[Jewelry making - Article 00579] - Re: [Orchid] Employment in the Metal arts/Jewelery Field

[Ted Curtis]

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    I worked as a goldsmith for Jared for about 2 years and would like
    to add my 2 cents to this discussion based on my experience at the
    company. 

    First I have to agree with the previous posts about the high
    pressure environment that the jewelers at Jared work under. The
    production system requires for the most part that the jewelers
    produce at least 40 repairs per day ( this is the minimum, you are
    encouraged to exceed this volume). In most cases the Jewelers are
    also expected to professionally set almost any type and size diamond
    either while the customer waited or within the day that the diamond
    was sold. All custom jobs including waxes or fabricated pieces are
    required to be done in a minimum amount of time depending on the
    complexity of the job. In spite of this high pressure system, Jared
    jewelers are held to a very high quality standard. Jobs usually go
    through 2 or 3 quality control checks in the workshop and at least
    one more check before they are presented to the customer. 

    In spite of the pressure that they were under, the jewelers that I
    worked with were dedicated to maintaining a high level of
    workmanship and professionalism. The ability to work at that pace
    under that kind of pressure was not something that most of them
    learned overnight. It takes a lot of practice patience and
    endurance. I must say that while I was there I saw some pretty
    amazing feats by some pretty amazing jewelers. 

    Considering the dedication and professionalism of the staff there
    were certain aspects of the company's practices when it came to the
    jewelers that seem to me to be counterproductive. This may have
    changed since I worked for the company but at that time there was a
    distinct difference in the way that the jewelry repair staff was
    treated when compared to the sales staff. 

    Here are a few things that I noticed: 

    Even at the entry level, salary and incentive for sales staff was
    higher compared to that for entry level jewelers and all sales staff
    members got incentives and bonuses based on their personal
    performance and the store's performance. There were no bonus
    incentives or any other type of extra compensation for the jewelers
    except of course for management. This would mean that even if a
    jeweler was involved in helping a staff member make a sale by for
    example creating and rendering designs, the jeweler received no
    compensation other than their normal salary. Even though there were
    many times that the enthusiastic cooperation of the jewelry repair
    and design staff was crucial to the success of scheduled sales
    promotions, the jewelry repair staff would never receive more than a
    hearty handshake and a pat on the back ( and sometimes not even
    that). 

    For the most part the jewelers were viewed as subordinate to any
    sales staff member no matter what the experience level of that sales
    person or the experience level of the jeweler ( I personally think
    this may have something to do with the mistaken notion that your
    brain stops working if you work with your hands). You don't know
    what humiliation is until you have been told how to do your job by
    someone who has two whole months of jewelry experience under thier
    belt and who's last job may have been working at the candy counter
    at Wal-Mart. There were times it seemed that the workshop as a whole
    was treated as just another sales tool. 

    In spite of these observations I would recommend the experience to
    any jeweler who wanted to increase their work speed and develop a
    thick skin and a little humility in the process. 

Ted Curtis
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