Gem and Diamond Workers
Fabricate, finish, or evaluate the quality of gems and diamonds used in jewelry or industrial tools.
$52,540 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
of the working time. Estimate.
- 11%
- 6%
- 83%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 10%. Today's estimate: 10%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 22 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 14% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Estimate wholesale and retail value of gems, following pricing guides, market fluctuations, and other relevant economic factors.Done daily by most who do it. | 11% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 95%Half by now | |
| 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.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 7% | 25 min8 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Examine gems during processing to ensure accuracy of angles and positions of cuts or bores, using magnifying glasses, loupes, or shadowgraphs.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 17 min4 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Advise customers and others on the best use of gems to create attractive jewelry items.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Hold stones, gems, dies, or styluses against rotating plates, wheels, saws, or slitters to cut, shape, slit, grind, or polish them.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Lap girdles on rough diamonds, using diamond girdling lathes.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 6% | 42 min17 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Identify and document stones' clarity characteristics, using plot diagrams.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 6% | 21 min8 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| 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.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Sort rough diamonds into categories based on shape, size, color, and quality.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Split gems along pre-marked lines to remove imperfections, using blades and jewelers' hammers.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Assign polish, symmetry, and clarity grades to stones, according to established grading systems.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers13% now, 25% by 2028
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand11% now, 11% by 2028
- Etchers and Engravers21% now, 21% by 2028
- Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners6% now, 6% by 2028
- Stone Cutters and Carvers, Manufacturing5% now, 5% by 2028
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic18% now, 18% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
- Jewelry, Luggage, and Leather Goods Retailers11,740 people
- Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing5,080 people
- Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods (4232, 4233, 4235, 4236, 4237, and 4239 only)2,100 people
- Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance1,210 people
- Management of Companies and Enterprises380 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.