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INSIDE: I Wish I Knew Then: Hope Wixon Reflects • Pricing a Custom Piece, Fee by Fee
INSIGHTS INTO DESIGNING AND MARKETING CUSTOMIZED JEWELRY
Yeeeeeaaaaah!
At Old Town Goldworks, custom
clients get a hands-on experience
BY ETTAGALE BLAUER
Many jewelers these days recognize that the
customized trend is here to stay and have added custom
jewelry to their repertoires. So many, in fact, that it can make
it difficult to stand out from the crowd. But that’s not the
case for Old Town Goldworks in Fort Collins, Colorado. A
modern-day alchemist’s shop, the college town jewelry store
owned and operated by husband-and-wife team Tom and
Sandy Linenberger have taken the process of using customer’s old jewelry to create new, custom pieces one step further than most: They give customers the chance to take
part in the process of actually melting down their old silver
or gold and then seeing it emerge in a totally new form.
The response has been nothing short of magical.
Tom Linenberger, who grew up in the jewelry business
and went on to complete GIA courses in diamond and
continued on page 6
MJSA Would Like to Thank the Custom Jeweler Sponsor
Please see our ad on the back page
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VOL. 7, NO. 1
2 MJSA Custom Jeweler
Vol. 7, No. 1 3
LIFe LeSSONS
I Wish I Knew Then…
Hope Wixon’s reflections on life lessons
EDITOR’S NOTE: In this occasional column, we’re asking experienced
custom designers and makers to share a few of the things they wished
they’d known when they were getting started. Hope Wixon of Wixon Jewelers in Minneapolis
talks about what helps her run her business smoothly, and why she doesn’t apologize for her pricing.
I wish I knew then…not to hire by training or experience.
We hire differently than we
did in the beginning. Then, we were looking for whether or not they had jewelry experience, or if they were a Graduate Gemologist. Today, we do the exact opposite. Now, we
hire based on personality. We have found that we can train anyone on the products they
need to know, but we cannot change their personality. As a result, we have a cohesive unit.
We don’t want to have one person who thinks they’re a hotshot and that the rules don’t
apply to them.
I wish I knew then…that commission selling can actually be detrimental. We found
in the past that when employees are on commission, whoever is up next gets the client,
regardless of what they know or whether their personality is a match for the customer.
Also, if a good customer comes in, and the salesperson they normally work with is off,
everyone scatters. No one wants to help because it’s not their client and they don’t get the
commission. The client ends up being treated like chopped liver: That’s the worst thing
that can happen.
We are no longer a commission-based store. Everyone is on salary. If there is no commission, everyone is there to help the client. If we take the commission out of the equation, we can choose who is going to help a customer and try to match personalities. Where
there is a better fit, there is a better relationship. We’re better able to establish long-term
relationships and give the greatest care to our clients.
I wish I knew then…not to apologize for the price. We don’t apologize and we don’t
discount our custom designs one cent. Over the years, we’ve lost some sales because someone else was $500 cheaper but, six months later, that customer brings in the piece they
bought somewhere else because they’re so unhappy that it was made poorly. Now it’s really
expensive because they’ve paid the original price plus ours.
We hire the best people and do the best work. You can’t offer the best prices if you hire
the best people.
4 MJSA Custom Jeweler
I wish I knew then…how important
clienteling is. In the beginning, it’s natural to think, “We got a sale! That’s great!
Let’s take the next client.” You can spend a
lot of advertising dollars to get that customer into the store, but what good is it if
you don’t build on it? If a client has bought
from you before, you have already won
half the battle. Any multiple sales generated down the road are so much easier
than making a new sale. You should be
tapping into those clients again and again.
You want to build a rapport with the customer, so they treat you like the family
doctor or dentist. Whenever they have an
event coming up, they come to you. u
Tomorrow Is…
…CAD technologies that create custom designs
before your customers’ eyes.
…Manufacturing technologies that turn those designs
into finished pieces exceeding expectations.
…Waiting for you at MJSA Expo, where you can discover
what you need to make and sell great jewelry, profitably.
Connect With Tomorrow
March 13-15, 2016
Javits Center, New York City
Running concurrently with the JA New York Spring show
Go to MJSAExpo.org to learn more and register.
