Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    Quality Gold previews new HERCO products at JCK Las Vegas
    The Story Behind the Stone: Ancient Provenance
    King Jewelers staying in the ‘loupe’ since 1912
    The Story Behind the Stone: Ancient Provenance
    Sell jewelry the way you cook
    Pretty much perfect retailing for Wyoming couple
    Pretty much perfect retailing for Wyoming couple
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    Sunstone releases the Orion PJ
    The importance of consistently clienteling
    2023 COUTURE Design Awards winners announced
    HardRock Summit returns to Denver in September
  • Podcast
    How Star Gem Inc. Defines Jewelry Innovation
    Episode 33 – Anish Desai, Beyond Trends: How Star Gem Inc. Defines Jewelry Innovation 
    Inspiring Tales of Mentorship and Growth
    Episode 32 – Matthew Gross, Inspiring Tales of Mentorship and Growth 
    Behind the Success of running a jewelry trade shop
    Episode 31 – Ross Wesdorp, Behind the Success of Running a Jewelry Trade Shop
    Downsizing positioned Butler Diamonds for success
    Episode 30 – Doris Butler, Downsizing positioned Butler Diamonds for success
    Inside the United Precious Metal Refining
    Episode 29 – David Siminski, Inside the United Precious Metal Refining
    Episode 28 – John Bruggemann, Secure Your Financial Future by Diversifying
    Episode 28 – John Bruggemann, Secure Your Financial Future by Diversifying
    Darling of the Industry Konrad Darling of Darling Imports
    Episode 27 – The Darling of the Industry: Konrad Darling of Darling Imports
    Success in Jewelry and Writing
    Episode 26 – Success in Jewelry and Writing. Chuck Koehler of Anthony Jewelers
    Permanent Jewelry How Sunstone is Changing the Game
    Episode 25 – David Holloway, Permanent Jewelry: How Sunstone is Changing the Game
  • Columnists
    Optimize your jewelry store’s website for better organic traffic – here’s how!
    Image of Chuck Koehler
    The Retailer’s Perspective: Things That Haven’t Changed
    2,000 year old Roman intaglio ring. Photo Fellows Auctioneers
    The Story Behind the Stone: Ancient Provenance
    ChatGPT. Your secret edge?
    Applied Marketing 101: The Next Big Thing
    Applied Marketing 101: The View from Surat
    International School of Gemology Education Series: The Story of Anthill Garnets
    Making decisions work for you
    Making decisions work for you
    3 digital marketing lessons from great jewelry radio ads
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
  • Digital Magazine
    • Southern Jewelry News
    • Mid-America Jewelry News
    • Archive
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    Quality Gold previews new HERCO products at JCK Las Vegas
    The Story Behind the Stone: Ancient Provenance
    King Jewelers staying in the ‘loupe’ since 1912
    The Story Behind the Stone: Ancient Provenance
    Sell jewelry the way you cook
    Pretty much perfect retailing for Wyoming couple
    Pretty much perfect retailing for Wyoming couple
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    Sunstone releases the Orion PJ
    The importance of consistently clienteling
    2023 COUTURE Design Awards winners announced
    HardRock Summit returns to Denver in September
  • Podcast
    How Star Gem Inc. Defines Jewelry Innovation
    Episode 33 – Anish Desai, Beyond Trends: How Star Gem Inc. Defines Jewelry Innovation 
    Inspiring Tales of Mentorship and Growth
    Episode 32 – Matthew Gross, Inspiring Tales of Mentorship and Growth 
    Behind the Success of running a jewelry trade shop
    Episode 31 – Ross Wesdorp, Behind the Success of Running a Jewelry Trade Shop
    Downsizing positioned Butler Diamonds for success
    Episode 30 – Doris Butler, Downsizing positioned Butler Diamonds for success
    Inside the United Precious Metal Refining
    Episode 29 – David Siminski, Inside the United Precious Metal Refining
    Episode 28 – John Bruggemann, Secure Your Financial Future by Diversifying
    Episode 28 – John Bruggemann, Secure Your Financial Future by Diversifying
    Darling of the Industry Konrad Darling of Darling Imports
    Episode 27 – The Darling of the Industry: Konrad Darling of Darling Imports
    Success in Jewelry and Writing
    Episode 26 – Success in Jewelry and Writing. Chuck Koehler of Anthony Jewelers
    Permanent Jewelry How Sunstone is Changing the Game
    Episode 25 – David Holloway, Permanent Jewelry: How Sunstone is Changing the Game
  • Columnists
    Optimize your jewelry store’s website for better organic traffic – here’s how!
    Image of Chuck Koehler
    The Retailer’s Perspective: Things That Haven’t Changed
    2,000 year old Roman intaglio ring. Photo Fellows Auctioneers
    The Story Behind the Stone: Ancient Provenance
    ChatGPT. Your secret edge?
    Applied Marketing 101: The Next Big Thing
    Applied Marketing 101: The View from Surat
    International School of Gemology Education Series: The Story of Anthill Garnets
    Making decisions work for you
    Making decisions work for you
    3 digital marketing lessons from great jewelry radio ads
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
  • Digital Magazine
    • Southern Jewelry News
    • Mid-America Jewelry News
    • Archive
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
No Result
View All Result
Home Columnists

Successful Custom: A Clean Disaster

Joel McFadden by Joel McFadden
February 27, 2023
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Reading Time: 6 minutes

I talk to jewelers all over the country and I hear some horror stories. Some of the most avoidable disaster stories are centered around the ultrasonic cleaner.

