Bench Jeweler Memes

How much should a bench jeweler actually get paid—and why is finding and hiring one so difficult? In Episode 57 of the Bench Jeweler Memes podcast, Dusty and Brad welcome back Shawn Pryzeclawski for an honest conversation about bench jeweler salaries, hiring challenges, and the sometimes uncomfortable relationship between jewelry store owners and the people doing the work. Shawn is a third-generat...

What happens when corporate speak meets the jewelry industry? Brad throws some painfully familiar corporate phrases at Dusty to see how well they translate to life as a bench jeweler. Spoiler: probably not well. Then we dive into a post from Jewelers Helping Jewelers, wander completely off topic as usual, and somehow end up with Dusty secretly rage baiting Brad with some of the internet’s finest l...

Episode 55: Benchies Be Like… Apparently, there are A LOT of things that bother and offend bench jewelers.  This week we bounce around from the things that drive benchies crazy, to getting ready for the holiday season, to the never-ending adventure of bench jeweler job postings. And, as usual, one topic somehow turns into a completely different topic that we absolutely did not plan on talking abou...

Episode 54 — Nobody Said Selling Natural Diamonds Was Easy… We’ve never sounded this grumpy.  This week, we’re diving into the frustration of selling natural diamonds when wholesalers are listing diamonds on retail websites at prices that can make your customers wonder why they should buy from you. There’s a LOT of nuance here. We agree, we disagree, we get combative—and you can hear the frustrati...

EPISODE 53 — We’re Doing Our Best, People.  It’s Episode 53, and yeah… it’s a little shorter than usual. But listen, it was a LONG holiday weekend, the repair pile got a little out of control, and we’re just out here doing our best, people.  This week, we asked YOU guys to send us your opinions, stories, questions, and whatever else you felt like throwing our way. So we “quickly” run through some...

Episode 52 — Does AI Really Understand the Jewelry Industry??? This week, it’s just Brad and Dusty — and we decided to put AI to the test. We throw all kinds of real-life jewelry industry questions, repair situations, customer scenarios, and bench jeweler problems at AI to see what it gets right… and where it completely misses the mark. Sometimes AI absolutely nails it. Other times… well… let’s ju...

Episode 51 — ONE YEAR OF THIS NONSENSE! ONE. WHOLE. YEAR. Brad & Dusty have officially survived ONE YEAR of weekly podcasting—52 weeks of rambling, complaining, laughing, arguing, oversharing, and somehow convincing people to keep listening. And honestly… THANK YOU!  To everyone who has listened, shared an episode, left a comment, sent us a story, roasted us, defended us, or quietly listened w...

Episode 50!   And we’re celebrating the big 5-0 with one hell of a conversation. Brad and Dusty sit down with the one and only Scott Lancaster , founder of Emerton Scott, and unapologetic watch enthusiast. This might be one of the longest conversations we’ve ever had—and for good reason. Scott is a rising star in the world of independent and “micro-brand” watches, and he brings a refreshingly brut...

Episode 49 — Part Time Girl Ari Completes Her First Year in the Jewelry Industry! We finally convinced Part Time Girl Ari to join us on the podcast!  After surviving her first full year in the jewelry industry, Ari sits down with Dusty and Brad to talk about what it’s really like working with these two idiots, what she’s learned along the way, and how her first year in a jewelry store has gone. We...

Well… this episode accidentally answers its own question. Before we even get to the topic, we spend a completely reasonable amount of time talking about why our podcast equipment is slowly plotting against us. The technical difficulties have officially become the unofficial third host, and at this point we’re convinced they’re just here for the ride. Thanks for sticking with us—we promise we’re tr...

Episode 47: Brad and Dusty are joined by a stalker… allegedly.   Longtime listener and Bench Jeweler Memes follower Emily somehow cracked the code, uncovered our secret identities, tracked down our location, and actually showed up. So naturally… we turned on the cameras, shined an interrogation light directly in her face, handed her a microphone, and hit record. Emily shares how she found her way...

Episode 46: Guest Adam from Gesswein & SISMA! If you’ve ever wondered what separates a good laser welder from a great one… you’re about to find out. This week, Brad & Dusty sit down with Adam Kasson from Gesswein & SISMA , one of the most knowledgeable people you’ll ever meet when it comes to laser welding technology. We dive into the evolution of jewelry lasers, where the technology i...

