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Your Guide to the Different Types of Jewellery Professionals

Suzanne Crudden — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 20:52:18 +0000

From goldsmiths to gem setters, from lapidaries to gemmologists,
this is your guide to the different types of jewellery professionals.

We are lucky in Toronto to have access to such a wide range of jewellery professionals. We know it can be difficult for the average person who is not involved in the industry to understand all of the different specialties. In this article we’re going explore some of the most common jewellery industry professionals and what they do.

We will focus on the jewellery professionals involved in the production of fine jewellery.

History

The working of metal is one of the oldest trades in human history. As the centuries progressed, so did specialization. A blacksmith worked iron and steel into swords and horseshoes. A silversmith worked silver into ornamental items such as candlesticks and plate. A goldsmith worked gold into precious jewellery and sacred objects.

Although it could be said that all of these people could be referred to as metal workers, it is more accurate to define them in terms of their specialties.

In the modern era, the number of specialties in the jewellery industry has increased due to advances in technology. But also because, in our ever more busy world, it just isn’t possible for one person to do everything.

Goldsmith

As mentioned above, goldsmithing is one of the oldest trades. As methods and skill became more refined during medieval times, the apprenticeship system emerged as the main method of passing on knowledge. The apprenticeship model is still an option but there are also now trade schools that teach goldsmithing. We are graduates of the George Brown Jewellery Program which we highly recommend!

The training to become a Goldsmith includes learning to work and manipulate all precious metals. Despite not be included in the profession title, a goldsmith works with all noble metals including silver, gold and platinum. A goldsmith education will also include basic gemmology instruction, stone setting, wax carving, mold making and casting.

A good way to think about a goldsmith is as the “general practioner” of jewellery. They will often have another jewellery specialty or two in addition to being a trained goldsmith.

Hand Engraver

A hand engraver is trained in the art of engraving in metal. And it truly is an art. A master hand engraver will often create intricate patterns of their own design. Learning to use steel tools to delicately carve into the metal without making a mistake is quite a skill!

The labour and skill required to hand engrave is immense. It is not surprising then that it is much more expensive than designing an engraved pattern in the computer or using a laser for engraving.

Gem Setter

As the title suggests, a gem setter specializes in setting gemstones into mountings such as rings, pendants and earrings. A gem setter is also usually a trained goldsmith but focuses on the part of the process that involves gem setting. This is a skill that requires many years to master.

There are also many different types of gem setting and each one requires different methods. Knowledge of gemology is also a must.

Gem setting is a skill that requires time, focus and precision. For that reason some goldsmiths will choose to specialize in gem setting and leave the overall production of the jewellery pieces to someone else.

Casting

Casting is the process of taking a jewellery piece from a wax model to metal. While some goldsmith’s will have their casting facilities in house, many choose to use a casting house. The process of casting is very time consuming with many steps. It also requires a lot of energy use so it makes sense to use a facility instead.

All major cities will have a casting house. We have multiple excellent choices available to us Toronto.

CAD Artists

A new jewellery professional has arisen in the 21st century. Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software like Rhino is used in a wide variety of industries to construct digital models. In the jewellery industry CAD artists use this computer program to design a model of a jewellery piece.

Once the piece has been created, the file of that item is used to print a model in wax. This wax model is then used in the casting process to create an exact replica of the original design.

While some may regret the loss of traditional techniques, CAD has allowed for an explosion in custom options. Whereas in the past the labour involved in some designs may have been too cost prohibitive, CAD now allows us to create with freedom.

Jewellery Designer

The title jewellery designer is a catch all term that does not describe any particular specialization. The category is just too wide to be helpful. A person may call themselves a jewellery designer with absolutely no training in jewellery whatsoever.

We include it here because it can be sometimes used to describe jewellery professionals such as goldsmiths creating custom jewellery or CAD artists. It is essential that the designer of a piece of fine jewellery has been trained as a goldsmith. When using expensive metals and precious gemstones, the piece must be well designed and constructed to last. You don’t want the piece falling apart or the gemstone falling out!

Watch Makers

Horology is another trade with a significant and storied history. While broadly placed under the category of jewellery, watch making and repair requires an entirely different type of education and training. It is also often associated with the tool and dye trade.

