Why
does jewelry cost so much?
The price of jewelry includes many factors. The
gemstones are often the most expensive part of the item as a whole.
Good gems are relatively rare entities. Their value is dependent on
their beauty, rarity and durability (which effects their rarity). The
higher the quality of the first three of the four C´s (carat weight,
color, and clarity), the more rare the stone. The fourth C (cut) effects
the yield or weight of the final stone cut from the rough material.
Jewelry settings can be expensive. Expense is relative to the type of
metal, method of production (stamped in volume production, special casting,
or hand made), possible copyrighted, custom design or one of a kind
and public cognizance of the designer names (Cartier, Van Cleef, Bulgari,
etc.)
Marketing costs and store operation expenses are very significant. The
costs for rent, mall surcharges, extensive security systems, advertising,
staff, display, training and product costs all factor heavily. Most
jewelers do not make high net profits.
Why does the jeweler spend so much
time examining my jewelry before sending it to the bench for repair?
Whether it is your jeweler or an appraiser with
whom you are leaving your jewelry for appraisal, there are two approaches
to “take in.” One is to write down a very vague description
of the item and the stones, such as lady’s yellow metal ring with
colorless round stone, or to take the time to make preliminary identifications
of materials and quality. It is the first that sometimes leads to problems.
The jeweler must protect himself against fraud by the customer who may
bring in a ring with a CZ and claim after repair that the stone was
switched (CZ for diamond).
Both sides are protected if the client has a detailed appraisal with
full description and plot of significant gemstones. Show it to the jeweler
and have him agree that what you are leaving is consistent with appraisal.
If necessary or concerned after repair, the client may check with a
gemologist to verify that everything is original.
How should I select an appraiser?
There are no licensing or legal requirements
to be a personal property appraiser. There are many titles appraisers
may carry, some require extensive training (ISA, GIA, NGJA, and FGA,
for example), and others require little.
Always ask what testing and training the appraiser has undergone to
achieve the title. For additional information refer to my certification
page for explanations and definitions of training levels and levels
of expertise.
The jewelry appraiser should also be a Graduate Gemologist (GG) of the
Gemological Institute of America (GIA) or an FGA of the Gemological
Institute of Great Britain.
You must be sure that the appraiser has a GIA graded Master Set of genuine
diamonds and that he/she had been tested for color vision accuracy.
What is a"treated/enhanced"
stone?
Most
gemstones are enhanced in some way. In reality, the process of cutting
the rough stone is an enhancement. An enhancement usually refers to
treating a stone in some way other than cutting. Enhancements are not
necessarily a bad thing. They make many more fine gemstones available
to the public. In many cases there is little or no value difference
between enhanced and un-enhanced stones. There are also cases where
the un-enhanced stones carry a premium, depending upon public demand.
The most important factor is disclosure throughout the distribution
chain to the customer so that you know what you have. For some enhancements
the effect is not permanent. The customer must be aware so that proper
care is taken in use and so that a jeweler doing repair may be cautioned
to not take steps to reverse or damage the enhancement.
Gemologists can detect a large portion of enhancements. Yet the detection
of some enhancements require sending the stone to one the major international
laboratories such as GIA in order to make final determination. Even
they can be fooled. There are enhancements as well as synthetics that
even these laboratories can not detect.
Look to the section on Gemstones for comments on what enhancements might
have occurred on a specific gemstone type.
Heating –
most gemstones are heat treated to improve color
Quench Crackling –
performed to create a surface effect or to provide a route for infusion
of dye
Oiling –
performed with an oil and index of refraction close to that of the host
gemstone to reduce visibility of surface reaching feathers
Irradiation and Heating –
to change and improve color
Painting –
to produce an apparent change of color
Foiling –
foil glued to the stone pavilion to change apparent color
Coating –
to improve luster
Waxing –
to seal surface and improve luster
Epoxy –
to fill feathers and cavities and improve clarity
Acid –
to remove color, stains or included crystals
Bleach –
to improve color
Dyeing –
to modify color
Diffusion
– to imbed a very thin layer of an element into the surface to
improve color
Laser Drilling –
to obtain access to enclosed crystal inclusions in order to remove them
by acid
Filling –
to fill feathers or cavities for clarity improvement
Martin Fuller Associates, Washington, D.C.
www.martinfullerassociates.com
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