Job titles

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hello,

Can someone explain what the different job titles mean in terms of
the actual work done?

goldsmith, mounter,production mounter, manufacturing one off pieces
and making master pattern pieces i can understand but what does
manufacturing production jewellery pieces entail? is there a list
somewhere detailing how many different types of jobs there are in
the trade and what each of them actually do?

thanks, Steven

2

Steven

Different countries have quite different names for the same person.
“Diamond Mounter” is the same as a “Setter”, he actually mounts
diamonds, right? “Production-Jeweller” is a person who is an
assembly line jeweller but not a “special-order” craftsperson. There
is a fine ‘grey-line’ of qualifications on all of these catagories. I
am not lowering the level of expertice here, just making a statement
some setters have little knowledge on how to set certain kinds of
stones. Some only know how to set claws/prongs and nothing else. They
alone would be labelled as production setters. One setter refused to
set a stone I completed, it was a 5.25 Carat P.S. Emerald, bezel set.
Many of my own peers would cringe at that thought.

To explain fully…“manufacturing production jewellery pieces” really
means he or she are basically "cut off the gates-file-clean-emery"
kind of a person who works on the designs & items.

“Production mounter”, same as above, basically a person who does
production setting, little bead setting or baguettes, mostly
claw/prong work! “Goldsmith” knows pretty well everything, from
hand-crafting to Platinum creating. Even the description of setting
is different I call them Claws, in America they are called Prongs! I
call these Bead-Setting in the UK they call them “Thread”.)

3

Hi Steven-In an effort to learn more about how to classify
occupations, I have been looking at the US Dept. of Labor Bureau of
Labor Statistics, SOC (Standard Occupational Classification.)

Production Jewelry comes under the classification number 51-9071. I
couldn’t find a detailed description, but if you cut and paste to
address below, it will lead you to a description of the activities
under the heading of Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers.

http://www.bls.gov/soc/soc_u9h1.htm

Hopes this helps
Sandra
Elegant Insects

4 
Different countries have quite different names for the same
person. "Diamond Mounter" is the same as a "Setter", he actually
mounts diamonds, right?

Hi, I’m afraid I’d have to disaggree with you there. In the UK, a
‘diamond mounter’ is someone who makes the mount for the stones, ie,
fabricates jewelry. In fact, my instructor, who trained as a diamond
mounter, doesn’t set any faceted stones as it’s such a specialist
trade, that it’s far more worth it for her to pay someone else to do
a proper job of it, in less time.

Just my two cents worth :slight_smile:

Robin Cassady-Cain

5

Hello,

I have only worked in a small firm where your expected to be a jack
of all trades ( not the ideal job title for a cv ) So it’s often
difficult to know exactly what skills other firms are looking for
when vacancies are advertised with job titles that are not self
explanatory.

When i’m repairing chains,sizing rings etc i know that i would be
described as a jobbing jeweller in Britain.

But when i’m putting cast shanks and settings together does that
make me a production jeweller?

What would i describe myself as, when making wedding rings,bangles,
crosses and initials from scratch?Also does reclawing a dia cluster
or bezel setting cabachon stones give me the right to regard myself
as a setter?

( after seeing some of my efforts in this field my boss came up with
a few suggestions about job titles of his own) Thanks to all those
who
replied to my post,

Steven

6

Good question, Steven: What are the specifications for bench
jewelers, jobbing jewelers, production jewelers,…what are the
distinctions between them, if any?

Dee