Stuller's mountings are made in china?

Jewelry Discussion
1

Dear fellow Orchid members… All this talk about “Stuller’s
mountings are made in China”… so what, Big damm deal. Look around
you, go into any Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, Harbour Freight, etc,
etc and look at the many items that they sell and where do they come
from… ‘country of manufacturer’. China is right up there on the top
of the list. One of the main & biggest problems is that the large
USA companies that we are familiar with are moving and setting up
their operations overseas to places like China, India, Pakistan,
etc. The products come back to the USA and we buy them because they
are cheaper!..We are destroying our-selves. slowly. My Company
Lucas Dental Mfg. Co. which was created in 1930 Manufactures Spring
Driven Centrifugal Casting Machines for the Jewelry & Dental
Industry. You can go on Ebay and see a whole bunch of different
sellers with funny names that are selling Casting Machines from
China for as low as $125.00 with free shipping and people are buying
them. Why? because of the price, not the quality. I purchased one of
these Chinese brand machines for $125.00 with free shipping. WOW!
what a piece of garbage. I have had about 15-20 people over the last
year who had purchased one of these Chinese brand machines contact
me to order one of my machines at $279.00 plus shipping. The reason
was the same, they purchased because it was such a low price. but
upon arrival, they could’nt believe the Poor quality in these
machines, and they wound up returning the machines back to the
sellers and getting their money refunded back to them. Not only are
you getting the best quality on one of our casting machines, you are
also getting the best in customer service from a Family owned
Company that has been around since 1930, try getting that from
China.

PS: all this talk about “Stuller’s mountings are made in China”…
big damm deal. You want to talk about something, have you paid much
attention to the price of gasoline lately? I don’t know where you
live, but here in the New York, New Jersey area, our gas prices go
up the minute a bomb is dropped over in the Far East, near the oil
wells. We also have two sets of prices for gas, one is when you pay
in cash (lower) and the other is when you use a credit card which
will cost you about 12 cents a gallon more! 99% of these gas
stations are owned by people who have originated from the far and/or
middle east countries. and you make a BIG deal about
Stuller’s…that should be your biggest problem! Have a pleasant
day! Sincerely, Richard Lucas

2

I find it interesting that a country that is populated largely by
people who moved across oceans for economic betterment of their
families would attempt to deny that same betterment to other families
in other lands. The only argument I have with people who sell items
made in another country is that they please tell me before I place
the order. As a customer, I believe I have the right to know what the
excise department of my country’s government demands that they know.
Not only are my dollars economic votes at the ballot box, but my
spending is taxed according to country of origin on different scales.
That’s all I ask. Then - if the company selling the product does not
get enough business, they go out of business, plain and simple. That
is the capital way, is it not?

3 
 We also have two sets of prices for gas, one is when you pay in
cash (lower) and the other is when you use a credit card which will
cost you about 12 cents a gallon more! 99% of these gas stations
are owned by people who have originated from the far and/or middle
east countries. and you make a BIG deal about Stuller's.....that
should be your biggest problem! Have a pleasant day! Sincerely,
Richard Lucas"

Warning, long post/rant, if you are in a hurry, skip this one !

Damn, Richard, you nailed it and kicked butt. I see the pattern the
way you do.

Nobody noticed what was happening? Like the story about how to cook
frogs.

If you put a frog in hot water, it will jump out of the pot. If you
put the frog in cold water being heated, the frog gets cooked, it
did not notice the change.

We are the frogs. I saw this in George Bush’s first term. I was
telling my customers to have their children learn Chinese. I was
telling people that Geo. Bush must have Invested in China.

I closing my store of 24 years and taking a big hit.

I had an account with Stuller for 5 years in Calif. Moved to
Colorado, had my account for another 24 years.

Stuller is then very best company there is. The sheer volume of what
is available. Rarely do I have to go anywhere else.

With the customer base I had, as a one man shop, for what my
customer wanted and what they could afford, I did a lot of business
with Stuller.

