You do not know what you do not know is my anger-filled rant at jewelry stores that do not know how to knot or restring pearls. Ugh! You jewelry stores do not know what you are doing and I think you should just admit it!! Trust me, I understand.
Here is my “dirty secret”… I do not knot or string pearls. It is true. I make it my life’s mission to know as much as possible about pearls but when it comes to stringing pearls… I do not know how to do it. Abby, Head of Production at The Pearl Girls, has tried to teach me. So I know how I am supposed to do it. However, I do not have the patience to sit and tie each pearl to perfection. And that is the true gift of knotting pearls… doing it well. And if you are not doing it well, it must be redone. Each day, as the wonderful women at The Pearl Girls string pearls I hear the tales of loose pearls, broken string, extra knots and more. And what happens when our new jewelry and repairs are not perfect? They redo it! Which is why I get so ANGRY at the awful job jewelry stores are doing re-stringing other people’s pearls!
Yes, yes, here is my disclaimer… some jewelry stores actually know what they are doing. Kudos to you. But, you cannot imagine how much of the work we do is a re-do of work done at a fine jewelry store. I think stores need to know what they do not know. If they do not have a repair person on staff who is 100% competent in their work with pearls… they should tell the customer the truth. And I am talking about the nations TOP jewelry stores… long-standing establishments who most people trust to know what is best for their jewelry. And day after day jewelry is sent to us that is loose, worn out, the thread is too thin, the knots are too big, the piece of jewelry simply looks awful or doesn’t clasp or has already broken after just being repaired! We even had a customer who demanded their jewelry store to re-do her pearl necklace since it looked so bad. They agreed but said they would have to charge her, again! Needless to say, we heard from her the next day. There is nothing we can do to stop jewelry stores from accepting repair work that they are not capable of doing but I am going to plead to customers… know who you are dealing with before you drop off your jewelry at your local jewelry store. I definitely hate that you are having to pay twice to get your jewelry done right.
And, yes, here is my plug…. avoid the headache and send your jewelry to us. We will take care of it, keep it safe and send it back in perfect condition!
India
I am a modern day treasure hunter who travels the world for gorgeous pearls and amazing adventures. I own a pearl jewelry and jewelry repair business, ThePearlGirls.com, with a cute retail store in Athens, GA. I also have a Pearl Travel business and travel blog at TheWorldofPearl.com.
