custom prices/quality now vs. after xmas

[mingagreen]

Hi All, I am looking into having a ring custom made and I am wondering if anyone knows if the prices of custom work are higher at this time of year b/c of the holiday rush or if they are unaffected. Also would it be a better idea to wait until after xmas to have a ring made so the jeweler is not under so much presure? Sorry if these are silly questions, I am timidly approaching custom jewelery!!!

 

[Brian Knox]

Date: 12/3/2004 8:31:19 AM
Author:mingagreen
Hi All, I am looking into having a ring custom made and I am wondering if anyone knows if the prices of custom work are higher at this time of year b/c of the holiday rush or if they are unaffected.

Prices may or may not be cheaper after the holiday,

It is a tricky business guaranteeing custom jobs by a certain day, especially in the rush of Dec. when everything is needed by Dec. 24th.

Based on this, it may not be unreasonable to have a premium attached to a guaranteed finish date.

On the other hand ,contrary to much of the conventional wisdom, here is a reason that you may find better pricing with the right type of business this time of year.

Many jewelers operate thier business on a yearly busieness calandar, Jan-Dec

This means the few last days of Dec. are the last days to increase or improve gross sales numbers.

However, even so, many of these jewelers will turn down custom jobs in Decemeber depending on their existing workload.

Especially those of us that would rather say "no" to a customer upfront than on Dec. 24th.

This is all due to the uncertainties and vagaries of custom work and the inpact of Murphy''s law et. al.

As I tell my customers, custom work is never finished until it is finished


Also would it be a better idea to wait until after xmas to have a ring made so the jeweler is not under so much presure?

Yes, absolutely

Sorry if these are silly questions, I am timidly approaching custom jewelery!!!

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

Good question.

I''d a definate yes, the quality will go down. The rush is on.

I have just started a new buisness and I don''t have the customer base to be affected, this year.

Last xmass I was starting at 6 a.m and finishing 11 p.m. eat/sleep and start again. At work I didn''t look up from my bench and still I didn''t have enough time. On xmass eve I took a train half way across the country to deliver a few pieces to a client which I couldn''t do, because another client had booked me for the previous two days for an enormous amount of money. I worked through the night most of the last week and ignored the stomach ache from the coffee diet. I still get that head-bashed-in dire feeling just thinking about it. Do you think my work was up to scratch?

It depends on who your dealing with though. I know of custom jewellers who knocked back work till after xmass, from mid-November.

The thing is, once you hit xmass eve and slept you two days straight, you can''t just switch back into relaxed mode. You say - its all over soon, but what an anti-climax. I was back at work on the 28th and I took great enjoyment taking my sweet time with the few jobs I had left to do. I would say I took ten times as long on the same job and made up for the awfull feeling I had tried to supress about the unloved suff I had let out the door.

Out of the 2000+ jewellers in the same area I could count the others on my fingers who were still at it so late and so early - all self employed. They were back at work on boxing day, doing the same as me. Others took a week or two off, but surprisingly many didn''t. In those few weeks people who had been doing 80hr+ weeks the week before were looking for work to lovingly attend to. You would get very lucky indeed.

Cheers

Phillip

 

[mingagreen]

Well thank you both for the info, i think I''ll wait till after xmas!!! I am in no hurry to get this done, well kind of, but I want the best quality I can find and I want my jeweler to be well rested, fed, and happily crafting my ring!

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

Thats cool,

I hope you get a good ring made.

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

I knew this would happen. It is different for shops.

I was trying to meet other peoples deadlines and had to rush, but I didn''t lower my standards because of money, I did stupid hours because it xmass (the hours were for money - not a dceliberate drop in standards). The result was a lower standard caused by fatigue. In my defense, it was a higher standard then most around me, but the work was not poured over and double checked. I had no complaints. If you came to me then for custom work I''d suggest early Jan, for your sake and for mine, as I would have looked foward to a custom Jan job.

 

[Upgradable]

I''m waiting until end of January for Mark Morrell to start on my ring. I figure his work is worth the wait!