Inside Theft
Stories from the jewellery biz20 total reviews
Comment from Jay Squires
If that security guy knew you as Spiritual Echo, he would thing twice before accusing you.
A good essay. The reader, uneducated in the ways of jewel thievery would thing it was science fiction. Gold dust adhering to the hair gel? Amazing.
A good piece. No SPAG I could find.
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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If that security guy knew you as Spiritual Echo, he would thing twice before accusing you.
A good essay. The reader, uneducated in the ways of jewel thievery would thing it was science fiction. Gold dust adhering to the hair gel? Amazing.
A good piece. No SPAG I could find.
Comment Written 11-Jul-2015
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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Wow! No spag! They also carried things out under their tongues...really. Brylcream...it really works. Thanks.
Comment from N.K. Wagner
That's my reaction to being watched by security, too, Ingrid.
You have the plot of a novel in this essay...perhaps a security specialist assigned to a family-owned jewelry manufacturer whose owner is having trouble processing the information that he's being stolen from. Let it warm in the pot for a while. If it perks, it could be a really interesting story.
Great job. :) Nancy
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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That's my reaction to being watched by security, too, Ingrid.
You have the plot of a novel in this essay...perhaps a security specialist assigned to a family-owned jewelry manufacturer whose owner is having trouble processing the information that he's being stolen from. Let it warm in the pot for a while. If it perks, it could be a really interesting story.
Great job. :) Nancy
Comment Written 11-Jul-2015
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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Thanks so much for the stars and suggestion. I did start to write a fiction novel about the biz. Think it would make a better TV show. All the glamour of Dallas, but also the rot and smoke and mirrors. It's in a drawer somewhere half-way done.
Comment from judiverse
it was fascinating the way the company's employees managed to line their pockets. I especially liked the story about the guy with the Elvis hairstyle who left with trace amounts of gold shavings in his pompadour. Not only clever, but stylish. Your experience of being watched while trying on sunglasses. Interesting statistic about their being a frequently "lifted" item. That reminded me of when my husband I were shopping in Freeport, Maine, many years ago. I had found a pair of sunglasses I wanted to buy and put them in my pocketbook while I went to the ladies' room. They remained in my pocketbook, forgotten about, as we paid for our purchases--all but one--and left the store. If I'd been shopping today, probably all sorts of alarms would have gone off. Great point about stores passing along their losses to the honest customers. judi
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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it was fascinating the way the company's employees managed to line their pockets. I especially liked the story about the guy with the Elvis hairstyle who left with trace amounts of gold shavings in his pompadour. Not only clever, but stylish. Your experience of being watched while trying on sunglasses. Interesting statistic about their being a frequently "lifted" item. That reminded me of when my husband I were shopping in Freeport, Maine, many years ago. I had found a pair of sunglasses I wanted to buy and put them in my pocketbook while I went to the ladies' room. They remained in my pocketbook, forgotten about, as we paid for our purchases--all but one--and left the store. If I'd been shopping today, probably all sorts of alarms would have gone off. Great point about stores passing along their losses to the honest customers. judi
Comment Written 11-Jul-2015
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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Did you go back and pay for the glasses? Never mind--I really don't care, but sometimes it's innocent. We forget where our glasses are at home, easy enough to forget they're on our heads when we are shopping. Thanks.
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You're welcome. Nope, never paid for the glasses. It was a while before I remembered I still had them. judi
Comment from Dean Kuch
You can't blame them for being suspicious of everyone, Ingrid. It is their job, after all. And what self-respecting security guard would be worth their weight in spit if they profiled everyone? No, they have to look at each and every one of us as potential thieves. WalMart didn't make them that way, or hire them strictly because of it. Society made WalMart that way.
I found your article on jewelry theft within the industry to be extremely interesting. Now, armed with this new-found knowledge, I will endeavor to secure a position at Kay Jewellers, or perhaps Jared's. Hey, it would be a lot more exciting than what I'm currently doing now, heh-heh.
Well written, and thanks for sharing.
~Dean :)
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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You can't blame them for being suspicious of everyone, Ingrid. It is their job, after all. And what self-respecting security guard would be worth their weight in spit if they profiled everyone? No, they have to look at each and every one of us as potential thieves. WalMart didn't make them that way, or hire them strictly because of it. Society made WalMart that way.
