Does a jewelry designer have to know about diamonds?

[quicksilver]

Hey all,
Upon speaking with a jewelry designer that has his own shop but also sells on etsy, I found out that some things that worryme but dont know if they are warranted
When discussing melee stone color, he states that H's are H's, all across the board. There arent many differences in color usually. He stated that he graduated from GIA but has never heard of AGS lab but knows EGL and then stated that they grade loosely. He says tapered moissanite baguettes don't come in any other sizes than 2.5 x 2mm and H color is the lowest.

While I know this info to be incorrect, maybe he's trying to deter me from having to specifically shop for certain colors and sizes which I understand...
so the question is do jewelry designers usually not know much about diamonds in general? He mentions that he's had extensive experience for years (20+), big account with mall store years ago, has a store front in CA, and has great reviews on etsy albeit only around 90.
His prices are great but he works mostly with moissy and labs grown it seems. Im looking to have something made by him to have my diamond set locally. I was open to working with him because David started out small too and we all know he pumps out relatively excellent work. Any opinions are greatly appreciated!

 

[whitewave]

I wouldn’t. Maybe let him set with a Stuller setting but that’s it and maybe not even that

 

[lovedogs]

I wouldn't work with him--that's just too much wrong information for me to be comfortable with.

 

[quicksilver]

I wouldn’t. Maybe let him set with a Stuller setting but that’s it and maybe not even that

holy smokes....ok got it

 

[sledge]

Yeah, I'd pass too. Regardless of the reason, you already caught him giving you bad info. Either his lack of knowledge or voluntary willingness to feed you bad info is a warning sign of someone I don't want to work with personally. It all comes down to trust, and he started wrong.

 

[quicksilver]

Yeah, I'd pass too. Regardless of the reason, you already caught him giving you bad info. Either his lack of knowledge or voluntary willingness to feed you bad info is a warning sign of someone I don't want to work with personally. It all comes down to trust, and he started wrong.

thanks sledge, I told him that we were heading another direction. He promptly pulled off the listing :/ Should I be putting his shop name on here to let people know or is that a no no?

 

[sledge]

thanks sledge, I told him that we were heading another direction. He promptly pulled off the listing :/ Should I be putting his shop name on here to let people know or is that a no no?

This is up to you. If you feel the vendor made an honest mistake that didn't work out, then I'd probably let it pass. If you feel he acted in a manner that was malicious or intentional then I feel a warning is in order. In all matters, I try to be diplomatic when possible.

 

[ringo865]

If it is a vendor recommended here, yes.

 

[Bron357]

Give him a miss.
It seems his knowledge is lacking and his ego somewhat magnified!
There is an awful lot to know about diamonds, even the true gemstone experts 30 years experience are still learning and open to learning.
He sounds like “his way or the highway!”. End of discussion!
He obviously has only H colour melee and 2 x 2.5mm Moissanite and nothing else exists in his universe.
His loss, not yours.

 

[Karl_K]

It is not uncommon.
The best local benchman I know is not big on diamond knowledge but he sure can do good work on metal.
99%+ of his work is for other jewelers/stores so the diamond is already purchased by the time he enters the picture.

 

[missy]

Personally I'd feel more comfortable with a more knowledgeable designer. I think of our awesome vendors here and think why would I want to work with someone less knowledgeable who is also (probably) less skilled? Sure there are exceptions to that as @Karl_K points out but I wouldn't want to take that risk. It isn't that hard to learn about the diamonds with which one is working IMO so if he/she is lazy about that what else are they lazy about? JMO.

 

[iKevyn]

There’s plenty of local jewelers around my area that has no idea what AGS is. They only praise GIA and EGL. They once told me that no diamonds has a prefect heart and arrows. They said people use fake hearts and arrows scope to trick us into seeing prefect diamonds. I just face palmed myself and walk out. But some of them do great custom work tho...

 

[sledge]

There’s plenty of local jewelers around my area that has no idea what AGS is. They only praise GIA and EGL. They once told me that no diamonds has a prefect heart and arrows. They said people use fake hearts and arrows scope to trick us into seeing prefect diamonds. I just face palmed myself and walk out. But some of them do great custom work tho...

We went into a local Diamonds Direct a month or so back to have my fiancee's ring cleaned and to borrow their high powered microscope. The manager and certified gemologist I spoke to was very intrigued I had bought a BGD super ideal online with AGS certification.

While he was aware of the AGS certification he admitted most his customers were unaware, and they mainly pushed GIA stones because that was the market demand. We had a rather lengthly conversation about the pros and cons of each and why I preferred AGS. He understood and somewhat agreed, although I am pretty sure he thought I was a blue duck in a yellow duck society.

I've been in other jewelry stores where others were unaware about AGS at all. While I think that lack of knowledge is detrimental to their business longevity, I cannot really fault them, or any other jeweler, too much for supporting GIA certification which (like it or not) is the most well known & trusted lab certification in the USA by the general public which is their main demographic.

Someone stating only a specific size or color seems very limited in their knowledge and/or they had a bias to sell inventory they currently possessed or received higher margins to push.

 

[quicksilver]

Give him a miss.
It seems his knowledge is lacking and his ego somewhat magnified!
There is an awful lot to know about diamonds, even the true gemstone experts 30 years experience are still learning and open to learning.
He sounds like “his way or the highway!”. End of discussion!
He obviously has only H colour melee and 2 x 2.5mm Moissanite and nothing else exists in his universe.
His loss, not yours.

Thanks, that's reassuring. Im definitely NOT going with him. glad I saved a few bucks and headaches!

 

[Donnass117]

I've had experience with both unknowledgeable jewelers and one's who know a lot, and personally, I felt much more comfortable knowing that my ring was being remade by someone who knows what quality diamonds are. I suggest looking elsewhere.

 

[McGinnis]

slightly off topic but
Long time ago when my hubby and I were diamond shopping I went to a local jewelr that's suppose to be really high end for the area (henri daussi, tacori, rolex etc) and he laughed when I said I wanted to see the blinking arrows in my diamond. He said that it isn't visible to the naked eye and that he only carried EGL USA stones but he could get GIA stones in if I really wanted them. According to him, theres no difference in labs. lol Years pass and I'm in there with a friend that wants to try e-rings in person and he, without remembering me, offers to clean my ring. Upon bringing the ring back and scoping the shit out of it, says its an impressive stone, very well cut. I say "it better be since its an ideal cut!". He asks what lab graded it as such and when he hears AGS, he states that its definitely superior if AGS grades it an ideal and is very surprised at how white it faces up when I say its a K. My husband, who is a man of very few words and im sure is cousins with buddha chimes in and says "thats because you're looking at EGL stones all day". I had to leave

 

[Rockdiamond]

Horror story!!!

quicksilver

I would run from this person. The discussion does highlight some important aspects we encounter frequently.
A few things stick out to me:
1) there's no such a thing as "Certified Gemologist". To me, someone implying that their gemological work is somehow "certified" is hugely misleading. Of course, based on how some sellers position themselves, and the lack of broad-based education on this subject ( thank goodness for PriceScope!!) it's no surprise how many consumers believe such nonsense. Having traveled all over the world as a wholesale diamond seller, I can tell you that many of the regular people posting here frequently are far more knowledgeable about diamonds, and jewelry than many people calling themselves "certified gemologist". Yes there are some very good gemologists out there- unfortunately they may be in the minority.
2) Having a shop make a piece, then having another shop set it is a recipe for bad results. The actual job of setting the stone is vital to the finished results. A bad setter can screw up the most beautifully made setting.