“I swear that’s not gold spray paint. That’s real, genuine gold!”
One day we had a man enter asking if we bought gold. I said we did, and to my surprise he handed me a rock spray-painted gold! Worse, it was still wet! I politely told him we wouldn’t be interested in the item and thanked him for coming in. “Look at it, it’s gold!” he said. I took the rock in my hand and some of the paint smudged off. I informed him that gold wouldn’t just wipe off. He told me all gold was made like this. I couldn’t get to the backroom fast enough to share the story! — Morgan B., Corpus Christi, TX
A young guy came in wanting to know if he had been ripped off with an online purchase. His diamond ring came with a certificate that looked like it was printed off a 20-year-old HP printer. The certificate said the diamond was “genuine natural diamond.” It made no mention of the extensive fracture filling. He paid $12,000 for a ring worth about $2,500 at most. When I told him the price, he asked, “So, did I get ripped off?” I think the collective noise of my staff and jaws hitting the cabinets must have hurt his eardrums because he did not seem to hear anything else. — David B., Calgary, Alberta, Canada
A lady walked in one day with a penny she wanted us to buy. She thought it was worth a lot of money. You see, when you rolled it over, “the stamping was upside down,” she explained. She said she had paid $25 for it but the guy told her she could get $50 for it. I showed her some other pennies and noted they all were that way. I think she left still thinking I was wrong! — Lora W., Sanford, NC
This article originally appeared in the July 2015 edition of INSTORE.
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Family Legacy, New Chapter: How Wilkerson Turns 89 Years of History Into Future Success
After 89 years of serving the Albany community, Harold Finkle Your Jeweler faced a pivotal decision. For third-generation owner Justin Finkle, the demanding hours of running a small business were taking precious time away from his young family. "After 23 years, I decided this was the time for me," Finkle explains. But closing a business with nearly nine decades of inventory and customer relationships isn't something easily managed alone.
Wilkerson's comprehensive approach transformed this challenging transition into a remarkable success story. Their strategic planning handled everything from advertising and social media to inventory management and staffing — elements that would overwhelm most jewelers attempting to navigate a closing sale independently.
The results speak volumes. "Wilkerson gave us three different tiers of potential goals," Finkle notes. "We've reached that third tier, that highest goal already, and we still have two weeks left of the sale." The partnership didn't just meet financial objectives—it exceeded them ahead of schedule.
