When you walk into a jewelry store...

[GliderPoss]

I'm not sure about me being superficially judged but I've definitely surprised a few sales assistants in jewellery stores with my knowledge. Went into Canturi in Melbourne fairly casually dressed, they were friendly & polite but probably get a lot of window shoppers. I admired one of their high end pieces (see below) and they challenged me to guess the stones - I quickly (& correctly) guessed every single gemstone in it, they were quite shocked and suddenly starting bring out more fun stuff for me to try on and play with! Usually it's ME judging them on their knowledge...

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I thinl on the whole ive only really had good experiences
When i was 20 on my first overseas trip, to South Africa a group of us young kiwis hit the shops
they had really beautuful shops compaired to what we had at home
It was durring the santions so they made overseas visitors very welcome and especially NZers because of their love of rugby
a sales lady has us try on a R50,000 ring
the exchange rate was no where near as bad in those days, that was an exspensive ring in 1992

Im pretty sure she knew i couldn't afford it but she was genuinely nice

Next stop was the vaal reef gold mine where we not only went underground to look at the seam but we watched a gold pore
And they wheeled out a gold bar for us to fawn over
hollywood always cracks me up how they have gold bars in suitcases
this one weighed 26kg and they said if we could pick it up with one hand we could keep it
We tried
we all really tried

 

[AprilBaby]

Yes, to size me up to see if I can afford anything. I prefer to wear almost nothing in so they don’t try and sell me up.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Ok now I need to hear more!

Here you go! All in the first post!

He was seriously bizzare!

The most bizarre encounter EVER at a jewellery store while trying to hunt for a setting

Hi Folks! I had the most crazy experience today while looking for a setting for my 5.9mm emerald. No stones were harmed in this process. Thought I'd get that out of the way first. So I was heading off to this far away suburb with my little sister to eat chicken with crispy skin and soup noodle...

www.pricescope.com

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@mellowyellowgirl, that is a great (albeit bizarre) story. Gotta wonder about people sometimes, must be an interesting world to live in

 

[monarch64]

do you think the sales associates pay any attention to the type of jewelry you have on?

Having been a sales associate at a suburban Chicago jeweler and prior to that working in upscale retail, sure, I paid attention to clients' pieces. I also knew from years of experience in retail and having been part of a family who owned businesses for several generations that you never judge a book by its cover. Some of my biggest sales were to people who were casually dressed and whom you might think worked random blue-collar jobs. But that's what made me good at sales--my open and friendly attitude and a demeanor that wasn't over-eager. I'm from the Midwest and that's kind of how we roll here.

But @Dancing Fire I quoted your OP because I want to tell you a funny story. When I was about 27-28, I decided I wanted to work in the jewelry industry and I applied to several well-known jewelers in the affluent near west suburbs of Chicago. One of them is owned by a prominent Asian family. I was called and interviewed by the wife. She sized me up visually right away. First she wanted to know who designed my watch (it was a $20 knockoff of a Michele, I think, but it had a purple "croc" strap and faux diamonds all around the bezel as was the style back in the 2000s). I told her it was a cheapie. Then she looked me up and down and said "well, you have VERY NICE FIGURE." Then she asked me a few more questions and that was the extent of the interview. I never got a call back, thankfully. I don't think I could've lived up to her standards!!! LOL
ETA: At the time I had a 1.5 RB and 1.4 ctw wedding band all in platinum on my left hand. So it wasn't like I didn't come in with at least ONE gun blazing. Haha.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Here you go! All in the first post!

He was seriously bizzare!

The most bizarre encounter EVER at a jewellery store while trying to hunt for a setting

Hi Folks! I had the most crazy experience today while looking for a setting for my 5.9mm emerald. No stones were harmed in this process. Thought I'd get that out of the way first. So I was heading off to this far away suburb with my little sister to eat chicken with crispy skin and soup noodle...

www.pricescope.com

Now im starving

 

[lilmosun]

I assume that it's natural for a jewelry associate to notice what jewelry their customer is wearing...after all it's their field of interest. It's not uncommon for someone to ask about one of my pieces - not because they are overly expensive - but because I wear mostly colored stones and it's a way to make conversation..

If I am seriously jewelry shopping, I often only wear a ring on one hand (or nothing) because it's easier to try things on if you have nothing to take off.

I don't want anyone selling to me because of perceived worth...I'd rather pick what I want and hope they will give me a deal, lol. And if I feel I am being snubbed, I'm happy to take my business elsewhere.

 

[kb1gra]

You know, I've never really had a problem with service, etc.

It's funny, because my mom is terrified of fancy places, as if she's not allowed inside.

I took her on a grand tour of a few stores, finishing at Hermes, where I have a long relationship - they fussed and mussed and this was in Palm Beach, where there are assuredly somebodies who are not us. My mom was so impressed.

I wear whatever I feel like - I am a jeans and t shirts person, don't even really care for nice shoes (though I own some that I wear on business). If I'm shopping, I might have a nice handbag but my jeans are probably from target. Still, my credit card goes through for big $$, so they never seem to have a problem with me.

 

[Polabowla]

Here you go! All in the first post!

He was seriously bizzare!

The most bizarre encounter EVER at a jewellery store while trying to hunt for a setting

Hi Folks! I had the most crazy experience today while looking for a setting for my 5.9mm emerald. No stones were harmed in this process. Thought I'd get that out of the way first. So I was heading off to this far away suburb with my little sister to eat chicken with crispy skin and soup noodle...

www.pricescope.com

Oh my word. Wow
That is so so incredibly bizarre. I don't even have words. What even? Truly strange.

 

[autumngems]

Yes of course, I see people look at my hands as soon as I get into the jewelry store.

 

[lambskin]

Casually dressed with no bling, when I go into a jewelry store and pick out a few pieces to try on,my cover is blown. I tend to pick out the most expensive piece based on quality,color, setting etc rather than size. The sales person is usually surprised.I learned early on when buying oriental carpets that the sales folks can tell what kind of money/experience you have by what you pick out And the Educated questions you ask about a piece. I do think that you may get a better price if you don’t wear a lot of bling.

 

[missy]

I go like this. Good, no?

 

[Yelena]

A good sales person will notice regardless of why they are choosing to notice. I walked into a jewelry store once just browsing to kill a bit of time and the two sales assistants obviously loved jewelry themselves as they noticed the tourmaline ring I was wearing and we ended up talking jewelry. No hard sell or anything like that. If it’s an interest (and let’s face it, if you want to sell jewelry then it helps to have a passion for it) then regardless of whether you sell the stuff or not you are going to notice.

 

[Austina]

I would expect them to look and see what you’re wearing, not necessarily to see if you can afford what they’re selling, but to see what kind of jewellery you like.

Years ago I took my AAAA tanzanites to be valued at a high street jeweller, Safeguard (who are associated with the Assay office here) hosted events at HS stores. The SA was really snotty and asked where I’d bought them, when I told her she said “I thought so” in a scathing manner, to which I replied “Yes, you just don’t sell anything of this quality” and walked out.