Was Colin Wagstaffe the problem after all?

[Ant7t]

I used to love Jewellerymaker when it first started. I boycotted it after Debbie B was pushed out, and they changed from being a jewellery making channel to a hard sell after slating cubic zirconia and then going on to sell it. I liked the alternative but just as creative jewellery making ideas, sculpey clay, efcolor enamel, plus others, but a lot of this was left behind. I do currently buy but at a much reduced rate and am not enamoured by their jade or their amber, and I have pearls coming out of my ears from the early days when they were cheaper to buy and which i have sold at ridiculously high prices.
Overall JM is failing, sad to say they lost their market years ago which I don't personally think they'll get back. Still it may help to unsaturate the market and give us a chance to sell the wares we spent so much buying and that can't be a bad thing.

I used to like it for the demonstrations. Not just to make, but to learn how things are made. Although, I did dabble once upon a decade in making items.

 

[Nicci205]

Yes, Wagstaffe was Mr. Gold Tone alright. He swamped TJC with it and then did the same at Gemporia. Speaking of TJC, I'm constantly amazed at what they get away with - no treatments mentioned on ANYTHING, omission of gold weights, dodgy buyers screaming God-knows-what at the camera, they seem to treat their customers with utter contempt, but people still buy from them and there's rarely a complaint
Why is this?
It proves to me that there's no regulator and they know they'll never be censured.

This is so true! It is so disingenuous and downright misleading. Hardly ever any gram weights mentioned on smaller items of gold and when they the presenters do tell you it's always more than the item is as advertised on their website has it. Next time they are selling a gold chain look on the website on live tv at details and the weight is miniscule for what they are selling it for and they're almost always less than the presenter is saying while they hide it on the tv graphics by not showing it at all! I have stopped buying as it's poorly made too. Can't tell you how many chains and bracelets I've had to get repaired after just one wear or too. My local jeweller has said the manufacture and quality is terrible, the finishing beyond poor.

 

[AndyW]

This is so true! It is so disingenuous and downright misleading. Hardly ever any gram weights mentioned on smaller items of gold and when they the presenters do tell you it's always more than the item is as advertised on their website has it. Next time they are selling a gold chain look on the website on live tv at details and the weight is miniscule for what they are selling it for and they're almost always less than the presenter is saying while they hide it on the tv graphics by not showing it at all! I have stopped buying as it's poorly made too. Can't tell you how many chains and bracelets I've had to get repaired after just one wear or too. My local jeweller has said the manufacture and quality is terrible, the finishing beyond poor.

Bang on. TJC used to be the place to go for a decent silver chain. I learnt early on to check the weight on the Gemporia ones. Ellis is always waxing lyrical about the long line lengths but, sometimes, the gram weight of one of her 30" chains is equivalent - or sometimes less - to what the minimum should be for a standard 16" or 18" chain.

This is one area where their BS online comparisons make me rage. They sometimes say "...and it doesn't even say what the weight is..." and use that to strongly imply that theirs must be more. Chains (as opposed to necklaces) are standard industry furniture and they should be fit for purpose.

Items like the one in the image attached are an utter disgrace. It's 20". "adjustable" just means a couple of badly soldered tiny loops to bring the wear length down to 16". At 0.78g total weight, which includes the bolt ring, this is just not fit for purpose.