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Boston Career Explorer

Production

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers

Design, fabricate, adjust, repair, or appraise jewelry, gold, silver, other precious metals, or gems.

Also called: Appraiser, Artisan Jeweler, Bench Jeweler, Caster, Gemologist, Goldsmith

Median pay in Greater Boston
$52,570
$25.27/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
520
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+0.5%
100 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
High school diploma or equivalent
plus Long-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$37,360$45,740$52,570$58,640$79,700

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Clean and polish metal items and jewelry pieces, using jewelers' tools, polishing wheels, and chemical baths.
  • Smooth soldered joints and rough spots, using hand files and emery paper, and polish smoothed areas with polishing wheels or buffing wire.
  • Create jewelry from materials such as gold, silver, platinum, and precious or semiprecious stones.
  • Cut and file pieces of jewelry such as rings, brooches, bracelets, and lockets.
  • Examine assembled or finished products to ensure conformance to specifications, using magnifying glasses or precision measuring instruments.
  • Make repairs, such as enlarging or reducing ring sizes, soldering pieces of jewelry together, and replacing broken clasps and mountings.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Moderate exposure34 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 43
  • Language-model AIOE 29
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 29

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for this job is moderate, and little AI use has been seen so far. AI tools may help with design ideas and with checking finished pieces. The hands-on work, such as cutting, filing, soldering, polishing, and making each piece, still relies on skilled people.

Likely to change

  • Planning and sketching jewelry designs
  • Checking finished pieces against specifications

Still relies on people

  • Cutting, filing, and polishing pieces by hand
  • Making and fitting each piece

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • Machinists

    Precise hand and measuring skills carry over to shaping and measuring metal parts. Machinists earn a higher Boston median pay of $72,060.

    Pay difference
    +$19,490 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +2.2%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

    Your soldering and fine metalwork carry over. Welding offers a higher Boston median pay of $63,770 and moderate on-the-job training.

    Pay difference
    +$11,200 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +4.2%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic

    Shaping, trimming, and finishing by hand carry over. This job offers higher pay ($55,530) and faster expected growth (6.7%), with long-term training.

    Pay difference
    +$2,960 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +6.7%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

2 programs near Boston

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

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