Introduction and questions

[tahitiangirl]

Hi everyone!
My name is Stephanie and I am 16 and have a passions for gems, jewelry, and especially tahitian pearls. I have been checking out this forum for a few months now and finally joined. I really think that all of the experts on this forum are very helpful and I was wondering if you could possibly take some time to answer a few questions.
1) I am thinking of purchasing a 10mm round tahitian pearl pendant set in 18k white gold with a .03 pave diamond. The piece costs $250. Now, from what I understand that is inexpensive. The woman who I am buying from says the pearl was not fake or treated. Is this a good deal?

 

[tahitiangirl]

I would also like to ask some questions about education. Such as GIA or any colleges that offer course and/or degrees in gemology.

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Stephanie,

As far as your pendant goes, US$ 250 for a 10mm Tahitian and a diamond chip is a good deal in bricks-and-mortar world but you can do better online (http://www.pearlparadise.com/detail.aspx?ID=190 ).

The GIA is not actually a university or any other kind of academic institution. I am not quite sure what it is really good for, but whatever it is it does not include protecting consumer interests in pearl purchases. Having said that, the GIA will give you a pretty certificate to hang on your wall and impress customers with when you have your own bricks-and-mortar store. It is unlikely to help you get a job in a jeweler's store but it does come with a presumption that in the future you will know what you are talking about or at least where to look up the answers first.

Zeide

 

[tahitiangirl]

thank you so much for your help! I have been searching the internet for some time looking at pearl jewelry but I do not have a credit card so that kind of squashes any chance of me being able to buy from an online store. Anyway, I have been running into dead ends when it come to education in gemology. I hvae looked at the courses GIA offers but they don't seem to offer anything solid that would help me get a job in the real world. I am also curious as to what types of jobs are available in the gem and jewelry industry. Any information about how to suceed in the jewelry industry as I have found no helpful information on this topic.

 

[pattye]

Hi Stephanie,
Welcome!
As far as your pendant purchase goes, I would say don't be pressured into making a quick decision. Is the pendant new or preowned? Does it include a chain? Did you look at it under a loupe? Are you certain the pearl actually measures 10mm? A single 3 pt diamond doesn't add much to the value. Look at the online stores who belong to this forum, including pearl paradise, as Zeide suggested. Hopefully you will find this forum as educational and interesting as I have. You have a nice budget to work with and should be able to get a piece you really love.
Patricia

 

[pattye]

Hello Again Stephanie,

Congratulations on having found your passion so young! (I should have said that earlier!)
Here is a website listing some schooling resources you might check out:
www.metalcyberspace.com check under metal smithing & jewelry schools.
THIS is a fabulous forum to learn from, and (speaking as a grandma) a relatively safe place to be online.
Other ways to learn:
Look in jewelry stores, from the high end to boutiques. Don't be afraid to ask to look and try on.
Start a library of resource books.
Go to gem and beading shows in your area.
If you don't already have, purchase a 10x loupe and a brass gauge.

Purchasing on line is most likely possible via cashier check, the stores all have toll free numbers and emails so you can make arrangements, should you choose to do so.

Others will no doubt have suggestions also! As Dr. Seuss said, "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" (If you just keep putting one foot in front of the other!)

Patricia Saab

 

[tahitiangirl]

Thank you so much for the advice Pattye! I already have some research books, but I am always expanding my collection. I have wanted a loupe and some other tools for some time now, but I am not sure where I could buy things of that nature. If anyone know of any stores or sites please let me know, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, I have been yearning to go to a jewelry or bead show and I have heard of a few in my area (Just in case anyone was curious I live in NJ), but when I check out the websites I noticed that I have to be in the jewelry business to attend. I really wanted to go to the JA show in NYC but I can't for the problem stated above. When it comes to going into jewelry stores, let's just say that I am the queen. I go to the stores in my area probably more than I should just to look and I can't go anywhere new without scoping the area for jewelry stores.

 

[effisk]

Having said that, the GIA will give you a pretty certificate to hang on your wall and impress customers with when you have your own bricks-and-mortar store.

No so loud, people might hear you.

I'm in the process of obtaining that pretty certificate.
I must admit there isn't much in the course I haven't already read in the forum. Plus most of the figures and statistics in their course are outdated.

I'm looking forward to the grading class though it's too bad it's only a one-day course...

Stephanie, here's a website that sells those loupes: http://www.indigo.com/magnify/gphmgnfy/triplet-geology-lens.html
(I've never bought from them).

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi FX & Stephanie,

I actually found a program at some kind of college (albeit one I have never heard of before) that does offer a professional studies program in gemology http://www.sccollege.edu/apps/Page.asp?Q=Gemology Certificate and Degree&menutab=3&pro=65. They even have a pearl seminar. Who would have thunk? There is one proviso, though, and that is that their gemology program is listed on a par with auto shop and gardening. Not very encouraging on the academic side.

Zeide

 

[jshepherd]

The ‘Pearls’ coarse is a great way to get your feet wet, but do your own research, and take a lot of what the book has to say with a grain of salt when opinions are expressed.

For example; the individual who wrote the Akoya section had his work dissected and changed by GIA "donors" who felt some adjustments needed to be made. At least this is what he told me. He was really not happy with the results, either.

