About Jewels Recruitment

Why we exist

The UK jewellery trade is small, skilled and unforgiving. A bench jeweller who can polish but cannot set will be spotted on day one. A sales consultant who has never clientelled a five-figure sale will be exposed at the first Saturday in November. A buyer with no margin instinct will burn open-to-buy by spring. Generalist agencies do not know any of this, so they send what they have, and the cost of the wrong hire lands on you.

Jewels Recruitment was set up to do the opposite. We are a trade specialist. Bench, design, gemmology, watchmaking, retail, buying, visual merchandising, e-commerce and trade leadership — that is the entire desk. Every consultant has placed scores of trade-specific roles, knows the qualifications that matter, the workshops and brands by name, and the difference between Hatton Garden, the Jewellery Quarter and a high-street concession.

What we do, plainly

We place jewellery, watch and luxury retail roles for UK-based businesses. Most placements are in-store, at the bench, in the studio, on the manufacturing floor or at head office. We staff permanent, fixed-term contract, seasonal cover for Q4 and Valentine's, and overflow bench staff for workshop pressure points.

The roles we hire most often:

• Bench jewellers, goldsmiths and silversmiths — apprentice through master bench
• Diamond and coloured-stone setters — bezel, claw, channel, pavé and micro-pavé
• CAD designers — Matrix, Rhino, RhinoGold, JewelCAD, ZBrush
• Bespoke and high jewellery designers, design managers, creative leads
• Watchmakers, watch service technicians, after-sales managers (WOSTEP, BHI, brand-trained)
• Gemmologists and valuers — FGA, DGA, GIA-GG, IRV
• Luxury sales consultants — boutique, concession, independent fine
• Store managers, assistant managers, regional and area managers
• Buyers, junior and senior merchandisers, allocators, trading managers
• Visual merchandisers and head-office VM teams
• E-commerce, paid social, PPC, SEO, CRM, content for DTC jewellery brands
• Production managers, QC inspectors, polishers, casters, finishers
• Trade leadership: heads of retail, regional managers, brand directors, ops directors, MDs

How we vet

Every candidate goes through:

• Right-to-work checked before introduction (UK passport, settled / pre-settled status, sponsorship validity)
• References (current and previous employer where possible) and trade-test results captured
• For bench roles: portfolio, trade-test attendance, sample work and current workshop context
• For retail roles: clientelling track record, typical basket size, returning-customer rate, CRM systems used
• For watchmaking: WOSTEP / BHI / brand training, last certification date, repair scope
• For gemmology and valuation: FGA / DGA / GIA, scope of practice, valuation use-cases
• Total comp expectations in GBP: base, commission, bonus, benefits
• Notice period, start-date realism, competing offers in flight
• For senior trade roles: scoped case discussions and backchannel references where useful

Who we work for

Our clients are UK-based jewellery, watch and luxury retail businesses across the trade. Hatton Garden ateliers and independent designers. Birmingham Jewellery Quarter workshops, casters and manufacturers. High street chains and concessions. Boutique and luxury independents on Bond Street, Burlington Arcade, Sloane Street and the regional luxury high streets. Watch brand boutiques and authorised dealers. Direct-to-consumer e-commerce jewellery brands. Auction houses, valuation practices and probate specialists. We work with hiring managers, owners, MDs and HR leads who would rather invest 45 minutes in a good brief than three weeks cleaning up a bad one.

How we think about discretion

The trade is small. Owners know each other. Suppliers gossip. Brand reps track moves. We treat that as a hard constraint, not an inconvenience. Every approach is confidential by default. We never name a client to a candidate without express permission, and we never circulate a CV outside the brief. Approaches to candidates currently employed by competitors are coordinated with you on the intake call so nothing leaks.

How we think about a placement

A successful placement is not a signed offer letter. It is the moment six months later when the new hire is still at the bench (or behind the counter), the team trusts them, and the owner has stopped thinking about replacement. That is the only outcome that matters to us, and the only one we measure ourselves against.

Our values, the short version

• Trade-led screening, always. If we cannot articulate why a candidate matches the bench skill or the clientelling standard, we do not send the CV.
• Tell the truth. If the comp band is light or the workshop conditions are off-market, we say so before sourcing.
• One consultant, end to end. Same person from brief to onboarding follow-up. Holiday cover briefed properly so nothing slips.
• Discretion is the default. No naming, no leaks, no surprises with competing employers.
• Stand behind the work. Free replacement on every permanent placement. No clawback games.

Want to talk?

Use the contact form and we will come back within one business day. We are available Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm, and we respond to weekend and Saturday-trading reqs by the next business morning at the latest.