More
than ever before, today’s jewelry store manager has to be a
know-it-all. He or she must understand new technology and new retailing
strategies in order to direct buying and selling, merchandising, repair,
custom design, hiring and a dozen other tasks. Yet rarely does any
single source offer information and guidance. This new JCK series is designed to help fill the gap.
The goal is to take a single development that
affects every job in the store and offer guidance on what the staff
needs to know to make it work. The first choice:
fracture-filled diamonds.
Fracture filling of diamonds, and other gemstones, has been around for a while now. But, as a number of TV
programs have revealed, jewelry store employees from salespeople to
benchworkers often still don’t know just what the technique involves,
how to work with a fracture-filled stone, how to sell one and what to
tell the customer about it. In most cases, employees turn to their store
manager for help.
This report defines the product and discusses
every aspect of operations affected from the moment it enters the store
until it leaves again. It tells the manager the minimum knowledge each
employee who handles the product must have. A fracture-filled stone may
be bought for inventory, come in as part of a piece of jewelry needing
repair or – an increasing possibility – appear without anyone’s
knowledge because it was judged to be “just another diamond.”
This last point is critical. Some stores swear
they’ll never touch a fracture-filled diamond – a legitimate business
philosophy, but one that’s upended when the product comes in without
anyone knowing, most often because of lax take-in procedures or
careless buying.
Let’s start at the beginning.
What are fracture-filled diamonds?
Fracture filling, also called clarity
enhancement, improves the appearance of lower-clarity diamonds (most are
I1-I3) and makes them more salable.
The process uses a glass-like material containing bismuth, which adds virtually no weight to the diamond. Its R.I.(refractive
index, or the speed at which light enters and leaves a transparent
material, such as a gemstone) and other optical qualities are almost the
same as that of a diamond (2.417).
The diamond and material are put together, in a
vacuum, in a container. There, using great heat and high pressure, the
material is infused, or sucked, into a low-clarity diamond’s internal
fractures, also called “cleavages” or “feathers.” (Strictly speaking,
the material doesn’t “fill” the fractures, but coats their
inside surfaces.)
The result: the apparent clarity of the diamond is improved one to two grades because the infused material’s R.I.
and optical qualities mask the fractures from view by the naked eye.
(The fractures are still there; the process conceals, but does not heal,
the cracks.) It’s interesting to note that while the process can
improve a stone’s clarity, it probably will reduce the gem’s color by a
half to two full grades.
The process isn’t permanent; it can be reversed
by exposure to very high heat (1500°), boiling in acid, recutting or
even prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light, which can discolor
the filling.
To be effective, filling must be inside a very
narrow break. It won’t work with cavities, drill holes or fractures with
wide openings. If a fracture is just slightly too wide, the fillings
will look like a “flow” and there will be no flash effect – the built-in
signature of any fracture-filled diamond.
Most loose fracture-filled diamonds range in size
from 0.33 ct. to 9 cts., with the great majority in the 0.50-ct. to
1.00-ct. range. However, fracture-filled melee as small as .01 ct. is
also on the market and in jewelry. Many tennis bracelets contain dozens
of 0.05-ct. to 0.10-ct. fracture-filled melee.
Why should fracture-filled diamonds concern me?
Fracture filling of diamonds is a controversial gem treatment because:
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It affects a diamond’s appearance, appraisal and handling.
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It is difficult to detect.
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It is widely used.
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Fracture filling, like other gem treatments, has
its supporters and opponents. The process was developed more than 15
years ago in Israel by Yehuda Diamond Co. (Diascience Corp.) and
diamonds treated in this way have been available commercially for more
than a decade. The treatment is becoming increasingly sophisticated and
difficult to detect.
Yehuda produces and sells 80% of all fracture-filled diamonds in the U.S. However, there are several other producers in the U.S.
and overseas, using a variety of processes – all trade secrets – of
varying sophistication, materials and stability. A new and potentially
troublesome development is the growing use of fracture filling with
laser-drilled diamonds.
Sales of these diamonds, while small (well under
5% of the total), are growing. Today, hundreds of thousands of them are
in the market, with their most popular use in diamond stud earrings,
followed by bridal sets or pendants. Many tennis bracelets now use
filled melee.
