Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
Also called: Antique Jewelry Repairer, Appraisal Technician (Appraisal Tech), Appraiser, Arborer, Artisan Jeweler, Artist, Bead Maker, Bench Jeweler
Design, fabricate, adjust, repair, or appraise jewelry, gold, silver, other precious metals, or gems.
What jewelers and precious stone and metal workers do
Typical tasks
- 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.
- Grade stones based on their color, perfection, and quality of cut.
- Select and acquire metals and gems for designs.
- Shape and straighten damaged or twisted articles by hand or using pliers.
- Create new jewelry designs and modify existing designs, using computers as necessary.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers salary
The median annual wage for jewelers and precious stone and metal workers is $52,540 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $35,580 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $87,540. The mean annual wage is $57,960.
The mean hourly wage of $27.00 is 3.7× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $52,540 → in 3 years $56,800 → in 5 years $59,900 → in 10 years $68,300 (10-year range $58,700–$79,300). The model assumes pay growth of +2.7% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
The same job in Japan
| Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers United States | 貴金属装身具製作 Japan | |
|---|---|---|
| Median / average pay | $52,540 | ¥4.11M ≈ $26,111 |
| Pay in 10 years (est.) | $68,300 | ¥5.29M |
| Outlook score | 48 | 50 |
| AI replacement risk | 48% Moderate | 45% Moderate |
| Workers | 22K | — |
Matched by occupation (SOC code). Yen converted at 157.25 JPY/USD for reference; Japanese figures are averages, U.S. figures are medians, and the surveys define occupations differently.
Skills, education and requirements for Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 3 — medium preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★★★☆☆ Moderate (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become jewelers and precious stone and metal workers
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as jewelers and precious stone and metal workers
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.