[Jewelry making - Article 00052] - Re: [Orchid] Heat treatment RANT **CAUTION**

[Downey]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========


>         So here it is your car isn't performing as you rightfully
>     expected - and you decide to investigate why you're having these
>     unexpected problems. Lo and behold, you find out that the car you
>     bought had been involved in a nasty collision - and you've
>     basically paid for a bondo-buggy with a bent frame.    Personally I
>     wish every valuable item I purchased that falls well beyond my area
>     of expertise was scrutinized one-tenth of what valuable gems and
>     jewelry are. 


    With respect, I believe your analogy is a false one. At least on
    this level. The 'performance and durability' of MOST treated
    gemstones is no less than that of the much rarer natural stone (all
    other factors equal). That is to say, a lady could get exactly the
    same 'wear and tear' from Swiss Blue topaz as from some pale blue
    natural material - no difference in any way. The bumper's not gonna
    fall off the stone<g>. Some say it may not be ethical to at least
    mention the possibility that the SB topaz was treated by man, I
    would, but there is ONLY ONE MEASURE by which you could say the
    'enhanced' gem had less value. That is YOU PERSONALLY place a high
    value on it's 'naturalness'. A feature that would be difficult to
    prove to you, relying primarily on salemanship. To use the car
    example, it's less like the physical condition/reliability of the
    car and more like "I love Elvis and the salesman showed me a picture
    of Elvis driving this car - that's good enough for me!" That's an
    EMOTIONAL attachment to the car that has little to do with its
    physicality. 


>         In my humble opinion, independent jewelers are the unsung
>     heroes of this industry. These are the people who know the meaning
>     of the term "the jewelers arts" and care enough about their
>     customers to WANT to make sure they don't unwittingly end up with a
>     gem version of a bondo-special. Not because they're worried about a
>     lawsuit, but because they sincerely care about their clients and
>     hope they'll come back again. 

    I like your positive attitude and mostly agree, unfortunately they
    ARE unsung (and unheeded) and lose out to the big mass marketers all
    the time. 
 
>             Ours is not a trade to get rich quick in. Nor is it one
>     promising an easy path. People who succeed in this industry do so
>     because they love their work and take pride in going the extra
>     mile - or ten! I don't mean to sound cold here but if someone feels
>     it's too much trouble to do all that is required of a jeweler, that
>     person would probably be happier and more prosperous doing
>     something else instead. And the industry is probably better off
>     without such individuals as well.  As for myself, I'm grateful to
>     all our colleagues who make it possible for us to sell - and for
>     our customers to buy - with confidence. My hat is off to all the
>     dedicated, hard working people who spend hours identifying
>     microscopic details which translate into massive value AND
>     durability differences. Without them, we could ALL kiss our careers
>     good-bye. 


    I'd say that without the advertising done by DeBeers to convince
    guys to spend 2 months wages on an engagement ring and the recent
    phenomena of beaming shopping channels hawking colored stones with
    funny names into the coccoons of average folks we'd be in a lot of
    trouble. Again, I DO understand the attempt to protect the consumer
    from their own ignorance and the predatory practices of a few. I'm
    NOT advocating that its OK to fraudulently sell a topaz as an aqua
    or say a 'hot' irradiated cats eye chrysoberyl is safe (some
    recently got on the market out of China). Occasionally uranium glass
    comes up as faceting rough, if you want to inhale an alpha emmiter
    go ahead and cut it, I don't want to. I WANT people to be educated. 
    "If you manage to make the world foolproof, you will soon have a
    world full of fools".   But be honest enough with yourselves to just
    say it. "I have an emotional attachment to 'naturalness'". A lot of
    people do. You cannot reason someone OUT of believing something they
    weren't reasoned INTO to begin with. It's a lot like religious
    faith. Faith presupposes doubt, you believe DESPITE evidence to the
    contrary. There's no question that , like an antique, a fine natural
    stone is highly valued by the market.There are fewer of them in
    relation to demand . (the demand being strictly emotional-you don't
    'need' to have an old chair when you could sit in a new one and you
    don't 'need' to adorn yourself. Maybe greed drives you to 'invest'
    in the antique or stone in the hopes that, in the future, someone
    with a greater emotional desire for it will pop up with some cash) 
    The definition of gemstone involves beauty,durability and rarity.
    Only one of these three can be tested in a lab. "Oh" you say "rarity
    can be quantified". Maybe, but only as to KNOWN examples. Benitoite
    is pretty rare-for now. Tomorrow that benitoite stone you paid 4
    digits for could drop to 3 if a new mine opens up somewhere.
    Shoot-how much did the first CZs cost? At one time, aluminum cost
    more than platinum. And diamonds? Well, if they're so rare, why does
    almost every woman own several? 

    [end rant mode]<g> 

Carl
1 Lucky Texan
 

____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________