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Career

Gem and Diamond Workers

Typical education: Certificate or apprenticeshipModerate pressure

What they do

Fabricate, finish, or evaluate the quality of gems and diamonds used in jewelry or industrial tools.

Kinds of work

  • Realistic: Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals, often outdoors.
  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.

Moderate pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $52,540 Median per year · $25.26/hr Most earn $35,580–$87,540

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Estimate wholesale and retail value of gems, following pricing guides, market fluctuations, and other relevant economic factors.
  • Secure gems or diamonds in holders, chucks, dops, lapidary sticks, or blocks for cutting, polishing, grinding, drilling, or shaping.
  • Hold stones, gems, dies, or styluses against rotating plates, wheels, saws, or slitters to cut, shape, slit, grind, or polish them.
  • Regrind drill points, and advance drill cutting points according to specifications for channel depths and shapes.
  • Place stones in clamps on polishing machines and polish facets of stones, using felt-covered or canvas-covered polishing wheels and polishing compounds such as tripoli and rouge.
  • Select shaping wheels for tasks, and mix and apply abrasives, bort, or polishing compounds.

Job outlook

United States
3% fewer jobs by 2035, declining · about 3,700 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods retailers35.2%
  • Self-employed (their own business)32.4%
  • Jewelry and silverware manufacturing15.4%
  • Merchant wholesalers, durable goods6.4%
  • Personal and household goods repair and maintenance3.7%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

Experience before this job: 1 to 2 years

Some people start through an apprenticeship: paid training on the job, often with classes. Search apprenticeships on Apprenticeship.gov (opens in a new tab) ↗

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: Certificate or apprenticeshipExperience before this job: 1 to 2 years

This isn't usually a job you start straight out of school. Most people finish high school, then spend about 1 to 2 years learning stone finishing and gem work through a certificate program, apprenticeship, or entry-level job before they take on this role.

  1. High school diploma

    4 years

    Build a strong base in math, science, and hands-on shop or art classes, since precise measuring and careful handwork matter in this field.

  2. Hand Grinding and Polishing Worker

    6 months to 1 year

    Learn to shape and polish stones by hand while you work toward a jewelry or gem-working certificate or apprenticeship, which builds the skills you need to handle valuable stones.

  3. Gem and Diamond Worker

    About 1 to 2 years of related experience before this role

    Fabricate, finish, and grade gems and diamonds for jewelry or industrial tools, using the skills and training you gathered in the steps before.

Where it can lead

  1. Jeweler

    2 to 4 years of experience first

    Move into broader work that combines stone setting, metalwork, repair, and design, which usually takes more hands-on experience and often a full certificate or apprenticeship.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take shop, art, or jewelry-making classesHands-on work with tools and small objects builds the steady hands and attention to detail this job needs.
  • Take math and chemistryMeasuring precisely and understanding how materials behave help with grading stones and checking quality.
  • Join a art or design club, or a robotics or engineering teamWorking on projects with others builds patience, precision, and teamwork that employers look for.
  • Get a part-time job at a jewelry store or hobby shopEven basic customer and stockroom work shows you how jewelry businesses run and may lead to a mentor.
  • Visit a jeweler or gem workshop if your area has oneSeeing the work up close, and asking questions, helps you decide if this career is right for you.

In college

  • Enroll in a jewelry-making or gemology certificate programA certificate in gem work or jewelry making teaches stone cutting, polishing, and grading skills that employers look for.
  • Take chemistry, physics, or materials scienceUnderstanding minerals, heat, and the properties of stones helps you judge quality and work safely with tools.
  • Work a campus job in a lab, maker space, or art studioHands-on work with precise tools builds the skills and reliability employers want from entry-level workers.
  • Seek an apprenticeship or summer internship with a jeweler or gem dealerLearning from experienced workers on the job is the most direct route into this career.
  • Join a jewelry or metalworking student group, if your school has oneClubs connect you with mentors and sometimes with local employers who hire student workers.

Tips for getting started

  • Look for a jewelry-making or metalworking class at your school or a local community center, since hands-on practice is the best way to see if this work fits you.
  • Ask local jewelry stores, repair shops, or gem dealers whether they take apprentices or part-time helpers, even if they only offer sweeping and cleaning at first.
  • Keep a small portfolio of photos of anything you make or polish, because employers often want to see your careful work before they hire you.

Related jobs that often lead here

Related jobs a step up

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

College majors that lead here

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

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