date: 7/13/2009 12:56:14 PM
Author:Upgradable
I just had a weird experience. I've been looking around at mounting options for my star sapphire, and I went into a local jeweler on Saturday and found a unique setting. Since I'd been thinking about it all weekend, I decided to go in today with my calipers to measure the setting itself. I should include that the setting I saw was set with a beautiful blue topaz, and that I talked with the owner and got a quote for fabricating the setting specifically for my stone. I wanted to check the proportions related to my stone and finger. I also asked to take some pictures to 'think about' how this would look.

The sales associate checked with the owner, and he said okay to the pictures, but then when he saw me with the calipers he came over and said 'You know that this is a copyrighted design, and if you try to copy it we'll sue you.' At this point he took the ring from me and put it back in the case.

Now, I've had enough transactions with this jeweler in the past that they know me by name, and they've never had any indication that I would be anything less than upfront and honest with them. I replied 'Tim, I would never do that! I just need to really be sure this is the direction I want to go.' He replied by saying 'Well, when people come in with their own calipers and take notes......... I know that you've had other pieces made other places, and you just need to know that this is our design.'

What would you think?

Date: 7/13/2009 7:40:46 PM
Author: Gailey
Strm, 99.9% of the time I bow to your superior knowledge in all things. But an existing customer who had already been discussing with the owner fabricating a setting to fit her stone?


There's protecting your chow and then there's chasing out your customers with a witch broom. And like a previous poster mentioned, did you see the ring in question on Uppy's other thread? We are hardly talking originality to the nth degree.