Past, Present & Future - November News

I am speaking to the second-year goldsmithing class at Vancouver Community College. I am given this opportunity, once a year, to introduce the students to the wonderful world of natural diamonds, and, as a bonus, I will answer the question why, after 46 years of buying and selling diamonds, I have not retired.

I remember when I was eighteen years old, and I wanted to buy a birthday present for my girlfriend. She was born in October and loved opals. I went into a jewelley store and saw some large loose opals and asked the price. When the sales staff told me how much they were, they saw the shock on my face, and they laughed. They knew I couldn’t afford any of them. I did not forget that experience and it taught me not to embarrass anyone.

On my third day selling diamonds for my own little diamond company, I made the rooky mistake of entering the most prestigious jewellery store in Vancouver and asking the owner if he would like to see what I had to offer. He was a world-renowned jeweller, and I was the smallest diamond dealer in the world. I was told, politely, that he didn’t have time for me, and I left the store having learned another lesson. I was not yet ready to sell at that level. It took me three years to get the nerve to go back into that store. I was much better prepared and landed the most prestigious account in the city.

I learned from another specialty jeweller that you can’t be all things to all people. So, I became a specialist, specializing in diamonds of higher colour that were graded to the most exacting standards.

Yes, I am uncompromising, and I often say, with pride, that I will never be the cheapest diamond dealer, but I will always be the best diamond dealer. I know that the cheapest price is always based upon how much the diamond dealer choses not to disclose. Everyone knows that diamonds are like cash and, no one sells a dollar for fifty cents.

So, after 46 years, why am I still in the diamond business. The answer is that I believe in the product that I sell. In fact, I love diamonds, I can extol their virtues all day long. I have no remorse when I sell a diamond because I sell truth and knowledge. I don’t sell synthetic diamonds because I don’t sell widgets. I sell special! I sell joy! 

So, I will try to communicate to the students at Vancouver Community College, that just as they are proud of the jewellery they are learning to create, they should also be proud of the elements they use in their jewellery construction. Through good times and hard times, through price rises and price declines, beautiful diamonds remain a special, special product and they will always be considered an ever-lasting emotional and sentimental treasure.

The diamond business, if approached correctly, is a business that you can put your heart into, a business that brings gratification to both buyer and seller. It’s hard to find an occupation that is so real, so meaningful, and brings so much satisfaction and pleasure.

The students at Vancouver Community College hold in their hands the future of the jewellery industry. The two most important lessons that I hope to impart are, one: that there is great gratification in being true to yourself and communicating your values to others; and two: that when looking for fulfilment in any occupation, they need to understand that ‘profit is not the goal, but the result of a job well done’.

Mel Moss