Julie Bergstein Romanenko has long been a long-time jewelry craftsman. But that hasn't stopped her from thinking that her husband, who is not a jeweler, could learn laser welding. The business is so robust that she could use that help in fulfilling orders.
On the plus side, it's a growth effort, says the owner of Just Jules. Like many designers and retailers, Romanenko says the competition for her jeweler's skills can be as great as the sales of the styles she makes. And these days, it's not easy to find skilled artisans.
This is the most difficult time in the last 25 years to find help on the bench. So says Vic Davis of Vic Davis & Associates recruiter in the jewelry industry. I usually have eight to 12 quality bench jobs, whereas right now I have 32.
This shortage of available talent has been a growing problem for about a decade, experts say. One reason is low pay. Another reason is the aging workforce.
Then with the pandemic many businesses had to lay off jewelers. Many of them never returned after the shops reopened. Workers in counter, design and computer aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) realized they could make more money. Either working for themselves and creating their own jewelry to sell online or to other industries altogether.
As a bench jeweler for 50 years, I've never had six-figure profits working for someone else. I've only accomplished it by working for myself, confirms Joel McFadden of Joel E. McFadden Designs.
Last year's jewelry sales boom exacerbated the problem, increasing the need for repair departments and craftsmen in stores. There's more demand for custom work and CAD/CAM, says Rick Borchert of Hobson & Co, another jewelry craftsman recruiting firm. Schools can't get jewelers out fast enough.
Real salary upgrading
The shortage has led to an advantage for would-be workers: wage growth in the last two years. According to Davis's estimate, there has been an increase in wages for jewelry artisans of about 20%. I have more jobs right now at $30-plus an hour that I never had before, he says.
A fair wage for a jeweler depends on his or her skills, the cost of living in the employer's area, and the money the department generates. Actual amounts vary, but generally should start around $40,000 per year for entry-level work and go up from there.
Experienced jewellers earn more. Borchert has a client in Texas who has paid more than $150,000 a year. But he also has another client in California who has paid over $200,000, but that takes years of work.
So when companies look for someone with 5 to 10 years' experience and then offer discouraging salaries, candidates look elsewhere.
Matthew Valentine is a bench craftsman at Chadwick's Jewelers in St. Simons Island, Georgia. He previously owned a business and a commercial store. He is aware of a local business that is looking for a counter craftsman at a rate of $14 per hour.
But a restaurant a few miles away offers higher pay and tips for the lurkers. Another retail store in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, offers $20 an hour for a jeweler. But homes in the area start at $450,000.
The industry is light years ahead of where it was in terms of pay, but there is still a huge gap, Valentine says.
Mark Grosser of M. Grosser Jewelry works for himself in a 1,400-square-foot studio in Carmel, Indiana. He knows a larger dealer nearby, who pays by production time. He has the jewelry craftsman write on the back of each job sheet how long the job took.
The shop sees the importance of having a craftsman in the back, Grosser says. Since in addition to convenience, the dealer recognizes that the jeweler brings money to the company.
Division of labour
David Geller, founder of retail consulting firm JewelerProfit, was trying to determine fair compensation when he owned a store. His efforts culminated in the writing of Geller's Blue Book to Jewelry Repair & Design, now in its ninth edition. The book lists prices for each jeweler's technique, such as stone setting or ring sizing.
To arrive at these numbers, he mapped the fees based on the time it took the jeweler to complete the work. He even chooses to charge customers a fourfold markup on these amounts.
Of course, not all jobs are created equal. Geller notes that the consumer markups in his book do not account for the cost of polishing the finished piece. Hire a child to do that and charge the customer accordingly so the jeweler can do skilled work, he advises.
McFadden also understands the importance of having the right person for each job. His own son is a jeweler who takes on big jobs. Like making $10,000 worth of jewelry, as well as small jobs like changing watch batteries.
But this is not an ideal arrangement for most companies, he acknowledges. Realistically, many might use a jeweler exclusively for high-end work and a repair technician for simpler tasks.
In this spirit, it is important to be clear about the level of skills you are looking for when recruiting. Someone who simply glues and polishes chains could have a lower salary than those who make jewelry. I'm surprised at the number of companies that don't have job descriptions, Borchert observes.
Better incentives
To find skilled bench jewellers and CAD/CAM operators, the industry needs to become attractive. Wage increases, health insurance and relocation expenses are now the norm. As are paid jewelry school programs and signing bonuses. Some of Borchert's clients have offered $10,000 to candidates who stay at least a year.
Another motivation is a lifestyle with less stress. A peer of Grosser's moved from Indiana to Texas for a job in a pawn shop. He works Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. for $90,000 a year. Now he mostly sells chains, but there's less pressure.
Even more jewellers are trying to «train their own» craftsmen. They hire off the street and offer training, according to Geller. This can be risky, but the alternative - poaching talent from competitors - is expensive.
A dealer friend of Grosser's recently made a deal with him. Groser to train a graduate of an art jewelry program to do professional techniques. Then the dealer's shop would send him all his orders for two years. The company felt that if the graduate had the right training, he could be what they needed, Grosser explains.
The industry as a whole needs to do a better job with people who are interested in a career in the lab. That's the opinion of Shannon Calloway, who would like the job to start at the high school level.
He is an instructor at the Texas Institute of Jewelry Technology, a division of Paris Junior College in Paris, Texas. There is often great frustration when parents and counselors dismiss programs like hers as artistic pursuits with no guaranteed future income. In fact, her program has a 94% job placement rate.
Being a jeweler is a career, it supports and you won't go hungry.
Restoration of apprenticeships
To inspire more newcomers to jeweler craft programs, the trade organization Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America (MJSA) introduced the Be a Jeweler initiative in 2015. The program provides interested parties with access to educational videos and a directory of jeweler training programs. Also included is a copy of the book A Jeweler's Guide to Apprenticeships by educator Nanz Aalund.
Thanks to the influx of money from the JCK 2022 Industry Grant Fund, MJSA is now taking the project further. It plans to create a centralized database of available mentors. It will also develop national standards and procedures for training bench jewellers and work to trigger more apprenticeships.
We want to bring back this model of the apprentice craftsman. To make it as easy as possible to start a career in jewelry, says Rich Youmans, the group's chief communications officer and publisher.