I found your article on jewelry theft within the industry to be extremely interesting. Now, armed with this new-found knowledge, I will endeavor to secure a position at Kay Jewellers, or perhaps Jared's. Hey, it would be a lot more exciting than what I'm currently doing now, heh-heh.
Well written, and thanks for sharing.
~Dean :)
Comment Written 11-Jul-2015
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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Thanks. I'm thinking that I should start a how-to book on ways to steal from factories. However, though I have a lot of methods, my conscience would forbid me from educating the masses. With my luck, that would be my only best seller. Thanks.
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In the days in which we're now living, Ingrid, I have no doubt that such a book would be on the New York Times best seller list in no time.
~Dean :)
Comment from nancy_e_davis
Hi Ingrid. I personally detest thieves. They are the scourge of humanity. Most people work hard for the things they acquire in their life just to have some greedy person come along and steal from them. I would never take something that doesn't belong to me. This was very interesting. xxx Nancy
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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Hi Ingrid. I personally detest thieves. They are the scourge of humanity. Most people work hard for the things they acquire in their life just to have some greedy person come along and steal from them. I would never take something that doesn't belong to me. This was very interesting. xxx Nancy
Comment Written 11-Jul-2015
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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thanks...if you were privy to the shrinkage--also covers paper errors--but the majority is theft, both by customers and staff, of the average dept. store, you would be floored. Thanks
Comment from Donya Quijote
Very interesting. At on time, I was being trained as a goldsmith. I started with sizing rings, repairing chains, and stringing pearls. I got quite good a stringing pearls. I made good, properly spaced knots. Tedious work though. The master goldsmith decided one day that should try making posts and learn how to set stones. Tough task. Some stone are brittle and break or crack. Anyway, as a result of that training, I got access to the stones. Wow! So pretty. So small. Some were exquisitely beautiful; others were not so. Talk about temptation. Mother's rings and pendants often had the worst combinations of stones, and because of size and quality, some were just plain ugly. Still all of those stones had value. But never once did I ever think of taking any of them. I have a hard time imagining me doing that. It's just wrong. Once a diamond or something really expensive turned up missing. He asked me about it. I had no clue. Anyway, we turned the work area upside down and found it. He had been working on a piece and the stone had fallen off the workbench. He didn't accuse me, but those few days were hard. I think he really trusted me after that because he began to teach me about the quality of the individual stones. Some of the smaller stones were of greater value than some of the larger ones. Very interesting. I wish I could have continued. He left to start his own independent business and regretted that he could take me with him at the time. He actually recruited me for the job I had. He wanted to design the jewelry he sold rather than just repair it at the mall store. I enjoyed the job, that one more than any of the part-time jobs I had to take to pay my way through university.
I have never been obviously observed by an type of store security in my life. I think there is sign flashing above my head that says I don't have the stomach for stealing. A very repulsive act to engage in in my opinion, but people do it all the time. My students let it slip every now and again that they have tried it. I wonder if people think about what they are doing and effect it has on others? Probably not, but I wonder... What if they did? Do you think the world would be a better place.
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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Very interesting. At on time, I was being trained as a goldsmith. I started with sizing rings, repairing chains, and stringing pearls. I got quite good a stringing pearls. I made good, properly spaced knots. Tedious work though. The master goldsmith decided one day that should try making posts and learn how to set stones. Tough task. Some stone are brittle and break or crack. Anyway, as a result of that training, I got access to the stones. Wow! So pretty. So small. Some were exquisitely beautiful; others were not so. Talk about temptation. Mother's rings and pendants often had the worst combinations of stones, and because of size and quality, some were just plain ugly. Still all of those stones had value. But never once did I ever think of taking any of them. I have a hard time imagining me doing that. It's just wrong. Once a diamond or something really expensive turned up missing. He asked me about it. I had no clue. Anyway, we turned the work area upside down and found it. He had been working on a piece and the stone had fallen off the workbench. He didn't accuse me, but those few days were hard. I think he really trusted me after that because he began to teach me about the quality of the individual stones. Some of the smaller stones were of greater value than some of the larger ones. Very interesting. I wish I could have continued. He left to start his own independent business and regretted that he could take me with him at the time. He actually recruited me for the job I had. He wanted to design the jewelry he sold rather than just repair it at the mall store. I enjoyed the job, that one more than any of the part-time jobs I had to take to pay my way through university.