It seems like such a simple request. A customer comes in with a bunch of jewelry they want to have cleaned up. A dip in the sonic will do the trick. Some customers make a habit of having it done regularly. It’s not a big deal, well, until something goes wrong.

We all get so busy, our trade is all about fast production and doing everything to accommodate our clients. We need to take the time to follow procedures and remember the jewelry we are entrusted with should always be treated with care.

In my lifetime the industry has changed from being “all about quality” to “all about speed”. We equate being faster with higher productivity which equals more money. Then we hit that wall where the haste has caused some mistake that is vastly more expensive than a few extra minutes of payroll would ever cost us.

The first case in point is Mrs. A. She’s a delightful elderly woman. She’s been doing business with us for years. Once a year she shows up with a large bag of jewelry to be cleaned. This year was no different than any other, except she was in a hurry to drop everything off on her way to an appointment.

It was not a big deal. After all, she’d been doing this every year for several years. A dip in the sonic and everything will be bright and shining before she returned later that day.

She showed up right at the end of the day and was still in quite the rush, so she picked up her bag, and off she went.

The next day she called to see if we could locate one of her more expensive items which were not in the bag with the rest of her jewelry. No one recalled seeing the item in the store, but we searched anyway. It was nowhere to be found and we were fairly certain it was not in the bag she dropped off.

Mrs. A was distressed over the incident since she was fairly certain it was dropped off. A few days passed and Mrs. A grew more and more disturbed that something had happened to her precious, sentimental, and expensive piece of treasured jewelry while in our care. It was fortunate that she found it at her home and she dismissed the whole thing as just another incident of her failing memory.

Another case in point is Mrs. B. Her story is very similar to Mrs. A. She has been dropping off her bag of jewelry to be cleaned here on a regular basis for years. She was in such a hurry to drop and go, as well as, rushing to pick it up quickly and be on her way.

However, Mrs. B was not missing anything. The issue with her freshly cleaned bag of jewelry, so hastily pulled out of the sonic and given back to her, resides in that one ring that was sitting in the bottom of the sonic basket when her items were dumped in with it.

The jeweler had been working on it for hours and hours over the last couple of days. It was nearly complete and ready to have the flashing and heat shield from the laser work cleaned up. Some time in the ultrasonic gave the jeweler the opportunity to address a couple of other things that had been set aside while working on the ring.

Later when the customer returned to retrieve the ring, Mrs. B had already retrieved her jewelry, and it was long gone. Unfortunately, Mrs. B now had a new ring that the store owner is paying to rebuild for its rightful owner.

A good jeweler can replace the ring. It’s just hours of labor, some precious metals, some expensive gemstones, and a long delay in returning it to the customer. However, the damage to the store’s reputation for losing their customer’s wedding band coming in for a repair is a far greater price they will be paying for a much longer period of time.

Both of these incidents, as well as countless other incidents, would not have happened if the proper intake and delivery procedures were followed. Even when the job is something as simple as a routine cleaning, take those notes and photos of what you are receiving and delivering.

When you have salespeople and jewelers using an ultrasonic to clean jewelry, you may want to consider getting a second one so they aren’t using the same one. Everyone wants everything done fast, but every customer appreciates it more when you handle their precious items with diligent care.

Joel McFadden

Joel McFadden

Joel McFadden is the owner of Joel McFadden designs in Chapel Hill, NC. At 12-years-old his career in jewelry began learning benchwork from his grandfather at McFadden Jewelers. He developed pricing for custom jewelry and repair work for the IJO Prototype Store in Greenfield, MA, opened a business which became a million-dollar store focusing on custom, was named MJSA’s first Mentor Jeweler, was the first director of the Council of Custom Jewelers, and is the creator of the Bench Jewelers Challenge seen at tradeshows. He has a passion for teaching and sharing his expertise, is a writer for industry publications and speaker at industry events. He is available for CAD work, stone setting, and complete custom pieces for customers and the trade. Contact Joel at MentorJeweler@gmail.com, JMDJewelry.com, Facebook, YouTube or 984-212-2217.

Related Posts

Optimize your jewelry store’s website for better organic traffic – here’s how!

June 5, 2023
Image of Chuck Koehler

The Retailer’s Perspective: Things That Haven’t Changed

June 1, 2023
2,000 year old Roman intaglio ring. Photo Fellows Auctioneers

The Story Behind the Stone: Ancient Provenance

June 1, 2023

ChatGPT. Your secret edge?

May 31, 2023

Latest News

What's New

Sunstone releases the Orion PJ

June 7, 2023
Other News

The importance of consistently clienteling

June 7, 2023
On The Move

2023 COUTURE Design Awards winners announced

June 7, 2023

Other News

HardRock Summit returns to Denver in September

National Jeweler announces recipients of 2023 Retailer Hall of Fame

HRD Antwerp certifies the first commercial lab-grown “full diamond” ring

Research outlines factors that determine a purchase

Alliance for Responsible Mining and Mercury Free Mining field test innovative artisanal gold processing system

Optimize your jewelry store’s website for better organic traffic – here’s how!

Southern Jewelry News

© 2023 Southern Jewelry News.

Additional Information

  • About
  • 2023 Jewelry Trade Shows & Events
  • Media Kit
  • Contact
  • Sitemap
  • Newsletter Signup

Get Social with Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Featured Articles
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Sponsored Content
  • Latest News
    • What’s New
    • Industry Events
    • Tradeshow News
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Furry Friends
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
  • DIGITAL MAGAZINE
    • Southern Jewelry News
    • Mid-America Jewelry News
    • Archives

© 2023 Southern Jewelry News.