What is going on with SNBC jewelry and vendors?

[Annick_RN]

What is going on with the great jewelry vendors from SNBC? It appears to me
that most of the top vendors are either gone or have gone backwards in terms of
quality. Sonia Bitton has only one page of clearance jewelry left before she''s
probably gone for good, no new items and no upcoming shows. As far as Beverly
hills Elegance collection is concerned this line has gone downhill, the quality
of the stones are extremely poor with flimsy gold settings.
I am so grateful for being able to purchase and built the terrific and
substantial jewelry wardrobe that I own today. I started collecting and
purchasing jewelry from shopnbc in the late 1990''S and through this past year. I
own so many beautiful pieces from Sonia Bitton, Beverly hills Elegance,Effy,
White-hot-a-la mode by Samuel Behnam, Dallas Prince etc, but my bulk jewelry
truly comes from Sonia Bitton, Effy and Beverly Hills Elegance which include
many classic, rare, unusual, superb quality of stones and super heavy & weighty
gold settings, I am so happy that I bought when I did.
Recently though just for my curiousity, I had several of those pieces
appraised and they appraised more than 4 times of what I paid.... Had I known
that things would turn out this way, that prices of gold, diamonds and precious
gemstones would skyrocketed as such, I would have bought much more, although I
must admit I own a large collection of high end jewelry it is all due to SNBC
for the great prices and value pays which made/make it a little sweeter and more
manageable... I really miss all the great deals and to be honest I am even a
little angry at times... Do you feel the same as I do? Looking forward to
reading your responses...Thanks

 

[gemgirl]

Since the beginning of this year, Shop NBC has shifted a large percentage of the buying dollars from fine jewelry to hard goods because of the inflated prices of precious metals and diamonds. Also because for the last year and a half, people haven''t had the disposable income to spend that they used to have. Air time still costs money and they have to try to make their sales figures how ever they can.

Also as of the beginning of this year, they requested that all of their fine jewelry manufacturers down grade their diamond color and clarity, and lower their price points. Ito and Beverly Hills Elegance chose to down grade (which is a shame because I own two nice H/I VS pieces from them and they produced a really decent product). Dallas Prince jumped ship and is now with HSN. The first of her new shows was two weeks ago. Sonia refuses to down grade. It''s her name and her reputation behind her products and she''s never produced "I" clarity goods before. We may see her back at some point though. She and Shop are still talking every few months. Effy, I''m not sure. I haven''t heard anything specific about them. Chuck is still selling his usual gack. I know Chuck too, so I really shouldn''t say that

. He''s a pleasant enough fellow. He just always chases the dollar, no matter what he has to do to grab that dollar.

Do you remember Michael Scheinman? His family owned OTC for decades. Well not anymore from what I hear. They made some of the nicest 18K gold jewelry in the world. Shop''s Italian gold buying reps are gone. I just saw Meredith selling gold jewelry on another channel a couple of months ago. Pretty much EVERYTHING has changed at Shop NBC. They''re even losing their main clothing line as of Jan. 1, 2010. I''ve never bought clothing from them but a lot of women are unhappy about that.

I never bought all that much in the way of diamond pieces from them because I prefer to see what I''m buying for myself. I did buy a hell of a lot of gold back in the day Shop was Value Vision, when gold was $260 to $280 and I did use those Value Pays every time. I''m very happy I did because I own much more than the average women and I''d never have what I have if not for VV. I even bought some platinum jewelry when platinum was retailing for $30 to $40 a gram

. That''s going way back.

I doubt that they''ll ever be the same again. Unless you''re a watch nut, I think you''ll be unhappy with them for a very long time to come.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Wow Gemgirl, I''m amazed at your knowledge of the situation. How do you know so much about SNBC?

 

[gemgirl]

I met and knew alot of the show hosts through different live events they used to hold once a year "way back when" when Shop was Value Vision. I knew some of the buyers too. They''re gone now except for one I think. It used to be kind of fun in the old days. I also have a friend who used to sell to Shop. Then there are the many many women who are still hooked on knowing what''s going on behind the scenes. I''m not one of those, but I do have friends who are. I''m not a good fan. One of the show hosts asked me at a buffet dinner at Shop one evening if I wanted his autograph. I told him I''d take his only if he wanted mine. He stepped back and laughed. I never looked at them like they were something special. They put their pants on one leg at a time, just like we do.

I stopped watching years ago when things started to change. Now if I happen to see it while I''m channel surfing, I watch for a minute or two, but I don''t enjoy it anymore myself. I''m just thinking, I even met John & Laura Ramsey (John was a colored stone cutter and Laura was a jewelry designer) when they had huge meet and greet right here on Long Island. I didn''t even have to go far for that one.

Then too, a couple of former lives ago, I worked for the company that became CVN, then split off to become QVC and Value Vision. So I sort of have a sentimental soft spot for some of the Minneapolis folk. One of my friends from pre-CVN days is still on the air today.