The Manufacture of Jewelry

Part 6 of the mini-course
"How to Value Your Jewelry
at Home or Work"

© by David Foard F.G.A.A.; all rights reserved

Let's have a quick reminder about our last tutorial, Gold and Precious Metals. After our last session you should have started your worksheet and completed the precious metal section. See my handwritten worksheet at Worksheet 2. No need to print it out if you don't want to, as it's just for conformation that we are both on the right track.

Again, let me remind you this is NOT a competition. In fact you don't even have to participate if you don't want to. You might just want to sit on the sidelines and be an observer for now, until you are ready to do your own jewelry at home and in your own timeframe. That's okay. No exam at the end of this course.

We also covered briefly:

• That there are approximately 32 grams in one ounce of gold.
  
• The exchange rate ONLY applies to people OUTSIDE the USA.
  
• Our Worksheet is just a piece of paper.

That last statement may seem a little strange when we have been emphasizing the importance of the Worksheet. But really, that's all it is, a piece of paper. It's just a tool to focus our thoughts and calculations.

It doesn't HAVE to be neat (although if you were working in the Trade, it would help a co-worker understand your notes). If you stuff it up, you can just print out another and start again.

So what can we expect in today's tutorial?

• The different types of manufacture
  
• The time it takes to make something
  
• The costs charged and how that effects a Valuation Appraisal.

The next section deals with labor charges, which around the world are based on a 'Price per hour' rate ($pph). Seems just a little unfair when labor charges differ so much from country to country, but for our purpose it balances out because of the exchange rate again. So just go with our figures, okay.

The cost of labor is based on the AWARD wages for a jeweler and includes the cost of Holidays, Insurance, any Taxes and pension funds and is looked at purely from the Jewelry Business point of view.

After all, they are the ones paying the wages, so they need to calculate the 'PRODUCTIVE' hours a person generates - not the typical 52 weeks of total time paid, some of which is NON PRODUCTIVE yet still has to be compensated for.

So the TOTAL costs are divided by the PRODUCTIVE hours to get a true figure. But remember this is just to break even. No profits yet.

As we know the Trade double their revenue, so the final price (like an accountant or solicitor) is charged at an hourly rate. In our example we use a rounded figure of $60 per hour.

The first thing we need to do is identify the type of Manufacture. Not as easy as it sounds, although you may know if you personally had an item made for you.

There are basically only three types of manufacture:

• Handmade.
  
• Cast.
  
• Die Struck, Machined and assembled.

Unfortunately; there can (very often) be a combination of all three. So it's out with the eyeglass again, because we have to look for 'clues'.

Okay, so how do we identify which manufacture process is which?

The oldest manufacturing process is 'Handmade', and these days better quality items are also made this way. But because people are NOT perfect (unlike wives - sorry, guys), they tend to leave tell-tale signs they have been there.

Most Handmade items are 'BUILT UP' from several smaller pieces. The Shank (band) of a ring is different from the top where the gemstones are set. A brooch may be made up of several pieces before being 'Soldered' together.

So we need to look for ** Solder Joins ** . These show up as a slightly different shade of yellow (in yellow gold) around where the pieces are joined, or fine lines between joins in other colors. Always examine the item where two pieces are joined together as this always helps.

We should also look for ** File marks or saw blade marks ** especially around corners and edges and on the backs of jewelry. That's why dealers ALWAYS turn jewelry over. They are looking for how something was made.

TIP: File Saw Blade marks are 'irregular' unlike 'machine' made marks which are almost perfect and uniform in pattern.

Finally we look for ** Finish ** which is indicated by sharp edges and a better quality appearance, because it is possible to 'polish' each piece before it is assembled. Hard to reach areas will therefore still be 'finished' off.

TIP: Beware of Cast items which are assembled from several pieces. Look for other clues before you set your mind on one form of manufacture.

The second type of manufacture is 'CAST' which often includes the top part of a ring as well as the band to form one piece. Because there are no joins, this gives us a clue but we need to confirm it before we select 'Cast' as our form of manufacture.

Most average jewelry today is cast, or cast and assembled. This process is ideally suited to rings, charms, brooches and the like, or any item which does NOT need to be repeated exactly (such as links in a chain or bracelet for example).

You can often spot a cast item by the 'Porous' finish on the inside or underneath of an item. It looks similar to an orange skin (but not so regular) and the edges will be slightly rounded.

Cast items also tend to 'crack' a little especially if a ring has been resized. Once seen, never forgotten, so get out your jewelry and start looking for these clues.

