where should my son study to be a bench jeweler?
June 3, 2015 2:26 PM Subscribe
My son would like to become a bench jeweler. Now, the question is where to study?
My son is taking a jewelry class at a local metal studio and he would really like to continue his studies. North Bennet Street School is near us (MA), and he has also looked into the GIA graduate jeweler program in Carlsbad. He is leaning towards GIA because he feels that it is more practical. But we know there are other programs out there too. Where is the best place for him to learn practical, applicable skills that will get him a job at a jewelry store? Is there a certification process? Do certain programs carry more weight than others?
My son is taking a jewelry class at a local metal studio and he would really like to continue his studies. North Bennet Street School is near us (MA), and he has also looked into the GIA graduate jeweler program in Carlsbad. He is leaning towards GIA because he feels that it is more practical. But we know there are other programs out there too. Where is the best place for him to learn practical, applicable skills that will get him a job at a jewelry store? Is there a certification process? Do certain programs carry more weight than others?
My impression of the job after talking to a guy that's been doing it for three generations (the guy that made my fiancé's engagement ring, who gave me an after-hours tour of his facilities and answered a ton of my questions) is that you have to apprentice to learn the job.
I would suggest that he talk to a successful jeweler that makes their own jewelry, and ask them for advice. Maybe they'll know someone looking for an apprentice, maybe they'll be looking for an apprentice, or maybe they'll let your son know where to get training, if that's something they'd prefer.
Just make sure he doesn't go to some chain place like Jared's.
posted by oceanjesse at 6:20 PM on June 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
I would suggest that he talk to a successful jeweler that makes their own jewelry, and ask them for advice. Maybe they'll know someone looking for an apprentice, maybe they'll be looking for an apprentice, or maybe they'll let your son know where to get training, if that's something they'd prefer.
Just make sure he doesn't go to some chain place like Jared's.
posted by oceanjesse at 6:20 PM on June 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
The building where my wife works has an entire floor of wholesale jewelry stores, along with several jewelry repair places. From what I gather, the people who make and repair custom jewelry all started out as either apprentices or in the family business. Usually, these are people who grew up in the business, and their families have been in the business for generations - in some cases probably going back hundreds of years. The only "outsider" that I'm aware of is a woman who has a Fine Arts degree in metalwork and is working as an apprentice to one of the custom jewelry makers.
Like oceanjesse says, he needs to find someone that will take him on as an apprentice. Avoid the big box and chain mall stores, and look for a smaller place run by a family or one or two jewelers, and ask them for advice.
posted by ralan at 4:17 AM on June 4, 2015
Like oceanjesse says, he needs to find someone that will take him on as an apprentice. Avoid the big box and chain mall stores, and look for a smaller place run by a family or one or two jewelers, and ask them for advice.
posted by ralan at 4:17 AM on June 4, 2015
My dad is a bench jeweler, and has been for over 40 years now. He started as an apprentice when he was 15 years old with someone his family knew (and got paid cash under the table at the time).
Don't knock the chain stores. My dad is, frankly, one of the best-known jewelers around his area. He can, and has several times, literally walked into a store and asked "Can I work here?", and gets the job every time (during his times in and out of early retirement). He has also worked for himself and could pick up accounts just with a simple phone call and by worth of mouth.
posted by TinWhistle at 7:27 AM on June 4, 2015
Don't knock the chain stores. My dad is, frankly, one of the best-known jewelers around his area. He can, and has several times, literally walked into a store and asked "Can I work here?", and gets the job every time (during his times in and out of early retirement). He has also worked for himself and could pick up accounts just with a simple phone call and by worth of mouth.
posted by TinWhistle at 7:27 AM on June 4, 2015
Response by poster: Ok. I need some clarification. If you have to apprentice to get a job, then why do these schools exist? Are they scams? Would attending one be detrimental to his chances? Also, why should he avoid chain stores? Statistically, isn't he more likely to find a job at Kay or Jared? Why should he exclude them?
posted by Biblio at 11:33 AM on June 4, 2015
posted by Biblio at 11:33 AM on June 4, 2015
I can't speak to the validity of any of those schools, but if I were considering one I'd be sure to ask for a list of recent graduates that I could contact to see where they're working and what they're making, both in terms of money and jewelry.
