[Jewelry making - Article 00578] - Re: [Orchid] Who pays for the broken opals?

[John Donivan]

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    Since there've been a few comments about costs, I'm going to open
    this up to the bigger picture. Jewelers and goldsmiths deal in
    expensive items routinely, and bad things happen, sometimes. I know
    of one shop where a $150,000 diamond was stolen by some, never
    discovered employee - a goldsmith in the workshop. Some retailers
    I've heard charge $1 a point for setting diamonds, calling it
    "insurance" - except I have never heard of one paying off on it. If
    it were insurance, and they chipped an $80,000 D/Flawless, they
    would go out and buy another one. Instead, they just have the chip
    cut away like everyone else for $150. I think, ultimately, that you
    have to rely on your skills, and have a sense of goodwill. The skills
    part means that if you chip an $80,000 diamond, then why are you
    setting it? Just don't chip it. People say to let things go in the
    polisher if they catch, because no jewelry is worth a finger. OK,
    what if it's a $200,000 emerald? Just let it smash into the bottom?
    Again, if you can't polish it without these issues arising, you
    shouldn't be polishing it to begin with. It's the old adage, "All
    accidents are preventable." But then there are things that do happen.
    I set a diamond a few months ago, and just pulled one prong over the
    girdle. The stone snapped in half - Jo-Ann heard the sound across the
    room - when it just barely touched the stone. That's what's called
    "My time in the barrel." We negotiated with the customer and split
    the cost, because they knew it was a cheap stone, and it wasn't my
    fault, just my turn to be the booby. More often, though it IS your
    fault, and just fess up and pay it. Jo-Ann shelled out $700 once on a
    retipping job. The customer is not responsible because you dropped
    their stone (I've had that one, too), or the pliers slipped, or the
    hammer ran up the crown facets, you are. Yes, it happens, but we all
    need to accept responsibility for it if we did the deed. Most
    importantly, you need to know your limitations at the bench. I've
    chipped many $20 emeralds. I've set many 5 and 6 figure valued ones
    and never chipped or damaged one. Just don't chip it to begin with.
    Pay attention, if you don't know how to do what I'm saying, don't set
    it at all, send it to someone who can. There are really two issues in
    play: one is security - loss and theft. I won't go into that here.
    The other is broken and damaged goods, whether that is stones or
    jewelry. I declare that I won't be responsible for delicate items,
    and people in our network know what that means. But if I do something
    stupid, I say so. It happens. 

http://www.donivanandmaggiora.com
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