Production
Gem and Diamond Workers
Also called: Diamond Cutter, Diamond Grader, Diamond Picker, Diamond Polisher
US median pay
$52,540
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
-3.2%
declining
Openings a year (US)
3,700
32,800 employed
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Preparation 3/5 · Medium preparation
What this job is
Fabricate, finish, or evaluate the quality of gems and diamonds used in jewelry or industrial tools.
What they do day to day
- Assign polish, symmetry, and clarity grades to stones, according to established grading systems.
- Identify and document stones' clarity characteristics, using plot diagrams.
- Estimate wholesale and retail value of gems, following pricing guides, market fluctuations, and other relevant economic factors.
- Examine gems during processing to ensure accuracy of angles and positions of cuts or bores, using magnifying glasses, loupes, or shadowgraphs.
- Examine diamonds or gems to ascertain the shape, cut, and width of cut stones, or to select the cuts that will result in the biggest, best quality stones.
- Examine gem surfaces and internal structures, using polariscopes, refractometers, microscopes, and other optical instruments, to differentiate between stones, to identify rare specimens, or to detect flaws, defects, or peculiarities affecting gem values.
- Advise customers and others on the best use of gems to create attractive jewelry items.
- Locate and mark drilling or cutting positions on stones or dies, using diamond chips and power hand tools.
- Secure gems or diamonds in holders, chucks, dops, lapidary sticks, or blocks for cutting, polishing, grinding, drilling, or shaping.
- Select shaping wheels for tasks, and mix and apply abrasives, bort, or polishing compounds.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Quality Control Analysis3.4/5
- Judgment and Decision Making2.9/5
- Social Perceptiveness2.8/5
- Operations Monitoring2.8/5
- Complex Problem Solving2.8/5
- Time Management2.6/5
- Service Orientation2.6/5
- Persuasion2.6/5
Knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service3.8/5
- Production and Processing3.2/5
- Sales and Marketing3.0/5
- Administration and Management3.0/5
- Economics and Accounting2.9/5
- Computers and Electronics2.8/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 3 of 5 — Medium preparation. Usually vocational training, an associate's degree or an apprenticeship.
Typical entry education (BLS): High school diploma or equivalent.
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.