Industry upon industry is constantly at loggerheads about what’s a fair wage for workers, and general labour pricing is always at the forefront of discussions.
In the jewellery trade I ask the same questions. To my amazement, it seems there aren’t any trade guidelines for pricing of repairs and remodelling work conducted by bench jewellers, be they employed or contracting their services to retailers.
The average mark-up applied to contractors' hourly rates in other industries is approximately 30-40 per cent to cover all costs and incidentals. Unfortunately, the jewellery industry doesn’t apply the same rules.
Let's look at the complexity of something as straightforward as resizing a ring. A bench jeweller expected to resize a white gold ring up two sizes must clean and prep the piece and make sure the ring can be resized without damaging the stones. The jeweller then saw-cuts the ring at the back of the band, making sure not to damage the engraving or the hallmarks. Nearly done, right? Wrong!
The jeweller must then open the ring to its desired measurement, fit metals of equal carats and dovetail the piece to ensure a firm fit. The jeweller then removes oxides and flux, files any excess metals, emery and polish clean in ultrasonic before examining the ring to ensure there are no visible marks, the stones are tight and the ring is ready to rhodium-plate.
Finally, simple administration duties apply, such as invoicing the job and preparing the package for courier to the retailer. Astonishingly, some bench jewellers perform all of these tasks and invoice the retailer the grand total of $17.50 (plus GST)!
When one jeweller is prepared to offer his services at this price, we all wind-up competing to match or better that price. Not only our banks accounts suffer, but also the quality of our work. Is it any wonder that qualified and experienced trade jewellers continue to leave the industry, and those that remain are not in a position to employ young apprentices? To add insult to injury, retailers then add their margin and charge the customer between $60-$120 for the resize.
Other industries consider 30-40 per cent is a generous amount to make off another tradesperson’s work, yet jewellery retailers expect so much more. So what is a fair amount to charge?
A qualified tradesperson rated with a certificate four standard with bench experience should charge an hourly rate between $75 and, depending on the work, $120 per hour.
Taking into consideration the costs involved in running a basic workshop this rate still only results in a relatively meagre wage in comparison to tradespeople in other industries.
Is $75-$120 per hour too high? Ask yourself how much your plumber or electrician charged you for their last job? If they can charge those rates, and there is no shortage of plumbers or electricians, why do jewellers, who there is a shortage of, value their services so low?
To resize our white gold ring at that rate, assuming the task takes about 30 minutes, plus any outgoings, at a minimum should cost the retailer $45 (plus GST).
So how do we solve this problem? If bench jewellers continue to undercharge for their work, not only are they devaluing their own trade and industry, they are supporting but they are also continuing to create an environment that doesn’t encourage young people to join the jewellery trade.
It’s a vicious circle – bench jewellers do not charge their time properly, then complain about a lack of income that stops them from training new jewellers, resulting in under-qualified jewellers, which affects the quality and standard in the industry. This leads to retailers complaining about the lack of competent jewellers and not wanting to pay fair and reasonable rates.
Retailers need to ask themselves; are they prepared to invest money in quality bench jewellers by adding smaller margins to the customer, thereby allowing bench jewellers to chare reasonable rates for the skills and expertise which, in turn, will help the jewellery trade to grow?
Being a jeweller is not simply about discount ring sizing; it’s about craftsmanship and quality. As manufacturing jewellers, we are blessed with the skills to create perfect little works of art made from precious metals, and that should always be respected and not forgotten.
Dean Harrison is the owner of Brisbane-based Alchemy Infusion Designs, a manufacturing jewellery and design business. He is a member of the Gold and Silversmiths Guild of Australia.