Heads up when posting photos of your pieces on here--

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ame

ame

O.G.
Mar 22, 2007
13,432
1,039
#1
It's been found out that there is a jeweler stealing photos from sites like this, Pricescope, and using Google Images to find images from both, as well as Instagram (using hashtags to search for them) and reposting them on his Instagram, Facebook and his website, and claiming they are his work. These pieces are from designers all over the map, but just as an example of how far he has gone: he used a photo of KIM KARDASHIAN'S ring from Kris Humphries that everyone knows was designed and crafted by Lorraine Schwartz, and has put this on his website claiming it's his own work. "Fresh from the Workshop" as he says. But whose workshop, sir? Several people have called him on it by tagging the photos with the rightful designers name and the rightful owner of the items name. He just removes them, and blocks everyone involved.

Since a lot of the photos posted online are easily found on Google images, and people like this cretin know to look on sites like this, for your safety and to prevent your items from being claimed as someone else's, it would be a good idea that when you post images of your items, put some kind of marking on the image, near the ring item if possible, with your name, or screen name, indicating it belongs to you. I have had my images stolen from sites like this and PS before and used to sell things on Kijiji and Craigslist and Ebay several times, so I am all too familiar with it. Putting the watermark in the corner just allows it to be cropped off, it has to be in the middle where it cannot be easily removed or concealed.

Just a heads up.
 
#2
ame said:
It's been found out that there is a jeweler stealing photos from sites like this, Pricescope, and using Google Images to find images from both, as well as Instagram (using hashtags to search for them) and reposting them on his Instagram, Facebook and his website, and claiming they are his work. These pieces are from designers all over the map, but just as an example of how far he has gone: he used a photo of KIM KARDASHIAN'S ring from Kris Humphries that everyone knows was designed and crafted by Lorraine Schwartz, and has put this on his website claiming it's his own work. "Fresh from the Workshop" as he says. But whose workshop, sir? Several people have called him on it by tagging the photos with the rightful designers name and the rightful owner of the items name. He just removes them, and blocks everyone involved.

Since a lot of the photos posted online are easily found on Google images, and people like this cretin know to look on sites like this, for your safety and to prevent your items from being claimed as someone else's, it would be a good idea that when you post images of your items, put some kind of marking on the image, near the ring item if possible, with your name, or screen name, indicating it belongs to you. I have had my images stolen from sites like this and PS before and used to sell things on Kijiji and Craigslist and Ebay several times, so I am all too familiar with it. Putting the watermark in the corner just allows it to be cropped off, it has to be in the middle where it cannot be easily removed or concealed.

Just a heads up.
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OMG! What a douche bag!!! Thank you for the heads up!! Now, I just have to learn how to watermark my pics. Thankfully, while I do own some expensive pieces, they are not branded designer pieces. This is good to know. May I ask who this person is? You can PM me if you like.
 
#3
ImageUploadedByPurseForum1439393191.079051.jpg

Here's the Instagram from before he blocked me and just about everyone else that tagged their photos on his account. Note that he at least was smart enough to use the repost app for the ring from Christies. Probably thought he'd never get caught for the rest of it.
 
#5
Thanks for the heads up.

I feel bad for the people who buy from him and haven't educated themselves on diamonds. The rings should be beautiful enough on their own.
 
#7
It's disgusting. He has blocked me and others from his Twitter now too, basically anyone that has called him out for image and attribution theft has been blocked. Wouldn't want the truth of his actions getting out! What a shame that he's gotten customers based off of that fraud.
 
#9
This is terrible. Why doesn't Instagram block him or his IP?

My husband cautioned me recently when he saw I was about to post a ring we had made that is very distinctive. He said someone could recognize it and cross reference other pictures from my username and have an idea as to whether or not my jewelry collection was worth breaking in to our house for. Ive seen people mention storing jewelry in safes and seen other pictures sharing their jewelry storage. It gives criminals a leg up as they know where to look.

I'm a bit scared - not that I have a huge expensive collection to worry about - but my pieces carry sentimental value as well as some aren't exactly dime store pieces.

Before you laugh at me, my husband works in federal law enforcement at a high level - enough to know whether or not we should be cautious.

I'm sad to know there are disgusting people out there who prey on others naïveté....
 
#10
Oh I don't find that funny at all. That's very wise, actually. If you have something particularly unique, it's probably a great idea to keep that one under wraps.

Someone on PS got him to remove her photos, and he tried to say he never claimed he made them. Well you aren't NOT saying you made them, which is what you SHOULD be doing. Instead you're posting them under client selfies, and on your website under Fresh from the Workshop. Except you're not indicating whose workshop they really came from, because they're not coming out of yours! So instead you are deliberately leaving it ambiguous, deliberately not giving credit to the owner of the photo and the ring, deliberately not identifying the actual designer and creator of the ring, being intentionally obtuse when called on it with the obvious intention of defrauding someone out of their money under the guise that they will get the same ring as this other person made to that same quality. How do you not see the issues with that?
 
#11
ame said:
Oh I don't find that funny at all. That's very wise, actually. If you have something particularly unique, it's probably a great idea to keep that one under wraps.

