I’m a jeweler. I have
friends that like my jewelry. Every once in a while, I’ll have one who wants me
to create something special for them. I love that my friends like my jewelry
and want me to make something special for them!
I don’t, however, like to use their stones to create that special item.
This is why…
When you create jewelry using stones, you always take a risk
that the stone will get cracked, scratched or otherwise ruined. Setting a stone takes pressure with metal
tools. Metal tools can damage a stone in
a split second. One slip and you’ve just
scratched it. One push just a little too
hard on the bezel has just cracked the stone.
If it’s my stone, it’s my loss. I
won’t say it’s no big deal, because it usually is. Chances are the setting was made specifically
for that stone and another stone just won’t fit in it. So now I have to find another stone and
remake the setting. But if it’s someone else’s stone, I’ve just destroyed something that a friend was attached to
enough to want me to create something special with it. Now I have to find another, and it needs
to be a perfect match. Maybe you’re not
even 100% sure of what kind of stone it was, or what replacing it will
cost. What a headache!
Second, there’s pricing the item. I think that most people think that if they
go to a friend to do something for them, you’re going to give them the “friend”
price. So you’re expected to cut them a
deal on something that you’re already agonizing over. Great!
Plus, they supplied the stone, so that should knock quite a bit off the
price, right? Wrong!!! Those of us who create with our hands
sometimes do a little fudging. Sometimes
we used the perceived value of our materials to recoup some of the losses we’ve
made time-wise. Most people think we can
just wave our magic wand (torch) over the metal to create a beautiful
piece. In reality, we may have had
problem after problem crop up, making the piece take twice as long as it
should’ve. We need to make that money up
somewhere. That’s where we hope the
beautiful stone looks worth that price, or the amount of metal in a piece makes
that piece worth every cent.
Finally, there’s the fact that we really do want our friend to
like the piece we’ve just created for them.
What if they don’t like it? Do
they admit they don’t like it? Or do
they just suck it up and pay for it, only to stick it in a drawer, never to be
seen again? If they don’t like it and
tell you they don’t like it, will that damage your friendship? Do they want their stone pulled back out,
damaging the setting and destroying the whole piece? Do you have to buy their stone from
them? But maybe they do like what you’ve
done with it. Great! That’s excellent news! But they don’t like the price. Great… now
what? Cut them that deal and get mad at
them and yourself for letting them talk you down? Hold firm to your price and run the risk of
them getting mad at you?
It’s all so hard! I
love when friends see one of my pieces and just have to have it. The price is right there, the design is
already done, and they can take it or leave it.
It’s up to them, and I love it
that way! Please, buy from me, but
please don’t ask me to do something with one of your stones. It’s too much pressure! I want everyone to be happy with my jewelry,
and I certainly don’t want to lose a friend over it! Sadly, I think maybe it's already happened.
