Bridal Jewelry Wedding Wholesale
Q.I took my wife to a Service Merchandise liquidation sale ("EVERYTHING MUST GO"...blah blah blah) the other night. (They are closing their stores, for those unfamiliar with the chain...) She fell in love with a tanzanite ring and I bought it for her. Neither one of us know squat about jewelry; we both have wedding bands and she was given my mom's wedding ring when we were younger, so that's about it as far as our experience with rings. Anyway, it is a pretty ring. The light colored (which I've since read means the cheaper tanzanite) stone is nicely set in a 14k gold ring. The approx. 6mm tanzanite stone is surrounded by numerous little diamonds of cylindrical and oval shapes. I was reminded (by the clerk) that the
A.I wish. If I were a better salesperson, I'd probably be able to make more money than I do. I'm a gemologist and jeweler, a gold, silver, and platinum smith. I don't sell jewelry. I make it. I've been doing that for close to 30 years. at the moment, the company I work for specializes in both a wholesale line of mostly wedding jewelry, and also does "trade shop" work for a number of seattle's high line jewelry stores, many of which don't have their own full workshops. The OWNERS of some of those stores make a good living. But not all. Most work very hard for only a decent profit. Overall, wages in the jewelry industry are similar to that of most retail jobs, which means considerably less than those skilled trades where there are unions. I've got a masters degree in this stuff. It took me a long time, and a lot of money for schooling, to get as good at it as I am. The kids getting out of college with a bachelors degree in engineering or the like make more than I do right out of school. If I'd dropped out of high school and become a plumber or carpenter, I'd probably make more now too, if I were any good at it. So when I tell you this is a competative business, where only a few get rich and most just get along, I do happen to know whereof I speak. Yes, some jewelry is wildly overpriced. And some few jewelers get very rich (usually not because they mark up too high, but because they're very astute businessmen, good salespeople, find the right connections, and make a bunch of the right choices in how to structure and run their business. I'd love to see where you get your data. As I said, I've been invovled with retail sales for a long time, and know many people both in retail jewelry, and other fields. In general, the lower the range of wholesale costs, the higher the markups have to be to support the business. And the fewer sales per day, the same thing. Certainly jewelry is not low markup. But for one thing, the merchandise doesn't go out of fashion at the end of the season, as with clothing lines, which are almost never at less than a 3 time markup, and usually higher than that. The average markup on fine jewelry, all stores, nationwide, is closer to 2.5 times cost. Mall stores, chain stores, and the like, are usually higher, while there are many smaller "mom and pop" stores where the average markups are 2 times cost, and often less on larger items. And if you're shopping for loose diamonds, pressure from the internet has made it quite possible to find a store which will sell you a stone for 15 percent over cost or less. That may not be a majority, but it's still not hard to find. Not on fine jewelry. You'll find that markup on the rack of five dollar costume earrings at the local department store. Cheap costume stuff often has little or no intrinsic value in the materials, and is mass produced in very large quantities, so it's dirt cheap. But a store has to buy in large quantities, and probably won't sell them all. Thus they justify charging five bucks a pair for earrings that cost them fifty cents a pair. And some of the cheaper sterling silver crap stuff is somewhat higher markup, but not to the extent you suggest. But you'll never find markups this high on karat gold, or other "fine" jewelry. By the way, when we talk about markup, we're talking the increase in price from the total wholesale cost, to the retail selling price. This is NOT the markup from just the cost of raw materials. You can't take the spot price of gold, and convert to the price per ounce for your karat gold, and expect the jewelry made from that metal to be only a little bit more. manufacturing costs get added, and despite your beliefs, while the industry can be pretty efficient, the wholesale cost of gold jewelry is usually at least twice the cost of the raw metal. And that's for the simple stuff like chains and cheap castings that get mass finished. Add in stones to be set? Prices go up more. Plus, remember that the manufacturer's add a profit margin over their base manufacturing cost. This usually varies from about 30% to 50%, for most domestic jewelry manufacturers, some are higher for the finest quality workmanship. The result is the cost jewelry stores pay. The markups I'm quoting is the increase the retail jewelers then add to their costs. If you can cite me ANY examples of a fine jewelry store charging markups as high as you suggest, I'd love to hear about it. I've never seen anything that high, not even the crooks... I agree. My favorite among the gold alloys. Of course, if you want something that will really last, then buy platinum. It will cost you twice as much, or more, than 18K. But your grandkids will have it if the wife takes reasonable care of it. 18K will never last that long.
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