People poo poo those who by parts and assemble. I did that. Takes
skill to design and put the parts together and make a very beautiful
ring.

I exceeded their expectation. What is the point, had a wife with
chronic health issues. For 30 years. I was able to pay insurance that
made a 10 day I.C.U. visit, and a 30 day rehab visit cost us, $350.

The bill was over $400,000.

Who was my main supplier? Stuller.

Who came through every time? Stuller.

Who had an amazing supply of rings, findings, gemstones and tech
support far above some of my previous suppliers? Stuller.

I will forever be grateful for all the good I got from what I think
is more than a business, it is a place that has heart. People who are
dedicated, have passion for what they do.

Did I ever have a problem, yes. Was it handled to my satisfaction,
yes.

And when I got behind in my bills, I called and asked if I could pay
on terms for a few months, they set up payments that I could handle
and get back on my financial feet.

I just find it odd that the people who have problems have such a bad
experience. Then they post on Orchid, and people get on the band
wagon. Who knows who contributed what to the problem.

I think if someone is having a problem with Stuller, they have some
responsibility for what is happening.

I know that I am articulate and I know how to talk to people and get
them on my side. It is also how I listened to my customer and always
made exactly what the person had in mind. Not one was anyone unhappy
or disappointed.

There is no company that does every single thing right.

I started on 1991. I got a POS system In 2002. Starting in 2003 thru
2011, my store made over $200,000 each year, one year we did over
288,000.

ROTFLMAO
Richard Hart G. G.
Denver, Co.

4

Orchidians,

Stuller has altogether over 100,000 items stocked items ready to go
immediately, and has over 300,000 available items, most of which are
made by Stuller.

I’m sure there are times when a merchant(Stuller) finds a nice
design from a good business partner and buys it from them.

For several decades, those of us in the jewelry business have been
buying tools, parts, finished and semi-finished goods made by folks
from all over the world. In fact yesterday I stopped and took a look
around by work area, and there I could track tools made from all over
the world. So what? Many are old but made very well and they still
perform as they should. The tools that were inferior go away and get
replaced by whatever is best quality, regardless where they may have
originated from.

The Art Jewelers who complain the loudest/most about Stuller having
and selling something from “China” just usually whack stuff out of
chunks of plates and wires, and never really buy enough Findings from
Stuller to make any difference whatsoever with a pose of boycott.
Jewelers in the fray of making a living immersed in a more commercial
manner, buy tons and tons of ready made parts, primarily to contend
with the commonly found mass-produced jewelry marketed, which has
been sold made by offshore manufacturing for several decades already.
As long as the item is well-made and usually priced right, life goes
on. Costs are passed along.

Imho, Stuller is doing an admirable job of trying to be everything
to everyone in the jewelry business, which is huge and diverse.
Everyone buys wholesale with a level playing field. Next day delivery
happens almost always. USA company.

If art jewelers want to complain about where a finding is made, well
they should just make that part themselves. Go ahead, go for it.

5 
have you paid much attention to the price of gasoline lately?

Did you know that 42 cents of every dollar goes to (seen*) taxes on
gasoline? Where I live (east Tennessee) gas is $3.36 a gallon
(yesterday). That means government is making us pay $3.36 for a
product that should only cost $1.41.

Government and the fourth estate/fifth column (the press) tell us
gasoline taxes go to pay for roads and infrastructure. And now
they’re telling us they have to raise taxes to pay for
infrastructure and roads.

High gas prices are not the fault of foreigners who work in
convenience stores, it’s the fault of Americans and the governments
you elect.

*That Which is Seen, and That Which is Not Seen
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep81h4

Paf Dvorak

6

The anger and yes I call it anger against Chinese goods is many
faceted.

One is the quality. Two is the cheapness of many not all of the
goods we get. Third is the job situation. And for me is the time
scale if the product runs out and how long it takes to get it
replaced.

