JohnQuixote
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2004
- Messages
- 5,212
Salutations, fellow gemophiles. I have been asked to share my story here.
(ahem)
“My name is John Pollard, and I am a diamond addict.”
Actually...as some of you know...I began my adventure as a consumer who once shopped for a diamond on the Internet. The excruciating details are in my “Long Story.” To skip an exhaustive narrative - the ilk of which is my proclivity – you may elect to digest the short version below.
The Short Version
Height: 5’10”
Eyes: Blue
Weight: 175 (+/- 5%)
Professional: Jewelry & Education
Hobbies: Music, Science, Sports, Porsche-Cruising, BBQ, Travel, Reading, Movies, Romance.
Pets: 2 Cats, Jordan & Kobeyashi
Favorite Literature: Henry V (Shakespeare). Don Quixote de La Mancha (Cervantes)
Philosophy: If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.
I was born in Texas as merely a child. My family moved north to Yankee-land before I ever learned to meander. I grew up, mostly, and attended college in Washington State, where I earned degrees in Music, Education and Science. The son of professional musicians who were originally from Texas, it was not surprising that my hankering after graduation was to pursue performing and teaching music a-way down yonder where my parents got their start.
For many years I served as a music educator and played drums professionally in Texas. Work as a teacher was satisfying and productive. I enjoyed reputability as a clinician and adjudicator, became endorsed as a performing artist and consultant for some drum and cymbal corporations, worked as a freelance writer, published a book of solos for young drummers and eventually worked a number of high profile jobs, including the Tournament of Roses and the Super Bowl
In August of 2004 I started working for Whiteflash. Brian Gavin knew me from years past (full story below) and offered a position where my passion for science and communication would be used to bring education and beauty to others. It’s not much different than music education, except there are diamond parcel paper thingys.
I do still remain active as a music instructor, composer and performer: Here is my curriculum vitae.
When people tell me that I march to the beat of a different drummer, my reply is. “Hey…I am the different drummer.”
It’s great to have come from the other side of the counter. “I’ve been through it,” and I am excited to use my experience to help others along the same path I walked years ago as a concerned consumer seeking my own diamond.
Long Story (Or, “How can I possibly shop for a diamond on the Internet?!”)
Those who know me realize I have a passion for expressing myself in written (and spoken) word. So if you are committed to reading this narrative, you may want to refill your drink and settle in for a tad, which runs only slightly longer than a bit. I guarantee nothing except the naked attempt to amuse, enlighten and entertain the gentle reader.
Step into my time machine, for to arrive at the now, we must visit years ago when I was in the prime of my musical teaching career in Texas (yee-haw) and had a special lady friend for whom I wanted to buy a diamond.
I must admit that in the year 2000 I shopped for diamonds in local B&Ms. I confess. It is true. I was almost guilty of ‘malling-it in.’
Forgive me. Like many, I was a simple hombre seeking an engagement ring with the assumption that it would be my one and only swim in the deep sea of diamonds.
As I dog-paddled from store to store and from C to shining C, (ba-da-bing!) I found prices alarmingly negotiable. Mind you I was not complaining, but the radical reductions swiftly offered by toothy gents in cheap suits sporting large watches tripped my markup alarm and pinged my BS (not Gemex) radar. During this mind-numbing process I heard that a friend of a friend had yet another friend who sold diamonds privately. How many of us have a connection like this? Well, she sent me 2 RBs for consideration. There were no grading reports. No proportions. Just 3Cs and prices scrawled on the back of business cards in the diamond parcel paper thingys. I took them into the bathroom - still one of my favorite rooms to view diamonds - and they looked as good to me as what I’d seen in the stores. Actually, I was about to pull the trigger on the deal when I thought to myself, “Self, let’s search the Internet just to get some information on diamonds first.”
Talk about your life-changing decisions.
