[Jewelry making - Article 00020] - Re: [Orchid] Gemstone Treatments

[Susannah Wiseman]

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    hello everybody! i assume here that everyone sets fair prices for
    their work - ie, they take their time, cost of materials, and
    overhead into account when pricing, and set a price the market will
    bear. 

    i am under the impression that a natural sapphire would cost
    thousands of dollars, whereas a treated one would not. if a stone is
    sold as untreated when it is, in fact, treated, that is the unethical
    part. if you have a treated stone, disclose it as so, and then ask
    the price of an untreated stone, that is plumb silly. ;) 

    if people in your area want to pay thousands of dollars for a
    treated stone disclosed as such, then give the customer what they
    want. ;) 

    or, you could do the "emperor's new clothes" approach to jewelery,
    which is what the big chain stores do. you could not even bother
    trying to get pretty stones, sell them at a hefty markup, and in the
    meantime, tell customers "this is fine jewelery." 

    i tell my customers that most gemstones have been treated in some
    way - either with heat, filling, irradiation, what have you. then i
    tell them the truth: the accent stones i purchased, and have probably
    been treated. however, the center stone is cut from a rock i found,
    then i give them the story of that day when i found the rock.
    generally, the piece sells. 

    i think all parties have presented valid points on this issue; esp.
    gerry, who obviously cares deeply about the stones he cuts and sells.
    however, i also think we have gotten a little carried away with
    details. emails are starting to read like tax instructions. ;)
    perhaps the best thing for everyone would be if the parties most
    interested in this subject could discuss it one on one rather than
    going after each other in front of the whole group. (this is meant in
    the friendliest possible way). susannah wiseman Wiseman's Workshop 
    sgsjbears AT netzero.net

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