These treated gems are a fact of industry life.
Even jewelry stores which choose not to sell them will find them turning
up for appraisal, repair, cleaning or repurchase. That’s why store
managers and staff must be aware of what they are and how to
handle them.
Should a store carry these stones?
A mission statement
Whether or not your store sells fracture-filled
gems and jewelry should be a carefully thought-out decision, based on
your customers’ needs and wishes and the image you want to project.
There are valid reasons for selling the product.
The main one is that you can offer more bang for the buck, meaning you
can sell a customer a prized 1-ct. diamond for significantly less cash
than he or she would pay for an untreated stone of like quality.
There also are valid reasons not to sell
fracture-filled jewelry or accept it for repair or appraisal. Here the
main issue probably is that selling a diamond with a non-permanent
treatment and one so flawed that it needs treatment does not fit your
business philosophy. You feel that your customers want and deserve
something better.
The important thing is to decide up front whether
or not your store will handle such goods. Once the decision is made, it
should be spelled out as part of your mission statement. Your staff
should be fully aware of this store policy and be able to explain it
to customers.
Business ethics
Any store that decides to sell fracture-filled
diamond jewelry faces a basic ethical issue: what to disclose to
customers about the filling and how to do so. It’s an ethical – and
legal – given that the store must disclose that the diamond is treated
in ads and displays, in sales presentations and/or if the customer asks.
The customer must be told what clarity
enhancement is, that it is reversible and that it increases the beauty,
but not the quality, of the gemstone.
Beyond simple disclosure, say sellers and
suppliers of clarity-enhanced diamonds, a jeweler must ensure that the
buyer clearly understands how to care for and handle such jewelry. This
includes remedies in case the filling is accidentally removed.
A clarity-enhanced diamond should not be priced
the same as an untreated diamond whose clarity it equals (assuming all
other natural characteristics are the same).
Full disclosure of treatment may go beyond
telling the buyer what’s been done to the diamond in question. Some
jewelers who won’t carry clarity-enhanced gems say those who do have an
ethical obligation to third parties beyond the buyer – such as gift
recipients and bench jewelers or appraisers who handle the jewelry in
the future. They say the seller should provide clear identification of
fracture-filled jewelry (such as a tag or a stamp inside the shank) and
information on its care and handling (via brochures and wallet cards).
Otherwise, they claim, misrepresentation and mishandling could harm
those third parties, as well as the reputation of the retail jewelry
industry as whole. Until clarity-enhanced diamonds are easy for anyone
to identify, those ethical issues remain, they say.
Honesty has its upside: the more information a
store freely provides, the happier a customer is with a stone or piece
of jewelry that he or she buys.
Training: the minimum ‘must know’
The basic facts about the sale, care and handling
of fracture-filled diamonds should be taught to all members of a
store’s staff. This includes salespeople, bench people, office staff
(who often help handle take-in, sales and repaired jewelry) and
part-timers. It’s critical to bring new employees up to speed quickly.
All employees should understand clarity enhancement and be able to
explain the process to a customer succinctly.
Technically, they should know that:
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Most diamonds have fractures in them, though high-clarity diamonds (VS and above) have very few and these are tiny.
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It’s possible to improve the appearance of
diamonds with low clarity, which have more and larger fractures, with an
infused glass-like material which coats and masks those fractures.
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The treatment is reversible.
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The “flash effect,” which they should learn how to spot using a loupe or gem microscope, will help detect filling.
A “flash effect” is the built-in signature of any
fracture-filled diamond and the easiest way to detect clarity
enhancement. (Other signs of filling include flattened gas bubbles, a
“flow” around fracture or what looks like a web of cracks, but the flash
effect is the most common and easily detectable.)
To find it, hold the diamond by its girdle with a
pair of tweezers, table up, under at least a 10x loupe with darkfield
or direct lighting, or under a high-power gem microscope.
Tilt the gem carefully back and forth. Look at
every facet (58 in a standard brilliant cut) perpendicular to the
surface. A fracture must reach the surface to be filled and looking
perpendicular at a facet enables the viewer to see those fractures which
do. Look down the fracture, parallel to the break. If it is filled,
there will be a flash of color from the fracture. The colors you might
see include yellow, yellow/green or orange (against a light background)
and purple, pink or blue (against a dark background).