That was when I discovered the Diamond Talk forum. With characteristic shyness (cough) I lurked for a time, reading discussions and details about the Cs. Imagine my surprise as I realized a seldom-discussed sleek and stealthy fourth C would be the most important factor in my quest. I realized this strange, elusive aspect of cut would require more than casual analysis because my brain kept getting full. At some point I learned of Diamond Trade Inc. in Dallas. This place piqued my interest because they advertised stones graded by the same “GIA” laboratory that came highly recommended by the denizens of DT (the reports I had seen in mall and similar stores had been IGI or EGL). Additionally, I was interested in viewing these new, highly touted precision cut diamonds known as – drum roll please - Hearts & Arrows. A phone call and a ride into town later I met with Danny at Diamond Trade. He spent considerable time and showed me many diamonds, including my first ideal cuts. I was amazed at how much immediate visual difference was apparent in these well-cut stones. None of the chain stores I frequented had carried a selection where the difference in cut was so evident. Diamond Trade did not have any “Hearts & Arrows” at the time, but I left with a much better understanding of how important the “fourth C” would be in my search.
My practical experience at Diamond Trade, coupled with a growing Internet education, gave me courage to revisit local stores. Armed with a modicum of knowledge in make, proportions, cut grading and lab reputability, I hit the streets again and made it my mission to view and assess hundreds of diamonds. I was shocked to find that salespeople in local jewelry stores were out of their depth when I brought up cut quality, ideal proportions or optical symmetry. I examined diamonds of all grades ranging in price from the fairly reasonable to the frankly outrageous. I was not fortunate enough to find a Wink or Jonathan running a B&M and my frustration grew as I encountered so-called ‘experts’ confidently giving misleading or erroneous information. The same toothy watch-wearers who appeared benevolent on my first trips grew dunce caps and horns when seen through cut-colored glasses.
Over the course of my mission I learned to visually separate average from well-cut diamonds with regularity, but was unable to find or view the “Hearts & Arrows” diamonds I had read so much about. As a science geek I could not settle until I had climbed to the top of the mountain I had built in my head. I asked myself “How can I possibly shop for a diamond on the internet?!” I knew it was impossible. Nevertheless, in March of 2001 I entered Diamond Talk as “Cupid” and began email discussions with several vendors, including Dirt Cheap, Duttons, Good Old Gold and Whiteflash.
If you want to follow my saga as Cupid on Diamond Talk, you’ll see that the following month was a wild ride. From mom & pop shops to mall and chain stores to Diamond Trade to Tiffany’s, to the internet and back again. I spent countless hours studying facts and reading opinions, then returned to observe diamonds armed with more information. Online comparisons became an obsession. Back in those days the learning curve was steeper because the process of acquiring information was more complex. The PS search engine did not exist, so vendors often had to be contacted “live” to discuss specifics. Of course, this required live discussion and the unique “opportunity” to filter opinion from fact. We also had to walk to and from school in the snow. Uphill. Both ways.
Comparing, assessing, considering. I am not sure when it happened, but I came to realize I had a passion and a knack for assessing beauty while crunching numbers.
An incredible offer from Barry Gutwein, of SuperbCert, resulted in my being invited (all expenses paid) – and willing – and able! – to fly to New York for the purpose of examining, analyzing and comparing an array of ideal, non-branded super-ideals and branded super-ideals by EightStar, SuperbCert and A Cut Above “side by side.” Over several days I had the unique opportunity to spend considerable time with Brian Gavin of Whiteflash, Barry Gutwein of SuperbCert and Jonathan Weingarten of Good Old Gold. I was a unique apprentice to masters with diverse backgrounds and specialties. I also enjoyed the advice and teachings of enthusiasts from the Diamond Talk forum who graciously offered their input. There was a special evening when Garry Holloway called me from Australia to assist with my understanding of proportions and light performance. To this day he remains something of a hero to me, but please do not tell him that.
