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Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers: Career Profile
Design, fabricate, adjust, repair, or appraise jewelry, gold, silver, other precious metals, or gems.
What Tasks Do Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers Do?
The core tasks performed by jewelers and precious stone and metal workers span:
- 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.
Skills and Knowledge
Top jewelers and precious stone and metal workers combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Top Skills
These are the skills most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Top Knowledge Areas
Other Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers Job Titles
Common job titles for this role include:
- Antique Jewelry Repairer
- Appraisal Technician (Appraisal Tech)
- Appraiser
- Arborer
- Artisan Jeweler
- Artist
- Bead Maker
- Bench Jeweler
Employment and Demand
There are about 494,001 jewelers and precious stone and metal workers working in the United States today. Employment is projected to decline by -1.5% over the projection horizon.
How Much Do Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers Make?
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $67,147 |
| Hourly median | $32.28 |
| 10th percentile | $37,388 |
| 25th percentile | $52,268 |
| 75th percentile | $82,026 |
| 90th percentile | $96,906 |
Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.
Pay by State
| 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 |
| Minnesota | $52,390 |
| Colorado | $51,370 |
| South Carolina | $51,100 |
| Louisiana | $50,990 |
| Iowa | $50,940 |
| New York | $50,890 |
| Mississippi | $50,430 |
| Pennsylvania | $50,160 |
| South Dakota | $49,960 |
| Michigan | $49,930 |
| Maryland | $49,900 |
| Nebraska | $48,980 |
| Hawaii | $48,880 |
| Tennessee | $48,330 |
| Idaho | $48,320 |
| North Carolina | $48,280 |
| Kentucky | $47,790 |
| Rhode Island | $47,300 |
| Texas | $46,900 |
| Indiana | $46,880 |
| Ohio | $46,200 |
| Utah | $46,200 |
| North Dakota | $46,120 |
| Georgia | $46,060 |
| Wyoming | $45,960 |
| Montana | $44,920 |
| Maine | $43,720 |
| New Mexico | $42,470 |
| Oregon | $41,600 |
| Illinois | $40,810 |
| New Jersey | $40,260 |
| Arizona | $40,010 |
| Alabama | $39,730 |
| Oklahoma | $38,690 |
| West Virginia | $38,650 |
| Nevada | $35,670 |
| Arkansas | $31,500 |
| Puerto Rico | $20,700 |
Top-Paying U.S. Regions
Compensation for jewelers and precious stone and metal workers differ across the country. Top regions by median wage:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $57,364 | 17.3% | 1.16 |
| Plains States | $52,079 | 4.7% | 0.72 |
| Southeast | $51,918 | 15.6% | 0.71 |
| Middle Atlantic | $49,360 | 27.1% | 2.74 |
| Rocky Mountains | $47,976 | 4.9% | 1.34 |
| Great Lakes | $46,001 | 11.4% | 0.83 |
| Southwest | $44,766 | 11.6% | 1.00 |
| New England | $34,172 | 7.2% | 3.72 |
Where the Jobs Cluster
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boulder, CO | CO | $74,990 | 30 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $70,910 | 260 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | CT | $68,420 | 90 |
| Naples-Marco Island, FL | FL | $64,210 | 50 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | CA | $62,640 | 280 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | DC | $62,580 | 180 |
| Richmond, VA | VA | $62,400 | 80 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $61,390 | 670 |
Industry Breakdown
The bulk of jewelers and precious stone and metal workers are found across these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Trade | 12,050 | $50,340 |
| Manufacturing | 6,180 | $46,180 |
| Wholesale Trade | 2,780 | $58,120 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 1,030 | $48,250 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 420 | $70,410 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 410 | $62,640 |
| Finance and Insurance | 190 | $50,870 |
The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.
Software Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers Use
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Illustrator (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Photoshop (hot technology)
- Accounting software: Intuit QuickBooks (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
Work Environment
The on-the-job environment of jewelers and precious stone and metal workers tends to involve the following characteristics:
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Freedom to Make Decisions
- Time Pressure
How to Become Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
Typical jewelers and precious stone and metal workers positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Medium Preparation Needed (Job Zone 3), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
Similar Occupations
- Craft Artists (Primary-Short)
- Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters (Supplemental)
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (Supplemental)
- Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic (Supplemental)
- Tool and Die Makers (Primary-Long)
- Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic (Supplemental)
- Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners (Supplemental)
- Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers (Primary-Long)
Degree Programs
Students preparing for jewelers and precious stone and metal workers commonly pursue programs in:
Mechanic and Repair Technologies/Technicians
1 programs across 1 majors
Sources
Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 51-9071.00 (Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers).
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