[Jewelry making - Article 00084] - Re: [Orchid] Setting customer stones

[David L. Huffman]

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Hi Richard;

>     Here where I live trade charge is $5.00 and I thought that was
>     bad. 

    I'm doing trade work, and if I have to prong set a single small
    stone, I'll charge $10, but for more than one, I go by the hour
    ($50/hr.). Even bright cutting sometimes comes out to between $5-$7 a
    stone at that rate, especially if I have to lay it out and drill
    holes. But I'm not offering that rate unless I have enough stones to
    set to offset the fact that I set pretty quickly. For 2.9 Euros
    (what's that, around $5 US?), I couldn't run my business, not on
    stone setting, anyway. Just the take in and turn-around formalities
    cost me $7.50 in labor and overhead time. Log it, invoice it, pack
    it, etc. 

    If a private customer comes to me to have a stone set that they
    bought online (or wherever), if it's small, and I think I'll make
    them happy, I have nothing to lose by setting it for $20, but when it
    gets to be a carat or larger, I'll charge $75. It only takes about
    10-15 minutes to set a round, but a princess can take up to 45
    minutes if it looks risky due to inclusions. John Donivan was right,
    it's pointless to talk about "insurance". I'll charge a trade account
    $20 to set a carat round, but that's because I figure I'm going to be
    doing the best setting work, absolutely level and tight, no light
    under the prongs or where prong meets girdle, polish the head
    wherever metal is visible, etc. But John mentioned that it's hard to
    chip a diamond if you know what you're doing. He's mostly right in my
    book, but I take exception when it comes to old mine, some European
    and transitional cuts. They can have girdles you can shave with, and
    it's easy to forget that. Furthermore, a lot of them are already
    ragged with chipping on the girdle. If they chip, it's going to
    likely go down all the way to the culet. $250 or so to re-cut, plus
    the difference in value between what you've got left and what a
    replacement stone costs. 

    Whether I set at my risk or the customer's (or trade account's) is
    all dependant on the nature and condition of the stone and the type
    of setting. Don't do it this way unless you are very familiar with
    the risks. Better to play if safe, it's cheaper to lose the job than
    to buy an expensive stone. 

David L. Huffman
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