23 replies to this topic

[LdyNghtWng]

I thought the gridle was there to cook the cutlet?

[Feydakin]

I actually disagree with #10 if it's too narrowly defined.. We may not have what you want when you want it, but I bet we know someone who does.. I think that you will find that the better jewelers actually have no issues with working with each other on a project to make someone that perfect piece of jewelry..

I'm sure that many of us have referred customers to "competitors" or had them referred to us.. You will find that at a certain level these jewelers tend to be a notch above the rest that are more concerned with the "sale".. I know that I have worked with several jewelers on this board to complete a jewelry project and have always been thrilled to work with them.. And I would never have a problem with referring someone that I could not help to any of them..

[denverappraiser]

Good point. Perhaps I should rewrite that. The reason I included it is because each jeweler has their own different approach to things and they don't all carry the same goods. Customers who seek out Tiffany's or a similar branded store because they like the status associated with the name and the shopping experience at the stores are unlikely to be happy with a no-frills dealer, even if the merchandise is comparable. Similarly, a customer looking for a large fancy colored diamond may very well do better seeking out a different source than when they are looking to add a charm to a bracelet or need to have an antique masterpiece repaired. All of these sources could be excellent dealers in their own right but may not be right for the task at hand.

Recommendations from dealers to other dealers would fall under #8-references and I agree that it is a good sign for both dealers when this occurs.

Neil

[Sir Aurik]

I found myself an excellent jeweler by accident. I walked in there one day sorta kinda looking for a sapphire pendant for my girlfriend. I walked in, and found myself talking to the owner's wife, and the owner was in back. We actually got to talking about cars first, because he's a Corvette enthusiast, and I had just pulled up into the parking lot in my Corvette (I suppose that helped a bit).

Anyhow, we got to talking about what I was looking for, and he had a few nice pendants in the display, but not quite what I wanted. So he reached under the display case and pulled out a stack of storage/display boxes with dozens of more pendands in there. In about the third box I found exactly what I wanted; it was a nice white gold pendant with a beautiful blue sapphire, and a few baguette diamonds and round diamonds to accent it, and he was willing to sell it to me for a price well within my price range. I probably spent and hour or two in there that first time, just talking to the guy and him getting to know exactly what I wanted (I didn't know what I exactly wanted when I walked in, but I knew what I DIDN'T want). He even offered to make a special trip to his supplier if I didn't see exactly the size / shape / colour stones I was interested in. He just said I'd need to come back in a couple days in that event.

My girlfriend absolutely loved the pendant (it was an anniversary present, 1 year together), and she wears it often. She later had it appraised independently for insurance purposes, and the appraisal value is about 3x what I actually paid for it. I've bought a couple of other pieces from him since, and every time he's treated me very fairly, patiently, and helped me find exactly what I wanted. The problem is he has so much high quality, reasonably-priced merchandise that I can't AFFORD to visit him often.

In any case, I also found out that he's got a jeweler on retainer who does some excellent custom work, so when it does become time to buy her The Ring, he'll be the first place I go back to visit.