UK jewellery, watch and luxury retail recruitment, trade-trained from day one.
Mon-Fri 9am-6pm Nationwide UK coverage
UK Jewellery · Watches · Luxury Retail

Trade-grade hires for jewellers who care about the craft.

Jewels Recruitment is a UK specialist for the jewellery, watch and luxury retail trade. From bench jewellers and CAD designers to FGA-qualified gemmologists, watchmakers, store managers and luxury sales consultants — every shortlist is vetted against the bench skill, the brand context and the customer-facing standards your business actually trades on.

  • Bench, design and gemmology vetted on craft
  • Luxury retail screened on clientelling standard
  • GBP comp benchmarked to trade
  • Hatton Garden to Jewellery Quarter and beyond
7d
Typical first shortlistMost briefs see a vetted, ranked shortlist inside seven working days.
3-6
Candidates per shortlistTight, qualified, ranked. No CV blasts, no time-wasters.
12wk
Replacement windowFree replacement if a permanent hire doesn't stick. Longer windows for senior trade roles.
1:1
One consultantEnd-to-end accountability. Same person from intake to onboarding.
UK
Nationwide coverage — high street, boutique, luxury and independent
12+
Trade disciplines actively staffed across bench, design and retail
7 days
Typical first shortlist turnaround
Perm / Contract
Permanent, fixed-term, contract and seasonal
Disciplines we hire

Bench, design, gemmology and luxury retail — hired properly.

The roles UK jewellers, watch specialists and luxury retailers open most often. We staff each of these on a permanent, fixed-term or contract basis, in-store, at the bench, in studio or on the manufacturing floor.

Bench Jewellers & Goldsmiths

Bench jewellers, goldsmiths and silversmiths. Stone setting, mounting, polishing, repairs, remodels and bespoke commissions. Apprentice through master bench.

Diamond & Stone Setters

Bezel, claw, channel, pavé and micro-pavé. Diamond and coloured-stone setting for bridal, fashion fine and high jewellery houses.

CAD & Jewellery Design

CAD designers (Matrix, Rhino, RhinoGold, JewelCAD, ZBrush), bespoke designers, design managers and creative leads. Bridal through high jewellery.

Watchmakers & Repair

WOSTEP, BHI and Rolex / Omega / Patek trained watchmakers. Service, restoration, after-sales, polishing and warranty for prestige watch retailers and brands.

Gemmologists & Valuers

FGA, DGA, GIA-GG and IRV-qualified gemmologists, valuers and appraisers. Insurance, probate, sale, divorce and IHT valuations.

Luxury Sales Consultants

Jewellery and watch sales consultants for boutique, concession and independent fine jewellery. Clientelling, CRM, return-customer focus.

Store Managers & GMs

Store managers, assistant managers, general managers and concession leads. P&L, target-driven, team-of-team for high street, boutique and luxury.

Buyers & Merchandisers

Jewellery and watch buyers, junior and senior merchandisers, allocators and trading managers. Range planning, supplier negotiation, OTB and markdown.

Visual Merchandisers

VMs, head-office VM teams, window-dressing specialists and seasonal campaign leads. Boutique, department store and concession.

Production & QC

Production managers, QC inspectors, polishers, casters, finishers and assembly. Volume manufacturing, bespoke workshops and atelier production.

E-commerce & Digital

E-commerce managers, content producers, paid social, PPC, SEO specialists, CRM and email marketing for direct-to-consumer jewellery brands.

Trade Leadership

Heads of retail, regional managers, brand directors, ops directors and managing directors for jewellery, watch and luxury businesses.

Why jewellers switch to us

The recruiter that actually knows the trade.

Most generalist agencies treat a goldsmith vacancy like a warehouse vacancy. We don't. We were built around the jewellery trade and we screen on the craft, the clientele and the standards your business is built on.

Trade-led screening

We screen on the bench skill, the metal, the setting style, the stone, the qualifications (FGA, DGA, GIA, BHI, WOSTEP) and the clientelling standard. Mismatches get flagged before they reach you.

Discretion is the default

The trade is small. Owners know each other, suppliers gossip and brands track moves. Every approach is confidential by default. We never name a client to a candidate without express permission.

7-day typical shortlist

Most permanent roles receive a vetted, ranked shortlist inside seven working days. Senior trade roles (master bench, head of design, head of retail) take 14-21 days, flagged upfront.

GBP comp benchmarks

Every shortlist is benchmarked against current UK trade base, commission and bonus data, by region (Central London / Greater London / South East vs the Midlands and North vs Scotland and Wales). Light bands get flagged before sourcing.

