Production · Holland code RCI
Gem and Diamond Workers
Fabricate, finish, or evaluate the quality of gems and diamonds used in jewelry or industrial tools.
Also called: Diamond Cutter, Diamond Setter, Gemologist, Lapidarist, Diamond Grader, Diamond Picker, Diamond Polisher, Facetor.
O*NET 51-9071.06
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $52,540
- Middle half earn $39,520 to $69,810. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 3 of 5
- Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
- US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034
- -5% · Decline
- 35,100 jobs in 2024, projected 33,200. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers".
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Assign polish, symmetry, and clarity grades to stones, according to established grading systems.
- Identify and document stones' clarity characteristics, using plot diagrams.
- Estimate wholesale and retail value of gems, following pricing guides, market fluctuations, and other relevant economic factors.
- Measure sizes of stones' bore holes and cuts to ensure adherence to specifications, using precision measuring instruments.
- Examine gems during processing to ensure accuracy of angles and positions of cuts or bores, using magnifying glasses, loupes, or shadowgraphs.
- Examine diamonds or gems to ascertain the shape, cut, and width of cut stones, or to select the cuts that will result in the biggest, best quality stones.
- Examine gem surfaces and internal structures, using polariscopes, refractometers, microscopes, and other optical instruments, to differentiate between stones, to identify rare specimens, or to detect flaws, defects, or peculiarities affecting gem values.
- Sort rough diamonds into categories based on shape, size, color, and quality.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Critical Thinking3.1 / 5
- Monitoring3.1 / 5
- Reading Comprehension3.0 / 5
- Active Listening3.0 / 5
- Speaking3.0 / 5
- Writing2.9 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service3.8 / 5
- Production and Processing3.2 / 5
- Administration and Management3.0 / 5
- Sales and Marketing3.0 / 5
- Economics and Accounting2.9 / 5
- Computers and Electronics2.8 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic74
- Investigative35
- Artistic31
- Social2
- Enterprising19
- Conventional52
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- gemmologist · DE Diamantgutachter/Diamantgutachterin · FR gemmologue-expert/gemmologue-experte
- jeweller · DE Juwelier/Juwelierin · FR bijoutier/bijoutière
- goldsmith · DE Goldschmied/Goldschmiedin · FR orfèvre
- jewellery mounter · DE Schmuckhersteller/Schmuckherstellerin · FR créateur de montures de bijoux/créatrice de montures de bijoux
- jewellery polisher · DE Feinpolierer/Feinpoliererin · FR polisseur de bijou/polisseuse de bijou
- jewellery repairer · DE Schmuckreparateur/Schmuckreparateurin · FR réparateur de bijou/réparatrice de bijou
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Assemblers and routine operatives n.e.c. (8149)26,300 employed
- Estimators, valuers and assessors (3541)57,000 employed
- Assemblers (vehicles and metal goods) (8142)23,600 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Craft and related trades workers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €40,086 |
| Germany | €38,638 |
| Austria | €38,194 |
| Sweden | €37,856 |
| Netherlands | €37,077 |
| Ireland | €36,098 |
| France | €27,145 |
| Italy | €26,488 |
| Spain | €22,817 |
| Portugal | €11,142 |
| Poland | €10,099 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.16. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (51-9071).
Related careers
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