The Devil wears Diamonds....High end Jewellery and diplomacy....

  When working in jewellery as a sales associate, I was told in my first week by a colleague, that this was no ordinary Sales position. 
These words would soon ring true.

This article is written for those who I may have worked alongside and who have worked in the gem, jewel and diamond industry who understand, just how versatile one has to be at times, as you do everything you have to do to satisfy your customers needs and your Bosses demands.

The role was more like being a foreign diplomat or hostage negotiator.  It was being diplomatic and graceful and whatever tact I lacked, I am most appreciative to those that were working along side me, and who s examples spelled all these qualities and showed me the way to serving an array of customers, clients and people that were often difficult and others that were wonderful to serve.

So, What is a girl to do?  I have worked and been very lucky to work in high end jewellery and enjoyed my time there.  What did I do, well as the youngest member of the team, EVERYTHING!!!!

Everything nobody else did. Wanted to do , everything nobody else had the enthusiasm to tackle, and this included spritzing the Orchids in the very overheated windows for the absolutely exquisite window displays. 

It included - being woken with a phone call from my Boss - very early one morning -  and telling me he needed books on Tortoises ....
- To which I could only reply -" Sir, I have a book on animals of South Africa and there is a very small subsection in there, could I bring this as a start? and ask what would you like more specifically - Tortoises, turtles or Terrapins? and of South Africa or the world?"   

With this role I did however show my dedication to a longstanding brand in South Africa that has without a doubt some of the best jewellery manufacturers in their workshop and exquisite gems and diamonds.  A boss with exquisite taste that over the period that I was there, realised that just as he had taste, mine was fairly often in sync with his, and how I carried out my duties and tasks were not commented on, but a nod acknowledged what words didn't. 

My first Saturday in the store, I should have known that this would be the adventure of a lifetime.  There is a very narrow corridor in the back of the store that leads to a small office which was the switchboard. 
Just before lunch, I heard the lady at switchboard let out a scream so severe, I m surprised I didn t try finding the emergency kit en route down the corridor. My arrival marked a panic strickend Cynthia, clutching a colleague, saying that there is a mouse!!
as I walked in the mouse was the size of a R5 coin.  Tiny.  Just a bit bigger than a Pound coin.  I went to the kitchen and as there were no jars, I ended up having to use a little teacup, shooed the little thing in and headed for the garden outside.  Met in the middle of a narrow passage by my new boss who looked at me, as if to ask, where are you going?  I lifted my hand off a tinny teacup, revealing an even tinier mouse and said to him rather simply " He didn t do anything wrong, he's lost" .  I left and put him outside.

   

I was in a sense the girl in the Devil wears Prada, but I did not get there dressed in a frumpy frock.

I walked in in a suite.  In Black.  Always in Black as I had been told in the initial interview with the Head designer.  Unless of course I was wearing a cream suite, and whatever colour I would wear, I hope would always have been appropriate.  I would wear colour generally in the form of a scarf, Lipstick or on occasion Eyeshadow -  this was tricky as eye makeup has the unfortunate tendency to make you look like a Panda bear by the end of the day if you have been doning Valuations and working on the Microscope from 7am to 8pm....

Think of it as The Devil wears Prada in Diamonds - keep the Fashion.

Every morning before I would walk through the very Chic boutique studded mall - I would first go to the ladies - and make sure I looked Flawless.  This is very important - as it makes you feel great and then nobody can say a word about your appearance.  I mean, nothing bad that is.   Then I had to be there at least twenty minutes ahead of my time to start working as I deemed it proper to go greet every member of staff and to see how they were and how their day was going and to lat me know if there was anything they needed help with on that particular day.
There was one that did not greet me back until I managed to crack her after seven moths of friendly good morning greetings.  She finally greeted back.

Then I would proceed to the safe which I lovingly referred to as Wardrobe..
I would select jewellery for the day, appropriate to what I was wearing. 
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It took some time but in the end I was entrusted to tasks that made me smile. 
I got to be the assistant to the resident Gemmologist.
After that, to assist also the resident Valuator.
I also had to a number of other tasks some of which most often seemed impossible, but with some effort I managed to pull off well.

I remember having to do private sales at a client who was a host for some delegates from China.  A president of a rather large organisation, walked in after setting up.  My boss and the resident gemmologist along with myself were introduced.  I was asked to advise on a number of items and after the sale went through I truned to the president and the interpreter and introduced myself in Mandarin.  I may have amused they looked at me and burst out laughing and the entourage followed suit.  My boss turned to me rather puzzled and I looked slightly down and said I would tell him later.

I enjoyed them as clients and follow up was the following morning in a hotel restaurant as I had to drop off all valuations and a re sized ring.  Their simple, polite and graceful manner is one that I will never forget, as they were also very respectful of my knowledge and ability to serve them.

My boss along with some of the other staff, also had a good laugh, when I told them I had learned a few introductions in Mandarin and Japanese in my final year of Jewellery as I did my design work on Japanese Beauty - from the Edo period to 2006.  I mentioned I took a moment to introduce myself in Mandarin. 

Other situations included having to select an array of diamond jewellery for a Canadian vocal artist and glad that she liked it as there was a sale.

I knew nothing about watches when I got to the store.  The first week there were upgrades on Rolex catalogs and I was instructed to destroy the old ones.  I went to my Manager, quietly - he was also the resident Gemmologist.  I asked him if I might take the one catalog home.  When he asked why, my reply was simply that I had never worked with watches and felt I needed to learn more.

A week or so later, word must have gotten round to some of my colleagues, as they teased me about my light reading...

There was an incident right at the start though in my first two months.  My Boss had a project in Cape Town - and I had to relocate to Johannesburg for the job.  He was opening a store in the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in the Platinum mile, a new development that included store like Mont Blanc, Jimmy Choo and Fendi etc, etc.
The designer had not really spent time in Cape Town, and having to phone her about a particular job,I took the opportunity , as I grew up there, to let her know, that if there was anything she needed to let me know.

She said that she was fine just very busy on the project, but wouldn't mind a decaf skinny cappuccino.  After which she burst out laughing.  Well,
 I laughed as well and wished her luck.  Until moments after hanging up the phone I remembered a friend of mine managed a Restaurant there, I phoned him up - he was managing a different branch, but I was given the name of the person to speak to.  I phoned up - gave the order, location and description of the designer along with instructions to take a menu.

I got a call five minutes later, with laughter on the other side, saying "I knew you would be perfect."

 
I miss you.