“The MJSA show is one of my favorites… As far as learning about the latest and
greatest equipment, it is the best show out there.” —Glenn Block, Shardan Jewelry, Allentown, PA
yeeeaah!, continued from page 1
colored stone identification and diamond grading,
knows firsthand the excitement of melting scrap
into molten gold. “We were already using customers’ gold,” he explains. “I had been taking pictures
and documenting the process so the customer could
have a story to pass down to their descendants. One
day, I asked a client, ‘Would you want to watch me
melt down the piece?’” And just like that, Goldworks became the go-to shop for a broad range of
clients who had sentimental attachments to old
jewelry but no way to express that connection.
“We explain to them that they won’t save any
money by doing this,” Tom explains, “because of the
amount of preparation needed, such as removing
solder from the old piece.” But once they understand
that by using the gold from their own unwearable
piece they are honoring their loved one, they’re
totally committed to the process.
And this isn’t limited to just those custom clients with metal to recycle, either. Although he
didn’t have any old gold to melt down, one recent
college graduate knew exactly what he wanted to
give his fiancée. He wasn’t able to draw his idea
and instead brought in a “Barney Rubble” model made of clay and
rhinestones. The “clay model” guy, as he came to be known, had
placed the rhinestones along the shank of the model. Tom and his
team were able to take the customer’s idea and create a fine version of it, using diamonds along a double, openwork shank. The
“clay model” guy had the joy of not only being involved in the
design of this one-of-a-kind ring, but also in the physical creation
of the ring, getting his hands involved in many aspects of the
casting process.
Making the Magic Happen
This hands-on custom process begins with Tom sitting down with
the customer and talking through ideas for the new piece. Using
his CAD skills, Tom designs a few options to start shaping the
piece. “After the design is finalized with the customer, the model
is carved out on the wax milling machine and the mold is prepared
for casting,” says Sandy.
Once the model is burned out and the mold ready, the customer
6 MJSA Custom Jeweler
When a client couldn’t draw the design he had in
mind, he brought in a “Barney Rubble” clay and
rhinestone model of the ring he wanted to create
for his fiancée. Tom fine-tuned the design in CAD
and then invited the client back to participate in
the casting and quenching of the ring.
is invited back to the shop to take part in the casting process. Before
customers can approach the equipment, they get a rundown of the
procedure and any safety precautions.
“We explain the casting process first,” says Tom. “Then we give
them instructions on how to pour the gold into the crucible and
the proper way to quench the flask.” He also reminds them to “just
enjoy the whole process.”
With the customer advised on what to expect, Tom heats up a
crucible and lets the customer put the gold piece into it, then
watch as it is melted. (For safety reasons, customers are not permitted to handle the torch.)
Tears flow as freely as the gold at this point, as the customer
thinks about the person whose jewelry is being melted, and honored, in the process. “This is a particularly special and emotional
experience when the customer is using gold from the past that has
history to it, and they get to watch their old sentimental gold turn
into something new,” says Tom.
Customers get to watch one of the most exciting parts of the
“And that’s what being a jeweler is truly all about. It’s about
forming relationships with clients, and helping be a part of the
most important and meaningful moments of their lives.”
process as the casting machine’s centrifuge forces the liquid metal
into the mold. Then it’s back to work for the customer.
“After the piece and flask have had a while to cool, we let the
customer quench the flask, which means they get to dunk the flask
into a bucket of water to finalize the cooling process,” says Sandy.
“This also quickly destroys and removes the investment from
around the piece and the customer can reach in and be the first to
touch their rough piece.”
The customer then hands over the piece so that it can be cleaned
up by Tom and his team. A jeweler will finish the piece, setting any
gemstones and doing all of the requisite polishing and finishing to
ready for the customer’s next visit to pick up the piece. That final
visit is celebrated with a glass of champagne or beers. “All in all, it’s
a really fun and engaging process that we really love, and love to
have our customers participate in,” says Sandy. From start to finish, the entire process takes about four to six weeks.
Meaningful Moments
While Goldworks advertises this service in local publications as
well as on Facebook, word-of-mouth plays an important part of
the business. Letting customers know about this unique opportunity begins the moment they walk through the door.