Seasonal cover sorted

Q4, Valentine's and bridal-show cover for retail. Temp-to-perm, fixed-term and overflow bench staff arranged on lead times that respect your trading calendar, not a generic agency one.

One consultant, end to end

The same consultant handles intake, sourcing, screening, offer support, onboarding and 90-day follow-up. They learn your brand standards and your hiring loop. No queue, no team inbox, no handoffs.

How a search runs

From brief to first day, properly run.

A clear three-step process built for jewellery, watch and luxury retail hiring, not generic recruitment.

01

Brief and intake

A 30-45 minute call. We capture the role, the skill bar, the metal and stone if it's bench, the brand or boutique context if it's retail, the must-haves, deal-breakers, comp band in GBP, location and shift pattern, and the target start date. You receive a written intake to confirm.

02

Source, screen, rank

We approach our network and active candidates, screen on craft, qualifications and clientelling standard, verify right-to-work and references, and rank. Three to six candidates per shortlist, with our written notes on each.

03

Offer support and onboarding

We coordinate trade tests, store visits and interviews, manage candidate feedback, handle counter-offer pressure, and structure the offer. We check in on day 7, day 30 and day 90 to make sure the placement sticks.

Where we recruit

From Hatton Garden to the Jewellery Quarter, and the rest of the UK.

The historic trade hubs, the boutique high streets, the manufacturing centres and the e-commerce studios. Wherever the role sits, we calibrate the search accordingly.

Hatton Garden
Bond Street & Mayfair
Burlington Arcade
Sloane Street & Knightsbridge
Birmingham Jewellery Quarter
Sheffield
Manchester
Leeds
Liverpool
Newcastle
Glasgow
Edinburgh
Bristol
Bath
Cambridge
Oxford
Brighton
Bournemouth
Cardiff
Belfast
Norwich
Nottingham
Channel Islands
Nationwide UK
Common questions

Questions trade owners ask before opening a brief.

Are you a generalist agency that happens to do jewellery, or a trade specialist?
Trade specialist. Our entire desk is jewellery, watches and luxury retail. If you ask us for a generalist warehouse manager or a clinical role, we will refer you out. The benefit: every consultant on our side has placed scores of trade-specific roles and knows the difference between a bench jeweller and a setter, between a WOSTEP-trained watchmaker and an after-sales technician, between a boutique sales consultant and a department store assistant.
How quickly can you deliver a shortlist?
Typical is seven working days from brief to a tight, ranked shortlist of three to six candidates. Senior trade roles (master bench, head of design, heads of retail and operations) usually take 14 to 21 days. Urgent and seasonal cover roles are flagged on day one and prioritised on the desk accordingly.
What disciplines and seniorities are in scope?
Apprentice through master bench, junior sales consultant through head of retail. Common roles include bench jewellers, goldsmiths, silversmiths, diamond and coloured-stone setters, polishers, CAD designers (Matrix, Rhino, RhinoGold, JewelCAD, ZBrush), bespoke designers, watchmakers (WOSTEP, BHI, brand-trained), gemmologists and valuers (FGA, DGA, GIA-GG, IRV), luxury sales consultants, store managers, regional managers, buyers, merchandisers, visual merchandisers, e-commerce, production managers, QC and trade leadership.
How do you handle discretion when recruiting in such a small trade?
Every approach is confidential by default. We never name a client to a candidate until you give express permission, and we never circulate a candidate CV outside the brief. Approaches to candidates currently employed by competitors are coordinated with you on the intake call so there are no surprises. The trade is small. We treat it that way.
Do you place permanent, fixed-term and contract?
All three. We place permanent staff direct-hire, fixed-term contract for parental cover and project work, seasonal cover for Q4 / Valentine's / bridal-fair peaks, and overflow bench staff for workshop pressure points. Tell us your model on the intake call.
What does comp benchmarking look like in practice?
For every shortlist we calibrate against current UK trade base, commission and bonus data, segmented by region (Central London, Greater London and South East, Midlands, North, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) and seniority. If your band is below the market for the skill and location, we flag it before sourcing.
What if a placement doesn't stick?
Every permanent placement carries a free replacement period. If the hire leaves or is dismissed within the agreed window, we re-run the search at no charge. Standard window is 12 weeks, longer for senior trade leadership and master bench placements.
What information do you need to start a search?
A JD or brief notes, the role and seniority, comp band in GBP (base plus realistic on-target commission for retail), location and shift pattern, target start date, and one decision-maker we can speak to. We build the rest of the brief on a 30-45 minute call.

Got a role that needs filling?

Send the brief, the skill, the comp band and the urgency. We will reply within one business day with a clear plan and a fee quote in GBP.

Open a Brief