Goldsmith

Goldsmith: can work with any material, knows construction, can work for someone else making jewellery or for oneself; usually with a broad range of abilities. Can make anything seen in standard jewellery stores. As an independent may market work through own store (best option) or through galleries and jewellery stores. High end markets are possible. An independent single person can gross about 80,000.00 a year and up with time. As an independent a goldsmith may be a custom jeweller.

Custom/Special Order Jeweller: Alan Revere of San Francisco’s Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts describes this niche as ‘including both employed and self employed people who work directly with the public or within a trade shop. They often interact directly with customers and create one-of-a-kind individualized work for them. This is a job which combines skills in goldsmithing/wax/model making, design, rendering, psychology, pricing, selling and negotiating’.This too is where some art school educated jewellers end up as well as goldsmiths. Many continue their education through the quality workshops and short courses offered across North America.

Manufacturer: anything from small production runs to mass production, from service work for others to marketing one’s own line.

Artist Jeweller: Itself a wide range of options, this option is for risk takers who like to think of themselves as artists, who can handle independence and hard work with a long range view of returns. There are wide open niches in conceptual work and high end work. The market in Canada is quite unsophisticated, in Europe it is good, improving in the United States.

Fashion Jeweller: a person who designs and makes jewellery and accessories which dove-tail to the fashion industry, lines, colors, time of year and so on. It requires a flair for PR , design, audience understanding and good business sense. Materials need not be costly with very big returns if done well. For the right person a really lucrative career.

Designer: Someone who designs jewellery through renderings and drawings, models or even wax originals. May be employed by a company or self employed. It is not necessary to know how to make the jewellery, just how it is made.

Crafts Jewellery Maker: A maker who markets through craft fairs and gallery-stores, usually with a line of hand-made, unique or low production run pieces. Can be anything from a single person to eventually a company employing a hundred people. The context is crafts, hand work, made by people.

Production Bench Worker: a goldsmith who specializes in production work, anything from running a punch press, a computer milling station (coming soon) to repetitive hand work. Not usually high status work.

Repair person: specializes in repairs. Often the best way of starting and learning jewellery skills and the basis of many a successful jewellery business. May be employed by a store or have ones own service business or retail outlet.

Stonesetter: a secure employed position or a service company for jewellery stores and goldsmiths; a good setter earns very well and is well respected.

Store Owner/Manager: this is where the income lies highest, at the retail end of the chain. It requires good business skills and hard work, commitment and a great deal of money to do. Many owners however came to this point from goldsmithing bench jobs originally. Note markups in the industry can be hefty with triple keystone a standard in the United States