According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Position stones and metal pieces, and set, mount, and secure items in place, using setting and hand tools. | 94% |
| Smooth soldered joints and rough spots, using hand files and emery paper, and polish smoothed areas with polishing wheels or buffing wire. | 94% |
| Create jewelry from materials such as gold, silver, platinum, and precious or semiprecious stones. | 91% |
| Make repairs, such as enlarging or reducing ring sizes, soldering pieces of jewelry together, and replacing broken clasps and mountings. | 90% |
| Clean and polish metal items and jewelry pieces, using jewelers' tools, polishing wheels, and chemical baths. | 90% |
| Cut and file pieces of jewelry such as rings, brooches, bracelets, and lockets. | 89% |
| Select and acquire metals and gems for designs. | 88% |
| Compute costs of labor and materials to determine production costs of products and articles. | 88% |
| Anneal precious metal objects such as coffeepots, tea sets, and trays in gas ovens for prescribed times to soften metal for reworking. | 86% |
| Examine assembled or finished products to ensure conformance to specifications, using magnifying glasses or precision measuring instruments. | 86% |
| Pierce and cut open designs in ornamentation, using hand drills and scroll saws. | 83% |
| Construct preliminary models of wax, metal, clay, or plaster, and form sample castings in molds. | 82% |
| Weigh, mix, and melt metal alloys or materials needed for jewelry models. | 80% |
| Rotate molds to distribute alloys and to prevent formation of air pockets. | 79% |
| Pour molten metal alloys or other materials into molds to cast models of jewelry. | 78% |
| Shape and straighten damaged or twisted articles by hand or using pliers. | 78% |
| Rout out locations where parts are to be joined to items, using routing machines. | 78% |
| Soften metal to be used in designs by heating it with a gas torch and shape it, using hammers and dies. | 77% |
| Determine appraised values of diamonds and other gemstones based on price guides, market fluctuations, and stone grades and rarity. | 76% |
| Grade stones based on their color, perfection, and quality of cut. | 73% |
| Plate articles such as jewelry pieces and watch dials, using silver, gold, nickel, or other metals. | 73% |
| Write or modify design specifications such as the metal contents and weights of items. | 72% |
| Create new jewelry designs and modify existing designs, using computers as necessary. | 72% |
| Buy and sell jewelry, or serve as agents between buyers and sellers. | 71% |
| Record the weights and processing times of finished pieces. | 71% |
| Lay out designs on metal stock, and cut along markings to fabricate pieces used to cast metal molds. | 70% |
| Mark, engrave, or emboss designs on metal pieces such as castings, wire, or jewelry, following specifications. | 66% |
| Cut designs in molds or other materials to be used as models in the fabrication of metal and jewelry products. | 65% |
| Design and fabricate molds, models, and machine accessories, and modify hand tools used to cast metal and jewelry pieces. | 63% |
| Research and analyze reference materials, and consult with interested parties to develop new products or modify existing designs. | 60% |
