In many fine jewelry retail shops, jewelry repairs are a core part of the business. Repairing jewelry is such an important part of the jewelry business that most bench jewelers have probably taken one or more class in jewelry repair.

For the typical jewelry artisan,  jewelry repair might not be as key as they would be for a jewelry retailer, but they are definitely still a part of the business. Whether you like it or don't, people will break their jewelry, no matter how well the piece is made.  It just happens. Some of this might be the customer's fault; sometimes it's just an accident; and sometimes it is because of a mistake on the jewelry maker's part.

One issue that you may be confronted with sometimes is  the repair of jewelry that other people have made. If you are well known for the quality of your jewelry, then  it is likely that your customers will come to you first instead of a jewelry repair service like fast fix jewelry repair, when a piece of jewelry falls apart.

You really have to consider what to charge for jewelry repairs on a case-by-case basis. Some things you will want to consider are your costs, and that would include both your time and cost of materials; whether it's costume jewelry repair or repair of a genuine piece,  the history of the customer,  whether they are brand new or have been loyal for many years; who is at fault for the problem responsibility, you, them, or another jeweler; and whether it will be a relatively quick and simple fix or much more complicated.

In setting your price, make sure to at least cover your costs.  If your design was flawed in the first place, then you won't want to pass those expenses on to the customer, but if the piece broke for some other reason, then you are definitely entitled to charge for the repair.

You may have customers who are always breaking pieces, those they buy from you and from other jewelers.  But if they are buying from you frequenty and refer you to other people,  you should keep this in mind. Plus, if the job is really easy, then you may want to fix it for free because you know you will recoup your costs with a bigger sale down the line.

You will also want to consider whether or not the repair is worth the time and money. Occasionally customers think some repair is easy, but that's because they don't know anything about jewelry construction. So they don't realize that they are requesting something very difficult and time-consuming.  You should always feel free to refer out if you don't want to take on the repair job.

Whether you like it or no, repairs really are part and parcel of the jewelry making business.  But you can also think of it as a way to make some additional income. 

What if you have a customer who is breaking the same piece over and over again?  You will want to determine what they are doing to the piece. How do they wear it? Where do they weari it? Are they wearing it in the shower? Are they wearing it constantly?  If they are, you might want to let them know that they are ruining the piece, and that although you don’t mind fixing it for them, you have no choice but to charge them for the repair in the future. If you find out that it's not the customer’s fault, then you probably want to reconsider the design. Try wearing it yourself to see what happens.