Production
Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
Also called: Appraiser, Artisan Jeweler, Bench Jeweler, Caster
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
Design, fabricate, adjust, repair, or appraise jewelry, gold, silver, other precious metals, or gems.
What they do day to day
- 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.
- Grade stones based on their color, perfection, and quality of cut.
- Select and acquire metals and gems for designs.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Social Perceptiveness2.9/5
- Judgment and Decision Making2.9/5
- Coordination2.9/5
- Time Management2.6/5
- Service Orientation2.6/5
- Complex Problem Solving2.6/5
- Instructing2.5/5
- Persuasion2.2/5
Knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service4.3/5
- Design4.0/5
- Production and Processing3.9/5
- Sales and Marketing3.8/5
- Administration and Management3.7/5
- Mechanical3.4/5
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.
Highest education of people in this job:
- High school diploma25%
- Post-secondary certificate21%
- Some college19%
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Artistic
Creating, designing and self-expression
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.