Education:
Jeweler or Precious Stone and Metal Worker
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Job Outlook:
Decline
Education:
High school diploma or equivalent
Work From Home
Salary
High:
$76,130.00
Average:
$50,530.00
Hourly
Average:
$24.29
What they do:
Design, fabricate, adjust, repair, or appraise jewelry, gold, silver, other precious metals, or gems.
On the job, you would:
- Position stones and metal pieces, and set, mount, and secure items in place, using setting and hand tools.
- Smooth soldered joints and rough spots, using hand files and emery paper, and polish smoothed areas with polishing wheels or buffing wire.
- Create jewelry from materials such as gold, silver, platinum, and precious or semiprecious stones.
Important Qualities
Artistic ability. Jewelers must have the ability to create designs that are unique and beautiful.
Detail oriented. Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers must pay attention to large and small details on the pieces they make.
Dexterity. Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers must precisely move their fingers and tools in order to grasp, manipulate, and assemble very small objects.
Fashion sense. Jewelry designers must know what is stylish and attractive and presently in demand by consumers.
Interpersonal skills. Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers interact with customers, whether they sell products in stores or at craft shows.
Near vision. Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers need the ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Visualization skills. Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers must imagine how something might look after its shape is altered or when its parts are rearranged.
Personality
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Characteristics of this Career |
|---|---|---|---|
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93% | Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. | |
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87% | Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical. | |
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80% | Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. | |
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78% | Analytical Thinking - Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems. | |
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78% | Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems. | |
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72% | Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. | |
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72% | Self-Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. | |
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71% | Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations. | |
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70% | Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks. | |
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69% | Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. | |
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69% | Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles. | |
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69% | Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done. | |
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65% | Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Strengths |
|---|---|---|---|
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97% | Realistic - Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services. | |
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61% | Artistic - Work involves creating original visual artwork, performances, written works, food, or music for a variety of media, or applying artistic principles to the design of various objects and materials. Artistic occupations are often associated with visual arts, applied arts and design, performing arts, music, creative writing, media, or culinary art. |
Aptitude
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Abilities | Cognitive, Physical, Personality |
|---|---|---|---|
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74% | Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position. | |
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74% | Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects. | |
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72% | Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
Job Details
Responsibilities
Align parts or workpieces to ensure proper assembly.
Polish materials, workpieces, or finished products.
Smooth metal surfaces or edges.
Design jewelry or decorative objects.
Solder parts or workpieces.
Repair precision devices or workpieces.
Clean workpieces or finished products.
Polish materials, workpieces, or finished products.
Cut industrial materials in preparation for fabrication or processing.
Smooth metal surfaces or edges.
Select production input materials.
Order materials, supplies, or equipment.
Estimate costs of products, services, or materials.
Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.
Cut industrial materials in preparation for fabrication or processing.
Drill holes in parts, equipment, or materials.
Build production molds.
Place materials into molds.
Reshape small metal components for precision assembly.
Shape metal workpieces with hammers or other small hand tools.
Heat material or workpieces to prepare for or complete production.
Determine the value of goods or services.
Evaluate quality of materials or products.
Apply protective or decorative finishes to workpieces or products.
Design jewelry or decorative objects.
Design jewelry or decorative objects.
Sell products or services.
Purchase products or services.
Record operational or production data.
Cut industrial materials in preparation for fabrication or processing.
Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.
Engrave designs, text, or other markings onto materials, workpieces, or products.
Engrave designs, text, or other markings onto materials, workpieces, or products.
Build production molds.
Design jewelry or decorative objects.
Confer with customers or designers to determine order specifications.
Heat material or workpieces to prepare for or complete production.
Measure ingredients or substances to be used in production processes.
Mix ingredients to create specific finishes.
Melt metal, plastic, or other materials to prepare for production.
Adjust position of molds during processing.
Reshape small metal components for precision assembly.
