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Jewelry Design – Online Degrees & Courses

Online Certificate Programs

Jewelry Design and Repair from Penn Foster Career School
Learn to do basic jewelry repairs, sell jewelry from home, classify gems, and do eight practical exercises that let you make your own jewelry.
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Professional Jewelry Design and Repair from Ashworth College
Learn the hands-on skills involved in designing, crafting and repairing rings, earrings, pins, bracelets and necklaces out of all kinds out of jewels, stones and metals.
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About Jewelry Design Careers

Jewelers exercise their creativity by manufacturing new jewelry pieces, thinking of new innovative designs and repairing damaged jewels. Jewelers can be self-employed or find jobs with various companies. In retail stores, jewelers known as branch jewelers are tasked with creating setting, polishing, setting stones and repair work. When employed by a big manufacturing company, a large team of jewelers is divided for handling tasks like creating molds, assembling, engraving, and finishing the jewelry product.

Whether they choose to design and create their own jewelry or work under a firm, jewelers must have an eye for intricate details, hands-on expertise for handling small pieces of precious metals, and have a through knowledge of common repairs like resetting stones, replacing broken clasps and mountings, and enlarging or reducing ring sizes. All these skills can be learned through a formal degree course in jewelry design and repair. If a student opts for an online training program, he or she can learn the basics of jewelers’ tools and machines.

A student of an online degree program in jewelry designing can also learn the details of designing, setting, and casting. Courses incorporating Computerized Aided Design or CAD, and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) are particularly helpful in aiding prospective jewelers to create virtual molds and experiment with different settings and stones. All these raise their confidence level and teach them how to handle sophisticated jewels while creating actual designs.

Going for a Bachelor of Fine Arts or Master of Fine Arts degree can give students a through knowledge of jewelry design. They could also go for shorter jewelry design programs that last only six months to one year. At the end of the training, students must take up a one-year apprenticeship program accompanied by vocational coursework in subjects like gemology, jewelry manufacturing, fabrication, and wax carving. Students must pass a written and a practical exam to gain an entry-level certificate to the Master’s level.

Salary & Employment Information

The career prospects for skilled and certified jewelers are looking up globally due to the rapidly expanding jewelry market. An experienced and famous jeweler may also build up his career by introducing his own jewelry line and displaying his creations in boutiques and retail outlets. The average salary for jewelers working with precious stones is $31,200 while those succeeding through their self-employment means can make more than $53,920.