Diamond fractures also have natural iridescence,
which may be confused with color flashes. However, it doesn’t have a
quick, vivid “flash.” The key is to look down the fracture for filled
color flashes and broadside at a fracture for iridescence.
For selling, they should know that:
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Fracture filling is a process which injects a glass-like material into the stone, making fractures invisible to the naked eye.
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Fracture filling significantly improves the
appearance of a diamond. This enables a customer to buy the “look” of a
more expensive diamond for the cost of a less-expensive,
clarity-enhanced stone.
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Fracture-filled diamonds need special handling.
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If the filling is damaged or comes out, it can be replaced.
Excellent training aids about fracture-filled
diamonds are available from the Gemological Institute of America
(including videos, charts and sample gems) and Yehuda Diamond Co., the
leading supplier of clarity-enhanced diamonds (including free videos,
loans of sample gems, wallet cards and other materials).
Samples of fracture-filled diamonds should be kept on hand for instruction and reference for both staff and benchpeople.
Human resources: today’s needs
The increasing number, variety and
sophistication of synthetics and gemstone treatments make it vital that
every jewelry store have at least one trained gemologist to identify and
grade gemstones. Lack of training or inexperience can cause a store to
miss or misidentify fracture filling in gems.
Bench people should be thoroughly trained and take periodic refresher courses in identifying, grading and handling treated gems.
Those who take in diamond jewelry for bench work
or resale ideally should have gemological training or at least
experience in handling, grading and identifying gems. Anyone doing
appraisal work should have gemological and appraisal training.
Inexperienced, part-time or new employees should not be put at take-in
unless they have an experienced person to assist them.
Buying from suppliers
If you sell clarity-enhanced jewelry, insist
that your suppliers clearly and appropriately label all treated gems and
jewelry. Merchandise should be tagged properly and securely, and come
with information on care and handling that the store can use and pass on
to customers.
It’s also reasonable to ask your supplier to
mark finished jewelry in an unobtrusive way (such as inside the shank)
so that others (gift recipients, other jewelers who do repair or sizing)
will know it contains treated gems which require proper handling and
care in the future.
Vendors can also provide valuable materials on fracture-filled jewelry for staff training and customers.
Price obviously is a very important part of any
purchase. A good rule-of-thumb in buying a fracture-filled diamond is to
offer a price that reflects the quality of the stone before treatment.
Thus if it originally had an I2 grade and, after filling, is now an SI2, you should expect to pay for the I2 grade – with perhaps an extra $100 or so to cover the cost of the treatment.
If your store doesn’t sell fracture-filled gems
or jewelry, insist that your suppliers guarantee on invoices or in
separate written statements that they won’t intentionally sell you
treated gems and that the merchandise they ship you doesn’t contain
them. If your inventory is found to contain such gems or jewelry from
them, they should agree to accept it back immediately and make good on
any costs. Ask that they make the same request of their suppliers.
In an area so fraught with possible legal or PR problems, simple verbal assurance isn’t enough.
Taking in from customers
Whether or not a store sells fracture-filled
jewelry, sooner or later some will be brought in for repair, cleaning,
appraisal or resale. The following recommendations apply to all of these
take-in situations.
Ideally, all take-ins should be handled by staff
people with gemological and/or appraisal training or at least by
experienced store veterans. If that isn’t possible, make sure that
anyone in your store who will take in, clean, polish, repair, appraise,
sell or handle a piece of diamond jewelry knows what fracture-filled
diamonds are and how to check for them. The take-in counter is not the
place to start part-timers or inexperienced newcomers.
Assume that all diamond jewelry is
fracture-filled and examine every piece at take-in – even those brought
in for cleaning – for the “flash effect” of fracture filling (see
“training”). Also be sure to check that a diamond really is a diamond,
not CZ or a synthetic.
Some fracture-filled jewelry might have an identifying mark or stamp inside the shank.
Clean diamonds with a gem cloth or a soapy water solution to remove dirt before examining them.
