Career profile Jeweler

Table of Contents

• What does a Jeweler do?
• What is a typical salary for a Jeweler?
• What personality traits are common among Jewelers?
  • Career Interests
  • Values
  • Psychological Demands
• What education and training do Jewelers need?
  • Typical educational degrees
  • Required knowledge and expertise
  • Important abilities
  • Critical skills

What does a Jeweler do?

Jewelers design, fabricate, adjust, repair, or appraise jewelry, gold, silver, other precious metals, or gems.

What kind of tasks does a Jeweler perform regularly?

Jewelers are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

• Smooth soldered joints and rough spots, using hand files and emery paper, and polish smoothed areas with polishing wheels or buffing wire.
• Position stones and metal pieces, and set, mount, and secure items in place, using setting and hand tools.
• Create jewelry from materials such as gold, silver, platinum, and precious or semiprecious stones.
• Make repairs, such as enlarging or reducing ring sizes, soldering pieces of jewelry together, and replacing broken clasps and mountings.
• Clean and polish metal items and jewelry pieces, using jewelers' tools, polishing wheels, and chemical baths.
• Cut and file pieces of jewelry such as rings, brooches, bracelets, and lockets.
• Select and acquire metals and gems for designs.
• Compute costs of labor and materials in order to determine production costs of products and articles.
• Examine assembled or finished products to ensure conformance to specifications, using magnifying glasses or precision measuring instruments.
• Pierce and cut open designs in ornamentation, using hand drills and scroll saws.
• Construct preliminary models of wax, metal, clay, or plaster, and form sample castings in molds.
• Pour molten metal alloys or other materials into molds in order to cast models of jewelry.
• Shape and straighten damaged or twisted articles by hand or using pliers.
• Soften metal to be used in designs by heating it with a gas torch and shape it, using hammers and dies.
• Determine appraised values of diamonds and other gemstones based on price guides, market fluctuations, and stone grades and rarity.
• Grade stones based on their color, perfection, and quality of cut.
• Write or modify design specifications such as the metal contents and weights of items.
• Plate articles such as jewelry pieces and watch dials, using silver, gold, nickel, or other metals.
• Create new jewelry designs and modify existing designs, using computers as necessary.
• Buy and sell jewelry, or serve as agents between buyers and sellers.
• Record the weights and processing times of finished pieces.
• Lay out designs on metal stock, and cut along markings to fabricate pieces used to cast metal molds.
• Mark, engrave, or emboss designs on metal pieces such as castings, wire, or jewelry, following specifications.
• Cut designs in molds or other materials to be used as models in the fabrication of metal and jewelry products.
• Design and fabricate molds, models, and machine accessories, and modify hand tools used to cast metal and jewelry pieces.
• Research and analyze reference materials, and consult with interested parties in order to develop new products or modify existing designs.

The above responsibilities are specific to Jewelers. More generally, Jewelers are involved in several broader types of activities:

What is a Jeweler salary?

What personality traits are common among Jewelers?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Jeweler are usually higher in their Realistic and Artistic interests.

Jewelers typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Also, Jewelers typically have moderate Artistic interests. Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Jeweler tend to value Working Conditions, Achievement, and Recognition.

Most importantly, Jewelers moderately value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

Second, Jewelers moderately value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Lastly, Jewelers moderately value Recognition. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Jewelers must consistently demonstrate qualities such as attention to detail, integrity, and dependability.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Jewelers, ranked by importance:

What education and training do Jewelers need?

Jewelers often have training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Jewelers usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Jewelers

• 12.5% did not complete high school or secondary school
• 25.9% completed high school or secondary school
• 24.0% completed some college coursework
• 7.7% earned a Associate's degree
• 22.0% earned a Bachelor's degree
• 5.2% earned a Master's degree
• 2.7% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Jewelers

Important Abilities needed by Jewelers

Jewelers must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Jewelers need abilities such as arm-hand steadiness, finger dexterity, and near vision in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Jewelers, ranked by their relative importance.

Critical Skills needed by Jewelers

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Jewelers frequently use skills like critical thinking, judgment and decision making, and speaking to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Jewelers, ranked by their relative importance.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

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