Jeweler job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

16

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 3 of 5

medium preparation

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$52,540

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers (O*NET-SOC 51-9071.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

1. Clean and polish metal items and jewelry pieces, using jewelers' tools, polishing wheels, and chemical baths. importance 4.5 of 5
2. Smooth soldered joints and rough spots, using hand files and emery paper, and polish smoothed areas with polishing wheels or buffing wire. importance 4.5 of 5
3. Create jewelry from materials such as gold, silver, platinum, and precious or semiprecious stones. importance 4.5 of 5
4. Cut and file pieces of jewelry such as rings, brooches, bracelets, and lockets. importance 4.4 of 5
5. Examine assembled or finished products to ensure conformance to specifications, using magnifying glasses or precision measuring instruments. importance 4.4 of 5
6. Make repairs, such as enlarging or reducing ring sizes, soldering pieces of jewelry together, and replacing broken clasps and mountings. importance 4.4 of 5
7. Compute costs of labor and materials to determine production costs of products and articles. importance 4.3 of 5
8. Position stones and metal pieces, and set, mount, and secure items in place, using setting and hand tools. importance 4.3 of 5
9. Grade stones based on their color, perfection, and quality of cut. importance 4.3 of 5
10. Select and acquire metals and gems for designs. importance 4.2 of 5
11. Shape and straighten damaged or twisted articles by hand or using pliers. importance 4.2 of 5
12. Create new jewelry designs and modify existing designs, using computers as necessary. importance 3.9 of 5
13. Plate articles such as jewelry pieces and watch dials, using silver, gold, nickel, or other metals. importance 3.9 of 5
14. Record the weights and processing times of finished pieces. importance 3.8 of 5
15. Construct preliminary models of wax, metal, clay, or plaster, and form sample castings in molds. importance 3.8 of 5
16. Write or modify design specifications such as the metal contents and weights of items. importance 3.7 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Thinking Creatively, Controlling Machines and Processes, Getting Information, Making Decisions and Solving Problems and Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• 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.

Knowledge areas: Customer and Personal Service, Design, Production and Processing, Sales and Marketing and Administration and Management.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Intuit QuickBooks, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists long-term on-the-job training as typical once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 3 of 5 (medium preparation). Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become a jeweler.

The most common answer among jewelers surveyed by O*NET is a high school diploma or equivalent (25%).

Job title: Jeweler
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Jeweler to design, fabricate, adjust, repair, or appraise jewelry, gold, silver, other precious metals, or gems.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- 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.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in active listening, speaking and critical thinking
- Working knowledge of Customer and Personal Service and Design
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

The median annual wage was $52,540 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $25.26. BLS estimates about 22,440 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers to decline 3.2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,700 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full jeweler salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real jeweler posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Clean and polish metal items and jewelry pieces, using jewelers'…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only jeweler work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (active listening and speaking).