Fucking Jewelers

Yes I'm swearing. It comes from being pissed.

I've been checking in with Michael Gallagher Jewelers of Fox Run for several weeks now. I wanted green heart-shaped moissanite for use on Amybear's engagement ring. Gallagher is one of the only jewelers in the area that carries the stone. They were ordering me a sample at no cost to me, for which I was moderately grateful. They were also being very unresponsive considering the amount I was going to end up paying them in the long run. So after my last trip to Bear today (they're back ordered... we'll have one on Thursday... we promise...), I returned home to find they left a message on my machine.

Turns out there is no green heart-cut moissanite. Oops. Somewhere wires were crossed. Charles and Colvard make heart shaped or green, but not both at the same time. We're really sorry. Bye.

Now this would be fine if not for two things: they had been treating me like crap for almost a month now and they should have known this a month ago when I first asked.

For some reason jewelry stores tend to treat single men age 20-30 like shit. I suppose it's because we come in in our jeans and t-shirts. We don't look like we're made of money. In fact we probably look like we don't have enough cash for a haircut and laundry. Still this prejudice is damn stupid. We are the engagement ring demographic. He who treats us well will get a whole lot of sales volume when word spreads around. Oh and while some of us aren't made of money, two months of my pretax earnings is enough to buy a god-damned car. When is disposable income at its highest? Before you have kids and after they finish college. We are nestled firmly in the former demographic.

By the way, that month you cost me? I've asked Amy's dad already, so all I'm waiting for is a ring. That means I'd be engaged right now if it wasn't for you. Amybear now knows this too so you aren't getting any of her jewelry money either.

So fuck you Michael Gallagher Jewelers of Fox Run in Bear, Delaware. Looks like I'm going to be consulting Izzy on who he bought his ring from again. I believe it was Barclay Jewelers in Christiana Mall.

UPDATE: Izzy gave me the card for the person he talked to Barclay. Thanks.

To clarify, Moissanite is a synthetic stone made of crystalline silicon carbine. Its very hard (9.25) and has excellent clarity. It does not form naturally on Earth, although some samples have been found in meteorite impact craters. Currently one company manufacturers this stone, Charles and Colvard. C&C have the patents on the process so they are the sole supplier. While they make a heart-cut clear stones and green faux-emerald stones, they do not make a heart-cut green stone. In the end its a supplier problem not a jeweler problem. But since Gallagher is one of the only true jewelers in the state to carry moissanite (Penney's does too but they don't count as a real jeweler and they don't carry the colored stones) I assumed they would know their own product line. Unfortunately not.