My experience as a consumer was exhilarating. The learning curve was severe and demanded commitment. My respect for the knowledge of these professionals grew, along with an admiration for the craftsmanship of well-cut diamonds and a passion for their beauty. When all was said and done I made my purchase. The ride was over. It felt like I was saying goodbye to good friends. I still hung around the DT forum, but it was strange not to have daily discourse with the familiar experts I had come to know and respect.
I became engaged in July 2001 on a beautiful trip to Mexico. In October she changed her mind and she left me for good in November.
The next few months were pretty rough. My friends, my job and my faith kept me going, but it was dark times. Rock bottom, life-crushing, nothing-to-live-for weeks and months. Eventually I climbed back in the saddle of life and rededicated myself to my career and my students.
I kept posting on Diamond Talk into 2002 but was ashamed of my breakup and posted less as time marched on. I stayed interested in diamonds though, and kept current on education over the years. I discovered great enthusiasm for teaching friends and coworkers about them. They joked that I should do it for a living.
Over the next 3 years, absorbed with my professional activities, I experienced almost no contact with “the diamond people.” I’d occasionally point someone towards one of my preferred companies (note that I never received any referral fee for any of this J ). My job in music education has always been fulfilling - but I sometimes wondered whether there was something further I would do in the world of visual beauty.
2004
I was surprised, excited and honored when Brian Gavin contacted me in August of 2004. He told me Whiteflash had experienced significant growth over the years. He was interested in my services on his cut team and in the role of writer and consumer advocate. Now, here I am.
I'm a new runner in the race but I’m surrounded by great people and must express that Brian is a bona fide genius. I am learning and loving it. My passions are music, education & science so the pursuit of high forms of beauty coupled with analysis and exchange of ideas gets me hot. I guess it was a no-brainer that I would eventually do this.
This is the best part of all: My experience stems from the same roots as almost all consumers’. It was a pure quest, unmotivated by profit margins, hype or making a buck. Instead, I was spending my own hard-earned money. I learned the difference in quality levels for myself. I saw stones of average cut next to ideals next to superideals without any agenda. The best H&A are not “hype” to me at all. Precision cutting of that level has teeth that I could plainly see as John Q Public. I was not pushed to “buy into” anything by a boss trying to make sales. I saw and judged things with my own unfettered, objective eyes.
I began by shopping for a diamond on the internet. To that end I'll work my hardest to retain a consumer’s perspective as long as I am in this business. I always think “I’ve been on your side.” “I’ve been through it.” I had everything pushed at me and had to sift through layers of science, information, tools and gadgets to make my own selections. I’m well seasoned, with a dash of pepper.
I love beauty. I love teaching others. I love the science of diamonds coupled with the harmony of light performance. I love exploring the character of diamond beauty with a master each day and sharing discussions with enthusiasts and scientists here and on every level. I am at home with the balance of beauty, science and education I have discovered in doing this. My passion is pure, and intrinsically motivated by the desire to share with others the wonders I explored for myself. Above all I am driven to keep learning and to evolve.
To my musical friends, I have not left it behind. Rather, I have married the best aspects of my appreciation for harmonic beauty to my appreciation for visual beauty and have found my life richer for it.
I see my path and present course as a positive narrative and powerful motivation for others wishing to learn. After typing this I find myself grateful for the chance to share my perspective – and if you’ve made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read it.
The Short Version
Height: 5’10”
Eyes: Blue
Weight: 175 (+/- 5%)
Professional: Jewelry & Education
Hobbies: Music, Science, Sports, Porsche-Cruising, BBQ, Travel, Reading, Movies, Romance.
Pets: 2 Cats, Jordan & Kobeyashi
Favorite Literature: Henry V (Shakespeare). Don Quixote de La Mancha (Cervantes)
Philosophy: If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.
