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Jewellery Designer

Jewellery designers design and make body adornments using a variety of materials, including gold, silver and precious stones.

Practising one of the oldest crafts, designers create pieces which can have great sentimental significance or symbolic meaning. Jewellery designers must be able to relate well to their clients in order to understand design specifications, as well as master the creative and practical skills needed to make a product.

A mixture of creative skills and commercial awareness is vital in producing original pieces of jewellery. The design process is complex and involves a series of stages, each requiring different abilities on the part of the designer.

Typical hands-on activities include:

mounting - making the framework for the piece of jewellery. This involves handling, forming and drilling metal, and opening out holes in which to place the selected gems;
setting - making adjustments to the mount to ensure the stones fit perfectly. This can involve very intricate work, eg removing tiny fractions of metal;
polishing - ensuring the finish of the piece;
casting - making an object or decorative detail by pouring molten metal into a mould. The mould could be made from a range of materials including plaster, metal or sand;
stamping and presswork;
chasing - making a raised pattern on the surface of the metal;
electro-plating - layering a precious metal onto a base metal;
wire-working - twisting or coiling wire to create an edge.

Client-based activities will include:

holding consultations with commissioning clients;
discussing a client's range of options and formulating original ideas;
sketching out ideas to help the client visualise the finished design.

Promoting and developing the business is crucial for success as a jewellery designer. Many designers try to boost their reputation by:

networking;
entering competitions;
attending fairs;
producing high-quality work.

Other activities include:

consulting with galleries, store buyers, and suppliers;
researching jewellery trends and keeping an eye on the fashion world to keep abreast of developments in the industry

The starting salary for new graduates is approximately £15,000, which can rise to £25,000+ for more experienced designers. Freelancers may charge from £30 an hour or more (salary data collected Jan 05).

Salaries vary widely according to: whether you are employed or self-employed; how experienced, successful and well-established you are; and how actively and skilfully you promote your jewellery and business. It is possible to earn high salaries, but this can be difficult in the early part of a career and an additional income may be needed.
Working hours are usually regular and do not involve shifts. Self-employed designers can find that their hours fluctuate to meet demand.
The work setting ranges from a small studio to a large workshop, which can be noisy and dusty.
Some designers sell from their workshops so health and safety issues must be considered where the public are on your premises.
Many designers are self-employed or freelance, which leads to flexibility and the opportunity to work hours to suit, or on a part-time basis.
Self-employed designers often work to commissions or sell through craft fairs and retail outlets.
As a freelance or self-employed jewellery designer, location can be rural or urban. Most employed designers are based in towns and cities. The major centres for jewellery production are Edinburgh, Birmingham, London and Sheffield.
Travel to exhibitions and trade fairs is an occasional part of the job.

Information taken from Prospects www.prospects.ac.uk for more information

Courses

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Subject
3D Design (4)
Art (2)
Media (1)
Multimedia (1)
Textiles (1)
Graphic Design (1)
Fashion (1)

College
University College Falmouth (2)
Bridgwater College (2)
Plymouth College of Art and Design (2)
Yeovil College (1)
(1)

Qualification
BA (Hons) (3)
AS (3)
A Level (3)
Foundation Degree (2)