Enamellist

An enamellist is someone that works with glass and metal. Jewellery professionals that specialize in enamel will have a lot of colour in their work. This colour is glass that has been incorporated into their design.

An easy way to know if someone is an enamellist is if their work includes a colour that is not produced by either metal or gemstones!

Lapidaries

Lapidaries specialize in working with gemstones. Their expertise is in cutting, shaping, and polishing precious stones. The more complicated the cutting required for a gemstone, the more skilled the lapidary required. For example, a facetted gemstone requires much more expertise than a cabochon (rounded stone with no facet edges).

A lapidary may go to school for training or learn as an apprentice. Precision and skill are the hallmarks of this profession and they require years to master.

Gemologists

Gemologists are trained to identify, grade, and assess gemstones. Education in gemology is available in some post secondary schools. But, certification is issued only after testing is completed successfully by a recognized institution such as the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (GEM-A) or the Gemology Institute of America (GIA).

A gemologist could seek a job outside of the industry but many choose to become jewellery professionals such as appraisers or gemstone suppliers.

Why it's Important to Speak to Jewellery Professionals

One of the benefits of working directly with one of these jewellery professionals is that you know they are an authority in their field. In a corporate retail jewellery space, most of the individuals you will encounter do not have the expertise or training of a professional. By speaking with a person with experience and training, you can be confident that you are receiving accurate information.

In addition to accurate information you can ensure that the piece you are making will be designed properly, using quality materials, and finished & set skillfully to last a lifetime.

In our experience, professionals in our industry love talking about jewellery so much that you will have a hard time getting them to stop! That is definitely true for us. We’d love to share our knowledge with you.

The post Your Guide to the Different Types of Jewellery Professionals first appeared on Suzanne Crudden Custom Jewellery.

Tips on Maximizing Your Custom Jewellery Budget

Suzanne Crudden — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 20:33:11 +0000

Recycling Option to Maximize your Custom Jewellery Budget

If you’ve worked with me before you’ll know that I’m passionate about reusing jewellery to create something new. Why take something else from the earth if we don’t have to? Also, by reusing high cost materials such as gold, platinum and diamonds, it is absolutely the best way to maximize your custom jewellery budget.

In addition to the obvious benefit to your budget, you are also able to transfer the sentimental value of the original piece into your new piece. And isn’t the sentimental value what jewellery is really all about?

I’ve written extensively on the how to’s and the faq’s of reusing your jewellery on this site and I encourage you to check out those pages if you’re interested in learning how to reuse your jewellery in an heirloom redesign.

Repair Options to Maximize your Custom Jewellery Budget

Perhaps you love the jewellery you already have but it has seen better days. Although some precious materials such as gold, platinum, diamonds and gemstones can be very durable, they are not indestructible.

Over time they will show their wear just as any other material. But the good news is that, in most cases, we can repair your precious pieces of jewellery to good as new condition! Below I talk about some of the most common ways to repair your heirloom pieces which will help you preserve their value without having to necessarily purchase any new materials.

Resizing

Sometimes an heirloom piece is perfect in every way except it doesn’t fit your finger. For rings in materials such as silver, gold or platinum with gemstones such as diamonds, rubies or sapphires we can easily change the size of your ring for you. The process requires soldering of the ring which means high heat must be applied to the materials. The materials I mentioned earlier are all able to take the high amount of heat required.

Unfortunately there are some gemstones that are unable to withstand the amount of heat needed to resize a ring. Gemstones such as pearls, opals, onyx, and turquoise will be destroyed by the high heat of a soldering torch. For other gemstones such as emerald or aquamarine the results are more unpredictable. Sometimes they can are able to endure the heat fine and sometimes the heat causes cracking or colour changes.

In cases with gemstones that are unable to withstand the heat of soldering we try to remove these stones from their settings before proceeding. This is usually not a problem with prong settings but we run in to trouble with bezel settings. In order to remove a stone from a bezel setting you have to destroy the setting. So if you wanted to resize a ring that had a bezel set fragile stone we’d likely have to remake the setting entirely.

Reshanking

I know, this term sounds slightly ominous. But, don’t worry, all reshanking means is removing the bottom portion of the ring “shank” and replacing it with a sturdier shank. Why would you want to do this?