As for the apprenticeship part of this - all I know is what I've learned talking to the people who work in the same building as my wife. None of the people I've talked to went to school for jewelry making and repair, they all apprenticed in the family business or with another jeweler. I guess maybe it depends on what kind of things your son wants to do - for example, the guy who owns the shop next to my wife's office can basically take your sketch on the back of a napkin and turn that into a finished piece of jewelry that is amazing to behold, all in the back room of his shop. He can also repair most any type of jewelry, and a lot of the other shops in the building send him stuff that their customers have brought in for repair. He learned this on the job, not at a school.
As for avoiding the chain stores, I'm just guessing that a smaller operation will have more flexibility than a big one in what he learns. Big chains do everything the same way everywhere, but a Mom and Pop can be more creative.
posted by ralan at 1:53 PM on June 4, 2015
As for the apprenticeship part of this - all I know is what I've learned talking to the people who work in the same building as my wife. None of the people I've talked to went to school for jewelry making and repair, they all apprenticed in the family business or with another jeweler. I guess maybe it depends on what kind of things your son wants to do - for example, the guy who owns the shop next to my wife's office can basically take your sketch on the back of a napkin and turn that into a finished piece of jewelry that is amazing to behold, all in the back room of his shop. He can also repair most any type of jewelry, and a lot of the other shops in the building send him stuff that their customers have brought in for repair. He learned this on the job, not at a school.
As for avoiding the chain stores, I'm just guessing that a smaller operation will have more flexibility than a big one in what he learns. Big chains do everything the same way everywhere, but a Mom and Pop can be more creative.
posted by ralan at 1:53 PM on June 4, 2015
I'm a sculpture MFA student with strong ties to the Jewelry/Metals department here. Jewelry is a bit anomalous because there is a strong fine arts component, a strong craft component, and a strong trade school component with an industry to support it. You can compare this with plumbing and electricity - trades without the art component; ceramics and fiber arts - craft-based arts without a strong industry around them; and fashion design and architecture - employable design/fine-arts skills without the craft component.
From what I understand, bench-work is more of a craft than an art - it requires technique and craftsmanship, but not necessarily creativity. Because of this, a lot of the workers in the field learn from apprenticeships, with occasional people coming in from fine arts backgrounds. I know that one of my teachers has crossed back and forth between art jewelry and jewelry store jewelry over the years - she's been able to do this because of strong technical competence which art schools don't necessarily demand, but she also didn't like bench-work because it left her too tired to work on her own creative work (and I've heard this complaint from other metalsmiths).
If your son is interested in the creative side of things, bench jewelry may not be his thing. If he's looking for a more of a trade, and has taken to this type of trade, over being an electrician, for instance, then it might be perfect. Either way, I don't think an educational program would hurt (beyond the tuition costs, and North Bennett is expensive) - he would learn technical skills from capable people, and it would probably give him more breadth than he'd get otherwise - it just might not be the most direct path to a career. If the goal is employment as soon as possible, you shoul spend time on job websites (like Indeed or LinkedIn) to see what requirements there are for the bench jeweler job postings. It may pay for him to talk to a local jewelry store, get a couple of years of experience there, then move someplace like New York, which is more of a center for this sort of thing, to continue building experience.
posted by taltalim at 4:56 PM on June 4, 2015
From what I understand, bench-work is more of a craft than an art - it requires technique and craftsmanship, but not necessarily creativity. Because of this, a lot of the workers in the field learn from apprenticeships, with occasional people coming in from fine arts backgrounds. I know that one of my teachers has crossed back and forth between art jewelry and jewelry store jewelry over the years - she's been able to do this because of strong technical competence which art schools don't necessarily demand, but she also didn't like bench-work because it left her too tired to work on her own creative work (and I've heard this complaint from other metalsmiths).
If your son is interested in the creative side of things, bench jewelry may not be his thing. If he's looking for a more of a trade, and has taken to this type of trade, over being an electrician, for instance, then it might be perfect. Either way, I don't think an educational program would hurt (beyond the tuition costs, and North Bennett is expensive) - he would learn technical skills from capable people, and it would probably give him more breadth than he'd get otherwise - it just might not be the most direct path to a career. If the goal is employment as soon as possible, you shoul spend time on job websites (like Indeed or LinkedIn) to see what requirements there are for the bench jeweler job postings. It may pay for him to talk to a local jewelry store, get a couple of years of experience there, then move someplace like New York, which is more of a center for this sort of thing, to continue building experience.
posted by taltalim at 4:56 PM on June 4, 2015
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