Markup on diamonds?

hello all,

In the new year I am starting the process of re-pricing all of my made-to-order gold jewelry offerings to reflect the soaring gold prices. I have some older pieces that haven’t been adjusted for several years.

This process has me looking at all the facets of my pricing structure. I generally use a keystone formula, but I am curious what other jeweler’s approaches are to diamonds. I cannot, obviously, include them in the traditional keystone markup or the prices could get astronomical, but I want to make some money off of their inclusion. I have thus far been calculating a keystone price for the piece, and then adding the price of the stone, and a fee on top of that. I consider it a “handling fee” of sorts because it is stressful and expensive to order, possess, and set high value stones. The fee I assess varies, honestly based on my clients budget, but is usually around $500.

How do y’all approach pricing for pieces with diamonds? Thanks in advance for any interest in discussing this topic.

The more you charge for your work, the more clients respect you. “How much?! Oh! Well then you must be really good.” There is no shame in making a decent profit. Being an artist is a full time job.
Now that said… We keystone gems that cost us under $5000.00 Over that we adjust downward. Diamond prices especially for smaller stones have tanked. Metals prices however have skyrocketed. Usually we keystone price our materials by current costs. But only if they have increased. Remember that your prices need to not only cover your time because keystoned materials coasts cover a lot. They pay for consumables, utilities, studio rent, insurance, etc. Best wishes in your endeavour.

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what does the term “keystone” actually mean?

Keystone typically refers to a 2x markup.