Bench certification

I looked into the masters cert, but got scared away when they told me the
amount of time they expect the pieces to be made in… I could probably
fabricate the three stone plat ring in the required 8 hours, but the pave’
set dome-top square hinged silver box seemed very difficult to make in 8
hours. I may still go for the senior bench technician cert though, it
sounds much mroe do-able. I was told they grade on over 1000 seperate
points, whew…

How did you get the info on the certifications? It would be a great FAQ to
post on Orchid. It does sound like there isn’t a lot of latitude for
specialists- like levels of setting certification or engraving
certification or wax carving or enameling. A lot of bench people have
narrow ranges of skills- but it doesn’t mean that they don’t excel in what
they do. A bias toward technical over creative skill levels as well. A few
years ago I met a man who was doing 50-100 sizings a day- had a very
organized process- and was making a great living.(His wife wanted him to
do anticlastic raising).

Rick Hamilton
Richard D. Hamilton, Jr
http://www.rick-hamilton.com
@rick_hamilton

How did you get the info on the certifications?

I called Jewelers of America. I’m sorry, I don’t have the phone number
handy.

It would be a great FAQ to post on Orchid. 

I’ll see what I can do, I’ll post it on alt.rec.jewelry as well

It does sound like there isn't a lot of latitude for
specialists- like levels of setting certification or engraving
certification or wax carving or enameling. 

The database created will include specialty areas, and will be searchable
by retailers looking for jewelers with certain skill areas. Each level
will have a base requirement entry (the testing) with listed specialties.
It sounds great to me.

Jeffrey Everett

You should obtain permission from JA before posting the certification
specifications, of course.

I’ll try and reach them for a copy.

Rick Hamilton
Richard D Hamilton, Jr.
@rick_hamilton