I was on stage last night. Doing my smashing of metal routine. I
made it a point to tell the people who came by my small stage that my
ornaments were made by hand here in the USA. I still can’t believe
that the majority of the people would still ask if I bought these
from China to sell. I would then have to tell them again I made each
and every piece from start to finish by hand starting with 6 gauge
solid copper wire. The jewelry was made by me as well.

As we all know it takes time to make our jewelry. Yet it is the
perception by the crowds, that it must come from China and that
silver ring you are selling for $40 that you hand forged, should only
cost $5. No one else is doing what I do. Yet I still have to compete
with the ghost of some Chinese goods that are not like mine. What do
I do? Do I change my standards, and let quality go out the door (NO!)
Do I sell for less and make about 25 cents and hour? (NO!) Do I give
up? (I’m Danish we beat things to death) Do I look at it as a
marketing change that I need to make, yes. We all talk about
educating our potential clients. I literally have the stage to do it.
We see nearly a million people come through, and about 3/4 of them
see me. I plan on hitting harder this summer about made in the USA.
Other jewelers in other countries can be proud of their work and
their country as well. For me I’ll stand up for where I live and
produce.

As for helping the teaming masses, remember Pogo? “We have met the
enemy and he is us!” We need to take pride in our work, and do the
marketing even if it is one on one, that we are not Chinese made. We
are fast becoming the teaming masses in need of help.

As for a real piece of slender cellulose up my back side, I just
drove from Orlando to so. Utah. I have a brand new Explorer. It is
part of one of the recent recalls. Something was wrong with it when I
made it to my destination. I smelled gas, and it would get stronger
as I drove further west. Well yes that was the problem it turns out
that the recall was about. A certain part (Made in China) was
failing, and cars were becoming rolling fire bombs. I was lucky I had
not burst into flames. It was so bad, Ford impounded my vehicle, by
law. They gave me a rental for free until it is fixed, but here is
another rub, the part is being shipped from China. So many of the
vehicles on the recall had to have the part replaced, instead of just
looked at to see if it was alright, that they ran out of all
available parts. It will be a full month before they hope to see the
first shipment of parts. Ironic that the rental car I’m driving is a
Chevy. I found out at the same time, that most of the recalls we are
hearing about, are for parts failing that were manufactured in
China. Did we hear of recalls that often or in the numbers we do
today, when all was made here? No wonder there is a backlash. We can
gripe about inferior and cheap jewelry from China, but when it hits
our families safety, I will be most vocal and stand up for made in
the USA! Call me Xenaphobia the Danish warrior princess! If I could
only fit the costume. BTW I don’t shop at Wal Mart. My hubby refuses
me to even consider buying at their stores after he bought a pizza of
theirs supposedly made in store, that was full of maggots when he got
home. I was out there so thankfully I didn’t see it. That was just
our experience, and reasons why our family quit supporting Wal Mart.

Aggie

7

Hello Orchidland,

Just some facts to put things into perspective: World population in
2014 is just over 7 Billion. with a B.

China has the largest population and is home to almost 1.4 Billion
people India is close behind with 1.25 Billion people and the U. S.
ranks third with 320 million (that would be about one-third of a
Billion).

Source: Population by Country (2023) - Worldometer

So. out of every seven people, one is Chinese and one is Indian and
the rest of the countries are represented by at most a ‘third’ of a
person. The two countries with the largest populations will continue
to have a huge impact on the world economy.

I’m just sayin’… Judy in Kansas, who comes from a small town,
population just over 50K.

8 
A certain part (Made in China) was failing, and cars were becoming
rolling fire bombs.... but here is another rub, the part is being
shipped from China.

So the original parts, from China were defective and the company is
having another company in China make the replacement parts.

China is a big place and when one Chinese company proves to offer
inferior products/service another one steps up to reap the rewards
of selling a quality product. Sounds like the way successful American
companies operate.

