Lots of people are fascinated with Jewelry and Jewelry Making. Just the adornment of Jewelry dates back to the beginning of time. Jewelry Design has always been a creative adventure that captivates many into life long careers.
Whether it's Carving Wax or Designing Great Pieces of Art, or if it's just in Fixing and Repairing Jewelry, millions of people have the desire to become a Jeweler, or to get involved in the Jewelry business. Keep in mind, when I'm talking about becoming a Jeweler, I'm not talking about owning a Jewelry Store, I'm talking about the guys in the back of the shop that actually Create, Repair, Fix and Design Rings, Pendants, Earrings from scratch! The Workers! The Goldsmiths! The Jewelers themselves.
So what is needed to become a Jeweler? What training is needed to become a Goldsmith or Wax Carver? How do you even get into the field of Jewelry Making and Jewelry Design?
Many Jewelers get into the field of Jewelry Creation... By having their friends and family drag them into it. For generations on end, Goldsmiths (Metal Workers) and Lapidarists (Gemstone and Diamond Cutters) have handed down their knowledge, traits and talents to their family and friends. Most Jewelers never strived to become a Jeweler, it just happened that way. The best way to learn is being taught from the ground up. Talented Jewelers can teach you everything there is to know about this wonderful profession.
Still, many do get their foot in the door with hands on training. (Plus a lot of perseverance and assertiveness.) All great Jewelers start out with the basics and work their way up the ladder.
So where does one begin?
You begin on the first rung. You begin with Polishing! You see, most new Jewelers are brought into the Jewelry shop to polish Jewelry. Once a Jeweler has created or repaired a fine piece of Jewelry, it gets professionally polished so it looks brand new again. This is where a Rookie steps in. They get this tedious polishing grunt work dumped on them. They're stuck on the polisher for hours on end making the Gold Shine and the Diamonds Dance. (You have to start somewhere!)
From there on, it's all watch, learn and practice. Usually Ring Sizings are the next step. Ring Sizings for the most part are the same thing over and over again. You're either sizing a ring up, or you're sizing a ring down.
So what's the first hard lesson a newbie learns? Read on...
