Career Options in the Jewelry Industry

Do you enjoy using your hands? Do you like to design? Do you like to take small things apart and put them back together? Do you like to investigate? Do you like to draw? Do you like to use a computer? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then maybe you should look at a career in the jewelry industry.

The jewelry industry is composed of many varying, yet related, occupations. There are bench jewelers, gemologists, horologists, and jewelry designers. Within each of these general occupations are specialists.

BENCH JEWELERS
Bench Jewelers use a variety of common and specialized hand tools to design, fabricate or cast, and manufacture new items of jewelry, set stones, and repair or adjust pieces such as rings, necklaces, bracelets, pendants, brooches, or earrings. Jewelers also may specialize in one or more of these areas depending on whether they work for large jewelry manufacturers or small retail jewelry stores, or own their own business.

Precision and attention to detail are very important for the successful jeweler. For those interested in working in a jewelry store or repair shop, vocational and technical training, or courses offered by public and private colleges and schools, are the best sources of preparation. Length of time required to achieve employable skills varies, but usually programs at technical schools take between one and two years. Formal training in the basic skills of the trade, including metalwork, repair work, fabrication, casting, and stone setting, enhances employment possibilities and advancement opportunities. Choose your school carefully, looking for the maximum number of hours possible at the bench in a hands-on setting. Also, find out if an industry certification (Jewelers of America Bench Certification) is attainable by the end of the training, and ask for the pass rate of those who take the industry tests. This will help you measure the success of the skill-sets being taught.

GEMOLOGISTS
Gemologists study the quality, characteristics, and value of gemstones. It is their purpose to aid the jeweler in identifying the stones in order to prevent damage while working with a particular piece of jewelry. They may also be bench jewelers, and may also sell jewelry and provide appraisal services. Insurance companies may employ a gemologist to offer appraisal services to customers who wish to insure certain jewelry pieces.

Few institutes offer courses and programs recognized by the jewelry industry in gemology. There are both public and private technical schools that offer a wide range of topics, including the identification and grading of diamonds and gemstones. The length of coursework is four to six months. A few home study programs through some of the institutions are available, but they do require that a certain portion of the coursework be performed on-site. When choosing a school, ask about certifications; ask if the course is taught in a laboratory setting, using current gemological equipment; ask if the coursework is recognized by the American Gemological Society (AGS).

HOROLOGISTS
Horology is the science of time, timekeepers, and timekeeping. Horologists are watch makers, watch repairers, and clock repairers. Watch and clock repairers work almost exclusively on expensive timepieces, moderately priced timepieces being cheaper to replace than to repair. Electrically powered quartz watches and clocks function with almost no moving parts, limiting necessary maintenance to replacing the battery. Many expensive timepieces still employ old-style mechanical movements and a manual winding mechanism or spring. This type of timepiece requires regular adjustment and maintenance. Any repair or maintenance work on a mechanical timepiece requires the disassembly of many fine gears and components. Each part is inspected for signs of significant wear. Some gears or springs may need to be replaced or machined. All of the parts are cleaned and oiled.

Training varies for watch and clock repairers. There are a few technical schools that teach watch repair and watch making. Some programs can be completed in a few months; and the most demanding certifications require approximately 2 years of classroom and lab time in technical institutes or colleges. When choosing a school, ask about affiliations with associations that offer certifications, including the American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute (AWI) and the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, ask about the types of skills taught at the institution, and the types of job graduates are entering upon completion of their program.

JEWELRY DESIGNERS
Every ring, every watch, every piece of jewelry was first imagined by someone who then transferred the concept to paper or wax and then to metal and stone. That someone was a designer. Designers may create complete lines of jewelry or watches for manufacturing houses or individual pieces for themselves or their customers.

Jewelry designers prepare sketches—by hand or with the aid of a computer—to illustrate the vision for the design. After consulting with the customer or manufacturing development team, designers fashion detailed drawings, a structural model, computer simulations, or a full-scale prototype. Many increasingly are using computer-aided design (CAD/CAM) programs and tools to create and better visualize the final product. Computer models allow greater ease and flexibility in exploring a number of design alternatives, thus reducing design costs and cutting the time it takes to deliver a product to market. Jewelry designers also use computer-aided design tools to create machine-readable instructions that communicate directly with automated production machines which create a wax model or metal mold.

Training for jewelry designers may include art classes through technical schools, along with computer-aided jewelry design training in specific software packages. Usually, programs run from one semester to two years in length, depending on the number of software packages involved. A practical knowledge of the properties of metals and stones is necessary for the successful jewelry designer. When choosing a school, ask what specific CAD/CAM programs for the jewelry industry are being taught, if the courses are taught in a lab setting (the more lab time the better), the length of the overall program, and if other jewelry-related programs are offered.

EMPLOYMENT
There are many more jobs in all areas of the jewelry industry than there are personnel to fill them. Many are highly mobile positions and skilled workers can still practice their trade wherever they choose to live. Manyin the industry are self-employed and do trade work for accounts all over the country. With express mail services, distance to work is no longer the issue it once was. Opportunities in jewelry stores and repair shops will be best for graduates from jeweler and gemologist training programs. These traditional jewelry venues have the advantage in that customer relationships are based on trust. Many people prefer to work directly with an individual who will ensure that the product is of the highest quality and meets their specifications.

Provided by Teresa A. Shannon, M.A., Director at Texas Institute of Jewelry Technology, Paris Junior College, Paris, Texas.