When buying jewelry you should also know the difference between good work done by a jeweler, and bad work done by a jeweler. This can affect you as a consumer when you have a stone set, when you have a repair done, or even when you just have a ring sized or a chain added.

Take a look at the difference in this piece before it was fixed.

Notice how the bezel around the colored stone (which happens to be an Alexandrite) is uneven. Also, the channel set diamonds are not all sitting at the same angle in the channel and some of them look dirty because the jeweler did not clean the piece completely. Also notice how the channel has grooves in it where the jeweler nicked the metal and did not fix it.

Now look at the same piece after it has been fixed by a jeweler who does very good work.

Look at how the bezel around the Alexandite is smooth and the diamonds are evenly spaced, clean, and all at the same angle. Also, the channel around the diamond is the same width all the way around.

These are all specific problems that could come up in this particular piece but it’s just one example of what can happen if you go to a jeweler you don’t trust and you don’t look over the piece before you take it.