The US jewelry market is worth a massive $76 billion per year according to Statista with thousands of items being bought and sold every day.
If you’re heading to your local jeweler; perhaps for a wedding ring fitting, or if you’re a future groom looking for an engagement ring, or perhaps you’re having your favorite piece of jewelry repaired, then you might be wondering whether you need to tip the jeweler.
Tipping is a common practice in US culture and getting your tipping game on point can make a huge difference to your finances.
Tip too often or too much and you’ll soon be skint.
Tip too infrequently or not at all and you may raise a few eyebrows.
To bring you up to speed as to whether you need to tip your jeweler, we’ve looked at what the common custom is, how much to tip (if at all), how much jewelers earn, and much more.
Let’s dive in…
Do You Need to Tip a Jeweler? The Short Answer
It isn’t customary to tip a jeweler and there isn’t really a need to do so. However, there’s nothing wrong with tipping them and many people do especially if they’re visiting one for a special occasion such as a wedding or engagement ring, if it’s a customized piece or if a sentimental item is being repaired.
How Much Do Jewelers Earn? Do They Need Tipping
One of the first things to consider when looking at whether to tip is how much the worker in question earns.
Most people are familiar with the idea that you should tip coffee shop workers at places like Starbucks and waitresses at places like Sonic but what about the jewelry trade?
Do jewelers rely on tips to get by? Do they need the money to supplement poor income?
According to Salary.com, jewelers in the US earn a median yearly income of $42,759.
According to Mint Intuit, the average yearly salary in the US is $56,310, meaning jewelers tend to earn quite a bit below the average US yearly salary, albeit not drastically so.
We’ll leave it to you as to whether you think this swings the ball in favor of tipping jewelers.
What Do Jewelers Say About Tipping?
We spoke to Clive, a jeweler in Boston who has been in the business for over 15 years. He said:
In the years I’ve worked in the business, I have received a money tip probably once every 6 months, usually after the sale of wedding rings or after the repair of a sentimental piece of jewelery. I have received thank you cards and other non-monetary gifts more often.
Clive, jeweler, Boston
This is what we expected given that tips aren’t normally commonplace in this industry.
How Much Do People Spend at Jewelers?
Another key consideration is how much you’re likely to spend at the jewelers.
If you’re having jewelry repaired then expect to spend the following on average according to Longs Jewelers:
| Repair | Repair Costs |
| Re-sizing a ring | $90-$200 |
| Soldering a broken chain | $30 – $230 |
| Replacing a clasp | $65 – $250 |
| Re-setting a stone | $50 – $175 |
How Much to Tip a Jeweler?
In the US the standard tipping rate is 10-20% of the goods or services purchased.
Therefore, on the basis of these figures, your tip is likely to set you back between $3 – $50.
However, if you’re simply buying a piece of jewelry and not having repairs, you might find using the 10-20% figure brings about some fairly expensive results.
For example, if you applied 10-20% to the average engagement ring cost, which according to CNBC is $5900, you’d be forking out between $500 – $1000 just for a tip.
This is clearly way over the odds for most people!
Accordingly, for jewelry purchases, most people will find it more palatable to tip a fixed amount of, say, $10 – $50 instead.
However, you’re unlikely to raise any eyebrows by not tipping and there really is no need to tip in this industry.
Non-monetary ways of tipping
Another option is to show your gratitude in other ways such as:
- With a thank you card
- A gift token
- Flowers or chocolates
- A Google review of the jewelers
- Verbal praise
Any display of gratitude is likely to be appreciated.
Related Article:
Costco Jewelry Return Policy
Do You Tip for Custom Jewelry?
There are no hard or fast rules when it comes to tipping for custom jewelry.
Again, it’s not really customary to tip even for customized pieces.
However, because of the personalized nature of customized jewelry, many people do like to tip, especially if they’re happy with the results.
Final Thoughts
It isn’t customary to tip a jeweler. They earn decent money and it’s just not common practice within this industry like it is in some.
If you do wish to tip, then we’d suggest a fixed monetary amount of, say, $10 – $50 if you’re purchasing jewelry and 10-20% of the cost if you’re having repairs done.
However, this particular industry is one where simply offering verbal praise or a non-monetary tip such as a gift or review is completely fine and will usually be very well received.
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