Color is Hot and Treatments are on the Rise...Let’s Revisit Dateline’s Emerald Episode with a Twist!

In my opinion it ALL comes down to educating the customer! In my
store I disclose everything, but the I think it is the way I go
about it that puts my customers at ease. When I am showing them
colored stone pieces I will start talking about the different
treatments and explaining how most stones are treated and that
opens the door to showing them and explaining all the different
colored stones and different treatments. I am against certain
treatments and explain to my customers that I do not sell stones
with certain treatments and I do not suggest that they buy those
stones. I give the customer the knowledge to make their own
informed decision and if they do go and window shop at other
stores, they will know what questions to ask and what to look for
and when they don't get the answers they want they will be back in
my store. I do not bad mouth my competition, I don't have to. I
just have to educate and let them find out who is reputable and who
is not and I also give them information in print, so it is not my
word against theirs. It is proven legitimate trade information in
their hands to read up on even more than what we talk about in
store. I do not believe in bad mouthing anyone. I feel the
customer, with the proper knowledge, can make their own decision
and I don't have to say a bad word about anyone. I know and will
always treat my customers with respect and if they do go somewhere
else to question and research and compare shop, they will have to
tools to ask the right questions and know if they are getting the
correct anwers.

Dear Ms. Guliani, I read with interest your reference to one of our
Las Vegas sessions, as well as the response from Mr. Bates and I
feel that there is a need for clarification. It may be helpful for
the readers of this entry to know that my quote you referred to
took place during an open forum discussion on protecting the
consumer’s interest and compliance with the FTC guidelines
and state regulations for the proper disclosure of gemstones. As
part of this discussion, it was addressed how in general today
there is very little disclosure for colored stones at the retail
counter when sales associates are dealing with the public. This is
a potentially dangerous situation as the FTC guidelines and state
regulations clearly indicate that all information that may have a
significant impact on the value of a gem must be disclosed. This
involves not only the identity of the species or variety of the
stone, its weight, whether it is natural or synthetic, but also the
presence or absence of any number of treatments that may be
utilized to enhance its color and/or appearance. A failure to do so
may lead to legal action against a retailer/seller. The reference
to the Dateline and 20/20 episodes (which were both high profile,
nationally televised exposes that addressed these very issues), was
used as an example of what our industry faces if this situation is
not reversed. And further, the point of my illustration was to
spark a reaction and the interest of those attending to become more
proactive in their approach on proper disclosure and communication
with their clients on these matters. The focus of this session
during the Couture Show at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas was to raise
the awareness of jewelry retailers/manufacturers and highlight the
consumer’s experience during a jewelry purchase. This was a
program led by Diane Warga-Arias that was followed by discussions
related to third-party authentication and grading and how these may
be used as an integral tool for providing accurate and adequate
disclosure, increase consumer confidence in their products and
ultimately help them sell more goods. At AGL, we have developed a
broad range of gemological services and reporting formats to
accomplish just this task. By utilizing such documents, we are able
to work together to bring greater transparency and increase the
integrity of our industry. It has been demonstrated in many
industries that a well-informed consumer leads to greater
confidence in the goods being purchased and a customer that will
purchase again and again. It is not only a good business principle,
but it is also the law. We at the AGL have long held the position
that the consumer is the most important link in the chain of supply
and demand for our industry’s products. By protecting their
interest, we preserve the integrity of the gemstone and jewelry
market and we secure the long-term growth and stability of our
industry for the future. Thank you, sincerely, C.R.
“Cap” Beesley

Yeah, with all due respect to the suggester (who, if I recall
correctly, was part of that Dateline NBC piece), that episode sent
a negative message overall, esp. since, again if I recall
correctly, several well-respected jewelers were trashed in that
piece, including Tiffany. Selling a negative is an interesting
thing ... it's accepted wisdom not to do it, but some people, like
political candidates, do it very effectively. Amd you are starting
to see more ads that take a negative tack on the competition. In
jewelry, there's plenty of "conflict-free" diamond sellers who are
happy to proclaim that they are the only people in the industry
with morals. And of course, we all know many jewelers bad-mouth
their competition. Still, I can't help but thinking at the end of
the day no one is helped when people knock each other. Short-term
gain, long-term loss.