We asked for your controversial opinions and your wild store scenarios… and apparently some of you woke up and chose chaos. So this week is exactly what the title says: a complete mosh pit of jeweler topics. We bounce from one rabbit hole to the next, arguing, laughing, overthinking, and occasionally stumbling onto something that’s actually useful. We tackle controversial opinions, work through re...

**NOTE: the Audio got messed up during recording... My Bad!** Episode 44 – What should you actually be doing in-house in 2026… and what should you kick to someone else? Brad and Dusty spend the next hour spilling the tea on what they outsource, what they refuse to outsource, and why those decisions have worked for them. Some of our answers might surprise you… and some might make you yell at your s...

Episode 43 is just Brad & Dusty this week… because apparently our schedules have decided to become our biggest haters. It’s another short episode, but we packed it with plenty of jewelry nerdiness and the usual nonsense. This week we’re talking about one of the greatest tools in every jeweler’s toolbox: the analogy . You know the ones… the comparisons we use to explain to customers why prongs...

This week, Brad and Dusty sit down with Drew Hadley for a conversation packed with jewelry industry knowledge, career advice, and a few bourbon stories along the way. Drew spent 13 years at New Approach School for Jewelers, helping train and inspire countless jewelers across the industry. But recently, he decided to take a leap of faith and start a brand-new adventure by opening his own retail jew...

Episode 41 is a short one… or as Dusty calls it, a “Brad episode.”  We were short on time, busy testing out some new technology, and somehow still managed to record enough nonsense to release an episode. This week we finally address the hottest topic in the jewelry industry: the new Stuller-branded Dum-Dums. In fact, Stuller sent Dusty a giant box of them for his birthday, which is either a though...

Brad is on vacation, which means Dusty is stuck doing all the jewelry repairs and is handling it about as well as you’d expect. In this episode, we tackle a topic that actually matters: how jewelers can level up . Whether you’re a brand-new apprentice, an experienced bench jeweler, a stone setter, CAD designer, goldsmith, or jewelry store owner, we do our best to share advice that can help you gro...

Episode 39 is officially our first-ever full-length VIDEO podcast, which means you can now watch all the awkward eye contact, random hand gestures, and questionable facial expressions that were previously hidden by audio-only technology. As usual, we start with a plan and immediately abandon it. We answer a few listener questions, share some wild stories from our days working together at the jewel...

Episode 38 is here, and somehow we survived Memorial Day weekend with all of our brain cells mostly intact. This week we’re catching up after the holiday chaos, briefly discussing how quickly we’d sell out to the highest bidder (answer: probably faster than we should), and sprinkling in a little JCK Vegas chatter because apparently that’s what responsible jewelry professionals do this time of year...

This is one of those special episodes — meaning we got together with our good friend “BJ Mandrel” and immediately stopped behaving like responsible adults. If you’re new here, "BJ" is not just a recurring character in our chaos… he’s a real human being, a longtime friend of ours, and yes — he actually worked in our jewelry store for years. He’s also genuinely a musician, which he will re...

Episode 37 is all over the place… in the best possible way. Brad & Dusty kick things off with the usual bench jeweler chaos before diving nose-first into one of the weirdest topics yet: the smells of the jewelry industry. We attempt to describe a scent that every jeweler instantly recognizes… but can never properly explain. Then things get completely out of hand when we brainstorm a new jewelr...

Episode 36 is a special one! We’re joined by longtime supporter and fellow bench jeweler, Ron — better known around here as “Step-Daddy Ron.” From supporting our nonsense since day one to officially becoming the temporary namesake of our “studio” (yes… welcome to Step-Daddy Ron Studios ), Ron was an absolute blast to hang with. We spend the episode talking shop, bench jeweler life, continuing educ...

On this episode, Brad and Dusty dive headfirst into some absolutely unhinged one-star jewelry store reviews… and yeah, it’s as wild as it sounds. We read.  We react. We laugh. But before we get there, we get rudely interrupted by a client who apparently doesn’t realize the shop is CLOSED during recording...LOL  AND — we drop a big announcement on how you can “win” some “free” exclusive merch… but...

Just one of those episodes where Brad & Dusty go completely off script...except now, we have even more time to kill. This week we bounce all over the place - Brads birthday, uniting the jeweler community, random (and questionable) client stories, and why bench jeweler physically cannot stop themselves from giving unsolicited advice. All in all, just another ADHD-style episode. Buckle Up! Follo...