DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA
51-9071 Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
Occupational Description:
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.| Percentiles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geography | Employment | Emp SE* | Mean | Mean SE* | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
| Southwest Minnesota | N/A | 4 | N/A | $3.54/hr | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Minnesota | 230 | 56 | $19.59/hr | $1.23/hr | $10.97/hr | $13.83/hr | $18.33/hr | $24.22/hr | $30.19/hr |
| U S | 23,590 | 1,062 | $22.42/hr | $0.45/hr | $11.96/hr | $14.99/hr | $19.94/hr | $27.15/hr | $35.82/hr |
| *SE = Standard error, a measure of the statistical reliability of the estimate. | |||||||||
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| Occupation (click title for details) | OES | Projections | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | Median Wage | % Change 2020 - 2030 | |
| Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers | 960 | $20.02/hr | 9.7% |
| Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic | 160 | $19.12/hr | 42.0% |
| Tool and Die Makers | 100 | $20.41/hr | N/A |
| Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Cutters and Trimmers, Hand | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers | N/A | $17.43/hr | N/A |
| Etchers and Engravers | N/A | $12.48/hr | N/A |
| Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers | N/A | $18.43/hr | N/A |
Tasks for Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
- Cuts and shapes metal into jewelry pieces, using cutting and carving tools.
- Arranges jewelry pieces into specified design, softens metal by heating with gas torch, and shapes, using hammer and die.
- Solders pieces of jewelry together and enlarges or reduces size of rings, using soldering torch or iron.
- Repairs, reshapes, and restyles jewelry by replacing broken parts or using hand tools and machines.
- Ties or twists gold or silver wires together, and bends to form rings.
- Smoothes soldered joints and rough spots, using hand file and emery paper, and polishes with polishing wheel or buffing wire.
- Immerses jewelry in cleaning solution or acid to remove stains, or in solution of gold or other metal to color jewelry.
- Forms model of article from wax or metal, using carving tools.
- Places model in casting ring, and pours plaster into ring to form mold.
- Forms sand or rubber mold from model for casting article.
- Pours molten metal into mold, or operates centrifugal casting machine, to cast article.
- Examines gemstone surfaces and internal structure to evaluate genuineness, quality, and value, using polariscope, refractometer, and other optical instruments.
- Immerses gemstones in chemical solutions to determine specific gravity and key properties for identification and appraisal.
- Grades stones for color, perfection, and quality of cut.
- Estimates wholesale and retail value of gemstones, following price guides and market fluctuations.
- Anneals silverware, such as coffeepots, tea sets, and trays, in gas oven for prescribed time to soften metal for reworking.
- Solders parts together, and fills holes and cracks with silver solder, using gas torch.
- Hammers out deformations, selecting and using hammer and dollies with head corresponding in curvature with surface of article.
- Forms concavity in bottom of article to improve stability, using tracing punches and hammer.
- Shapes and straightens damaged or twisted articles by hand, or using pliers.
- Strikes article with small tools, or punches with hammer, to indent or restore embossing.
- Glues plastic separators to handles of coffee and teapots.
- Outlines design from photographs or drawings onto surface of article, using hand tools.
- Positions article over snarling tool and raises design area, using foot-powered hammer.
- Peens edges of scratches or holes to repair defect, using peening hammer.
- Wires parts, such as legs, spouts, and handles to body to prepare article for soldering.
- Pierces and cuts open design in ornamentation, using hand drill and scroll saw.
- Examines article to determine nature of defects, such as dents, uneven bottom, scratches, or holes, to repair.
- Verifies levelness of bottom edges of article, using straightedge, or by rocking back and forth on flat surface.
- Carves, chisels, scrapes, and files plaster, wax or other plastic materials to make mold or model, according to design specifications.
- Fits, secures, and solders halves of molds together and drills holes in mold to attach handles and allow gases to escape during casting.
- Lays out design on metal stock and cuts along markings to fabricate pieces used to cast metal molds.
- Builds sand mold in flask, following pattern, and heats flask using furnace or torch to dry and harden mold.
- Cuts design in mold or other material to be used as model to fabricate metal and jewelry products.
- Constructs preliminary model of wax, metal, clay or plaster, forms sample casting in mold, and measures casting to verify dimensions.
- Mixes or melts clay, metal, plaster, wax or other material and pours material into mold to cast model or mold.
- Examines and measures metal parts for conformance to design specifications on scale drawing.
- Writes or modifies design specifications, such as content, weight, and material to be used to cast article.
- Presses model into clay and builds up clay around exposed parts of model to retain plaster.
