My buddy Mel of Regal Imports once complained that Swarovski
was selling glass as though it was diamond, while our industry was selling
diamonds as though they were glass.
The trend over the past several years has been an
unfortunate race to the bottom for the manufacturers of jewellery and, while I
can understand the need to make a profit in a monstrously competitive business,
it seems to me that the magic and legacy has been lost. Jewellery used to be
(and in many cases, still is) an important part of the great events in life. It
was not something purchased lightly and was expected to last, if not for
generations, at least for a lifetime. This would no longer seem to be the case
in mass-market jewellery.
With the popularity of white gold came what we call “beige
gold”, an alloy that was conducive to large-scale mass production, but entirely
unpleasant in colour. This lead to widespread acceptance of rhodium plating to
make the jewellery acceptable to the public. Customers take it as given
that their white gold rings need to be “dipped” periodically to maintain the
colour, and are actually being told by sales staff that white gold that does't require replating does not exist. This is misleading if not fraudulent. Now, I understand that this practice has led to a secondary income stream for
retailers that they would be loathe to give up, but it erodes the trust that
has been a mainstay of the jewellery industry historically.
The recent development of CAD design in the industry has cut
costs and design time for manufacturers, but has also accelerated the use of
micro-pavé. Not being in the repair industry, this phenomenon hasn’t affected
me overmuch, aside from much mean-spirited hilarity, but I am terrified of the
day when these rings start falling apart in great numbers and the remount
business is confronted with a multitude of near-invisible diamonds that a
customer expects to be reset securely into a new piece.
