Pricing handmade jewelry seems to one topic that jewelry artists never agree on. There are lots of different viewpoints and philosophies. This article will discuss some of the things to think about as you consider how to price your jewelry, and some of the common pricing models that jewelry designers use.

Keep in mind that you do much more than make jewelry as a business owner. In order to cover costs and overhead it is essential to charge more than your hourly rate + material costs, or keep your hourly rate on the high side (i.e. $18/ hour is much more realistic than $10/ hour) if you want your business to be profitable.

One mistake that new jewelry designers often make is to price their work too low.

Here are a few pricing tips:

-Don’t compete with imports on pricing! Your quality is better, and you can never compete with those that make $2 a day. Instead, position yourself as the high quality artisan that you are, and command reasonable prices.

-As a newcomer, you can start lower if you would like, and move your pricing up as you become more well-known.

-Lower pricing also can work against you because it cheapens the perceived value of your work. People tend to think that you get what you pay for, so if you charge too low, people tend to think you make garbage.

I have another reason for not charging too low. This is kind of my personal soapbox:

If you charge too low, you are not only cheapening the perceived value of your own work, you are also cheapening the work of others because the public learns to think that some artisans who charge what they are worth, are charging too much.

Those artisans that charge what they are worth then have to work so much harder to convince customers that their work is worth the cost.

That said, as a jewelry designer, you need to consider 2 types of pricing: wholesale and retail.

Wholesale and Retail Pricing Models

Common wholesale pricing models used by jewelry designers:

-3 x the material cost

-3.5 x the material cost

-$18/hour-labor plus 1x materials plus 50% (or whatever you want your hourly wage to be)

-Eyeballing i.e. guessing at what it should be worth (not recommended, but common)

-$35/hour-labor plus 1x materials

-$26/hour-labor plus 1x materials plus 50%

-$20/hr.labor + mat. + 5%overhead + 20%profit

Common retail pricing models used by jewelry designers:

-1.4 x wholesale

-1.5 x wholesale

-1.6 x wholesale

-1.7 x wholesale

-1.8 x wholesale

-1.9 x wholesale

-2.0 x wholesale

-The ever common but not recommended “eyeballing” method

Feel free to use any of the wholesale or retail pricing formulas to price your own work.

Firstly, you’ll often find that purchasing handmade jewellery will get you a piece of jewellery that is of significantly higher quality than you’ll find in the high street shops. When you are dealing with a reputable jewellery maker, you’re going to get the materials that you’re paying for. In many cases, this is visible right away; for instance, when someone who is working by hand uses white gold, they can generally ensure a piece that has a clearer, truer colour to the metal than a mass produced piece sometimes has. If you want a piece of jewellery that will last you a lifetime, you want something that was made by hand.

Another reason to look into purchasing handcrafted jewellery is down to price. Too many people have the idea that handmade jewellery is prohibitively expensive, but this is not always true. When you purchase a piece from someone who is doing the work on their own, they will often have significantly lower overheads than a large company would need to deal with. So although the piece will take many hours instead of a few minutes to produce, the price can often still be lower; if a piece only passes through one pair of hands, only one person needs to make a profit and you can rest assured the quality will be high.

You should also consider how unique and creative your jewellery can be. Have you always wanted jewellery that allows you to stand out and that suits your personality? Do you find that this year’s crop of fashion jewellery does nothing for you at all? Avoid that by requesting a personal piece that will always look good on you. Do you have a love of elegant Victorian designs, or do you love loose and modern geometric shapes? Do you need earrings that dangle and shine or do you prefer studs that have been worked very delicately? Getting bespoke jewellery is a good way to make sure you have exactly what you’re looking for.

There are far too many people out there who simply “make do” with the jewellery that they can find rather than looking for a unique piece that can be made especially for them. Google ‘handmade jewellery’ today to find that exclusive piece of handmade jewellery you’ll always love instead of making do with something you merely like.