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Gem and Diamond Workers in Arkansas

Want to work as a Gem and Diamond Workers in Arkansas? Here’s what the data says. Design, fabricate, adjust, repair, or appraise jewelry, gold, silver, other precious metals, or gems. Includes diamond polishers and gem cutters, and persons who perform precision casting and modeling of molds, casting metal in molds, or setting precious and semiprecious stones for jewelry and related products.

What do Gem and Diamond Workers Make in Arkansas?

For a gem and diamond workers working in Arkansas, the median annual wage is $31,500 per year (or roughly $15.14/hour).Earnings range from $28,720 at the 10th percentile to $70,930 at the 90th percentile.

Wage Statistic	Annual	Hourly
10th percentile	$28,720	$13.81
25th percentile	$30,430	$14.63
Median (50th)	$31,500	$15.14
75th percentile	$60,650	$29.16
90th percentile	$70,930	$34.10

National Wage Comparison

Nationally, gem and diamond workers earn a median of $66,671 per year ($32.05/hour), lower than the Arkansas median.

Employment Outlook

There are roughly 768,022 gem and diamond workers across the United States.

Top Arkansas Metros for Gem and Diamond Workers

These are the Arkansas metros with the most gem and diamond workers in Arkansas.

Metro Area	Number Employed	Annual Median Salary
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR	60	$61,310
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR	40	$49,370

Top States for Gem and Diamond Workers Employment

These states have the highest employment of gem and diamond workers work.

State	Number Employed
New York	4,750
California	2,700
Texas	1,780
Florida	1,160
Illinois	990
Washington	850
New Jersey	850
Rhode Island	620
Massachusetts	550
Ohio	530
Pennsylvania	530
Utah	480
Tennessee	450
Michigan	440
North Carolina	430
Wisconsin	380
Arizona	360
Colorado	350
Kentucky	350
Virginia	350

Highest-Paying States for Gem and Diamond Workers

These states pay the most for gem and diamond workers.

State	Annual Median Salary
Virginia	$60,940
Washington	$60,030
Connecticut	$59,930
California	$59,100
Vermont	$57,360
New Hampshire	$56,710
Florida	$56,470
Kansas	$55,430
Missouri	$54,650
Wisconsin	$54,080

Skills

The most important gem and diamond workers skills, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Important knowledge areas for this occupation, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Abilities

Key abilities for gem and diamond workers, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Daily Tasks

Gem and Diamond Workers typically:

• Examine gems during processing to ensure accuracy of angles and positions of cuts or bores, using magnifying glasses, loupes, or shadowgraphs.
• Assign polish, symmetry, and clarity grades to stones, according to established grading systems.
• Estimate wholesale and retail value of gems, following pricing guides, market fluctuations, and other relevant economic factors.
• 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.
• Identify and document stones' clarity characteristics, using plot diagrams.
• Advise customers and others on the best use of gems to create attractive jewelry items.
• 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.
• Immerse stones in prescribed chemical solutions to determine specific gravities and key properties of gemstones or substitutes.
• Hold stones, gems, dies, or styluses against rotating plates, wheels, saws, or slitters to cut, shape, slit, grind, or polish them.
• Sort rough diamonds into categories based on shape, size, color, and quality.
• Secure gems or diamonds in holders, chucks, dops, lapidary sticks, or blocks for cutting, polishing, grinding, drilling, or shaping.
• Measure sizes of stones' bore holes and cuts to ensure adherence to specifications, using precision measuring instruments.

Work Activities

• Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information
• Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People
• Thinking Creatively
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Handling and Moving Objects
• Getting Information
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
• Monitoring and Controlling Resources
• Documenting/Recording Information

Tools & Technology

Software and systems commonly involved:

• Business accounting software (accounting software)
• Gem identification databases (data base user interface and query software)
• GemCad (computer aided design cad software)
• Inventory tracking software (inventory management software)
• Jewelry design software (computer aided design cad software)
• Spectrophotometer analysis software (analytical or scientific software)
• Web browser software (internet browser software)

What Major Will Prepare You For This Career?

Programs that train for this career include:

• Precision Systems Maintenance

Related Careers

Careers similar to gem and diamond workers include:

• Rock Splitters, Quarry
• Watch and Clock Repairers
• Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters
• Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
• Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
• Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Also Known As

Brilliandeer, Brilliandeer Lopper, Clarity Expert, Diamond Assorter, Diamond Cleaner, Diamond Cleaver, Diamond Cutter, Diamond Die Driller, Diamond Die Polisher, Diamond Driller, Diamond Grader, Diamond Heister, Diamond Mounter, Diamond Picker, Diamond Polisher.

References

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — https://www.bls.gov/oes/
• O*NET Online — https://www.onetonline.org/
• BLS Employment Projections — https://www.bls.gov/emp/
• O*NET-SOC code: 51-9071.06