Jewelers

Smooth soldered joints and rough spots, using hand files and emery paper, and polish smoothed areas with polishing wheels or buffing wire.

Position stones and metal pieces, and set, mount, and secure items in place, using setting and hand tools.

Create jewelry from materials such as gold, silver, platinum, and precious or semiprecious stones.

Make repairs, such as enlarging or reducing ring sizes, soldering pieces of jewelry together, and replacing broken clasps and mountings.

Clean and polish metal items and jewelry pieces, using jewelers' tools, polishing wheels, and chemical baths.

Select and acquire metals and gems for designs.

Compute costs of labor and materials in order to determine production costs of products and articles.

Mark and drill holes in jewelry mountings in order to center stones according to design specifications.

Examine assembled or finished products to ensure conformance to specifications, using magnifying glasses or precision measuring instruments.

Construct preliminary models of wax, metal, clay, or plaster, and form sample castings in molds.

Weigh, mix, and melt metal alloys or materials needed for jewelry models.

Pour molten metal alloys or other materials into molds in order to cast models of jewelry.

Cut, shape, and smooth gemstones, pearls, and metal pieces, using abrasives, grinding stones, and power and hand tools.

Soften metal to be used in designs by heating it with a gas torch and shape it, using hammers and dies.

Remove mold castings from metal or jewelry workpieces, and place workpieces in water or on trays to cool.

Determine appraised values of diamonds and other gemstones based on price guides, market fluctuations, and stone grades and rarity.

Alter existing jewelry mountings in order to reposition jewels or to adjust mountings.

Grade stones based on their color, perfection, and quality of cut.

Plate articles such as jewelry pieces and watch dials, using silver, gold, nickel, or other metals.

Write or modify design specifications such as the metal contents and weights of items.

Create new jewelry designs and modify existing designs, using computers as necessary.

Examine gemstone surfaces and internal structures to evaluate genuineness, quality, and value, using polariscopes, refractometers, and other optical instruments.

Buy and sell jewelry, or serve as agents between buyers and sellers.

Record the weights and processing times of finished pieces.

Lay out designs on metal stock, and cut along markings to fabricate pieces used to cast metal molds.

Place metal samples in frames, pack raw rubber around samples, and clamp samples, frames, and rubber into vulcanizing machines.

Fabricate, modify, or repair jigs, fixtures, and hand tools such as scrapers, cutters, gougers, and shapers.

Assemble and secure mold sections used to cast metal articles and pieces.

Mark, engrave, or emboss designs on metal pieces such as castings, wire, or jewelry, following specifications.

Cut designs in molds or other materials to be used as models in the fabrication of metal and jewelry products.

Design and fabricate molds, models, and machine accessories, and modify hand tools used to cast metal and jewelry pieces.

Research and analyze reference materials, and consult with interested parties in order to develop new products or modify existing designs.

Melt and roll out metal into sheets or bars, and stamp out jewelry such as gold and silver chains, using presses or dies.

Build sand molds in flasks, following patterns and heat flasks to dry and harden molds, using furnaces or torches.

Rotate molds in order to distribute molten material and prevent formation of air pockets.

Remove molds from cast articles, clean them, and apply shellac and powder to preserve them for reuse.

Immerse gemstones in chemical solutions to determine specific gravity and other key properties necessary for identification and appraisal.

Burn grooves or crevices in molds in order to correct defects, using soldering guns.

Press models into clay, and build up clay around exposed parts of models to retain plaster.

Chase decorative designs on silver blanks that are to be used as models for steel production dies.