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Precious Stone or Metal Worker

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AVG. SALARY

$47,170

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EDUCATION

High school (GED) +

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JOB OUTLOOK

Decreasing

Interviews

Insider Info

"I had it designed!"

Jane Parker, an award-winning jewelry designer, knows these words mean a lot to her customers. "Custom design means one-of-a-kind superior craftsmanship and prestige. Jewelry represents beauty, luxury and value. Customers understand that jewelry they buy today will give them a lifetime of pleasure. Classic designs turn into family heirlooms."

Although some designers create pieces for a specific person, most don't. Dave Stephens, a jewelry designer in Oregon, says, "I never copy anybody's ideas or work. I like art deco and ancient Egyptian and other ancient peoples' jewelry. They have raw emotional power for me."

The stones, gems, and other materials they work with inspire many designers. Gold, silver and other precious metals are the basis for most high-fashion or custom-made jewelry. Costume designs often use less expensive materials. Some incorporate bone, textiles and other objects into their jewelry.

Designers observe people to find out what styles are hot. Louis Mueller teaches jewelry making at the Rhode Island School of Design. "Good designers keep a curiosity alive about what colors, accessories, [and] clothing are 'in' so they can keep current with trends," says Mueller.

Parker prides herself on creating designs that can be worn with jeans, a business suit or party clothes. She also thinks about price. "There are lots of alternatives to expensive materials. Use tourmaline rather than emerald, try garnet instead of ruby, look at diamonds in the increasingly popular colors of yellow, cognac and brown."

Some designers, like Stephens, make their own jewelry. Others, like Parker, work closely with the jeweler who makes their designs into items people will wear.

"The relationship between designer and jeweler is very much like that between architect and builder. The architect has a vision and the builder has to translate that vision into reality. The designer must have an understanding of jewelry making, and the jeweler must be able to translate the design on paper into a finished piece," says Parker.

Mueller adds, "Understanding the limitations of materials makes designers create designs intelligently. Jewelry designers, like clothing or shoe designers, must think about the function of the item. For example, earrings can weigh so much and not more!"

How do jewelry designers communicate their ideas to their customers? "Every designer has their own bag of tricks and favorite tools -- but they won't make you a designer," says Parker. "Choosing the right tools may help you make the most of your skills."

Parker draws with pencils or pens. Then she adds color to her designs using a small brush and gouache, a kind of watercolor paint. Some designers use airbrushes and work on acetate, commonly used for animated cartoons.

"The transparent nature of acetate makes it great for showing rings and bracelets. Customers can see how the piece will look when they're wearing [it]. For some of my manufacturing customers, I produce pages of rough sketches. They pick the designs they like, and I then use a light table to trace the rough drawing. I then use the traced rough as a basis for my finished rendering."

Some designers use computer-aided design (CAD) to create and better visualize a final product. A ring's basic shape and structure may be duplicated and updated with the use of computers. In some jewelry, milling machines that produce wax jewelry models are connected to the CAD tools.

Computers greatly reduce the cost and time necessary to create a model or prototype, which gives a real idea of what the product will look like.

"What I like about my work is that it's very meditative and peaceful," says Stephens. "I also like knowing that I make pieces unlike anybody else's. I like it that when I make a piece it will be around for years and years, and may be handed down to another generation if it's taken care of. It's a lasting form of art.

"The frustrating part of the work is that by the time I've finished a piece, I'm pretty sick of looking at it and spending hours and hours on it. It's usually a week later when I can look at it again and think what a cool piece of work it is."

Parker agrees. "Outstanding design drives the jewelry industry to new standards of creativity. This helps create excitement in the marketplace.

"Designers are increasingly using daring and innovative materials and techniques from the worlds of nature and technology. The future of designs is limited by only two factors: the imagination of designers and the vision of their customers."

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