Paf Dvorak

9

THANK YOU BETH for saying the following: "THIS is the reason that
many people react radically differently to something made in China,
as opposed to something made in Italy or Germany, where one almost
always gets what one ordered, and the description and the reality
match.

This is NOT xenophobic - it is the necessity to understand who you
are doing business with, and how THEY do business, so that YOU know
what you are buying!" I can’t keep quiet anyone b/c I am sickened
that there are commenters on this topic that infer those of us that
want to know where are products come from and what they are made
from are the ones with the problem.

It is NOT xenophobia. It is just plain and simple common sense.

In general, we know that “Made in China” can often mean you are
probably buying something NOT made of the materials that it is
supposed to made from, and was most likely made by people that are
getting treated horribly and paid next to nothing, and, that the
items may be hazardous or even toxic. The owners of these companies
just want to make money but don’t care about how they make the THING

  • as long as the THING ends up in their pockets - and will rip off
    whoever they can in the process to make more. HOW? By lying,
    defrauding, using inferior materials and creating false “brand name”
    packaging to cover their actions, etc, etc, etc, ad nauseum. (RELEASE
    THE GRAMMAR POLICE!)

The area of Massachusetts (in the United States) in which I
currently live is now about 50% “Asian.” I have lived in this area
for 14 years. When I moved here - the area was about 10% Asian.
Didn’t bother me. However, during the past 14 years, I have learned,
through MANY first-hand experiences, that these people from this
different culture have little concern for “quality.” It is the THING
they value - not how it was made, from what material it was made, or
the durability of the materials from which it was made. Again - only
the THING is important. (Example: this area is replete with Asians
that are "experts"in installing hardwood floors - their trucks
exclaim this in very poorly spelled English and even worse grammar.
Too bad that the “wood” they often use isn’t really hardwood.)

Both my husband (very much a “techie”) and I have had NUMEROUS
problems with items purchased from Asian nations over the years
(lets not be totally discriminatory and leave out the other nations
that famously produce “faux” items.) have absolutely NO PROBLEM with
sending you a THING, even though the THING isn’t at all what they
advertised on their website/eBay/Amazon. If it is a remotely similar
item - they seriously think that is just fine. No refunds. No
returns.

But there are some things we have to get that are made “over there.”
Some Asian manufacturers can make great items. Its a shame that the
the “faux” seems to be outweighing the “real” of late. As my mom
always said - “if you don’t want people to think you are an ‘X’,
don’t behave like an ‘X’.” So, if they don’t want to be known as
purveyors of the fraudulent, then they shouldn’t be selling such a
high volume of fraudulent goods. Period. I just asked my husband his
input on this topic - his response: “these days, ‘Made in China’
generally means ‘fake,’ ‘knock-off,’ - ‘inferior.’ It means made with
cheap components, and that you are probably not getting what you
thought you were buying.’” He just had an issue with Sony batteries
he purchased for our DSLR cameras - from a photography supply place
in Texas. They arrived in a package that was sent from Korea. The
items - FAKE. Completely USELESS. The description of the item order
in no way matched the real item that was sent. The “Texas” address
was a fake, by the way…

Years ago, I made the embarrassing error of purchasing a fair amount
of “Swarovski” crystal beads from a couple places based in China that
“guaranteed” them to be “genuine.” Even sent them in the paper that
Swarovski ships theirs in. Well, not only were the crystals uneven
and not consistent in size, the color rubbed off with a damp cloth,
and, I could literally crumble some of them in between my FINGERS!!!
Yes, I contacted the companies. And I got the same basic response:
“but, you did get crystals, right?” (Just go to one of those huge
organized gem shows that are known by their initials - the ones that
travel across the US and usually have their giant multi-vendor sales
in convention centers - you can actually meet these exact sellers in
person there. I did. I confronted them with their invoices and
product - their responsee? See my previous sentence.) So these people
are ripping people off IN PERSON as well. Go ahead - buy some of
their “gold” and “silver” chain, and a few strands of “pearls” while
you are at their booths. And you think that I am xenophobic just
because I loathe being lied to and ripped off!!! [Oh - I still have
several hundred of these “Swarovski” crystal beads in several very
pretty colors - does anyone of the “non-xenophobic” members of this
want them? I’ll sell them to you for the same price I paid for them.
That way, you can prove to everyone that you are not a xenophobe -
right?]

