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What That Mouf Do
[00:00:00]
Character 1: How many carats is this?
[00:00:03]
Character 2: Four, five thousand dollars a carrot? I’m not *expletive*
[00:00:06]:
Character 1: Why’s it got so many colors in it man? What is this?
[00:00:08]:
Character 2: That’s the thing, they say you can see the whole universe in opal, that’s how *expletive* old they are.
Reporter
[00:00:12]
Tajah Ellis: This is an audio snippet from Uncut Gems, a highly anticipated dark dramedy by the Safdie brothers, released in Winter 2020. The movie follows a high stakes New York City jeweller as he tries to keep his life together while work is falling apart.
Soundbite
[00:00:27]
Character 2: I said to myself, how do I get ahold of these guys? And I’ve managed to track these guys down, I buy one from ‘em – *expletive*. That’s the rock. That’s the rock. That’s the stone.
Reporter
[00:00:40]
I sat down with New York City based gold tooth designer Helen Harris to see what it’s really like to maintain a jeweler business.
Soundbite
[00:00:47]
*cash register* + *chime*
Interview
[00:00:49]
Helen Harris:*shrugs* I just have em’ for fun *laughs*. That’s the primary thing. For me, it’s fun. You know when they say when you are your truest self, you can be your happiest?
[00:01:13]:
TE: Absolutely.
[00:01:14]:
HH: It really is a practice in my family. I don’t know if that’s the signifier for it but I take to it. Maybe it looks nice because it’s natural. But it makes other people happy and it makes me happier. I think about stuff like that. Jewelry is something that all different cultures are involved in but there are some consistent ethnic groups you will almost always find in the business. They have a network, they have an economy, they have their whole system in place. Whether or not people like you, whether or not people will want to do business with you, that sort of determines what you get to do. For me, I deal with a stereotypical Jewish jeweler family. They’re Russinan Jewish – they do wholesale. I walked in and they were like “here you go”. And I was like “that’s it?” Dude walked out, came back in and said “you’re still here?” I was like “that’s it?” The whole way through he’s really held my hand.
[00:02:34]:
TE: That’s beautiful.
[00:02:36]:
HH: Somebody said something to me that I found fascinating – it seems like a lot of people who are the traditional gold tooth buyer, like my family and myself included, will buy ourselves gold teeth while we need dental work. I just got two crowns, I have to get two more. And I got two cavities filled. But since I got the two crowns, did I get my cavities fixed? No. Did I get gold teeth? Yes.
*Mutual Laughter*
[00:03:17]:
HH: Someone said to me maybe this is our way of doing cosmetic orthodontics. My mouth is looking and functioning the way that I want it to. I thought that was powerful – it’s not just a matter of being unhealthy, the truth is I still have to get those teeth dealth with. But the reason I haven’t gone back isn’t because I don’t have the means – I just don’t trust my dentist! I just got these crowns and I’m thinking “Was this a mistake? Are my teeth sensitive in ways they weren’t before? Was this a healthy choice? Should I see this guy again?” I don’t know.
[00:04:04]:
TE: But you trust yourself?
[00:04:07]:
HH: Yes! Exactly.
tajah ellis 