Mark the cut on rough stone
Cutters study a rough stone's shape and flaws before marking a cut that keeps valuable material.
Career profile
Gem and Diamond Worker
Gem and diamond workers cut and polish gemstones, or examine stones and grade their quality.
You might choose where to cut a rough stone or map tiny marks inside a diamond. Success takes close looking and steady, precise hands.
A day in the life
Polish facets on the wheel
You lock the stone in a holder, polish it on the wheel, then check facet angles under magnification.
Plot clarity features on a diagram
Graders plot features inside and on the surface of a magnified diamond, then rate clarity from them.
Act on a diamond screener's flag
Once a screener flags a diamond, arrange tests for treatment or lab growth before the report is final.
Quick facts
Practical training or gemology school
United States
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Compare pay for the specific specialty, experience level, and location.
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Search openings under gem cutter, diamond grader, and gemologist to see the different kinds of work.
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Practical training or gemology schoolLearning to shape stones and learning to identify and grade them are different training paths.
Pay
Not displayedCompare pay for the specific specialty, experience level, and location.
Outlook
Not displayedSearch openings under gem cutter, diamond grader, and gemologist to see the different kinds of work.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy noticing small differences.
- You like work that demands steady hands.
- You can revisit an observation when another grader questions it.
Things to weigh
- Much of the work can involve sitting, close inspection, and deadlines.
- Cutting jobs involve moving machinery and protective equipment; careful handling is part of the work.
Where AI may help
Systems can compare diamond images with grading data and calculate clarity grades. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has developed this use of artificial intelligence.
What people still lead
Graders also examine stones, investigate signs of treatment, and check one another’s judgments.
What we can’t predict yet
How much routine grading moves to automated systems—and how much work shifts toward investigating difficult stones—will depend on the stones and the laboratory.
Pay in context
Earnings
National figures below cover jewelers and precious stone and metal workers together, not gem and diamond workers separately.
National pay context
In May 2025, the broader occupation’s median was $52,540 a year, about $25.26 an hour. The lowest-paid 10% earned under $35,580; the highest-paid 10% earned over $87,540. These are wage thresholds, not career stages. Self-employed earnings are excluded.
Pay by workplace
For the same broader group, annual medians were $53,990 in jewelry, luggage, and leather goods retail and $48,800 in jewelry and silverware manufacturing.
A gemologist hiring range
A Staff Gemologist role in Secaucus, New Jersey, advertised $22–$28 an hour when checked October 4, 2026. It requires a Graduate Gemologist qualification and jewelry-product experience. This is a hiring budget for that role, not a trainee wage or national average.
Openings despite a decline
The broader occupation is projected to shrink 3% during 2025–2035, with about 3,700 openings annually from workers leaving the occupation or labor force.
Getting started
Learn alongside a working gemologist
- What the route involves
- Work in jewelry retail while learning from an experienced gemologist. Build technical knowledge alongside customer service and sales work.
- What it can lead to
- You gain workplace experience with gems and customers while developing skills beyond sales.
- What to check
- High school completion is typical preparation. Confirm that the employer actually provides gemology training; a sales position alone does not guarantee it.
Study gem identification and grading
- What the route involves
- In GIA’s campus Graduate Gemologist program, practice identifying and grading stones with laboratory instruments. Applicants need a high school diploma or equivalent, must be at least 18, and need proficiency in the language of instruction.
- What it can lead to
- Completing the program earns the Graduate Gemologist diploma and develops the technical foundation for gem-evaluation work.
- What to check
- This prepares you to evaluate gems. Becoming a cutter also requires practical cutting and polishing training.
Train at a faceting machine
Two-week intensive at Brooklyn Metal Works.
- What the route involves
- Apply to Brooklyn Metal Works’ Faceting Bootcamp, which accepts students with no previous stone-cutting experience. Learn to shape stones, attach them to holders, and cut and polish their flat faces with a faceting machine.
- What it can lead to
- You leave with four stones you cut, including a recut stone, and a completion certificate—a practical foundation for developing your cutting work.
- What to check
- This tuition-based course supplies machines, tools, and gems. It is gemstone-cutting preparation, not a guarantee of employment or a diamond-cutting qualification.
First decide whether you want to shape stones or evaluate them. Gemology education focuses on identification and grading; cutting requires practice with cutting and polishing equipment.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Make your observations dependable
After entering evaluation work, learn the workplace’s grading process and record observations clearly enough for another grader to check.
Handle less familiar stones
Build your ability to recognize treatments and imitations, use more identification instruments, and spot cases that need advanced testing.
Check quality or train graders
With deeper laboratory experience, you may move into quality assurance or teach new graders how to apply the same standards consistently.
Where you can work
Independent grading laboratory
You work within a repeatable examination process, with controlled viewing conditions and other graders checking findings. Accurate records travel with each stone through the laboratory.
- Indoors
- Lab
Jewelry retailer’s gemology team
Stone inspection shares the day with inventory records, supplier orders, and requests from sales staff. You help find suitable gems for purchases rather than spending the whole day producing grading reports.
- Indoors
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Compare two enlarged photographs of cut gemstones. Sketch their outlines and mark the flat faces and visible surface features. Write a description that would let someone tell the photos apart. Notice whether patient observation and precise description hold your attention.
Stay safe: Use this to explore your interest, not to identify, grade, or price a real gemstone from a photograph.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. 51-9071.06 — Gem and Diamond Workers. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Gemological Institute of America. Graduate Gemologist Program. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Gemological Institute of America. Admissions — Carlsbad. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Gemological Institute of America. How GIA Grades Diamonds. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Gemological Institute of America. AI to Revolutionize Diamond Clarity Grading at GIA. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Brilliant Earth. Staff Gemologist — Secaucus, NJ. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Gemological Institute of America. Meet Our Online Education Faculty. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Brooklyn Metal Works. Faceting Bootcamp. Accessed 2026-10-04.