I have never been obviously observed by an type of store security in my life. I think there is sign flashing above my head that says I don't have the stomach for stealing. A very repulsive act to engage in in my opinion, but people do it all the time. My students let it slip every now and again that they have tried it. I wonder if people think about what they are doing and effect it has on others? Probably not, but I wonder... What if they did? Do you think the world would be a better place.
Comment Written 11-Jul-2015
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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I think the world SHOULD be a better place if people evaluated the consequences and personalized them, the do unto others as you would have done to you, but I am of the belief that in the last forty years, society has been infested with a plague of instant gratification, charging up credit and taking what they haven't earned. In time, there may be a discovery that mental illness was rampant in the nineties and early 21st century, breeding narsisstic segments of society who have no conscience.
Thanks for sharing a great story. No, big does not always make better, and especially not in gemstones.
Comment from Ulla
An interesting commentary on the ins and outs in the diamond business. Fancy that! The ring we are cherishing are not what we think it is. It is a sad world that anybody is steeling from everybody which in the end leads to a form of paranoia. Well written. Ulla
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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An interesting commentary on the ins and outs in the diamond business. Fancy that! The ring we are cherishing are not what we think it is. It is a sad world that anybody is steeling from everybody which in the end leads to a form of paranoia. Well written. Ulla
Comment Written 11-Jul-2015
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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Thanks. For your comfort level, a new form of diamond identification is popular now with each larger stone being engraved on the girdle of the diamond, working like an identity number with a registered certificate documenting the qualities and size of the stone. Difficult to forge and ownership is often registered.
Comment from Sis Cat
An excellent and informative as well as entertaining post. I learned a lot about the diamond and gold jewelry industry. Running a hand filled with gold dust over hair gel was ingenious. I was unaware of the shrinkage charge added to jewelry and sunglasses. I also enjoyed your wit and humor. Thank you for sharing.
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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An excellent and informative as well as entertaining post. I learned a lot about the diamond and gold jewelry industry. Running a hand filled with gold dust over hair gel was ingenious. I was unaware of the shrinkage charge added to jewelry and sunglasses. I also enjoyed your wit and humor. Thank you for sharing.
Comment Written 11-Jul-2015
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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I should write one called 'How to Catch a Thief.' Some very ingenious plots were hatched by employees. Thanks.
Comment from jpduck
This was all completely fascinating and new to me. Such is my innocence -- or perhaps that should be ignorance. Your writing is very clear and accessable.
Adrian
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reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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This was all completely fascinating and new to me. Such is my innocence -- or perhaps that should be ignorance. Your writing is very clear and accessable.
Adrian
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Comment Written 11-Jul-2015
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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Innocence is the right word. Why should we charge ourselves to know everything, clog up our headspace with things not pertinent to our lives. Me? I don't know a damn thing about electronics and have built great walls around what in my case is ignorance--not even a passing interest. Thanks.
Comment from Sasha
I found this quite fascinating. I had no idea that there was so much theft in the jewelry business. Once when my mother took her 2K diamond to the jewelry store to be cleaned they swapped out the diamond for a CZ. She didn't learn about the switch for several years and nothing could be done about it by then. She was quite upset, to say the least.
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reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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I found this quite fascinating. I had no idea that there was so much theft in the jewelry business. Once when my mother took her 2K diamond to the jewelry store to be cleaned they swapped out the diamond for a CZ. She didn't learn about the switch for several years and nothing could be done about it by then. She was quite upset, to say the least.
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The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
Comment Written 11-Jul-2015
reply by the author on 11-Jul-2015
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A very common occurance, but there is more to this example. Some men buy CZ rings, present it like a diamond then when it is taken to the store they claim the store switched it out and sue, usually getting some kind of settlement. These days, no one takes in a repair and call it a diamond, writing white stone on the repair bag. All diamonds are verified when they reach the repair station. Yes, it is that common. Maybe your Mom never had a diamond in the first place.
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She had it appraised by a reputable company when she first got it and it was definitely a 2k diamond.