Next we have ** Die Struck and Machine made ** which while they are both different processes tend to be grouped together. They are generally used in 'component' parts of jewelry like Settings or Shoulders or Clasps etc.

If you think of 'Coins' being stamped by a machine, then you'll get the idea about die struck components. Ideally suited to flattish items. Think of round medallions or religious pendants for example.

Machined items include Chains and Bracelets plus all those 'component' parts we mentioned as each piece will be identical. Ring shanks are being machined too these days so we need to look for those machine marks we remarked on earlier.

Finally we must be aware of those items which are made up from any combination of the above types. A ring may have machined shank or band, with cast shoulders and underrail, and be finished off with a handmade setting. Confused. Yeah me too...

As we can't 'break apart' an item like this, what can we do? Simply take the heaviest or largest component and base the lot on that.

Okay, trust you are not too stressed out at this stage because we still have a little more to work out. How about a coffee before we continue? I'll have mine white with three sugars, please (the more sweetness I give out the more I have to replace) - That's logical, right?

As we know the hourly rate ($60), we can enter that on our worksheet for this particular Sapphire and Diamond ring under the $pph column. However we still need to know the time it took to make this ring, so this is where we have to work with averages because no two jewelers will take the same amount of time to create the same item of jewelry.

So let's take an example:

• ON AVERAGE a plain handmade ring takes about 1 hour
  
• ON AVERAGE if it has setting cut into the band - 2 hours
  
• ON AVERAGE a single gem set ring is up to 3 hours
  
• ON AVERAGE an easy small cluster - 4 hours
  
• ON AVERAGE a complex cluster (ring or brooch) up to 8 hours.

So you see how subjective this can get. We also have to calculate for every item which may be soldered onto the jewelry.

Manufacturers ON AVERAGE calculate 15 minutes for every solder, so if the ring has two shoulders, that equals 4 solders (one at the top and one at the bottom of each) increasing the time taken by 1 hour (15 minutes x 4 solders = 60 minutes).

This time is the main factor in labor charges when we value an item.

A good and quick guide is 2 to 3 hours for an average piece. The more complex, the more it will cost because of increased labor. A Handmade Brooch with several gem set leaves, a spring pin and hook clasp can have 20 or 30 or more solders (30 x 15 minutes per solder = 450 minutes or seven and a half hours work).

All this must be considered and the quick way is by counting the number of parts and multiplying by 15 minutes to see how long it took to make.

A Cast item by comparison may have taken only 30 minutes total.

TIP: You can count the number of gemstones to achieve the same result.

As there are 3 gems in our ring that equates to 45 minutes plus 2 hours to make the shank and top. However as we have Carved shoulders (more labor) which would take another hour to do, we will call it 4 hours all up because it's a little fancy.

Enter that on the worksheet. Handmade: 4 hours x $60 = $240 subtotal.

Have fun looking at your own jewelry and appreciate the time taken to create a beautiful thing. No wonder a Faberge Diamond Egg took hundreds of hours of work. I can only afford a Cadbury's Chocolate Cream Egg. (Machine made in seconds).

Meantime, stay tuned for Part 7 of this mini-course, Settings and Finishings in Jewelry, where we'll cover how to identify the different types of settings, why the size of the settings can make a difference to price, and what fees are charged by the Setter.

P.S. You can always get a Valuation Appraisal done quickly and easily with minimum effort by going to the Valuation Appraisal Centre at the address listed below and print your Certificate at home or work.

You'll find the address at the end of this article, where there are hundreds of tips not found anywhere else.

Author David Foard, a Fellow of the Gemological Association of Australia (F.G.A.A.) and former member of The Valuers Council (JATVC), is retired ("Ha..." he laughs). He is working harder now than at any time in his life, especially over the 30 years he spent in the Antique Jewelry Trade as a qualified gemologist and member of the Valuers Council. Now he concentrates on the "three R's" of Readin', Ritin', and Re-ritin' articles, courses and free report newsletters at his Online Jewelry Appraisal Center website.

David says, "All of the calculations and procedures done throughout this series of articles are built into our Online Jewelry Valuation Self Appraisal Kit, which does all the work for you. Why? So you don't have to. Simple...

"If you are really serious about getting a jewelry valuation appraisal done quickly and easily, then go to our Online Jewelry Valuation Self Appraisal Kit to value your own jewelry and reproduce a certificate on your own printer at home or work. Couldn't be any easier.

"Our online jewelry valuation self appraisal kit uses behind-the-scenes calculations that work with your answers to a set of multiple choice questions to derive exactly 'What's it worth'. Easy, eh? We use this system ourselves.

"Regards, and please watch the road."

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