[Jewelry making - Article 00075] - Re: [Orchid] Setting customer stones

[Stephen Walker]

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>     Getting back to the origin of this thread, it wasn't so much about
>     the risk. The question was related to losing a sale to an online
>     vendor, then having to be the bad guy and have the customer sign a
>     release before setting the stone, which is the most responsible
>     thing to do. This makes the customer sweat buckets, and introduces
>     doubt into the equation. 

    Absolutely right! We don't want to introduce doubt. 

    The thread has taken some interesting turns, but when I originally
    asked what to do I was absolutely more concerned about the risk, but
    also annoyed at losing the sale. Blue Nile will not set a stone in
    my ring. I called them up and asked. Some of the other online vendors
    will set in my jewelry as long as it is understood that I hold them
    harmless should there be damage to the ring. I made the ring, I can
    fix it if something happens to it. I can't fix the diamond. After a
    re-cut and loss of weight, cert is no longer valid and all that.
    Repairing the ring only takes some time. Making right a chip would
    take money and who knows what kind of customer relation hassles. 

    What seems to me to be the way to go is to have a statement at the
    ready, both in my shop and on my web site, that basically says if
    you want me to set your grandmother's diamond or something like that
    and agree to hold me harmless the cost is included in the basic price
    of the work. If you want to use a newly purchased stone from another
    vendor, my first preference is that you have the stone vendor
    arrange for setting it in my piece, for which I will charge nothing
    extra, or I will set it myself for a charge equal to 5 percent of the
    price of the stone. The diamond in question that started this thread
    was only a little over $3000, so the charge would be $150, which this
    customer has already agree to. 

    I am of the opinion that if I chipped Grandma's diamond the chances
    are that the emotional consequences would not be as great as
    chipping a brand new stone where the full price is still on this
    month's credit card statement. It is still Grandma's diamond if it is
    chipped, re-cut or not. The value is probably not specifically
    established in the customer's mind, but the sentimental value is. I
    am not really much of a diamond guy, so this forum has helped me a
    lot in thinking about how to deal with this increasingly common
    situation. Maybe some of you experienced diamond guys can shed some
    more light on the relative consequences of screwing up when you don't
    own the stone. 

Stephen Walker
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