Sunday, October 5, 2014

To Seal or Not To Seal; That is the Question.

This necklace was sealed twice.
I know a lot of you are reading the posts about using sealers, so I want to pose this question to you all, and to others that create or collect beautiful cabochons. Here is why.

I choose to seal almost all of my jewelry projects with ProtectaClear to help protect the patina of the wire and to make my copper and sterling silver more desirable to buyers. I have done lots of shows where people love the antiqued copper but are afraid to buy until...I tell them I sealed it and discoloration should not be as big of an issue as they think. I do not lie to them. Sometimes discoloration does still happen, even though it might not be to the extent as it would had it not been sealed. And...I will reseal my items a second time for free if requested, and before it is shipped. Buyer's discretion.

Some are afraid of copper turning their skin green. Some are afraid it won't hold it's color over time, and with sterling...well, the normal customer just doesn't want to deal with keeping sterling bright. Those issues and the issue of sensitive skin is why I started to seal my jewelry, even those that contain show or gem quality stones.
This was sealed once.

I want to know what "you" think about this. When the normal person buys a piece, they want it sealed. But out there are people who "collect." What I want to know is what do you think? Do you think that show quality or gem quality rocks should be sealed? And if not, is it because you believe it will harm its value?

I want to hear from you. I will post all comments (unless you write really naughty comments that others might not want to read). I am impartial here, but this is something that I, personally, want to know from my readers. Let me know what you think, and I thank you for your time in advance.

You know what I always say...Stay Wired Up!!

3 comments:

  1. Gorgeous work girl. Hope you are well and prospering. Love your work.

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  2. Miss Gail,
    I am just entering the craft world of wrapping and am inspired by your work. Your wrap work is perfect and wonderfully artistic. Sealing the wires is something that I think is necessary specifically for the reasons you stated with sensitive skins. Tarnish (as you've mentioned in other posts) can sometimes be beautiful. Regrading the stones, i would suggest maybe a compromise here. You make certain objects from your creative mind and for yourself. Seal those pieces as you wish unless you learn sealing damages the stones in future. If someone wants to "collect", they should put in a special order for one of your majestic pieces and specify that they don't want the stone or bead sealed.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Suzanne. I do agree. All of my customers are told the pieces are sealed or not sealed and I am conscious of stones that should not be sealed, like pearls. Those pieces are not sealed and I tell customers why. I also give special order customers the choice to have a piece sealed or not. Thanks so much for your comment!

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