Someone on PS got him to remove her photos, and he tried to say he never claimed he made them. Well you aren't NOT saying you made them, which is what you SHOULD be doing. Instead you're posting them under client selfies, and on your website under Fresh from the Workshop. Except you're not indicating whose workshop they really came from, because they're not coming out of yours! So instead you are deliberately leaving it ambiguous, deliberately not giving credit to the owner of the photo and the ring, deliberately not identifying the actual designer and creator of the ring, being intentionally obtuse when called on it with the obvious intention of defrauding someone out of their money under the guise that they will get the same ring as this other person made to that same quality. How do you not see the issues with that?
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Perhaps a class action lawsuit from all the people/designers he's stolen pictures from & posted under the implication that he created them would put a stop to it. This is clearly fraud. I don't do Instagram but it would seem that Instagram would block him & his IP address. I don't post pictures of my real valuable pieces like my diamonds. And my stuff is keep in a safe. We have surveillance & security systems plus Rottweilers who take their job protecting the house very seriously. But you can never be too safe, especially with what's posted on the Internet cause once it's out there, you can't get it back.
 
#12
cdtracing said:
Perhaps a class action lawsuit from all the people/designers he's stolen pictures from & posted under the implication that he created them would put a stop to it. This is clearly fraud. I don't do Instagram but it would seem that Instagram would block him & his IP address. I don't post pictures of my real valuable pieces like my diamonds. And my stuff is keep in a safe. We have surveillance & security systems plus Rottweilers who take their job protecting the house very seriously. But you can never be too safe, especially with what's posted on the Internet cause once it's out there, you can't get it back.
Click to expand...

You'd think that Instagram and FB would do something about it but so far, they have not done much.
 
#14
In light of the jerkwad stealing images from several forums and instagram accounts of various members and vendors images and posted them as his own work, I was looking for a good app for watermarking for when I am on my iPhone and not using lightroom on my mac to do it. I found iWatermark+ (NOT affiliated) and based on a couple reviews from photography sites, I thought it was worth a shot. This version just came out so there aren't reviews of it on iTunes yet, but the older versions are mostly good reviews with a couple complaints about upgrades being "forced" from the free versions.

Disclaimer: I don't like free versions of most ads bec I don't like what you give up for free, and I also don't like ads, in-app purchase nonsense, and whatnot. I just buy the damn app. I am not at all affiliated with this app, and these links give me no kickbacks (I don't do affiliate links). I just spent a slow as hell day doing this because I had time to waste. :roflmfao: I also drank way too much starbucks today, and had energy to burn walking around my office taking photos of dumb stuff. My coworkers were only mildly amused.

Here is the link to the app store for the iPhone version:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iwatermark+/id931231254?mt=8

And the Android version:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.plumamazing.iwatermarkplus

Yes it's $4 (I know, it's pricey to a lot of people) but I've been screwing with this all day and it is worth every damn cent. I just hate free apps when there is a pay version of the same thing with all the options and that won't hijack my phone!

My favorite feature and the one that sold me on it: I took a photo of my signature, which I wrote on a piece of white scratch paper, and it "scanned" and let me make that a watermark, and gave me about 100 options for how I wanted to do it as a watermark. I could've done a logo, I could've done whatever I wanted basically. Probably a photo of my giving the finger! Colors, icons, whatever. I also can import more than one photo at a time, which I didn't see an option to do in other apps. So if I wanted to import 4 photos, which I was later going to put on my FB for my blog page, I could watermark all 4 easily. That is amazeballs.

Anyway, I think it's a smart app (this or something similar) to get in the habit of using if you are going to post images here, on PS, or on Instagram/FB, of your items. I know that ring pics, bag photos, shoe photos turn up on all sorts of places that we don't want them turning up, and this is one way to smuggle your name into that image to at least get some copyright labeling in there since you own your photos. That will prevent or at least slow the roll, of someone who wishes to steal your credit for their gain.
 
#15
ame said:
In light of the jerkwad stealing images from several forums and instagram accounts of various members and vendors images and posted them as his own work, I was looking for a good app for watermarking for when I am on my iPhone and not using lightroom on my mac to do it. I found iWatermark+ (NOT affiliated) and based on a couple reviews from photography sites, I thought it was worth a shot. This version just came out so there aren't reviews of it on iTunes yet, but the older versions are mostly good reviews with a couple complaints about upgrades being "forced" from the free versions.

Disclaimer: I don't like free versions of most ads bec I don't like what you give up for free, and I also don't like ads, in-app purchase nonsense, and whatnot. I just buy the damn app. I am not at all affiliated with this app, and these links give me no kickbacks (I don't do affiliate links). I just spent a slow as hell day doing this because I had time to waste. :roflmfao: I also drank way too much starbucks today, and had energy to burn walking around my office taking photos of dumb stuff. My coworkers were only mildly amused.

Here is the link to the app store for the iPhone version:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iwatermark+/id931231254?mt=8

And the Android version:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.plumamazing.iwatermarkplus

Yes it's $4 (I know, it's pricey to a lot of people) but I've been screwing with this all day and it is worth every damn cent. I just hate free apps when there is a pay version of the same thing with all the options and that won't hijack my phone!

My favorite feature and the one that sold me on it: I took a photo of my signature, which I wrote on a piece of white scratch paper, and it "scanned" and let me make that a watermark, and gave me about 100 options for how I wanted to do it as a watermark. I could've done a logo, I could've done whatever I wanted basically. Probably a photo of my giving the finger! Colors, icons, whatever. I also can import more than one photo at a time, which I didn't see an option to do in other apps. So if I wanted to import 4 photos, which I was later going to put on my FB for my blog page, I could watermark all 4 easily. That is amazeballs.

Anyway, I think it's a smart app (this or something similar) to get in the habit of using if you are going to post images here, on PS, or on Instagram/FB, of your items. I know that ring pics, bag photos, shoe photos turn up on all sorts of places that we don't want them turning up, and this is one way to smuggle your name into that image to at least get some copyright labeling in there since you own your photos. That will prevent or at least slow the roll, of someone who wishes to steal your credit for their gain.
Click to expand...

Great idea! I'm going to check it out. I have an android.
 
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