Simply put, moral people don’t want to spend their hard-earned $$$
on FAKE things - such as gold that isn’t really gold, but is the
COLOR of gold. “Silver” that isn’t really silver - but is the COLOR
of silver. “Gemstones” that are made of plaster or plastics. You
know, stuff like that.

A BIG thank you to the retailers out there that are honest about
from where it is they source their items. It really DOES matter to
some of us. Like others, I would rather pay more for a raw material
that is a component for my jewelry that I KNOW is the real thing -
as I have to put my name on and sell it to someone else.

Lori (trying to find out if i can buy a foot pedal for my Proxxon
without a junction box. even though the foot pedal is oddly “Made in
China” - unlike the German Proxxon)

10

Hi all

your price for gas is a joke. We pay $6.45 a gallon and the govt
gets most of the money.

all the best
Richard

11 
China is a big place...

You should check out the BBC’s documentary, Wild China. It’s one of
the best I’ve seen and does an amazing job of giving you a taste of
the vastness and unbelievable diversity of China’s natural
environment. You can stream it on Netflix.

Mark

12 
Did you know that 42 cents of every dollar goes to (seen*) taxes
on gasoline? Where I live (east Tennessee) gas is $3.36 a gallon
(yesterday). That means government is making us pay $3.36 for a
product that should only cost $1.41.

What a joke ! We pay roughly $2.- (converted from =E2=82=AC) for 1
liter.

One liter is about 1/4 gallon. Our government charges us with 62,5%
taxes.

This has nothing to do with jewellery but think about it when YOU
people complain about gas prices.

13 
your price for gas is a joke. We pay $6.45 a gallon and the govt
gets most of the money.

The government gets most of the money over production cost in the
US, too, and we’re getting uncomfortably close to $6.45. The big, bad
oil companies actually make less than ten cents per gallon.

Al Balmer

14

$6.28 here on PEI in Canada Richard. Imperial gallon (although we
buy it in litres)

15

Lori,

No one said that Stuller parts are poor quality. Just that they are
made in China.

Your rant has nothing to do with anything Stiller has done.

Until Stuller is guilty of something, It seems that this issue, quite
simply, is prejudice.

You cannot blame all your troubles with Chinese (or Korea) products
on Stuller. There is no guilt by association.

Isn’t it slander to denigrate a company by associating it with
inferior products when this is not the case?

16

Thank you Richard and Pedro for putting this in it’s proper
perspective! Blaming Sam for our economic problems is absurd. One of
the best reasons to be a part of this forum is that we are people
from all these different countries. As Americans we have had control
of the biggest piece of the pie since the 50’s, and look what we have
done with it. Now that China and India are coming into their own I
suggest that we think about how to convince them to not make the same
mistakes over greed that we have.

This is a one world economy whether any of us likes it or not. There
are some very hard times coming for all of us, and the old way of
dealing with the rest of the world will simply not do. As buyers of
gold and other metals we are at least partly responsible for turning
whole mountains into holes in the ground. It is no wonder that people
from other countries hate us. We treat the whole world as second
class citizens. We need a new paradigm for dealing with the world we
live on and ALL the brothers and sisters with whom we share that
world.

The pollution that we create here affects the drought in Somalia.
Given the electronic media, people from around the world are
connecting the dots. We painted this target on our own backs. The
fact that I love America, and even served in a war zone does not
blind me to how my fellow countrymen treat people when we are in
their countries. I could go on for pages, but this forum is about
jewelry, can we get back to that? Thomas III