Griffin
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2003
- Messages
- 239
I have noticed several threads that bring up confusion about the differences between production pieces with vs. without "name", and how these pieces are produced as well as the differences that affect quality.
I have also recieved private queries as to the quality of the "no name" mounts offered by some of the online diamond vendors here, and people worried about thier low cost.
I also note that people are confused by the occasional lack of quality or setting expertise with some of the expensive designer names, particularly the most expensive and largest "names".
To make a very very long story short, in the production of jewelry the types of methods and equipment used, and the resultant compromises and tradeoffs are entirely dependent on the QUANTITY produced, not the desired quality of the finished pieces.
In other words, whether it is chain store jewelry, high quality pieces, or designer "name" pieces, they are all made using the same equipment and methods. The impression that high quality "name" jewelry is fundamentally made any differently is patently false. The methods are based soley on the numbers.
Secondly, the larger the numbers, the harder it is to maintain quality, and the more attractive "shortcuts" become when economy of scale sets in.
For example, lightening a piece to save $5 in gold makes little sense when producing 10 or 100, but at 10,000 units a month gets pretty attractive...
Same goes for skilled benchmen. The choice of $60/hour for veteran benchmen vs. $6/hour for bench monkeys doesn't sound so hard when you need 200 workers on your floor. More commonly $2/day for 12-year olds in Bali is the choice.
Horrid Secret #1. Popularity and quality are not in any way directly related, and in fact are sometimes nearly mutually exclusive. When a line is popular it moves huge numbers of units. Invariably the factors above come into play.
Horrid secret #2. The "Copies" aren't always copies. There are only so many ways to make something metal and round.
Many of the trademark styles made famous at any given time have been around for decades before they were made famous by some "name", usually having had nothing to do with designing them in the first place.
If you throw enough money around that a style simply becomes synonymous with your "name", eventually everyone just assumes anything similar is a "knockoff" and inferior to your "original".
Horrid secret #3. A successful "name" has nothing to do with either designing or quality. The "name" brands are popular simply because they can afford to buy an image. This may come as a shock to some, but this is usually the sole causal reason they are popular in the first place.
Most "names" personally are either fictional, dead, retired, CEO's, or just in the Caribbean getting laid.
Do you think they actually make the designs in the first place? No. Creative or marketing directors study new market trends, then hire people like me to create thier designs and put the "name" on them. BTW - Often the same independents that also do work for "no name" firms.
When you give your money to a "name" designer, a guy on a magazine cover with a private jet or the corporation hiring him as a figurehead may get the money, but some independent party will have actually made the design that gets credited to the name of the figurehead, some low-paid wage monkey in a factory in the third world is the one producing the ring, and another slightly less horridly-paid wage monkey in a factory in the U.S. is setting it while our "name" is off doing his real job, a PR photo op.
Do you really need to wonder why, as people here have said, after putting down an equivalant to a down payment of a house they get a crappily set ring with crooked stones, or why the quality looks better on some "copies" than the identical "name" piece?
Who can make better quality coffee, a local roaster or McStarbucks? It's all sheer numbers and more isn't better. You won't hear anyone (intelligent anyway) claiming small cafes to be knockoffs or inherently inferior will you?
Why in the mounting and diamond industries then?
In summation, the only real difference between "name" and "no name" brands is the marketing budget of the parent company and the resulting retail price. You don't buy just a "name" mounting, you are buying them ad space on the back of a magazine to show a picture of that mounting as well.
Even if the price is lower, "no name" mounts can often have equal or better quality. Now you know a bit as to why.
I have also recieved private queries as to the quality of the "no name" mounts offered by some of the online diamond vendors here, and people worried about thier low cost.
I also note that people are confused by the occasional lack of quality or setting expertise with some of the expensive designer names, particularly the most expensive and largest "names".
To make a very very long story short, in the production of jewelry the types of methods and equipment used, and the resultant compromises and tradeoffs are entirely dependent on the QUANTITY produced, not the desired quality of the finished pieces.
In other words, whether it is chain store jewelry, high quality pieces, or designer "name" pieces, they are all made using the same equipment and methods. The impression that high quality "name" jewelry is fundamentally made any differently is patently false. The methods are based soley on the numbers.
Secondly, the larger the numbers, the harder it is to maintain quality, and the more attractive "shortcuts" become when economy of scale sets in.
For example, lightening a piece to save $5 in gold makes little sense when producing 10 or 100, but at 10,000 units a month gets pretty attractive...
Same goes for skilled benchmen. The choice of $60/hour for veteran benchmen vs. $6/hour for bench monkeys doesn't sound so hard when you need 200 workers on your floor. More commonly $2/day for 12-year olds in Bali is the choice.
Horrid Secret #1. Popularity and quality are not in any way directly related, and in fact are sometimes nearly mutually exclusive. When a line is popular it moves huge numbers of units. Invariably the factors above come into play.
Horrid secret #2. The "Copies" aren't always copies. There are only so many ways to make something metal and round.
Many of the trademark styles made famous at any given time have been around for decades before they were made famous by some "name", usually having had nothing to do with designing them in the first place.
If you throw enough money around that a style simply becomes synonymous with your "name", eventually everyone just assumes anything similar is a "knockoff" and inferior to your "original".
Horrid secret #3. A successful "name" has nothing to do with either designing or quality. The "name" brands are popular simply because they can afford to buy an image. This may come as a shock to some, but this is usually the sole causal reason they are popular in the first place.
Most "names" personally are either fictional, dead, retired, CEO's, or just in the Caribbean getting laid.
Do you think they actually make the designs in the first place? No. Creative or marketing directors study new market trends, then hire people like me to create thier designs and put the "name" on them. BTW - Often the same independents that also do work for "no name" firms.
When you give your money to a "name" designer, a guy on a magazine cover with a private jet or the corporation hiring him as a figurehead may get the money, but some independent party will have actually made the design that gets credited to the name of the figurehead, some low-paid wage monkey in a factory in the third world is the one producing the ring, and another slightly less horridly-paid wage monkey in a factory in the U.S. is setting it while our "name" is off doing his real job, a PR photo op.
Do you really need to wonder why, as people here have said, after putting down an equivalant to a down payment of a house they get a crappily set ring with crooked stones, or why the quality looks better on some "copies" than the identical "name" piece?
Who can make better quality coffee, a local roaster or McStarbucks? It's all sheer numbers and more isn't better. You won't hear anyone (intelligent anyway) claiming small cafes to be knockoffs or inherently inferior will you?
Why in the mounting and diamond industries then?
In summation, the only real difference between "name" and "no name" brands is the marketing budget of the parent company and the resulting retail price. You don't buy just a "name" mounting, you are buying them ad space on the back of a magazine to show a picture of that mounting as well.
Even if the price is lower, "no name" mounts can often have equal or better quality. Now you know a bit as to why.
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