Catholic Info
Traditional Catholic Faith => The Greater Depression - Chapter I => Topic started by: Neil Obstat on June 06, 2012, 03:20:47 AM
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In case anyone reading this is thinking about picking up their jewelry after having a ring sized, or a watch battery replaced ...
I went in to a local jeweler to pick up my watch the other day and the shop is closed, and the jeweler is gone, and nobody around knows where he went. Another jeweler in the same mall (Glendale Galleria) told me the guy just went out of business and nobody knows where the inventory has gone.
So I called another jeweler where I have an item in for repair, and he told me a story about yet another local jeweler who recently disappeared over night. (I'm now talking about a third jewelry store.) This was very interesting for me, and perhaps it's something you might like to keep in mind regarding jewelers, especially at shopping malls.
This is about Victoria Jewelers, in Valencia Town Center Mall.
Article in the Signal (http://www.the-signal.com/archives/10347/)
In case you're thinking, "Well that just shows how you ought to be sure the shop is reputable before you drop off your family treasures," keep in mind that Victoria Jewelers WAS a "reputable" shop. This is the whole point. Their reputation was fine. Lots of customers were very happy with them. They had been in business for many years with a good record of fair prices and on and on. But they disappeared overnight without a trace. This is the whole point here.
This happened early March this year, but it's still news around town. A number of customers had items in the store being repaired or maintained. But the shop keeper suddenly packed up all his inventory overnight, and skipped town.
My friend told me that one customer he heard about didn't get her story in the news because she's too embarrassed. She had given Valencia Jewelers a cache of diamonds from her family heirlooms worth over a $million, plus, $6,000 in cash to make a piece using the diamonds. Now her jewels and her cash are nowhere to be found.
The shopkeeper did not leave any forwarding information, and the Mall itself has no contact information.
This sounded to me too much like Internet businesses in past years that scammed people with their funds, so I asked him why the Mall didn't have some kind of bond with a jewelry store, before they can open business there. He replied that the industry is like this. He said he has never heard of any shopping mall that requires any applicant to post a bond or leave some kind of reliable proof, before they can open a jewelry store in the mall. He said that any jeweler can shut down overnight and take all the customers' jewels and watches and nobody will be able to do anything about it.
Something to be aware of, when you want to have your wedding ring sized.
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Thank you for posting this caution.
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Heads they win tails you lose.
That's what often happens when ethnic networks control these sorts of businesses.
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Tragic tales - people should always beware.
If possible, only have one piece of jewelry sized at a time and ALWAYS at a legitimate store.
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That article is from 2009.
But still same thing with pawn shops. And I also have heard it happening with bridal shops.
I would go to a big name box store or an old Catholic jeweler I know who has been in business over sixty years in the same location.
Sometimes Catholic jewelers will advertise in the NO church bulletin and that is often available online.
A couple jewelers in our town did go out of business but I don't know if this same thing happened.
It was much worse though when the candy store went out of business. :sad: