Bracelets - do yours come with a 'health' warning?

[Blue Box Studio]

Years ago when I made gemstone bracelets I found that some buyers failed to use the clasp, forced the bracelet over their hand and broke the cord, resulting in lost beads and unhappy customers. I stopped making bracelets for that reason (and a few more).  Customers would even admit that they didn't use the fastenings but still expected a free repair.  I've made a couple of bracelets for a busy fair I'm doing in a couple of weeks and was thinking of adding a polite note to say something along the lines of but considerably politer than 'there's a clasp on this bracelet, please use it or it won't be my fault if you break it' - does anyone else do anything like this or have people become more sensible in the last few years?  The person I sell to may not be the end user so telling them isn't always a solution.  Suggestions of how to word this would also be handy, I'm having a total mental block today.  I know of one gallery that returned a broken glass bowl/vase to the maker because the customer had dropped it and it broke - it wasn't very durable when dropped onto a flagstone floor, these people are out there waiting for us unsuspecting makers to come along, I'd rather not meet them if I can help it.  Thx.

[Billie]

Bloomin' sad everything has to be dumbed down/spelt out in large letters, these days, isn't it    I wouldn't say people have become more sensible.  In fact, they probably try it on more  I can't believe people have forced a piece of jewellery on, then expected it to be fixed when they've broken it.  If they want a stretchy bracelet, go buy a stretchy bracelet 

[julieHB]

Couldn't agree more!

[♥♥Tan♥♥]

It does beggar belief and I have to say, if I bought a clasped bracelet and forced it on and broke it I would be too embarassed at my own stupidity to say anything about it let alone turn up and demand a fix

[Blue Box Studio]

I had a sea glass necklace returned to a gallery because it fell off a low coffee table on to a thick carpet and smashed to pieces.  Now, this stuff has rolled around in the sea for upwards of 50 years and if it were that fragile it would not have any smooth frosted edges.  I took some sea glass into the gallery, put it on the floor, jumped all 12 stone on me and nothing broke.  I then made the 18 stone shop owner walk all over and he couldn't get it to break either.  He went back to the customer for me and I charged for the repair.  I love my customers and am more than happy to put right anything that goes wrong due to my fault but I don't like being taken for a fool.

So I take it no one bothers with a health warning and expects customers to use a clasp if there is one there; I'm still not sure.

[Billie]

It's just never occurred to me people would be that thick/sneaky... but it's probably worth mentioning if you have a "jewellery care" advice with your jewellery items when selling, methinks.

[sarah t]

put them on the stall undone so if they want to try it on they have to do it up .........

[jobead]

Perhaps you should add a little note saying "not for numpties" (they know who they are !)

[turnedlight]

I have in the past had a little notice about how chains (any chains not just the ones I was selling!) can break if you were to tug them or treat them roughly - because I had just had to replace two fairly fine snake chains which were both broken near the end but not from faulty manufacture.. I buy heavier chains now.
I've not seen people pull bracelets over their wrist done up, though. Bracelets are one of those problem items, you have to be really careful with t bars to make sure they won't undo on their own, I've had people turning down bracelets ended with t bars, but on the other hand they have trouble with trigger clasps as well, even larger ones. I've taken to doing the jewellers thing and doing it for the customer .

[ScarletLeonard]

People do make me wonder sometimes.

I would err on the side of a jewellery care leaflet that way at least the whole thing can go in with the item no matter what it is.
You could also have snippets of the leaflet on the stall.

As for wording.

"Clasped jewellery should not be pulled on as excessive pulling on the item may result in the chain/string snapping."
or
"The jewellery wire used in these designs is not stretchy/elasticated they are not intended to be pulled on over the hand/neck"

I do have all my bracelets un-done on my stall though I have never encountered anyone that has attempted to pull bracelets on. But having said that I do see people fully pull memory wire out when really they could just slide it on and make the wire do the work.

[awrylemming]

I have my bracelets undone on my stall as well - I offer them the opportunity to change the clasp if they wish, and if it is possible. 

[Blue Box Studio]

Hadn't thought to have them on the stall undone, have bought a small bracelet stand for them.  Good point though.  Like the suggested wording, I think I need something.  I think the problem in the past has been people buying larger bracelets than they would normally so they can push them over their hand.  I can point out that is not the intended use if they are the end user, but so often things get passed on.  Don't have this problem with necklaces, perhaps people realise noses get in the way of shoving things over their heads?

Frankly people will try anything on.  I had a lady buy some sterling bangles as presents for her sister at a fair a couple of years ago.  They were reduced to cost price as there were just a couple left and I had stopped making silver jewellery due to my arm injury.  I made it clear that there were no returns on these items unless faulty because they were end of line.  No problem, bargain, bought a couple.  Two years later she wants a refund, they don't fit the sister and she wore them for a while but doesn't like them now.  I said I wasn't prepared to refund as they were not returned within a reasonable period (even though she agreed there was nothing wrong with them) and they had been worn; she agreed she only wanted a refund because she didn't like them now, they didn't fit in with her other things.  Hell, did she go off on one.  She'd been pregnant, it had been a difficult time, then having nearly died she fell pregnant again and I should feel sorry for her and understand because she'd nearly died a second time and hadn't had any time in the past 24 months to simply email me.  She ended up by telling me I was a very unreasonable woman and I could simply clean them (so presumably they needed a clean too) and resell them, and if I hadn't enough stock to make a silver jewellery display I could simply make some more to go with them!  This tirade went on for days, I only spoke to her for 3 minutes on the phone the rest was emails.  Yup, I am a darn unsympathetic unreasonable charlatan of a stallholder then and should be drummed out of town.    

[Blue Box Studio]

I have my bracelets undone on my stall as well - I offer them the opportunity to change the clasp if they wish, and if it is possible. 

I'm using ring and bar fittings as previously people found lobster clasps too fiddly.  What else is there that is easy to use one-handed and not too expensive to source?

[Kalorlo]

I like S-hooks, made in fairly hefty wire. Easy to put on and they stay done up.

[MadelineBunyan]

I have never had that particular problem, the problems I have had are with bangles. bangle mashers (no, not a funky new tool, a jewellery vandal!) who try stuff on, particularly open at the back bangles, and then squash it onto their wrist! wtf are you doing? dont you realise that metal doesnt bend forever and will eventually snap? sure, have me adjust it to your wrist shape, but you do not need to squeeze it on!

and then, horror of horrors, one of these bangle mashers got let loose on a beautiful enamelled bangle mum had lovingly made, etched out the cavitys, fired it ten million times, diagrit and emeried and final polish...crrrrack, oh, I dont want it anyway.

Mum was too nice and too shocked to say 'you have just irreparably damaged a £100 piece of stock, therefore you owe me £100'


what an unreasonable woman with the bangles, they wouldn't do that to a high street shop would they?! well, maybe she would, and would she have got a result? nope. she'd get 'our policy states this, so I'm very sorry but there's nothing I can do'

think I need to write some kind of policy to refer to when numpty's come along.


I have a jewellery care section on my website, I think I will expand it a little!

I use pretty clasps, and I tend to make a point of going, 'and look at this lovely clasp, isn't it a nice feature?' or something,whilst undoing it and doing it back up again, just so I know that they know, how it works (didn't know I was doing it so they knew it was even there!)

I will point out that I never put a magnetic clasp on a bracelet unless its the kind that has a catch over, cause they just come undone at the slightest touch and drop off and get lost without noticing. (I also don't put them on cause I generally use sterling and have you seeen the prices of em lately! eep!)