What is the typical markup on custom rings compared to stock rings?

I get this question at least once a week, usually from someone who's just gotten their first custom quote and is trying to figure out if they're being taken advantage of. The short answer is that markup on custom work is structured completely differently from stock jewelry - so comparing them as percentages is misleading. Let me break it down the way I do across the bench for clients like Daniel, who last year was staring at a $4,200 quote for a ring he'd seen online for $1,800.

The short version

There isn't a "typical markup" in the way retail has one. A stock ring from a chain jeweler might carry a 200% to 400% markup over its wholesale cost. A custom ring from a bench jeweler like me carries something closer to a 30% to 50% margin - but that's on a fundamentally different cost structure. The real question isn't "what's the markup." It's "where does the money go."

About 70% of the custom pieces I make start with a stone the client already owns, so let me walk through a typical build from scratch, with real numbers, so you can see what "markup" actually means when it's not a chain store.

Where the money actually goes

For a simple 18k yellow gold solitaire - say a 2.2mm shank, 6-prong head, no pave, no engraving - here's roughly where $3,500 goes if the client buys the stone through me:

• Metal: About $350-$450 for the gold at current market, plus alloy and casting costs. 18k yellow, about 5.5 grams finished weight.
• Stone: A 0.9 carat G/VS1 round brilliant, GIA-certified, natural. Wholesale on that stone right now is around $1,200-$1,400 depending on the exact l/w ratio and whether there's any fluorescence.
• Labor - casting and finishing: Casting house charges me about $80 for a burnout and cast in that weight. Then I've got about three hours of bench time - sprue removal, sizing to a 6.5, filing, sanding, polishing, setting the stone. At my shop rate, that's about $450.
• Stone setting alone: A simple 6-prong head setting, well-done, no laser welding needed. That's about $150 of that bench time, but I break it out because a lot of clients want to see it.
• Rhodium plating (if white gold): About $60 every 12 to 18 months if they choose 18k white over platinum. I include the first plating.
• Overhead and margin: Rent, insurance, tools, the GIA recert I got on that stone, my time for the consultation, the three rounds of CAD revisions. That's the remaining $700 to $900.

That $700-$900 is the profit - but it's also covering a dozen things the client never sees. Design time. Photography for insurance. The risk that I scratch the stone during setting and eat the replacement. The ten hours I spent on another job last month where the client changed their mind three times and I didn't charge for the extra CADs because I'd already quoted a flat price.

How stock rings are different

A stock ring from a mass-market retailer has a completely different cost structure. They're buying from a factory in Surat or Shenzhen that makes the same head a thousand times at scale. Their metal cost is lower because they're buying gold by the kilo, not the ounce. Their labor per ring is maybe $20. Their stone cost is lower because they're buying parcels of diamonds that were cut for consistency, not for beauty.

And then they put a 200% to 400% markup on top of that because they have a storefront on Fifth Avenue, a marketing budget, and a return policy that eats a percentage of every sale. The ring that retails for $1,800 cost them maybe $400 to produce, all in.

That's not evil - it's retail. But it's a different business from mine.

So what's the "markup" on a custom ring?

If you insist on a percentage, here's the honest answer: on the total cost, my margin runs about 20% to 35%. On the labor and materials that I handle directly, it's higher - maybe 40% to 50% - because I'm pricing my time at what a bench jeweler with 22 years of experience charges. On the stone, my margin is usually 10% to 20% if I source it wholesale. If the client brings their own stone, my margin on the metal and labor is all that's left, so the total markup is lower.

Compare that to a stock ring where the retailer's margin on the stone alone can be 100% to 300%. They bought it for $600, they're selling it for $2,000. I bought the same stone for $1,200 and I'm selling it for $1,400. Who's marking up more?

The real question you should ask

Instead of asking about markup, ask your jeweler this: "Can you itemize the quote to show me what the stone costs, what the metal costs, and what the labor is?" A jeweler who won't break it down is hiding something. A jeweler who gives you a line-by-line is telling you exactly where the money goes - and whether you're getting value for it.

I've had clients walk because my labor rate seemed high. One of them went to a jeweler who quoted $1,500 for the same design. Six months later she emailed me a photo of the ring. The prongs were uneven, the shank was too thin for the stone, and one of the side stones had already fallen out. She paid about $1,000 to have it rebuilt by another bench jeweler. She ended up at about $2,500 total - and a ring that wasn't what she wanted.

Markup percentages don't tell you whether you're getting a good ring. A fair price on a well-made ring is worth more than a low markup on a bad one.