Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
Also called Bench Jeweler, Goldsmith, Jeweler, or Silversmith
What Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers do
Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers design, fabricate, adjust, repair, or appraise jewelry, gold, silver, other precious metals, or gems.
Who tends to enjoy it
Hands-on
People who like building, fixing, working with tools, machines, plants, or animals.
Creative
People who like making things, design, writing, music, and self-expression.
Organizing
People who like keeping things accurate, orderly, and running on schedule.
What you'd actually do
- Clean and polish metal items and jewelry pieces, using jewelers' tools, polishing wheels, and chemical baths.
- 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.
- Cut and file pieces of jewelry such as rings, brooches, bracelets, and lockets.
- Examine assembled or finished products to ensure conformance to specifications, using magnifying glasses or precision measuring instruments.
- Make repairs, such as enlarging or reducing ring sizes, soldering pieces of jewelry together, and replacing broken clasps and mountings.
- Compute costs of labor and materials to determine production costs of products and articles.
- Position stones and metal pieces, and set, mount, and secure items in place, using setting and hand tools.
A typical day involves
Skills that matter most
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Coordination
- Judgment and Decision Making
What you'll need to know
- Customer and Personal Service
- Design
- Production and Processing
- Sales and Marketing
- Administration and Management
Where to study for this
College programs that commonly lead to this career, and how many US colleges offer each.
- Jewelry Arts 32 colleges
- Watchmaking and Jewelrymaking 5 colleges
- Metal Arts 4 colleges
Related careers
Production
Etchers and Engravers
Engrave or etch metal, wood, rubber, or other materials. Includes such workers as etcher-circuit processors, pantograph engravers, and silk screen etchers.
Little to some preparation
Production
Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand
Grind, sand, or polish, using hand tools or hand-held power tools, a variety of metal, wood, stone, clay, plastic, or glass objects. Includes chippers, buffers, and finishers.
Little to some preparation
Production
Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic
Mold, shape, form, cast, or carve products such as food products, figurines, tile, pipes, and candles consisting of clay, glass, plaster, concrete, stone, or combinations of materials.
Little to some preparation
Production
Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers
Paint, coat, or decorate articles, such as furniture, glass, plateware, pottery, jewelry, toys, books, or leather.
Little to some preparation
Production
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand
Use hand tools or hand-held power tools to cut and trim a variety of manufactured items, such as carpet, fabric, stone, glass, or rubber.
Little to some preparation
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA), occupation 51-9071.00, used under CC BY 4.0 and modified by Whittle. Program links: NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. How we build these pages.