Dear Orcid members,
This post has received more response than expected. I will say a few
words more, first, a comment on the post about changing watch
batteries. UGH! Indeed, sometimes the only way to make certain the
one changing the battery doesn’t mess up the watch is to remove the
built up crud and slough from the back before opening the case. I
often wonder if folks never look back there. This is an issue for
certain!
As for the customer who “by habit” stick the ring in the mouth to
wet and remove it, I have thought that spital from the sales person
might be just as effective…alas, you would make the point and
loose the cutomer! So, we at least try to keep some alcohol based
hand sanitizer near by and a wash room and hand lotion to suggest in
ring removal.
For personal hand health, I now use a liquid glove like the PR88
that Stuller and others sell. This German product is great at
keeping rouge and compounds from getting in skin pores and makes
cleaning easier. Then, on top of that I use “safety tape”, the kind
that looks like green or blue gauze and sticks “to itself” and not
the skin. Finger wraps last a long time and are easily put on and
removed. This precaution saves a lot of skin in buffing and when
cutting stone seats if the bur decides to do a “walkaround” the
prong and into the finger. I do wash my hands more times a day than
anyone wants to count…and go through a lot of hand lotion. Liquid
glove, safety tape, stop and wash, apply lotion…this goes on all
day it seems.
Perhaps one of the worst looking but likely lower on the scale as to
health hazards is the tooth person. You know, they bring in all the
gold crowns and teeth parts included and want “my gold made into
something special”. Well, get the teeth out first! Please! I do not
cast dental gold. That is the simple answer. I want to make a
quality product and the customer will realize that and pay for fresh
alloy gold for a custom job…if they really want it done in the
first place. I am able to explain to them why fresh gold is
preferred to the dental scrap if they want a professional job.
I do really appreciate all the responses to the first post. And, I
truly appreciate the several emails with your opinions. Work
conditions are not always ideal and take in of jewelry jobs is
sometimes a tackful action, if not possibly dangerous to health.
Perhaps the best solution is to use the surgical gloves. As one
poster put it here or in a mail to me, the customers today will more
readily understand such action. This is for their good as well as
that of the one taking in the job and the one working on it. There
is no insult, just common sense.
The worst and the “best” was a watch a lady brought in. Her son was
hospitalized from a stabbing. She wanted the watch band case and
band cleaned… all was covered with dried blood. She wanted to
speak to me personally and by pass usual take-in procedure, she
handed me a pair of surgical gloves. She said, “Don’t clean this if
you do not feel ok about it. You did not know my son. If you will, I
wouldn’t expect you to it without these…” I put on the gloves,
cleaned the watch case and band and dumped the ultrasonic solution.
All worked out ok.
Blessings and Peace. Thomas.