Have you ever seen a ring that has had a long, happy life but only has a sliver of the ring shank remaining? This is because over time the gold in the ring gets slowly worn away by every day life. Activities such as opening doors, gardening, cooking, washing dishes, working out – all of these activities slowly remove tiny pieces of gold from your ring. So after decades what remains of the ring shank is a thin, worn band sometimes with a knife edge.

The good news is that, in most cases, we are able to remove the old, worn shank and replace it with a thicker, wider, stronger one. Once the reshanking is complete the ring is ready to be worn again for decades to come.

Retipping

Everyone should always pay attention to the condition of the claws or prongs of their ring, even if your ring is fairly new. The reason is that, just as the metal at the bottom of a ring is removed over time, the metal in the prongs will also wear over time. I’ve often seen many old rings with some of their prongs worn entirely away. Luckily the other three prongs had kept the stone in place.

So how do you know what to look for to make sure your prongs are in good order? When inspecting your prongs you’ll want to make sure that there is a good amount of metal still in place on the top of the prong. If the amount of metal has worn down to near the table of your stone you’ll want to consider retipping your prongs.

Retipping just means adding metal to your prongs to reinforce them and provide strength to keep your stone in place. Sometimes you’ll only need to retip one prong or sometimes multiple prongs. Ensuring your prongs are in good shape will give you worry free wear for years to come but it is still highly recommended to come in for an inspection every couple of years.

The other thing to consider with respect to prongs is that, from time to time, they need to be tightened. Over the course of the years your gemstone may become slightly dislodged from the seats in the prongs. Or the prongs themselves may have lifted a bit and need to be tamped down again. Another reason to come in for an inspection every couple of years!

Repolishing

Of course any of your pieces that you bring in for repair will be repolished again to new-like condition. Sometimes people don’t realize that the surface of their jewellery pieces can be repolished back to a high polish.

I’ve spoken to some clients who thought their old pieces were just “old” and that the metal in them could never shine again. Not true! We can refinish and polish your heirloom pieces and have them shining like new.

If you’re perfectly happy with your item of jewellery except it just doesn’t fit, seems fragile, broken or dull then maybe all it needs is a make-over to make it perfect. For the majority of jewellery, a repair cost will be much less than purchasing a new piece.

Refine to Maximize your Custom Jewellery Budget

I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention to the gold market but gold is at an all time high these days. This means that if you choose to refine your gold now you will receive a cash credit larger than in years past. What does refining mean and why would you choose to do it?

Refining is the process of taking your gold to a smelter where they determine the percentages of the different types of metal contained in your piece then give you a cash credit for the pure gold or platinum content only.

If a client chooses to work with me I offer the service of taking in their gold to refine for a credit that they can use toward their new piece. I have to stress here that taking in gold or platinum for refining is not my business. I only offer it as an option to my clients in order to maximize their budgets.

But why, you might ask, would you want to refine your gold if you can reuse it? Well, in some cases, reusing gold doesn’t work. For example, if you would like to have a white gold ring but only have yellow gold to reuse then we can’t actually change the colour of the gold. In this case we can refine the yellow gold and apply it as a credit toward to the new white gold project.

In the final analysis reusing your actual gold will always provide you with more value than refining your gold for credit. But refining is a good option when either reusing your metal isn’t possible or when you have more gold than you need for your project and would like to apply the excess as a credit toward your project.

Each of these methods, recycling your jewellery, repairing your jewellery or refining your jewellery will help to stretch your custom jewellery budget. In most cases you will only be paying for labour costs and not materials costs. And with the price of gold these days that’s going to save you a lot!

You know, when I was little my grandparents had an old fridge from the 1930’s in their basement that they used to keep extra food. When they passed away that old fridge was still going 80 years later. I grew up with the idea, as many of us did, that things should be built to last and when they failed they were worth repairing.

Somewhere along the way our culture shifted to this idea that newer is better. But now I’m encourage by the resurgence in craft and skilled workers emphasizing quality materials and products that are worth the cost of the labour involved in producing them.

While reusing your jewellery or repairing your jewellery does involve labour costs, those costs are worth it to preserve your pieces for the next generation. Whether they are in their original form and repaired or in a new form by being recycled.

The post Tips on Maximizing Your Custom Jewellery Budget first appeared on Suzanne Crudden Custom Jewellery.