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Jeweler

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AVG. SALARY

$45,950

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EDUCATION

High school preferred +

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JOB OUTLOOK

Stable

What They Do

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers Career Video

About This Career

Designs, fabricates, adjusts, repairs, or appraises jewelry, gold, silver, other precious metals, or gems.

This career is part of the Manufacturing cluster Production pathway.

A person in this career:

  • Smooths soldered joints and rough spots, using hand files and emery paper, and polishes smoothed areas with polishing wheels or buffing wire.
  • Positions stones and metal pieces, and sets, mounts, and secures items in place, using setting and hand tools.
  • Creates jewelry from materials such as gold, silver, platinum, and precious or semiprecious stones.
  • Makes repairs, such as enlarging or reducing ring sizes, soldering pieces of jewelry together, and replacing broken clasps and mountings.
  • Cleans and polishes metal items and jewelry pieces, using jewelers' tools, polishing wheels, and chemical baths.
  • Cuts and files pieces of jewelry such as rings, brooches, bracelets, and lockets.
  • Selects and acquires metals and gems for designs.
  • Computes costs of labor and materials in order to determine production costs of products and articles.
  • Examines assembled or finished products to ensure conformance to specifications, using magnifying glasses or precision measuring instruments.
  • Pierces and cuts open designs in ornamentation, using hand drills and scroll saws.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

  • You would often handle loads up to 10 lbs., sometimes up to 20 lbs. You might do a lot of walking or standing, or you might sit but use your arms and legs to control machines, equipment or tools.
  • Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
  • Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
  • Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
  • Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
  • Work in this occupation involves making repetitive motions more than one-third of the time
  • Work in this occupation involves sitting more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

  • Identifying color and seeing differences in color, including shades and brightness
  • Seeing clearly up close

Work Hours and Travel

  • Regular working hours and limited travel

Specialty and Similar Careers

Careers that are more detailed or close to this career:

  • Bench Jeweler — Duties include stone setting; fabrication, refurbishing and repairs, sizing of rings, and metal polishing.
  • Earrings Fabricator
  • Gemologist
  • Goldsmith — Works with gold and other precious metals to create jewelry in their own design, as well as repair jewelry.
  • Artist
  • Platinum Smith
  • Silversmith
  • Restoration Silversmith
  • Caster

Contact

  • Email Support
  • 1-800-GO-TO-XAP (1-800-468-6927)
    From outside the U.S., please call +1 (424) 750-3900
  • North Dakota Career Resource Network
    ndcrn@nd.gov | (701) 328-9733

Support