I am making a platinum wedding ring with a 1.34 tcw (SI G) oval
diamond. I am unsure how much I should mark up the diamond. Is
there an industry standard for marking up diamonds?
Any ideas would be appreciated.
Hi Jenny, There is no standard mark-up on diamonds in our industry,
although apprai sers will tell you there is. It is up to you to know
what the market will bear. I suggest you shop several jewelers in your
area to see how much t hey charge for the diamonds they sell. You
can
not control what they pay for their diamonds, but at least you can
match what they sell their diamo nds for. Based on the margin you
can
get you may choose to supply your cu stomers with diamonds or you
may
suggest they get the diamond elsewhere . That way you can focus
your
efforts and finances on the jewelry making a spect. On the other hand
you may have a client that is not very concerned with the cost and
will pay above market price for the diamond because th ey are buying
it from you. Ralph Lauren gets a big premium on his plain m ens
shirts
because they have the Polo label. I wish you the best of luck. Hope
the sale goes through.
There is no standard in the industry for markups on diamonds. You
need to consider a range of factors like: How much do I need to make
on the stone? How recognized is my name and work in general (better
known jewelers can usually get more money for their goods)? What are
my other cost factors…did I have to buy and stock the stone or did I
get it on memo, do I have a retail storefront or am I working out of
my home? In today’s retail world some jewelers will be happy to make
a few hundred dollars on a stone like you are describing if they can
turn it fast. Others need to get keystone or something close to that.
When appraising goods in this range I usually figure the markup to be
about 25%-35% as that is about the average in our area, but I am in a
large urban area where there is a lot of competition. This markup
range is based on a fair to good cut, certainly not for an ideal cut.
Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Spirer Somes Jewelers
1794 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02140
617-491-6000
@spirersomes
www.spirersomes.com
Hi Jenny-
Markups vary dramatically . There are many wholesale diamond firms
selling diamonds to the public at a mere 3-5% over cost on the net. If
you client is a savvy Internet shopper, your mark up needs to be in
the same ballpark, unless of course, as others have mentioned, your
“goodwill” allows you to charge more for your product.