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Gem and Diamond Workers

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

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

Related: Etchers & Engravers Grinding & Polishing Workers, Hand Jewelers & Precious Stone & Metal Workers Stone Cutters & Carvers, Manufacturing Tool Grinders, Filers, & Sharpeners

Industries: Retail Manufacturing

Summary
Details

Select shaping wheels for tasks, and mix and apply abrasives, bort, or polishing compounds.
Hold stones, gems, dies, or styluses against rotating plates, wheels, saws, or slitters to cut, shape, slit, grind, or polish them.
Select shaping wheels for tasks, and mix and apply abrasives, bort, or polishing compounds.
Secure gems or diamonds in holders, chucks, dops, lapidary sticks, or blocks for cutting, polishing, grinding, drilling, or shaping.
Assign polish, symmetry, and clarity grades to stones, according to established grading systems.
Identify and document stones' clarity characteristics, using plot diagrams.
Advise customers and others on the best use of gems to create attractive jewelry items.
Hold stones, gems, dies, or styluses against rotating plates, wheels, saws, or slitters to cut, shape, slit, grind, or polish them.
Examine gems during processing to ensure accuracy of angles and positions of cuts or bores, using magnifying glasses, loupes, or shadowgraphs.
Examine diamonds or gems to ascertain the shape, cut, and width of cut stones, or to select the cuts that will result in the biggest, best quality stones.
Measure sizes of stones' bore holes and cuts to ensure adherence to specifications, using precision measuring instruments.
Identify and document stones' clarity characteristics, using plot diagrams.
Sort rough diamonds into categories based on shape, size, color, and quality.
Immerse stones in prescribed chemical solutions to determine specific gravities and key properties of gemstones or substitutes.
Select shaping wheels for tasks, and mix and apply abrasives, bort, or polishing compounds.
Dismantle lapping, boring, cutting, polishing, and shaping equipment and machinery to clean and lubricate it.
Examine gem surfaces and internal structures, using polariscopes, refractometers, microscopes, and other optical instruments, to differentiate between stones, to identify rare specimens, or to detect flaws, defects, or peculiarities affecting gem values.
Estimate wholesale and retail value of gems, following pricing guides, market fluctuations, and other relevant economic factors.

Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

More than 1 year on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

60030/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

28.86/hr

Currently Employed

580

Yearly Projected Openings

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Integrity
Attention to Detail
Dependability
Persistence
Independence
Cooperation

Angle grinder
Arbors
Automatic lathe or chucking machine
Belt sander
Bench refractometers or polarimeters
Bench vises
Blow torch
Calipers
Conductivity meters
Cross and straight pein hammer
Cutting machines
Digital cameras
Drill vise
Engraving machines
Faceting laps
Faceting machines
General tool kits
Grinders
Grinding machines
Grinding or polishing machines
Hammers
Hand clamps
Hydrometers
Jewelry mandrels
Laboratory balances
Loupes
Magnifiers
Mechanical or ultrasonic metal cleaner
Micrometers
Monocular microscopes
Picks
Polariscopes
Power buffers
Power drills
Power saws
Precision file
Pressure or steam cleaners
Rulers
Saws
Spectrophotometers
Tape measures
Tumblers or polishers
Ultraviolet UV lamps

Accounting software
Analytical or scientific software
Computer aided design CAD software
Data base user interface and query software
Internet browser software
Inventory management software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Gem and Diamond Workers

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