Production
Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
Design, fabricate, adjust, repair, or appraise jewelry, gold, silver, other precious metals, or gems.
MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
Source wage group: Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Median annual wage$52,540USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Median hourly wage$25.26USD per hour · Published 50th percentile
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $35,580 | $17.11 |
| 25th | $39,520 | $19.00 |
| 50th · Median | $52,540 | $25.26 |
| 75th | $69,810 | $33.56 |
| 90th | $87,540 | $42.09 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE
What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Antique Jewelry RepairerAppraisal Technician (Appraisal Tech)AppraiserArborerArtisan JewelerArtistBead MakerBench JewelerBench MolderBracelet MakerBrass ChaserBrilliandeer Looper
Expand more title examples (48)
Bronze ChaserBrooch MakerCasterCentrifugal Casting Machine OperatorCertified Bench Jeweler Technician (Certified Bench Jeweler Tech)Chain MakerChaserCraft WorkerCrafterDial MakerDiamond ExpertDiamond GraderDiamond PolisherDiamond SetterDiamond SpecialistEngine TurnerEngraverFabricatorFacetorFancy Wire DrawerGem CutterGem Technician (Gem Tech)GemologistGirdlerGoldbeaterGoldsmithHammer SetterHammersmithHand Chain MakerJewel Bearings MakerJewelerJewelry AppraiserJewelry Bench MolderJewelry Bench WorkerJewelry DesignerJewelry Drill OperatorJewelry Drilling Machine OperatorJewelry Engine TurnerJewelry FinisherJewelry InspectorJewelry MakerJewelry MechanicJewelry Model MakerJewelry Mold MakerJewelry RepairerJewelry SoldererJewelry Stone SetterJewelry Technician (Jewelry Tech)
Typical tasks
- 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.
Expand more tasks (24)
- 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.
- Shape and straighten damaged or twisted articles by hand or using pliers.
- Create new jewelry designs and modify existing designs, using computers as necessary.
- Plate articles such as jewelry pieces and watch dials, using silver, gold, nickel, or other metals.
- Record the weights and processing times of finished pieces.
- Construct preliminary models of wax, metal, clay, or plaster, and form sample castings in molds.
- Write or modify design specifications such as the metal contents and weights of items.
- Soften metal to be used in designs by heating it with a gas torch and shape it, using hammers and dies.
- Pierce and cut open designs in ornamentation, using hand drills and scroll saws.
- Research and analyze reference materials, and consult with interested parties to develop new products or modify existing designs.
- Mark, engrave, or emboss designs on metal pieces such as castings, wire, or jewelry, following specifications.
- Pour molten metal alloys or other materials into molds to cast models of jewelry.
- Buy and sell jewelry, or serve as agents between buyers and sellers.
- Determine appraised values of diamonds and other gemstones based on price guides, market fluctuations, and stone grades and rarity.
- Lay out designs on metal stock, and cut along markings to fabricate pieces used to cast metal molds.
- Design and fabricate molds, models, and machine accessories, and modify hand tools used to cast metal and jewelry pieces.
- Cut designs in molds or other materials to be used as models in the fabrication of metal and jewelry products.
- Rout out locations where parts are to be joined to items, using routing machines.
- Weigh, mix, and melt metal alloys or materials needed for jewelry models.
- Anneal precious metal objects such as coffeepots, tea sets, and trays in gas ovens for prescribed times to soften metal for reworking.
- Rotate molds to distribute alloys and to prevent formation of air pockets.
Skills used in this work
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Expand more skills (29)
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
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