If you read and retain the information from this Site, you will be miles ahead of anyone else in the industry. Here opinions are identified as such, and debates rage. So much information floats around both online and off that (borrowing and butchering a Pauli quote) is so far from right, it is not even wrong.

 

[effisk]

The ?Pearls? coarse is a great way to get your feet wet, but do your own research, and take a lot of what the book has to say with a grain of salt when opinions are expressed.

For example; the individual who wrote the Akoya section had his work dissected and changed by GIA "donors" who felt some adjustments needed to be made. At least this is what he told me. He was really not happy with the results, either.

I am not surprised and expected something like that. Each booklet about a specific pearl type of the course is "sponsored" by an organization (SSPC, Perles de Tahiti, etc. - except for the one about FWP). They provide pics and figures, I assume they also offer a compulsory proofreading service.

If you read and retain the information from this Site, you will be miles ahead of anyone else in the industry. Here opinions are identified as such, and debates rage. So much information floats around both online and off that, pardon the Pauli quote, is so far from right it is not even wrong.

I'm reading a lot in the forum, and from many other sources. Press releases, news, articles, etc. but that will never replace training with the real thing.

It reminds me of my first ornithology courses. I read so many books I could recognize in a split second a bird I'd never seen before. But when it came to recognizing a bird song when the book said "jay, jay and tweedle-dee" or "when I see you I will squeeze you and I'll squeeze you till you squirt", good luck!

btw the second song example is from the warbling vireo.

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Jeremy,

Are you trying to hint at the possibility that the Mikimoto Endowment for the GIA pearl scholarship program may be tainted by ulterior motives? Is that why the akoya section includes instructions on how to obtain comparison charts on Mikimoto clasps through the company's history for valuing pearls?

Pah, I say, that can't be because Paspaley, Jewelmer, and Perles de Tahiti forked over quite a bit of dough for the program, too. They can't be biased. Look, they even lowered the thick-nacre standard for akoyas from 0.35 to 0.25mm of the radius so that more akoyas can get higher ratings. Strangely enough, akoyas that are dyed pinker than others also get higher ratings. I wonder when the GIA is going to come up with a standard that says beryllium treated sapphires should be rated higher than only heated or even untreated ones because they come with a patented brandname setting.

Zeide

 

[tahitiangirl]

thanks so much for the information and advice! Its really helpful especially the links. Again thank you Pattye for the link to the school site I have found a few that I think are ok. Please, if you can, visit the site and give your opinions. http://www.biad.uce.ac.uk/site/courses/undergrad/hndgem.htm
Most of the jewelry and gemology degrees are only two years and that is fine but I would really like to have a four year degree.

 

[pattye]

Hi again, Stephanie,

The school you listed looks interesting, but I am wondering what you could get overseas that you couldnt get here? Your parents and school counselor and yourself together will be best able to evaluate that next step! I am not familiar enough with any of the schools listed to feel comfortable making a recommendation. (Most of my life has been spent here on the West Coast. My background includes degree in Education, have taught, owned a small business, and worked in fine jewelry for Nordstrom, and more.)

My suggestion would be to get catalogs from the schools that appeal to you. Perhaps you could even visit schools?

I would definitely suggest marketing classes--understanding the business side of jewelry industry along with the "romance side"--lovin' the pearls and gemstones. Plus the insider information you are getting here is invaluable, and safe to say, not available elsewhere in any form.

Please remember, Stephanie, its a journey, and there are always so many more questions that there are answers!!!

Patricia Saab

 

[Richard W. Wise]

Ziede takes on GIA, gotta love it. Suggestions that GIA is a cheap date, shocking! Will say this, the old G.G. course was useful and in the end you have gotta pass the 20 stone with no mistakes.

In my second try (got 19 out of 20 first time) I got this little piece of red aquarium gravel, messed around with it awhile and concluded it was spinel. The institute graded my exam and said I had mis-identified the spinel, it was a ruby.

Called the Institute and suggested they check, they had misidentified it, I was right and got the G.G.

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Richard,

It is not all bad with the GIA, however, their pearl course leaves a lot to be desired and is basically a pearl-platers' marketing tool. Considering the amount of time the GIA spends on teaching you that doublets and triplets are not lab gems and that lab gems are afterall not valuable real stones and how to detect treatments in diamonds and colored stones isn't the pearl course and its grading values an utter and total farce? It is to me.

Zeide

 

[tahitiangirl]

Thanks for all of the input everyone! It is very useful. I was looking in to the business program at GIA. I would need two years of business credits from a college and then I would get the other two years of training in business specific to the jewelry industry at GIA. I would get a diploma and bachelor's degree in business specific to the jewelry industry from the college not GIA. I think that might be the way to go because it is not an option to not get a four year degree. While I take the business course at GIA I can also take courses towards my degree in gemology. Is this a good idea?

 

[pearltime]

In my opinion the pearl course was expensive and the pearl grading course could have been taught in ten minutes. If I had it to do over I wouldn't waste my money on either unless I had no other resource. However it depends on what your goals are and what you need. Maybe that certificate you are awarded after completion of the course is important.