[Jewelry making - Article 00541] - Re: [Orchid] What do I charge for my cabochons?

[Terry Ogden]

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Stephen

    I will tell you how I arrive at a price which may or may not be
    consistent with everyone else, but I feel it is reasonable. 

    1. Stone
    2. Loss
    3. Consumables
    4. Labor
    5. Uniqueness

    Price your rough, including shipping. If the rough is already on
    hand, how much will it cost to replace. 

    Cutting loss, and, what is usable. Not all portions of rough are
    usable and that should be taken into account also, it is seldom if
    ever you get a piece of rough that is 100%. Don't forget to sort your
    material by grade, and be honest, there is a real tendency to grade
    high because some of the material is a higher quality than 80% of the
    stone, and the price you paid may have been for higher quality, it
    may have looked it in the rough, but the stone god gave you
    otherwise. The cost of your saw blades, wheels, pads, compounds, wax,
    alcohol, bits, etc. all the tools and materials you use to create the
    finished product. 

    If you heat for color, clarity etc., don't forget that and the labor
    involved, as well as electricity. How long it takes not only to cut,
    but trim, rough and polish. If you are doing stones for someone else,
    how tough are the specifications they expect you to meet. A stone
    that has a plus of 0 and a negative of 1mm is much easier to produce
    than one is +0 and -0.2 mm. 

    Lastly, uniqueness is personal, and I won't attempt to estimate that
    one, but if you slice a piece of agate, grind it down, polish and it
    looks like someone put a 3D picture of Elvis in it, that's one thing,
    but if it looks like a 3D color photo with a smile and a twinkle in
    his eye, that would be something else. 

    Lastly, add 30% at least for the machine, you have to run it, do
    maintenance and pay for it and none of that is free. 

    Granted, this does not answer your question, but it tells you how to
    get there. Each of us will have a different expense even for the same
    item based on the approach we choose to use. 

    Hope this helps, and good luck. 

Terry
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