Have the proper examination equipment at the
counter. A 10x loupe is a minimum requirement. However, it’s possible to
overlook or even misidentify fracture filling in smaller stones with a
low-power loupe. So, most experts strongly recommend having a high-power
binocular gemological microscope with pinpoint fiber optics or
high-intensity directional lighting at the counter to spot hard-to-find
fracture fillings in gems and mounted jewelry.
Do all take-in procedures at the counter in
front of the client. This prevents later misunderstanding or false
claims of switching and lets you question a client about the jewelry, as
needed. Ask if the gems in jewelry were treated in any way, whether the
original seller or gift-giver provided any special handling
instructions, and about the recent sales history of the jewelry or
stones. This information affects how the jewelry is handled at the
bench, while appraising or when labeling for resale.
If the take-in examination detects fracture
filling, immediately inform the customer and, if possible, show (via
loupe, microscope, instant photo or video) what you’ve discovered.
Explain the clarity-enhancement process, how it will affect the
appraisal, repair, cleaning or resale of the diamond and ask if the
client wants to proceed. (You need permission to do so.) If the
enhancement is found later, during appraisal or repair, immediately
contact the customer and ask how he or she wants to proceed.
When in doubt as to whether or not there is
enhancement, send the stone or jewelry to an accredited gemological
laboratory. Most won’t appraise or grade fracture-filled diamonds
because their clarity grade is unreliable. However, they do provide
reports stating if the stones were clarity-enhanced.
Findings, including basic facts about the gems
and jewelry and any peculiarities, should be noted on the take-in
receipt or a three-part take-in envelope. Put down as much information
as possible.
The customer should sign the slip to indicate he
or she has been told what was found and agrees with the work to be
done. This protects both the store and the client. The customer gets one
copy. A copy is kept for the store file and a third copy goes with the
envelope for reference by anyone who must handle it.
Put take-in procedures on a checklist to be
reviewed and signed by the client to show he or she has been informed
about and understands them. The repair envelope, receipt form or
checklist should also include disclaimers waiving the store from
responsibility for damage to a fracture-filled gem during repair,
appraisal or cleaning, if that treatment wasn’t known in advance.
(However, state laws vary on the effectiveness of such a disclaimer, so
check with the store’s attorney.)
Some experts also recommend posting a sign or
notice in the take-in area which says it is the responsibility of
clients to notify the jeweler if gemstones they bring in are
artificially enhanced in any way, since these processes can be reversed,
damaged or affected during cleaning, repair, polishing or alteration.
Of course, you don’t have to accept
fracture-filled jewelry for repair, cleaning or appraisal. Many stores
don’t. However, you should be ready to give the customer a reason,
verbally or in a brochure or sign.
Sales: meeting a market demand
Be positive, not apologetic about selling
fracture-filled diamonds. After all, if you are honest and open about
its treatment, clarity-enhanced diamonds provide real benefits for the
appropriate customer.
Offer this jewelry as an alternative to more
expensive merchandise. Explain clearly that diamonds have fractures, but
that fracture filling is a remarkable process which makes them
invisible to the eye and gives the gem a clean, sparkling appearance. In
effect, the customer is able to get the look of a larger, more
beautiful diamond for less money. One sales technique: show the customer
both a filled and an untreated diamond and let him or her weigh
appearance against price in making a decision.
Present the facts about fracture filling in an
impartial, non-judgmental manner. Don’t play any word games or make
false claims for clarity enhancement. Tell the customer the filling
conceals the fracture; it doesn’t heal it. (It may be worth noting that
fracture filling isn’t unusual, nor limited to diamonds; many emeralds
and rubies also are fracture-filled.)
Tell the client the treatment can be reversed.
Also explain that if anything happens to the filling, it can be repaired
easily by the supplier, often at no charge.
Give the customer wallet cards, brochures or
even videos-on-loan (available from suppliers) which clearly explain the
treatment, care and handling of clarity-enhanced diamond jewelry. Many
suppliers will provide these as well as in-store displays.
Financial matters: how to price
Fracture filling a low-clarity diamond makes it
more salable, by giving it the look of a more expensive gem. Sellers of
clarity-enhanced diamonds suggest a markup of 25% to 30% over the price
of the stone without enhancement. Thus a diamond valued at $2,000 and
enhanced to look like one selling for $4,500 could be priced to sell,
with enhancement, at $2,500.
