devoted
to the nuances of safe, honest, and correct diamond purchasing. As one
commentator on the subject has said (it was the trade editor, Mr. Fred
Cole) there never has been mined in all history as many "pure
blue-white perfect" stones as have been claimed in advertising.
But
there is carelessness, to use a generous term, in advertising in all
branches of business. Fortunately it is not widespread. The majority of
credit houses should not be blamed for the sins of a small and raucous
minority. There are many credit houses conducted on the same high plane
as the best of so-called cash stores. In the jewelry trade they will
tell you about Basch & Company in Toledo; Square Deal Miller, in
Detroit, Max's in the thickly populated Polish Detroit suburb of
Hamtramck, Marks Brothers in Chicago, Ben Tipp in Seattle, Friedlander
& Sons in Seattle, Robert R. Savitt's store in New Haven, and many
others. These firms are foremost in promoting the ethics of the trade.
Hundreds more could be named and an apology must be made here for
selecting only a few of the outstanding examples.
Finally,
diamonds and other jewelry are becoming important to mail-order
houses. Montgomery, Ward & Company of Chicago has a special
jewelry department within which is a vast diamond division. Diamonds
are sent out by mail just as any other goods are sent out by mail or
freight or parcel post or express. They go to the most out-lying
districts of the United States. They are advertised regularly in the
catalogues issued yearly and—more important— these diamonds are of the
finest American cut.
All
these stores are dependable, honest, ethical. And it must be remembered
that they are typical of the thousands of others they represent, even
though unmentioned in this book. Ethics in the diamond business—in the
whole retail
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