I don’t think this will be a big shocker for anyone who’s read my columns through the years, but I’m not really an inventory heavy store. My operation is mostly based in the service end of our industry spectrum. There are not many people left in the world that do the kind of work that I, and other bench jewelers, do. Plus, I like it better than working the showroom.
In all reality, I’ve never been very good at the front of the house aspect of this business. I wish that wasn’t the case, but I didn’t make that decision. My DNA made that decision. That being said, I may not be able to offer you wisdom on the latest trends or sage advice on stock balancing, but I can speak on the custom and repair side of the business with the best of them.
In the old days, like 30 years ago, there were plenty of trade shops. So many in fact that trade shops had to compete against one another. Today, that’s just not the case. For every new shop that opens, many more close forever. There’s just not enough people stepping forward and joining that side of the business. And, as a ‘benchie’ at heart, that’s the best part. I get to catch expensive things on fire and then hit them with hammers. What’s not to love about that?
In the last 20 years or so, a few new technologies have changed the shop environment. Among those technologies is CAD-CAM and 3D printing. Let’s look at how this has changed the shop.
CAD-CAM
If it’s in a jewelry catalog, fashion magazine, or showcase today, it was designed by CAD-CAM. CAD, which stands for Computer Aided Design, is so integrated into the industry now, that a hand-carved wax, or an injection wax from a rubber mold, is the outlier anymore. Twenty five years ago, that was 95% of the market. Now, CAD created jewelry is around 95% of the marketplace. But, how does that impact the jewelry shop environment and the bench jewelers that work back there?
CAD programs are very complex and very complicated to master. It’s basically a full time computer programing job to design in CAD, but it’s not necessarily a bench jeweler’s job. Back when we carved waxes and ‘shot rubber molds’, that was a function that was performed in the shop by a bench jeweler. CAD can now be done sitting in an office in the front of the store – not in the shop! I use CAD at my store for a few things, but for the most part I farm it out. CAD, in my humble opinion, is a front of the house skill. And, as I stated before, I suck up there.
3D Printing
This technology is the evil step-brother of CAD. 3D printing is the CAM part of the CAD-CAM equation. CAD is the design phase of the process, whereas CAM, computer aided manufacturing, is the ‘production of the model’ phase of the process. Notice I said ‘the production of the model’, not the production of the piece of jewelry. Instead of carving or injecting a wax in the shop, you now grow them in a box with microchips and sensors in an office environment, usually right next to the CAD computer. 3D printing has really improved through the years and I really like the technology, but if I need it done, I farm it out. Let me explain why.
In today’s world, the modeling portion of the bench jeweler’s job has transitioned from the back of the house to the front of the house. That process used to be done 100% in the shop, now, not so much. But regardless of how, or where, the model is created, every process beyond that has to be done in the shop. Whoop Whoop! We’re still back there, alive and kicking. But, let me do a brief overview of another technology that’s changed the life of the bench jeweler.
The Laser Welder
No, it’s not a magic jewelry maker. It’s just a piece of equipment that joins two pieces of metal together. The laser welder converts light energy into thermal energy, whereas the jeweler’s torch converts propane and oxygen into thermal energy. Both methods marry two pieces of metal together. But, here’s what was so important about the introduction of the laser welder.
The ability to control the thermal energy coming out of the end of a torch is harder than it looks. Joining pieces of metal together is usually the first step in the process of custom and repair jobs. No matter how good a jeweler is at all of the other steps involved, if that part kicks your butt every time, right from the beginning, then the rest of the job suffers. Soldering was the downfall of many bench jewelers. The laser welder has now replaced that part of the process with technology. I have a laser welder, but tend to use my torch more than my welder, but that’s just me. I’m better with a torch than I am with a laser.
So, all of that being said, let me tell you about a trend I’m seeing in the world of trade shops, technologies, and bench jewelers in general. For the first time that I can recall, we’re allowed to specialize. That’s a new thing. I’m one of those old school ‘utility’ jewelers. I can set diamonds, carve waxes, make rubber molds, size rings, reweave hollow rope chains, and change the battery in your watch. But jewelers like that are becoming harder to find. So what’s happening?
Customers come in with a vision for their engagement ring. Whether you do, or don’t do CAD-CAM in house, once you have a model, you then need to hire a specialist to cast your model. Once cast, that project will be handed off to the next specialist to clean, polish, and prepare the piece for setting. Next, you need a stone setter to set all of the gemstones in the ring – all 162 of them.
Once finished, you deliver it to your customer and they are ecstatic. “It’s so beautiful,” they will say. You quietly think to yourself, ‘Yes, it is beautiful. I’m such a great designer.’ Then, let’s fast forward 13 months. Your customer’s world has been shattered. They bring their ring in because 3 of the ½ pointers have fallen out of their ring. Hah, they didn’t fall out, they were knocked out!!!
Now you need another specialist. The people that did the CAD don’t do repairs. The people that cast the ring don’t do repairs. The polishers and setters don’t do repairs. Whatever is a store to do?
You now realize you need another specialist in your orbit; A repair jeweler! Someone that just repairs your customer’s broken jewelry and heirlooms. And yes, those specialists are becoming fewer and farther between as well.
As a general rule with bench jewelers, they either like to only do custom, or they only like to do repairs. Very few like to do both. Most CAN do both, but their heart is really only on one side of the fence or the other. Me personally, I like the repair side. I’d rather work on 30 different things in a day, than spend the entire day working on one thing, but that’s just me.
So, to all my fellow bench jewelers out there, write me a note and let me know which side of the fence you fall on – repair or custom. Also, what do you like to do the most, and what do you like to do the least, like soldering 23 sterling silver charms on an already overcrowded silver charm bracelet.
