Deception in the Jewelry Business

Deception in the Jewelry Business

We all want our great grandmother's red stone ring to have a genuine ruby set in it. It is similar emotionally to believing that I am a prince or princess that is not being raised by their real parents. The Kingdom of Zoom is going to find me, and I will be somebody. In the past, when a friend or acquaintance asked me to look at these precious legacies, I was reluctant to tell them that the stone was synthetic. I did not make friends with the truth, but the truth is that the technology of creating synthetics has been here since the 19^th century.

I was breaking a fantasy by being honest. My great grandmother was either coming from Europe on a ship in steerage or crossing the country on a Conestoga wagon depending on the maternal or paternal side. The person requesting the analysis probably did not have great grandparents that were royalty either.

As a professional jeweler or craftsperson, we need to create a well crafted and beautiful piece. Deceiving the recipients of our work by stating that the stone is a smoky topaz instead of a smoky quartz diminishes our credibility. If the customer insists that the stone has been called a smoky topaz by another dealer, I would remark that the term is a nickname. A similar problem that I encounter from the public is alexandrites that are purchased south of the border. These jewelry pieces are sold as alexandrite jewelry and not synthetic alexandrite jewelry. The stones are beautiful, but people are fooled by their own fantasies.

For me, the worst injustices occur in the descriptions about metals. On television, I see coins that are 14K gold filled being sold as if they are 14K gold. I will go into this further in a blog about weights and measurements. As an example, a one ounce 14K gold coin has 5% of 58% of 24 Karat gold (which is pure gold). At $1200 an ounce that coin is worth $34.80 in gold. That is fairly distant from $1200 an ounce. When the customer realizes the deception, he/she feels hurt or angry or both. Another fraudulent practice is the selling of total weight pieces, particularly diamonds, as if the piece has one exceptional stone. In gemstones, size and quality make a huge difference in value.

I think it is very dangerous to sell gemstones and precious metals as investments. Many big name retailers play the deception game. The truth comes out in the pawn shop. The metal is only worth the metal, and diamonds have a standard pawn value, usually a dollar amount by the point. In jewelry as well as any adornment, emphasize the quality of craftsmanship and the beauty of the components. Integrity brings the customer back

ALTERNATIVES TO SETTING GEMSTONES IN 14K GOLD

      With the price of gold soaring, jewelry artists are going to need to be not only creative in their art but in the metal settings and findings that they use.  Unless they are thinking about using gold foil stickers for rings, (I got the idea from a small child),  jewelers need to rethink affordability.  Mainstream buyers were stretching their budgets at $200 at ounce gold to purchase pieces.  Gold  is now priced between $1100 and $1400 an ounce.

     Silver has also risen in price.  Although customers and designers of jewelry are uncomfortable with rising prices, silver is definitely affordable. Silver is  recognized in the precious metals category along with platinum and gold.  Whereas gold cannot be pure to use in jewelry because of its pliability and affordability, sterling silver is 92% pure.  Silver also requires less heat to size rings or to solder.  Silver is a good second choice unless the customer does not like white metal or has allergies to its alloys.

      There are other materials to enhance gemstones that craftspeople can use and customers can afford as long as the seller is honest about the metal content.  The discussion of deception is coming up in my next blog.  Gold plated and gold filled certainly are attractive alternatives to 14K gold.  Sizing becomes an issue because additional work needs to be done to maintain color after an adjustment is made.   In any case, the glitter remains as well as the affordability.  I will also discuss the difference between plated and filled soon.

     In the past,  hobbyists set their jasper, picture rock and other interesting "rock jewelry" in base metal findings to lower the cost of manufacturing.  Jade, amethyst and other cabochons were also set in base metal.  The same dies that stamped out gold, silver, gold-filled, etc. jewelry settings and findings are used for base metal settings.  Please comment on whether you feel that it is appropriate in today's precious metal markets to use these base metal findings with gemstoness.  I will post your responses.

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