Marketing & PR: spreading the word
If a store sells fracture-filled jewelry and
carries it in inventory, it should be promoted and marketed as
energetically as any other merchandise. Most suppliers have ready-made
advertising and promotional material, which can be tagged with the
store’s name. In-store events also are possible.
Be sure that any ads for specific pieces of
jewelry disclose that they contain fracture-filled diamonds and that the
treatment is reversible.
Many suppliers provide in-store displays and
materials for customers, such as wallet cards, guarantees and
videos-for-loan. These explain the treatment, care and handling of
clarity-enhanced diamonds and diamond jewelry in clear,
unambiguous language.
Be prepared for questions from your local TV,
radio and newspapers about fracture filling, regardless of whether your
store sells clarity-enhanced diamonds. There have been several recent TV
and print investigations, both national and local, of fracture-filled
gems and their sale by jewelers. To be able to handle reporters’
questions well, the store manager and staff should know what fracture
filling is, how it affects a stone’s appearance and how it can be
repaired, if necessary. Explain what fracture filling is and its
benefits (appearance and price) for customers.
Bench work: beware unpleasant surprises
Before starting any project, a bench worker
should examine any diamonds or jewelry for fracture filling if this
wasn’t done at take-in. Look for the “flash effect.”
Though it is more difficult to spot fracture
filling in mounted jewelry, don’t remove the gem from the setting, open,
clean or do other testing of jewelry without first contacting the
client and getting his or her permission to do so.
Don’t subject a fracture-filled loose or mounted
diamond to high heat (from a torch), boiling in acid, recutting or
repolishing, say the experts. In addition, some suppliers’
fracture-filled diamonds can be damaged by prolonged exposure to
ultrasonic cleaning (which can crack the internal enhancement material)
or even to ultraviolet light, including sunlight, which can affect the
filling’s color.
Remember, however, that fracture-filled diamonds
are repairable. Yehuda, the major seller of such gems, has an
unconditional guarantee to restore the enhancement not only of its own
gems but also those of any fracture-filled diamond.
Inventory management: assume the worst
Even stores which don’t sell fracture-filled
diamonds should periodically inspect inventory thoroughly to ensure none
were inadvertently mixed in with merchandise from suppliers. This
happens to even the most famous retail jewelers, as news reports
repeatedly indicate. The staff should be familiar with the tell-tale
signs of fracture-filled jewelry and what to do if any is found
in stock.
Legalities & security: potential minefield
Fracture-filled gems can be a minefield of legal liabilities and PR nightmares for a jewelry staff that is uninformed or simply careless.
The Federal Trade Commission says in Sec. 23.1 and 23.13 of its revised guides for the jewelry industry (approved 1996) that:
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any treatment of a diamond, including fracture filling, must be disclosed by the seller, and
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the buyer must be told the treatment is reversible.
Disclosure must be “clear and prominent,” not
only verbally, but also in any solicitation (i.e., catalogs or on-line
services) or televised marketing.
Failure to disclose, says the FTC, is a “deceptive and unfair” trade practice and can result in prosecution.
Don’t take that warning lightly. The FTC
guides are the agency’s official interpretation of federal laws and
regulations. It has the power to enforce the guides with civil and
criminal penalties. In addition, a number of states incorporate the FTC
guides into their own laws for consumer protection against deceptive
and unfair trade practices. Violation can bring charges of negligence or
fraud, and even lead to a jail sentence.
A jewelry store also faces problems if it is
complacent. Careless take-ins, or take-in exams of jewelry done out of
sight of customers, can result in later claims of switching (if
treatment isn’t spotted or disclosed immediately).
Put everything in writing. If a loose stone or
those in mounted jewelry are fracture-filled, that should be stated on
the tag, on the sales receipt, in any ads or displays, and on take-in
repair envelopes or appraisal slips.
Remember, too, there is no insurance coverage
for jewelry damaged while being repaired. Moreover, appraisal insurance
doesn’t cover misleading sales representations. So a store manager and
his or her staff must know what they are handling and what the risks
involved are.
Additional reporting for this article was done by Gary Roskin, JCK
