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Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers

Tasks

Core Tasks Include:

Position stones and metal pieces, and set, mount, and secure items in place, using setting and hand tools.
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.
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.
Cut and file pieces of jewelry such as rings, brooches, bracelets, and lockets.
Select and acquire metals and gems for designs.
Compute costs of labor and materials to determine production costs of products and articles.
Examine assembled or finished products to ensure conformance to specifications, using magnifying glasses or precision measuring instruments.
Pierce and cut open designs in ornamentation, using hand drills and scroll saws.
Construct preliminary models of wax, metal, clay, or plaster, and form sample castings in molds.
Pour molten metal alloys or other materials into molds to cast models of jewelry.
Shape and straighten damaged or twisted articles by hand or using pliers.
Soften metal to be used in designs by heating it with a gas torch and shape it, using hammers and dies.
Determine appraised values of diamonds and other gemstones based on price guides, market fluctuations, and stone grades and rarity.
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.
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.
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 to develop new products or modify existing designs.

Supplemental Tasks Include:

Weigh, mix, and melt metal alloys or materials needed for jewelry models.
Rotate molds to distribute alloys and to prevent formation of air pockets.
Rout out locations where parts are to be joined to items, using routing machines.

The data sources for the information displayed here include: O*NET™. (Using onet291)