- Removes mold from cast article, cleans mold, and applies shellac and dry powder to preserve mold for reuse.
- Polishes metal surfaces and products, using abrasive wheel.
- Modifies, sharpens, repairs or fabricates jigs, fixtures, and hand tools, such as scrapers, cutter, gougers, and shapers.
- Computes cost of labor and material to determine production cost of products and articles.
- Cuts, trims, shapes and smoothes jewelry stones, pearls, and metal pieces, using abrasives, grinding stone and power and hand tools.
- Weighs, mixes and melts metal alloys or material and pours molten material into mold to cast models of jewelry.
- Forms, joins, or assembles metal pieces, articles, or wire, using soldering iron, gas torch, and hand tools.
- Disassembles mold casting from metal or jewelry workpiece and places work piece in water or on tray to cool.
- Marks and drills holes in jewelry mounting to center stones according to design specifications.
- Positions and aligns stones and metal pieces and sets, mounts and secures item in place, using setting and hand tools.
- Manually rotates mold to distribute molten material and prevent formation of air pockets in mold.
- Marks, engraves or embosses designs on metal pieces, such as castings, wire, or jewelry, following samples, sketches, or other specifications.
- Plates articles, such as jewelry pieces and clock and watch dials with silver, gold, nickel, or other metals.
- Examines assembled or finished product, using magnifying glass or precision measuring instruments, to ensure conformance to specifications.
- Repairs existing jewelry mountings to reposition jewels or adjust mounting.
- Sands inside mold pieces, using emery cloth and chalkdust.
- Assembles and secures mold sections used to cast metal articles and pieces.
- Brushes, buffs, cleans and polishes metal items and jewelry pieces, using jeweler's tools, polishing wheel, and chemical bath.
- Operates machines, such as centrifugal-casting, routing, and lathe, to fabricate casting molds, metal parts or wax models of products.
- Weighs completed pieces to determine deviation from specifications and records weight and processing time on production records.
- Designs and fabricates molds, models and machine accessories, and modifies hand tools used to cast metal and jewelry pieces.
- Researches and analyzes reference materials and consults with interested parties to develop new or modify existing products.
- Fills casting mold to form parts.
- Secures molded item in chuck of lathe, activates lathe, and finishes inner and outer surfaces of item.
- Rotates mold to distribute alloy in mold and to prevent formation of air pockets.
- Heats ingots or alloy mixture and skims off impurities.
- Weighs and mixes alloy ingredients.
- Engraves decorative lines on item, using engraving tool.
- Routes out location of part and solder path where part is joined to item, using routing machine.
- Positions and aligns auxiliary part in jig and joins parts, using solder and blowtorch.
- Sands inside of mold parts, applies glaze to inside surface of mold, and assembles mold.
- Strikes mold to separate dried casting from mold.
- Determines placement of auxiliary parts, such as handle and spout and marks locations of parts.
- Weighs completed item to determine deviation from specified weight and records weight.
- Designs, drafts, and fabricates models of new casting molds and chipping and turning tools used to finish surface of products.
- Carries castings or finished item to storage area or next workstation.
- Researches reference materials, analyzes production data, and consults with interested parties to develop ideas for new products.
- Holds stone, gem, die, or stylus, attached to holder or lapidary stick, against rotating plates or wheels to shape, grind, and polish.
- Grinds, drills, and finishes jewel bearings for use in precision instruments, such as compasses and chronometers.
- Bores, laps, and polishes holes in industrial diamonds used for dies, using drill, lathe, lapping machine, and hand tools.
- Splits gem along premarked lines to remove imperfections, using blade and jeweler's hammer.
- Laps girdle on rough diamonds, using diamond girdling lathe.
- Measures size of stone's bore holes and cuts to ensure adherence to specifications, using precision measuring instruments.
- Locates and marks drilling position on surface of diamond dies, using diamond chip and power hand drill.
- Lubricates, dismantles, and cleans lapping, boring, cutting, polishing, and shaping equipment and machinery.
- Replaces, trues, and sharpens blades, drills, and plates.
- Examines gem during processing to ensure accuracy of angle and position of cut or bore, using magnifying glass, loupe, or shadowgraph.
- Secures gem or diamond in holder, chuck, dop, lapidary stick, or block for cutting, polishing, grinding, drilling, or shaping.
- Examines diamond or gem to determine shape, cut, and width of stone.
- Selects shaping wheel, mixes, and applies abrasive, bort, or polishing compound.
- Positions gem or diamond against edge of revolving saw, lathe saw, or lapidary slitter to cut, block, or slit stone.
