Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
Design, fabricate, adjust, repair, or appraise jewelry, gold, silver, other precious metals, or gems.
22,440 people do this job in the US. $52,540 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 25%
- 3%
- 71%
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: 13%.
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 . 30 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create jewelry from materials such as gold, silver, platinum, and precious or semiprecious stones.Done daily by most who do it. | 16% | 1 work day3.3 h to 4.2 work days | Stays with people | |
| Create new jewelry designs and modify existing designs, using computers as necessary.Done daily by most who do it. | 14% | 4.2 h1.7 h to 1 work day | 30%Half by Dec 2026 | |
| Position stones and metal pieces, and set, mount, and secure items in place, using setting and hand tools.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 7% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Make repairs, such as enlarging or reducing ring sizes, soldering pieces of jewelry together, and replacing broken clasps and mountings.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Cut and file pieces of jewelry such as rings, brooches, bracelets, and lockets.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 5% | 50 min17 min to 2.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Research and analyze reference materials, and consult with interested parties to develop new products or modify existing designs.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 2.5 h50 min to 5 h | 55%Half by now | |
| Buy and sell jewelry, or serve as agents between buyers and sellers.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Smooth soldered joints and rough spots, using hand files and emery paper, and polish smoothed areas with polishing wheels or buffing wire.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 29 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Plate articles such as jewelry pieces and watch dials, using silver, gold, nickel, or other metals.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Determine appraised values of diamonds and other gemstones based on price guides, market fluctuations, and stone grades and rarity.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.1 h | 95%Half by now | |
| Select and acquire metals and gems for designs.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Construct preliminary models of wax, metal, clay, or plaster, and form sample castings in molds.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | 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.
- Gem and Diamond Workers10% now, 11% by 2028
- Etchers and Engravers21% now, 21% by 2028
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand11% now, 11% by 2028
- Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic0% now, 0% by 2028
- Craft Artists13% now, 24% by 2028
- Stone Cutters and Carvers, Manufacturing5% now, 5% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- 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).