“They are always told about the possibility of using old pieces,”
says Tom. “Instantly, they start thinking about what they could
use.” He estimates that about 60 to 70 percent of their business
now involves melting and re-using old jewelry. And virtually all of
their customers decide to take part in the process. “People are
fascinated to learn how jewelry is made,” says Tom.
Given their location in a college town, engagement rings make
up a large part of their business. “Usually, the guys could care less,”
admits Tom. “They don’t want to be here.” But that all changes
once the process starts and they show up on the casting day. Then,
“they are the ones who don’t want to leave!”
And sometimes the process becomes a family affair. One of
their recent custom projects involved making rings for two women
who had been in a committed relationship for 30 years. Now that
they were able to legalize their relationship, the women wanted rings
to mark the occasion. The couple’s siblings sent them pieces from
each of their mothers’ estates to use in the melt. “This creation was
a great celebration,” says Sandy, with “lots of laughs and hugs.”
Frequently there has been the loss a family member who is
being memorialized. “A couple that had just moved to Colorado
faced the loss of the wife,” Sandy says. “The gentleman wanted to
keep her close to his heart with a cross that had her birthstone, her
birthday, and the date of their wedding.” In this instance, the
metal was silver and the customer took part in pouring the metal,
quenching the piece, and inserting some of his late wife’s ashes
into a hollow section of the cross. This was far more than a piece
of jewelry. “This job resulted in lots of tears and hugs and a lifelong friend,” says Sandy.
And that’s what being a jeweler is truly all about. It’s not just
about making pretty, shiny baubles that sell to the highest bidder.
It’s about forming relationships with clients, and helping be a part
of the most important and meaningful moments of their lives.
Goldworks’ involving their clients and their old jewelry pieces in
the creation of their new pieces is special, but also something that
could be replicated anywhere. All it takes are people like Tom and
Sandy who are willing to spend the time to involve the customers,
embrace their projects, and show them that recycling old jewelry
is a joyful process. u
Vol. 7, No. 1 7
CUSTOM PRICING
At What Price?
Breaking down a custom piece, fee by fee
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in an occasional series focusing on how custom designers price their
work to ensure they remain competitive, cover all costs, and (of course) make a profit. Here’s
how Calla Gold of Calla Gold Jewelry in Santa Barbara, California, arrived at the final
charge for an autumn-inspired ring.
turned off the clock after a while since I
was going in a new direction and wanted
to do it right. Total Fee: $690
DeSIGN: Although this piece was commis-
as my client wanted to wear her ring every
day. The finished gold weighed 13.3 grams
and we charged $127.44 per gram (includes
my markup) for a total of $1,694.95, which
we rounded up to $1,695. The cost to have
the ring cast was $175. Total Fee: $1,870
sioned as a gift from the man in her life,
the client loved jewelry and was the driving force behind the ring’s look and
autumn color palette. I spent many hours
working on the drawing of the ring, meet-
ing with the client several times to keep
her in the loop. This design actually
pushed the envelope technically for me,
which I welcomed. My hourly design time
fee is $125. For this project, the design
time I charged was $690, although I
MeTaL: We used 14k yellow recycled gold,
STONeS: I selected a range of autumn-color
sapphires from which the client could
choose. She picked her favorites and I used
as many as the final design allowed. The
total weight of the finished sapphires was
3.36 carats, and the final cost for the stones
was $1,250 (includes my markup). Believing that white diamonds would change the
earthy tones of the ring, I opted for canary,
cognac, and champagne colored Australian diamonds. The total weight of the
diamonds was 0.23 carat, and the customer was charged $690. Setting all of the
gemstones was charged as a single fee,
which was $644. Total Fee: $2,584
LaBOR: There were many steps involved in
making this ring. The wax creation fee was
$805. To have the model textured before
and after casting was $345. The charge to
oxidize the ring was $100. Each of the fees
for the subcontracted work includes my
markup. Total Fee: $1,250
FINAL PRICE: $6,394 u
8 MJSA Custom Jeweler
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Christopher Duquet Fine Jewelry Design
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