QuestionHi Thomas.
I have always been told by my grandmother to never take your eye off
your jewelry at a jewelers. She swears that my great-grandmother's
diamond was swapped. So, I'm a little nervous about my wedding ring
that has become too loose. We recently moved so I don't know anything
about the jewelers in this area. I would like to have it resized, but the
places that I have called so far need it for a couple days (maybe they
send it out.) And, I would feel most comfortable watching. Is that
unrealistic? How long should it take if I am able to set up an
appointment? Or, is there anyway to make sure you get your original
diamond back? I'm not sure if I know enough to be able to recognize it.
Thanks for your help.
Jenn
AnswerThis is to correct a couple of important typos! Sorry.
Jenn, I have no magic way to instill trust between you and a jeweler. I do believe your grandmother was well intentioned but perhaps exaggerated the danger. If it happened to her, I understand the reason for concern.
In reality, jewelry businesses which are established and reputable will NOT risk their entire reputation by "switching a stone" and they simply do not do it because of integrity.
You might check a local bureau of the "chamber of commerce" or "better business bureau" or similar organizations in the area and ask if they have any negative reports on the businesses you consider using for the work.
Turnaround time of 2 days tells me they are likely NOT sending the work out. Generally, work farmed to a trade shop takes longer than that. Two days is pretty fast overall, if the business has any volume of repair and sizing work to do at all. We generally run about a week with two jewelers working in the store. Custom work will take much longer.
Some jewelers will charge an added fee for "express service" or for putting your work ahead of others that came in before yours but will get it done faster or even the same day..but the cost is higher. Ask about that.
Appointment to watch the work being done? The last thing a jeweler wants is to be watched while doing work on a customers ring. This has nothing to do with integrity but the idea that if anything is going to go wrong, even in a simple resizing, it will happen in such a circumstance. That seems to be the case in my experience but there is no statistic to prove it really happens. The customer will be surprised to see how the work is done, not realizing how messy a ring can look between the soldering stages and the final polishing stages! The only way to see if a jeweler will actually let you watch(insurance may prevent spectators in the work room!) is to ask. Then ask when and how much. Believe me, they would rather you go somewhere else than to peer over their shoulders while the work is being done! Again, this has to do with the nature of the work,not the honesty of the jeweler.
The best more you can do is check around and ask folks if they have used "such and such" jewelry store and get opinions.
Personally, from the jewelry businesses with which I am familiar, "switching stones" is the least of things to happen and very unlikely. Choose a store which appears to be established and has been in the location for several years. Does the operation look clean, neat and well organized? Does the business appear to have a good following of customers? These observations will help.
You may also directly mention to the jeweler your fears. Tell them you are not familiar with the local stores and are quite concerned. Can they help ease your concerns?
Some will simply ask you to go somewhere else, again not because of integrity but because a suspicious customer can be "unwarranted trouble" down the road.
This one is almost funny: I had one lady accuse me of changing her stones because the color "changed". The color did not change..the stones were covered with years of hand lotions, etc. and looked yellow. When clean they where white sparkling stones. She could not be convinced her stones were not yellow to start with or that the stones were that dirty. We told her give it a while and all would look as it did, if she kept the same habits of not cleaning her jewelry!
Would it be worth it to switch a stone? If a jeweler was of the dishonest type, the only way it would be worth it to "try" and deceive the customer this way would be if the stone was very, very special and of significant value. Then the jeweler would have to have a stone similar in size and appearance but lower in quality to make the switch work. CZ stones are too easily spotted and that will not do. I believe it would not be worth the risk by a "dishonest jeweler" unless the chance of escape was large and the profit was even larger.
Personally, I do not believe you have realistic fears here. Still, to ease your mind, ask the jeweler if you can watch the work done and explain exactly why. That will get you either to another store or give you a look at the work being done. Fair enough?
I do hope these words will in some way give you means to ease the fear of stone switching and find a reputable jeweler to do the work. Let me know if you need more, using the "follow-up" option if you wish.
God Bless and Peace. Thomas. November 12,2006
