Currently I work at an independent jewelry store. I am the manager
of the shop and have one young man working with me. My duties are
changing as well as my assistant. My assistant is doing more and
more of the shop work while mine are developing into more
Gemological duties as well as sales support and administrative. My
problem is that I am only making $11.50 an hour with one percent of
what ever goes out of the shop. We do not do all of our shop work
because there is to much of it. I have looked on the Internet to
see what the current hourly wage or salary might be for someone in
my position but do not find much.
Could someone give me an idea as to what someone in my position would
make. I am also training my assistant how to set stones so he can
take over more of my duties in the shop at some point. Any input
would be greatly appreciated.
If you get JCK it will give you some of the salaries that are
averaged. Are you a GG? BA? MBA? How long have you been a manager.
What is the dollar amount of what you do in your store? Going rate
for some research I have done is $12 an hour plus 1% in lease stores.
Managers at larger chains do 36,000 to 65,000. Smaller independents
from 31,000 to 45,000.
Up here in Toronto, Canada the hourly rate for apprentices or
someone who is learning the setting task will run about $12.00 -
$15.00. If this person is qualified in setting stones, (not diamonds)
will run or demand $18.00 - $20.00++…Diamond setting hourly rate
could demand $20.00<-> $25.00, these numbers are only for folks who
are working in a factory-shop environment…retail store setting
rates will be for sure at a higher fee schedule…???
But here is the clincher, from these numbers stated…Income Tax is
removed, Canada Pension Plan is taken off…Unemployment Tax is also
removed. So you can see how low the take-home money can be! If he
is doing bead work, well that another ball of wax, the shop piece work
can really jump high…From $2.00 <-> $4.00 PER stone AND UP+!
Maybe you can avoid the low hourly rate by suggesting a few hours a
day on a “piece work” basis…These are just the “in-factory” rates,
again each factory or shop might differ with the experience of the
setter…“Gerry, the Cyber-Setter!”
Unappreciated,
Jewelers Circular Keystone ( JCK ) as well as some of the other
major industry magazines run surveys on what people make in the
jewelry industry. Check their website to see if the is
posted.
The actual rate would depend on the size of the store and market you
are in but I do believe that the average for a person with your
duties is probably somewhere in the area of $25000.00 to $30000.00
per year. Of coarse there are some markets that may pay double or
more and others that will pay less.
My name is Vic Davis, and I am a recruiter in the jewelry industry.
I work specifically with jewelers, watchmakers and shop managers on
a nationwide basis. Client companies I work with are typically the
larger independent high-end retail operations.
Geography plays a small part in your earnings East and west coast
positions tend to pay a little higher than Midwest and South.
However, the discrepancy in pay is not that dramatic. Also, years of
experience and level of skill at the bench obviously plays a role in
your earning potential. At $11.50 per hour I am sorry to say it
appears you are grossly underpaid. I have two shop manager positions
(one in MO and one in LA) that are offering a starting wage of
$20.00 to $23.00 per hour, and recently placed an individual in a
shop management position at $52,000 annually.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but felt it important to reply to
you as I do have a good pulse on the job market through my day-to-day
involvement in the jeweler job marketplace.