Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers use a variety of common and specialized equipment to design and manufacture new pieces of jewelry; cut, set, and polish gem stones; repair or adjust rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and other jewelry; and appraise jewelry, precious metals, and gems. Jewelers usually specialize in one or more of these areas and may work for large jewelry manufacturing firms, for small retail jewelry shops, or as owners of their own businesses. Regardless of the type of work done or the work setting, jewelers need a high degree of skill, precision, and attention to detail.
Some jewelers design or make their own jewelry. Following their own designs or those created by designers or customers, they begin by shaping the metal or by carving wax to make a model for casting the metal. Individual parts then are soldered together, and the jeweler may mount a diamond or other gem or may engrave a design into the metal. Other jewelers do finishing work, such as setting stones, polishing, or engraving, or make repairs. Typical repair work includes enlarging or reducing ring sizes, resetting stones, and replacing broken clasps and mountings.
Bench jewelers usually work in jewelry retailers. They perform a wide range of tasks, from simple jewelry cleaning and repair to moldmaking and fabricating pieces from scratch. In larger manufacturing businesses, jewelers usually specialize in a single operation. Mold and model makers create models or tools for the jewelry that is to be produced. Assemblers solder or fuse jewelry and their parts; they also may set stones. Engravers etch designs into metal with specialized tools, and polishers bring a finished luster to the final product.
Jewelers typically do the handiwork required to produce a piece of jewelry, while gemologists and laboratory graders analyze, describe, and certify the quality and characteristics of gem stones. Gemologists may work in gemological laboratories or as quality control experts for retailers, importers, or manufacturers. After using microscopes, computerized tools, and other grading instruments to examine gem stones or finished pieces of jewelry, they write reports certifying that the items are of a particular quality. Many jewelers also study gemology to become familiar with the physical properties of the gem stones with which they work.
Jewelry appraisers carefully examine jewelry to determine its value, after which they write appraisal documents. They determine the value of a piece by researching the jewelry market and by using reference books, auction catalogs, price lists, and the Internet. They may work for jewelry stores, appraisal firms, auction houses, pawnbrokers, or insurance companies. Many gemologists also become appraisers.
In small retail stores or repair shops, jewelers and appraisers may be involved in all aspects of the work. Those who own or manage stores or shops also hire and train employees; order, market, and sell merchandise; and perform other managerial duties.
New technology is helping to produce jewelry of high quality at a reduced cost and in a shorter amount of time. For example, lasers are often used for cutting and improving the quality of stones, for applying intricate engraving or design work, and for inscribing personal messages or identification on jewelry. Jewelers also use lasers to weld metals together in milliseconds with no seams or blemishes, improving the quality and appearance of jewelry.
Some manufacturing firms use computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) to facilitate product design and automate some steps in the moldmaking and modelmaking process. CAD allows jewelers to create a virtual-reality model of a piece of jewelry. Using CAD, jewelers can modify the design, change the stone, or try a different setting and see the contemplated changes on a computer screen before cutting a stone or performing other costly steps. Once they are satisfied with the model, they use CAM to produce a mold. After the mold is made, it is easier for manufacturing firms to produce numerous copies of a given piece of jewelry, which can be distributed to retail establishments across the country. Similar techniques may be used in the retail setting, allowing customers to review their jewelry designs with the jeweler and make modifications before committing themselves to the expense of a customized piece of jewelry.
A jeweler's work involves a great deal of concentration and attention to detail. Trying to satisfy customers' and employers' demands for speed and quality while working on precious stones and metal can cause fatigue and stress. However, the use of more ergonomically correct jewelers' benches has eliminated most of the strain and discomfort caused by spending long periods over a workbench.
Lasers require both careful handling to avoid injury and steady hands to direct precision tasks. In larger manufacturing plants and some smaller repair shops, chemicals, sharp or pointed tools, and jewelers' torches pose safety threats and may cause injury if proper care is not taken. Most dangerous chemicals, however, have been replaced with synthetic, less toxic products to meet safety requirements.
In repair shops, jewelers usually work alone with little supervision. In retail stores, they may talk with customers about repairs, perform custom design work, and even do some selling. Because many of their materials are valuable, jewelers must observe strict security procedures, including working behind locked doors that are opened only by a buzzer, working on the other side of barred windows, making use of burglar alarms, and, in larger jewelry establishments, working in the presence of armed guards.
| 1. | Examine gems during processing to ensure accuracy of angles and positions of cuts or bores, using magnifying glasses, loupes, or shadowgraphs. |
| 2. | Assign polish, symmetry, and clarity grades to stones, according to established grading systems. |
| 3. | Estimate wholesale and retail value of gems, following pricing guides, market fluctuations, and other relevant economic factors. |
| 4. | 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. |
| 5. | Identify and document stones' clarity characteristics, using plot diagrams. |
| 6. | Advise customers and others on the best use of gems to create attractive jewelry items. |
| 7. | 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. |
| 8. | Immerse stones in prescribed chemical solutions to determine specific gravities and key properties of gemstones or substitutes. |
| 9. | Hold stones, gems, dies, or styluses against rotating plates, wheels, saws, or slitters in order to cut, shape, slit, grind, or polish them. |
| 10. | Sort rough diamonds into categories based on shape, size, color, and quality. |
| 11. | Secure gems or diamonds in holders, chucks, dops, lapidary sticks, or blocks for cutting, polishing, grinding, drilling, or shaping. |
| 12. | Locate and mark drilling or cutting positions on stones or dies, using diamond chips and power hand tools. |
| 13. | Place stones in clamps on polishing machines, and polish facets of stones, using felt-covered or canvas-covered polishing wheels and polishing compounds such as tripoli and rouge. |
| 14. | Lap girdles on rough diamonds, using diamond girdling lathes. |
| 15. | Measure sizes of stones' bore holes and cuts to ensure adherence to specifications, using precision measuring instruments. |
| 16. | Select shaping wheels for tasks, and mix and apply abrasives, bort, or polishing compounds. |
| 17. | Split gems along pre-marked lines in order to remove imperfections, using blades and jewelers' hammers. |
| 18. | Regulate the speed of revolutions and reciprocating actions of drilling mechanisms. |
| 19. | Replace, true, and sharpen blades, drills, and plates. |
| 20. | Secure stones in metal mountings, using solder. |
| 21. | Dismantle lapping, boring, cutting, polishing, and shaping equipment and machinery in order to clean and lubricate it. |
| 22. | Regrind drill points, and advance drill cutting points according to specifications for channel depths and shapes. |
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