[Jewelry making - Article 00144] - Re: [Orchid] Geller's pricing system

[Douglas Zaruba]

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    Robert, 	Funny...we were just discussing this in my shop.  I have
    agreed to do work for two designer jewelry galleries in my area. Both
    stores have been using the Geller Pricing Guide, but have not been
    happy with the quality of work they were getting from the repair shop
    that did their work. I occasionally got some of these "repairs" to
    repair, or salvage.  The workmanship was competent for production
    pieces, but not for the special attention that some of these high-end
    custom pieces required. With the price of gold, and especially
    platinum, being so high recently, we have been trying to find a way
    to made David's Guide work for us and the galleries. 

    	If I have to price every single job out of the book, then wait for
    an OK, I'd have to add an additional handling charge to cover the
    time spent just to look the job up in the book. Sizing a platinum
    ring down one size, for example, is a simple, straight forward job
    that the gallery can price. A tapered platinum bezel for an emerald
    cut Tanzanite is another matter. The price in David's book for a
    custom bezel is too low. We're working on a list of Basic Jobs that
    we'll provide to each store as a guideline to jobs that they can
    price directly from the book, and which types of jobs will require an
    estimate in advance. 

    	A lot of the jobs in David's book also assume that the store will
    be providing all the materials. Neither of the stores that I work for
    will do this, so I have to purchase the heads, clasps, shank
    materials,diamond melle, etc. I simply charge them 1/2 of the retail
    price listed in David's book.  When jobs will require extra special
    care (and it's usually obvious to the person at the counter), I tell
    them to use the RUSH pricing as a guideline. 

    	David Geller......I'd like to hear from you regarding how to 
adjust
    pricing in the Guide to reflect the change in the precious metals
    market. I'm not sure what base price the Guide uses, or if you
    already have a formula to adjust for increases.  

    	* Another question that comes up a lot is what to charge for 
custom
    bezels. We rarely use a straight wall bezel on anything from .25ct
    and up (for rings). We make a lot of tapered round platinum bezels,
    and we get a lot of requests now for tapered platinum bezels for
    Asscher cuts, princess cuts, and emerald cuts. We fabricate these.
    Any guidelines for pricing? I have found that to install a pre-made
    platinum bezel in a shank, polish the mounting, set the stone, and
    double check it to make sure that it's perfect, and charge for admin
    costs to track and bill the job would cost the gallery about 1/2 of
    the price listed for EXPRESS.  When you throw a handmade platinum
    tapered   emerald cut bezel into the equation, and set a top quality
    Tanzanite, even the Express charges don't hold up. 

    	* And what about setting charges? In my store, if I sell a diamond
    and set it into one of my mountings, the overall pricing is different
    from the job where a customer brings in a diamond that they bought on
    the Internet and I have to set it. I charge more for "strange-to-me"
    stones, especially for some of the off-cut stones customers bring in
    from their vacation in Tanzania or from the local gem shows. 

    	I'm also curious as to what job shops are billing as an hourly
    rate. Of course, there will be regional differences and differences
    in pricing due to skill levels, equipment required, services offered,
    etc.  We are currently basing our pricing at $90.00 per hour
    (wholesale) for most jobs. Our work is expected to be flawless. We
    also have the ability to create ANYTHING that can be done in or to
    precious metal. We do mostly fabrication, some casting, granulation,
    inlay and overlay, custom alloys, laser welding, machining, custom
    lapidary, engraving, enameling, die forming, raising, chasing and
    repousse. We don't do CAD (yet). 

Doug Zaruba



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