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Attributes & Percentage of Time Spent |
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88% | Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls - How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls? | |
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88% | Face-to-Face Discussions - How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? | |
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88% | Importance of Being Exact or Accurate - How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job? | |
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83% | Time Pressure - How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines? | |
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81% | Exposed to Contaminants - How often does this job require working exposed to contaminants (such as pollutants, gases, dust or odors)? | |
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80% | Indoors, Environmentally Controlled - How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions? | |
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77% | Freedom to Make Decisions - How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer? | |
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75% | Structured versus Unstructured Work - To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals? | |
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75% | Spend Time Sitting - How much does this job require sitting? | |
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75% | Telephone - How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? | |
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72% | Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets - How much does this job require wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets? | |
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70% | Frequency of Decision Making - How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization? | |
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68% | Exposed to Minor Burns, Cuts, Bites, or Stings - How often does this job require exposure to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings? | |
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66% | Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions - How much does this job require making repetitive motions? |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Tasks & Values |
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84% | Thinking Creatively - Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions. | |
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65% | Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. | |
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65% | Making Decisions and Solving Problems - Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. |
What Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers Do
Jeweler’s torches are used to resize and repair jewelry.
Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers design, construct, adjust, repair, appraise and sell jewelry.
Duties
Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers typically do the following:
- Design and create jewelry from precious metals and stones
- Examine and grade diamonds and other gems
- Clean and polish jewelry using polishing wheels and chemical baths
- Repair jewelry by replacing broken clasps, altering ring sizes, or resetting stones
- Smooth joints and rough spots and polish smoothed areas
- Compute the costs of labor and material for new pieces and repairs
- Model new pieces with carved wax or computer-aided design, and then cast them in metal
- Shape metal to hold the gems in pieces of jewelry
- Solder pieces together and insert stones
Technology is helping to produce high-quality jewelry at a reduced cost and in less time than traditional methods allow. For example, lasers are often used for cutting and improving the quality of stones, for intricate engraving or design work, and for inscribing personal messages on jewelry. Jewelers also use lasers to weld metals together without seams or blemishes, improving the quality and appearance of jewelry.
Some manufacturing firms use computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) to make product design easier and to automate some steps. With CAD, jewelers can create a model of a piece of jewelry on a computer and then view the effect of changing different aspects—for example, the design, the stone, or the setting—before cutting a stone or taking other costly steps. With CAM, they can then create a mold of the piece, which makes producing many copies easy.
Some jewelers also use CAD software to design custom jewelry. They let the customer review the design on a computer and see the effect of changes, so that the customer is satisfied before committing to the expense of a customized piece of jewelry.
The following are examples of types of jewelers and precious stone and metal workers:
Bench jewelers, also known as metalsmiths, silversmiths, goldsmiths, and platinumsmiths, are the most common type of jewelers. They possess a wide array of skills. They usually do tasks ranging from simple jewelry cleaning and repair to making molds and pieces from scratch. Some specialize in particular tasks such as repairs, hand engraving, stringing, wax carving/model making, enameling, stone cutting, soldering, stone setting, and hand building.
Gemologists analyze, describe, and certify the quality and characteristics of gemstones. After using microscopes, computerized tools, and other grading instruments to examine gemstones or finished pieces of jewelry, they write reports certifying that the items are of a particular quality. Most gemologists have completed the Graduate Gemologist program through the Gemological Institute of America.
Jewelry appraisers carefully examine jewelry to determine its value and then write appraisal documents. They determine value by researching the jewelry market and by using reference books, auction catalogs, price lists, and the Internet. They may work for jewelry stores, appraisal firms, auction houses, pawnbrokers, or insurance companies. Many gemologists also become appraisers.
Jewelry designers create design concepts and manage the prototype and model-making process.
Production jewelers fabricate and assemble pieces in a manufacturing setting and typically work on one aspect of the manufacturing process.
Work Environment
Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers held about 47,200 jobs in 2022. The largest employers of jewelers and precious stone and metal workers were as follows:
| Self-employed workers | 46% |
| Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods retailers | 26 |
| Jewelry and silverware manufacturing | 13 |
| Merchant wholesalers, durable goods | 8 |
| Personal and household goods repair and maintenance | 2 |
Some jewelers and precious stone and metal workers work from home and sell their products at trade and craft shows. Online sales are also a growing source of sales for jewelers.
Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers spend much of their time sitting at a workbench or standing at a polishing station. Computer-aided design (CAD) is also an important tool in the jewelry industry.
There is exposure to machines, fumes, and toxic or caustic chemicals, and risk of radiation. Many tools, such as jeweler’s torches and lasers, must be handled carefully to avoid injury. Polishing processes such as chemical baths also must be performed in a safe manner.
Self-employed workers usually work at home in their workshop or studio. In retail stores, jewelers may talk with customers about repairs, perform custom design work, and sell items to customers. Because many of their materials are valuable, jewelers must follow security procedures, including making use of burglar alarms and, in larger jewelry stores, working in the presence of security guards.
Work Schedules
Most jewelers and precious stone and metal workers work full time.
Many self-employed workers show and sell their products at trade and craft shows during weekends. Retail store workers might also work nonstandard hours because they must be available when customers are not working, such as on holidays and weekends.
Getting Started
How to Become a Jeweler or Precious Stone and Metal Worker
Although most jewelers and precious stone and metal workers have a high school diploma, many trade schools offer courses for workers who seek additional education.
Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers typically need a high school diploma to enter the occupation, and they learn the skills of the trade through on-the-job training.
Education
Although most jewelers and precious stone and metal workers have a high school diploma, many trade schools offer courses for workers who seek additional education. Course topics can include introduction to gems and metals, resizing, repair, and computer-aided design (CAD). Programs vary from 3 months to 1 year, and many teach students how to design, cast, set, and polish jewelry and gems, as well as how to use and care for a jeweler’s tools and equipment. Graduates of these programs may be more attractive to employers because they require less on-the-job training. Many gemologists graduate from the Gemological Institute of America. Trade programs usually require applicants to have a high school diploma or equivalent.
Training
Many jewelers learn and develop their skills on the job. The length of training required to become proficient depends on the difficulty of the specialty, but often lasts at least a year. Training usually focuses on casting, setting stones, making models, or engraving.
Other Experience
Some workers gain their skills through related work experience. This may include working alongside a bench jeweler or gemologist while performing the duties of a salesperson in a retail jewelry store. Time spent in a store with a bench jeweler or gemologist can provide valuable experience.
Advancement
In manufacturing, some jewelers advance to supervisory jobs, such as master jeweler or head jeweler. Jewelers who work in jewelry stores or repair shops may become managers.
Job Outlook
Employment of jewelers and precious stone and metal workers is projected to decline 3 percent from 2022 to 2032.
Despite declining employment, about 6,100 openings for jewelers and precious stone and metal workers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. All of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Employment
Declining employment in jewelry and silverware manufacturing is expected due to increasing imports of jewelry and rising productivity. Additionally, traditional jewelry stores may continue to lose some of their customers to nontraditional sellers, such as department stores and online retailers. This shift is also likely to reduce employment for jewelers and precious stone and metal workers.
Contacts for More Information
For more information about jewelers, precious stone and metal workers, and gemologists, including job opportunities and training programs, visit
Similar Occupations
This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of jewelers and precious stone and metal workers.
| Occupation | Job Duties | Entry-Level Education | Median Annual Pay, May 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Craft and Fine Artists |
Craft and fine artists use a variety of materials and techniques to create art for sale and exhibition. |
See How to Become One | $53,140 |
|
Fashion Designers |
Fashion designers create clothing, accessories, and footwear. |
Bachelor's degree | $76,700 |
|
Industrial Designers |
Industrial designers combine art, business, and engineering to develop the concepts for manufactured products. |
Bachelor's degree | $75,910 |
|
Retail Sales Workers |
Retail sales workers help customers find products they want and process customers’ payments. |
No formal educational credential | $30,750 |
|
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers |
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers use hand-held or remotely controlled equipment to join, repair, or cut metal parts and products. |
High school diploma or equivalent | $47,540 |
|
Woodworkers |
Woodworkers manufacture a variety of products, such as cabinets and furniture, using wood, veneers, and laminates. |
High school diploma or equivalent | $37,590 |