Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-03-29
Tricks Of the Jewellers.
Diamonds PaiL ted and Precious Stones
Veneered- Mostly Alloy.
Fraud is Having a Big Run in This
World of Ours.

There is no line of business in which
purchasers are so completely at the
mercy of store-keepers as the jewelry
trade" said a leading dealer yesterday.
The masses are caught by mere appear
ances. They know what pleases them,
but have little idea of actual value. Few
know the difference between machine
made and hand made goods; still less can
tell whether gold Is six carats fine or
whether stone is worth SO or 800.
Public trust in these matters is absolute
ly pItlable. Popular pride and ambition
are stupenducus. Mere Looks and alleg-
ed price are practically all the buyer has
to GO by, and the honesty of the dealer is
his only safeguard. Then in addition to
actual grades OF quality there are num-
erous snide practices that are resorted to
by &isreputabie merchants aud manufac-
turers, so that II person coutem plates
buying anything where the risk is con-
siderable, it behOoves him to know some
thing ABOUT the man he deals with.
Two diamonds, for ins lance, may be
of the same size and cut, yet one will be
worth twice, thrice, or perhaps a dozen
times much as the other. YelioH-white
diamonds are common and blue. white
are scarce, and even experts fl nd difficulty
in giving he intermediate shades their
proper place in point of dollars and
cents. Among Irresponsible dealers it is
a common practice to paint the stones
so as to make the yellow diamonds
whittier and the white diamonds bluer.
The paint will not even resist soap and
water and will wear off more quickly than
the Ghinnest possible film of gold on a
brass ring. Yet for a time it makes the
stone look twice as valuable as it really is.
few days ago gentleman brought
couple of diamonds to me to determine
their value. | had washed them in soap
suds he could scarcely believe they were
his own jewels they were so yellow. 1t
is common trick of confidence men
to paint diamonds and then get a loan
on them of twice or thrice their value. |
will venture to say that two thirds of ths
people could not tell paste from q
genuine diamond.
"Then there is the process OF veneer
ing other precious stones. A piece of
glass or crystal of the desired color and
appearance is taken as body and thin
covering of the genuine article is sHper-
imposed so as to convey the impression
of being genuine. Such a stone in g
setting designed to cover up the deception
would make dupes of half the purchsers.
The danger of being taken in would
not be so great were people better post
ed. Show a man lot out on praire
and tell him it is worth 800 front foot
and he will laugh at you for presuming
upon his Ignorance, but show him
ruby or sapphire and tell him it is worth
81 900 and he will believe you. The
masses know nothing about relative val
ue in gems, and the scope for deception
is enormous.
"Then as TO quality of metal and work
manship. There is jewelry in the mar
ket sold for solid gold which is so low in
purity that respectable plate would be
far more preferable to the so-caIled
solid stuff. A certain amount of alloy is,
of course, necessary for durability, but
the gold that is actually manufactured in
to lewelry varies in purity all the way
from four to SIX carets fine to twenty.
Fourteen carats fine is the standard, but
there ls an immense amount of solid
stuff sold annually, and good share of it
Is palmed off for the standard purity,
This cheap stuff is often dipped in
bath just $50 as to color it. The multi
tudes who are Ignorant enough to accept
guaranty that an article Is solid rarely
think of degrees of purity and they are
wofully taken in. As rule there is some
thing about all plated cheap stuff that
betrays its quality to the ex perieuced ey e.
Every manufacturer has his own design
ers, and, though copying is rife among
the workmen, you will rarely see goods
cheap in price without finding them cheap
in design and workmanship.
CAS- rule, l think people have crude
ideas about our profits. The price of
jewelry ls due principally TO the scarcity
of the material used and the amount of
labor expended upon it. do not think
that We get more than 25 per cent. gross
profit on the average. When it is borne
lii mind that styles are constantly chang
ing, that large amount of capital is
bound up, bearing no interest, and that
the value of the goods is constantly de
preclating, owing to the fux of STYLES,
this Is not above or even the average. If
We could turn our money over rapidly and
not suffer loss from depreciation we
would have pretty good thing; but the
numerous failures in the jewelry business
bear witness to what l say about small
margins of profit. Diamond dealers have
possibilities of making great profits
legltlmately, since, when bought in the
rough, stones often turn out exec ption-
ally well. | have known diamond valued
5 500 to be recut and sell readily for
$4,000