[Jewelry making - Article 00302] - Re: [Orchid] [Biz talk] Ain't no 'biz!

[Marty]

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Hello,

    I don't want to take advantage of my position as a person whose
    involvement with this "industry" is mostly as a hobbyist. That is,
    although I do sell some work from time to time, I am not personally
    dependent upon selling my work in order to eat, keep warm and all
    the rest of those mundane concerns. My contribution to the
    industry,if any, is in my small purchases of tools and materials,
    and very few of those in the "precious" category. 

    And I do know, from my experiences in other contexts and other
    times, the gut-wrenching fear that comes along when one's whole
    livelihood is threatened, whether by acts of God or by ordinary
    human stupidity or maliciousness. So I am not unsympathetic to a
    person in that position. 

    Nevertheless, I was disturbed by one poster's response to an
    upcoming movie. (W. Taft Atkins, Jr) The movie in question is Blood
    Diamonds" and one can infer from the title something about its
    content. 

>     We have more to worry about than first quarter being slow. The
>     Leanardo DiCaprio movie, now being called "Blood Diamonds" is set
>     to release in November. It is already getting promo in the LA
>     Times. What will this do to holiday business? What bad purposeful
>     timing. 

    It seems that this movie will provoke people to contemplate just
    where their shiny trinkets come from and how much suffering goes
    into the carat price of diamonds. There have been recent threads
    which raise similar questions on the gold mining industry. The
    concerns range far and wide and include such things as huge
    environmental damages, slave labour, child labour, and other
    gruesome and disconcerting practices. 

    There are those whose involvement in business is strictly driven by
    business considerations. They often argue that it is some impersonal
    agency, generally named "demand" or "market forces" or "scarcity"
    which set prices. They ask rhetorical questions like "how else can
    poor third-world gold or diamond miners make a living if we didn't
    pay such high prices for their output?" - as if our buying gems and
    gold were an act of charity towards the benighted creatures, rather
    than the extortion or exploitation it is. . Of course, this kind of
    narrow-band thinking can be true of any business. But when and where
    do people stop, even for a moment, to ask themselves directly how
    many lives, or acres of ruined farmland, or tons of dead fish, or
    broken spirits are part of the price being paid for what are
    essentially trinkets? Is it only in the dark hours of the night? Are
    these disturbing thoughts to be put away with the rest of our dreams
    upon waking to face the new business day? 

    The intrinsic value of precious materials derives from their rare
    qualities - durability, hardness, freedom from corrosion and,
    yes,even their beauty. A gold-plated electrical contact will last
    longer, a diamond-tipped tool will cut better. But, really, how much
    do we want to pay, and how much do we want others to pay, so that we
    may preen and display our power? This is a social value, not
    intrinsic. The endless drumming of the De Beers adverts, implying
    that giving a diamond is the most appropriate way to demonstrate
    love, for example. How can that be true? Love means offering
    kindness, not exercising raw power. Things do have to change. 

    I'm more than willing to pay (jewellers and others) for their
    hard-won skills, for inspired design, for superior materials, and
    generally for necessities of every sort, but I'm not comfortable
    paying for pain and destruction to enhance my social facade. Things
    do have to change a bit in this world - not only in the jewelry
    business,of course. I am not trying to single out Mr.Atkins or this
    industry as primary villains or especially immoral. But if ( a very
    big if,) we ever hope to be proud of our species,or even to survive
    at all, we have to be ready and willing to shift gears from time to
    time. Lifelong learning is more than just learning the latest
    CAD/CAM program. 

    I hate this - this sounding "preachy." None of this is simple. But
    when we discovered that cigarettes kill us and others, guess what?
    We stopped smoking and hoped the tobacco farmers don't suffer badly
    or accuse us of being subversive crazies. When we discovered that
    asbestos fibres kill us and others, we stopped using the stuff. And
    here we all still are, with plenty of other problems to solve, but
    at least those things didn't kill us yet. 

    As in the plethora of recent postings about "design" issues, there
    are plenty of other media where good design can be utilized without
    having to stave off nightmares in the process. 

    Thanks for letting me rant. Don't be scared. 

Marty in Victoria, BC
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