The current environment for the jewelry manufacturing industry is one of high metal prices and reduced margins. Any failures in the production process costs not only time, but also money. Manufacturers and bench jewelers alike encounter failures that can be annoying at best, and expensive at worst. Most attempts to solve problems are educated guesswork, which may or may not be correct and, in many cases, a trial-and-error technique is used until the problem goes away. So when a problem occurs, what should the jeweler do? This paper will demonstrate how a more scientific approach can be used to solve manufacturing problems. Relatively simple techniques can be used to troubleshoot failures and to understand why problems occur. Whether the jeweler performs the analysis or sub-contracts it to a metal supplier or analytical laboratory, this paper will demonstrate that, in the long term, it is good economics to understand the problem in order to prevent costly reoccurrence. By using case studies, typical examples will be discussed and resolutions suggested.

Author: Stewart Grice