Tom Shane's World

One of the best parts of my job, hands down, is the variety of cultural experiences that I’m honored to become familiar with.

This stems from our industry being a global one, and affording me the opportunity to work with people from all over the world on a daily basis, as well as constantly traveling to all four corners of the earth.

Usually my travel is strictly for work purposes, where I have to sneak in cultural experiences late in the evenings, or on an early morning run. Recently however, I got to travel along with my father to experience something that was purely for pleasure, with the business relationship simply being the common tie between the friendships that allowed us this opportunity.

It was the wedding of our friends, who are of Indian descent, and who decided to have a destination wedding in Turkey.

My dad and me in Turkey

We have been doing business with their family for well over 30 years, and were fully welcomed and immersed in all the cultural aspects of the event.

The food we ate, the music we danced to, the customs we followed, and the clothing we were adorned in all had deep Indian roots.

Aside from how overjoyed we were for the bride and groom, which was clearly the highlight of the weekend, the magic that really blossomed from the event was realizing how small our world actually is.  Although we come from different backgrounds, have different languages and different traditions, we are all spun from the same cloth.

Being in the diamond business means that your business relationships extend all over the world.

Being the fourth generation in the business means that those relationships’ roots run deep.

It is both a pleasure and an honor to so often call our business partnerships friendships, and it’s times like these when I find myself appreciating the business to its fullest capacity.

Recently, I have been buying two new types of sapphires for our company… black sapphires and white sapphires. And the reaction has been fantastic.

Black sapphires are opaque by nature, so one assumes they don’t have a lot of brilliance. But I have been having ours recut by our own gemstone cutters after I buy them in Bangkok. They are being cut like diamonds, and this gives them a beauty that is hard to imagine. They are popular in pendants, earrings, and all kinds of other jewelry. We carry them loose as well as mounted. Most black sapphires on the market have a touch of grey, silver or even dark blue – but I won’t buy those; mine are truly black. We pay a premium for this, but when you see both these stones and how little they actually cost anyhow, you will appreciate our extra effort.

Round Multi-Colored Sapphire Journey Earrings

White sapphires, on the other hand, resemble diamonds. It takes an experienced eye to tell the difference, in all honesty. The white sapphires I buy are also recut by our own gemstone cutters to maximize brilliance and beauty. The color is absolutely white, and they are spectacular to look at. We have had many customers use these stones instead of diamonds. While, technically, they are not as hard as diamonds, sapphires are very durable and equally suitable for everyday wearing.

We carry sapphires in every color that they come in, from all shades of blue, green, yellow, orange, lavender and pink. By adding black and white, we find that our customers can create jewelry that truly sets the mood they desire. Besides commemorating special events or things in a person’s life, jewelry with sapphires can be worn to smartly accessorize a well-groomed woman’s wardrobe. And we are actually putting more of the black sapphires into men’s jewelry than we are in our ladies’ collections.

Round Multi-Colored Sapphire Bracelet (7″)

Larger black sapphires are available. We carry some and, of course, I will always be glad to get one especially for a customer (but it may take time, depending on what is required). On the other hand, white sapphires that have the quality I demand of all our stones are almost non-existent in the larger sizes. It is not even a question of price.

Over the past 20 years, I have personally stopped buying most of the diamonds for Shane Co… But I continue to buy every ruby and sapphire we sell. I take pride in the reaction our customers have when they look inside our showcases and see the difference between our stones and those of any other jeweler in town. This is one skill that I have learned over the years, and I love doing it. I have to get each stone recut after buying it to make sure its brilliance and sparkle is maximized. When you see our newest additions – the black and the white sapphires – you will see that they live up to our high standards.

Round Multi-Colored Sapphire Journey Pendant (18″)

Most jewelers don’t even carry natural sapphires, but that is the only kind we will carry. Others carry lab-created or man-made stones, which to me are phony. When you do find a jeweler with natural sapphires, the color or the brilliance of theirs lets ours stand out and speak for themselves. I eliminate all middlemen and buy direct from the miners and cutters, and pay them cash to get the best prices.  That saving is passed on to you, our customers. But the real issue is our quality. While we welcome anyone to examine our stones up close, the reality is that the difference can be seen from far away!

I have just returned to Bangkok, where I will be staying for five weeks. It has been around nine weeks since I was here last; a very long time for me. Typically I am here for three weeks, and then back in the States for five weeks, then back in Asia. Anyhow, I am amazed to tell you how many of my Thai friends asked about the Colorado fires. Their awareness of our news, including President Obama’s visit to Colorado, never ceases to amaze me. Their concern is real; as well as a way to again thank me for the support we provided them during their floods last fall.

Part of the pleasure that I derive from being an international businessman is being able to observe how sensitive some people and cultures are toward what is happening throughout the world. Of course, there is an equal fascination on my part to observe how little some people care about anything that is not in their own back yard.

In Shane Co.’s sales training, we try to focus on having our salespeople pay attention to the customers, to be sure that they are getting the best possible service at all times. We want their experience to be memorable and superb. I suspect there may be a correlation between those individuals sensitive to others – whether in a store, in a school or community, or indeed just sharing a planet (even if living an ocean apart) – and their cultural upbringing.

Having said that, we need to respect the rights of others to control their own environment. Some people, as well as some countries, seem to be more concerned with what is going on elsewhere than they have a right to be. We need to be sure not to impose our sense of law, right or wrong, moral or immoral, or any of our other standards, upon others.

As we are in an election year in America, I am always listening to see which candidates understand that there should be limits… of control over others, of moral standards, etc. I love to be in a free atmosphere, subject to those freedoms causing harm to others and thus possibly infringing upon the rights of others and their own freedom. Having seen many so-called communist countries offer greater capitalistic freedom than so-called capitalist countries, and having been in so-called military-ruled kingdoms or otherwise dictatorships that offer more personal freedoms than so-called free countries, I really think we need to focus on our own best interest… which will allow us to set a great example to others.

I usually avoid political blog posts, and this time I don’t wish to violate that principle by talking politics, but I do hope that the more sensitive we are to the needs of others, the better we can improve our own standard of living.