Why So Cheap??? (Why does yours cost more?)

Many times I am asked why my jewelry is more expensive than xyz jewelers. Sometimes the quality is so bad that it can be seen on the pictures of the website, others it needs a closer examination. Here is a case study of a ring that was sent to us after purchase from one of the "cheaper sites" Our client was not happy and wanted to know if she was being too picky, she also needed to have the stone tightened as it was loose.

Personally, I thought she was being not too picky at all, and I wanted to take this opportunity to share a few of the problems with you. As you can see here, the channel work is sloppy. I have circled some of the problem areas, and you can easily see that the entire ring is poorly polished. Although some of these defects are not easily seen with the eye, the cumulative affect is less than it should be.

The next problem that you might want to be looking for is poor setting of the stones in your ring. Proper technique is to cut a seat into the ring that will vit the outline of the stone and provide a snug and secure "chair" for the stone with the gold lowered nicely over the stone so that it does not catch in your silks, or your hair!

It is easy to see in this photo that the prong is not properly lowered, so the prong will be catching your silks, your knits and your hair or the hair of anyone who's head you might rub. (This blog does not promote or necessarily condone hair rubbing, but recognizes the right's of those who wish to rub...)

You can see, out of focus, additional problems with the channel that are not circled in this photo. This is unfortunately fairly typical of much of the work that is done cheaply overseas where price, not quality is the first concern. It must be fairly noted though that some of the craftsmen in Asia are outstanding when they are allowed the time to do the work correctly. This is not their work, but rather emblematic of the houses that produce mass merchandise volumes at very low prices.

The prong on this side is even worse. Although the top of the seat was properly finished, the bottom was just sort of scouped out so that it does not come into contact with the stone until quite low. This will result in the stone being constantly loose as there is no way to snugly secure the stone so that it will not constantly come loose the first time it is worn.

We will go into more potential problems in another post, but when you are looking for super quality you will normally pay a little more than the mass merchandice houses, but the resulting look is well worth it.

Wink