I was born in Texas as merely a child. My family moved north to Yankee-land before I ever learned to meander. I grew up, mostly, and attended college in Washington State, where I earned degrees in Music, Education and Science. The son of professional musicians who were originally from Texas, it was not surprising that my hankering after graduation was to pursue performing and teaching music a-way down yonder where my parents got their start.
For many years I served as a music educator and played drums professionally in Texas. Work as a teacher was satisfying and productive. I enjoyed reputability as a clinician and adjudicator, became endorsed as a performing artist and consultant for some drum and cymbal corporations, worked as a freelance writer, published a book of solos for young drummers and eventually worked a number of high profile jobs, including the Tournament of Roses and the Super Bowl
In August of 2004 I started working for Whiteflash. Brian Gavin knew me from years past (full story below) and offered a position where my passion for science and communication would be used to bring education and beauty to others. It’s not much different than music education, except there are diamond parcel paper thingys.
I do still remain active as a music instructor, composer and performer: Here is my curriculum vitae.
When people tell me that I march to the beat of a different drummer, my reply is. “Hey…I am the different drummer.”
It’s great to have come from the other side of the counter. “I’ve been through it,” and I am excited to use my experience to help others along the same path I walked years ago as a concerned consumer seeking my own diamond.
Long Story (Or, “How can I possibly shop for a diamond on the Internet?!”)
Those who know me realize I have a passion for expressing myself in written (and spoken) word. So if you are committed to reading this narrative, you may want to refill your drink and settle in for a tad, which runs only slightly longer than a bit. I guarantee nothing except the naked attempt to amuse, enlighten and entertain the gentle reader.
Step into my time machine, for to arrive at the now, we must visit years ago when I was in the prime of my musical teaching career in Texas (yee-haw) and had a special lady friend for whom I wanted to buy a diamond.
I must admit that in the year 2000 I shopped for diamonds in local B&Ms. I confess. It is true. I was almost guilty of ‘malling-it in.’
As I dog-paddled from store to store and from C to shining C, (ba-da-bing!) I found prices alarmingly negotiable. Mind you I was not complaining, but the radical reductions swiftly offered by toothy gents in cheap suits sporting large watches tripped my markup alarm and pinged my BS (not Gemex) radar. During this mind-numbing process I heard that a friend of a friend had yet another friend who sold diamonds privately. How many of us have a connection like this? Well, she sent me 2 RBs for consideration. There were no grading reports. No proportions. Just 3Cs and prices scrawled on the back of business cards in the diamond parcel paper thingys. I took them into the bathroom - still one of my favorite rooms to view diamonds - and they looked as good to me as what I’d seen in the stores. Actually, I was about to pull the trigger on the deal when I thought to myself, “Self, let’s search the Internet just to get some information on diamonds first.”
Talk about your life-changing decisions.
That was when I discovered the Diamond Talk forum. With characteristic shyness (cough) I lurked for a time, reading discussions and details about the Cs. Imagine my surprise as I realized a seldom-discussed sleek and stealthy fourth C would be the most important factor in my quest. I realized this strange, elusive aspect of cut would require more than casual analysis because my brain kept getting full. At some point I learned of Diamond Trade Inc. in Dallas. This place piqued my interest because they advertised stones graded by the same “GIA” laboratory that came highly recommended by the denizens of DT (the reports I had seen in mall and similar stores had been IGI or EGL). Additionally, I was interested in viewing these new, highly touted precision cut diamonds known as – drum roll please - Hearts & Arrows. A phone call and a ride into town later I met with Danny at Diamond Trade. He spent considerable time and showed me many diamonds, including my first ideal cuts. I was amazed at how much immediate visual difference was apparent in these well-cut stones. None of the chain stores I frequented had carried a selection where the difference in cut was so evident. Diamond Trade did not have any “Hearts & Arrows” at the time, but I left with a much better understanding of how important the “fourth C” would be in my search.
