All,
I get the opinion from most of the posts I read that the majority of
people have struggled to understand stones, but are at a point where
they are extremely frustrated by the market place. Following are a
few of the observations I have made about the market place and what I
have done to make it a more friendly place for myself and my
customers.
Most people I run into a shows have some background education in
stones. This education may be formal or informal. One limitation of
thier education is exposure to the multitude of rough and finished
products. I sufferred through this process. To make the process of
buying and understanding what I was buying I started to attend and
buy items from mineral dealers. Then I went to rough dealers and
bought from them. I combined this with study of reference books.
Guess what? After a few years I could enter the market place of
finished stone products and be much more comfortable in knowing what
I was purchasing. Mineral dealers and rough dealers can be scammers
also, but after a few years of showing your purchases between
dealers you will be able to sort out the scammers. Ethical dealers
will not hesitate to tell you what they know about the particular
specimen in question. This will not help you with the question of
value. That is another whole different subject which must be
approached differently.
To develop more trust with my customers I often carry rough
specimens of the finished stones I have for sale. I disclose all
know treatments and suspected treatments that I cannot prove, but my
experience tells me this stone is not in its natural state. To add to
this I often tell or write the down the story behind the stone.
Where it was mined, how it was shipped, how I cut the stone, why this
stone is special to me, etc. I also give my customers a gaurantee
that if I have misidentified a stone they may return it at any time.
Only one stone has been returned in the last 10 years. I made a
mistake. Rats!!
Hope this can Help Someone
Gerry Galarneau, Just a Stone Cutter