If you want to follow my saga as Cupid on Diamond Talk, you’ll see that the following month was a wild ride. From mom & pop shops to mall and chain stores to Diamond Trade to Tiffany’s, to the internet and back again. I spent countless hours studying facts and reading opinions, then returned to observe diamonds armed with more information. Online comparisons became an obsession. Back in those days the learning curve was steeper because the process of acquiring information was more complex. The PS search engine did not exist, so vendors often had to be contacted “live” to discuss specifics. Of course, this required live discussion and the unique “opportunity” to filter opinion from fact. We also had to walk to and from school in the snow. Uphill. Both ways.
Comparing, assessing, considering. I am not sure when it happened, but I came to realize I had a passion and a knack for assessing beauty while crunching numbers.
An incredible offer from Barry Gutwein, of SuperbCert, resulted in my being invited (all expenses paid) – and willing – and able! – to fly to New York for the purpose of examining, analyzing and comparing an array of ideal, non-branded super-ideals and branded super-ideals by EightStar, SuperbCert and A Cut Above “side by side.” Over several days I had the unique opportunity to spend considerable time with Brian Gavin of Whiteflash, Barry Gutwein of SuperbCert and Jonathan Weingarten of Good Old Gold. I was a unique apprentice to masters with diverse backgrounds and specialties. I also enjoyed the advice and teachings of enthusiasts from the Diamond Talk forum who graciously offered their input. There was a special evening when Garry Holloway called me from Australia to assist with my understanding of proportions and light performance. To this day he remains something of a hero to me, but please do not tell him that.
My experience as a consumer was exhilarating. The learning curve was severe and demanded commitment. My respect for the knowledge of these professionals grew, along with an admiration for the craftsmanship of well-cut diamonds and a passion for their beauty. When all was said and done I made my purchase. The ride was over. It felt like I was saying goodbye to good friends. I still hung around the DT forum, but it was strange not to have daily discourse with the familiar experts I had come to know and respect.
I became engaged in July 2001 on a beautiful trip to Mexico. In October she changed her mind and she left me for good in November.
I kept posting on Diamond Talk into 2002 but was ashamed of my breakup and posted less as time marched on. I stayed interested in diamonds though, and kept current on education over the years. I discovered great enthusiasm for teaching friends and coworkers about them. They joked that I should do it for a living.
Over the next 3 years, absorbed with my professional activities, I experienced almost no contact with “the diamond people.” I’d occasionally point someone towards one of my preferred companies (note that I never received any referral fee for any of this J ). My job in music education has always been fulfilling - but I sometimes wondered whether there was something further I would do in the world of visual beauty.
2004
I was surprised, excited and honored when Brian Gavin contacted me in August of 2004. He told me Whiteflash had experienced significant growth over the years. He was interested in my services on his cut team and in the role of writer and consumer advocate. Now, here I am.
This is the best part of all: My experience stems from the same roots as almost all consumers’. It was a pure quest, unmotivated by profit margins, hype or making a buck. Instead, I was spending my own hard-earned money. I learned the difference in quality levels for myself. I saw stones of average cut next to ideals next to superideals without any agenda. The best H&A are not “hype” to me at all. Precision cutting of that level has teeth that I could plainly see as John Q Public. I was not pushed to “buy into” anything by a boss trying to make sales. I saw and judged things with my own unfettered, objective eyes.
I began by shopping for a diamond on the internet. To that end I'll work my hardest to retain a consumer’s perspective as long as I am in this business. I always think “I’ve been on your side.” “I’ve been through it.” I had everything pushed at me and had to sift through layers of science, information, tools and gadgets to make my own selections. I’m well seasoned, with a dash of pepper.
To my musical friends, I have not left it behind. Rather, I have married the best aspects of my appreciation for harmonic beauty to my appreciation for visual beauty and have found my life richer for it.
I see my path and present course as a positive narrative and powerful motivation for others wishing to learn. After typing this I find myself grateful for the chance to share my perspective – and if you’ve made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read it.
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