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Jeweller & Goldsmith

Skilled Trades

Design, fabricate, adjust, repair, or appraise jewelry, gold, silver, other precious metals, or gems.

You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.

Creative Arts & Media

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Clean and polish metal items and jewelry pieces, using jewelers' tools, polishing wheels, and chemical baths.
  2. 2Smooth soldered joints and rough spots, using hand files and emery paper, and polish smoothed areas with polishing wheels or buffing wire.
  3. 3Create jewelry from materials such as gold, silver, platinum, and precious or semiprecious stones.
  4. 4Cut and file pieces of jewelry such as rings, brooches, bracelets, and lockets.
  5. 5Examine assembled or finished products to ensure conformance to specifications, using magnifying glasses or precision measuring instruments.
  6. 6Make repairs, such as enlarging or reducing ring sizes, soldering pieces of jewelry together, and replacing broken clasps and mountings.
  7. 7Compute costs of labor and materials to determine production costs of products and articles.
  8. 8Position stones and metal pieces, and set, mount, and secure items in place, using setting and hand tools.
  9. 9Grade stones based on their color, perfection, and quality of cut.
  10. 10Select and acquire metals and gems for designs.
  11. 11Buy and sell jewelry, or serve as agents between buyers and sellers.
  12. 12Shape and straighten damaged or twisted articles by hand or using pliers.
  13. 13Determine appraised values of diamonds and other gemstones based on price guides, market fluctuations, and stone grades and rarity.
  14. 14Create new jewelry designs and modify existing designs, using computers as necessary.
  15. 15Plate articles such as jewelry pieces and watch dials, using silver, gold, nickel, or other metals.
  16. 16Record the weights and processing times of finished pieces.
  17. 17Construct preliminary models of wax, metal, clay, or plaster, and form sample castings in molds.
  18. 18Soften metal to be used in designs by heating it with a gas torch and shape it, using hammers and dies.
  19. 19Write or modify design specifications such as the metal contents and weights of items.
  20. 20Pierce and cut open designs in ornamentation, using hand drills and scroll saws.
  21. 21Research and analyze reference materials, and consult with interested parties to develop new products or modify existing designs.
  22. 22Mark, engrave, or emboss designs on metal pieces such as castings, wire, or jewelry, following specifications.
  23. 23Lay out designs on metal stock, and cut along markings to fabricate pieces used to cast metal molds.
  24. 24Design and fabricate molds, models, and machine accessories, and modify hand tools used to cast metal and jewelry pieces.
  25. 25Pour molten metal alloys or other materials into molds to cast models of jewelry.
  26. 26Cut designs in molds or other materials to be used as models in the fabrication of metal and jewelry products.
  27. 27Rout out locations where parts are to be joined to items, using routing machines.
  28. 28Weigh, mix, and melt metal alloys or materials needed for jewelry models.
  29. 29Anneal precious metal objects such as coffeepots, tea sets, and trays in gas ovens for prescribed times to soften metal for reworking.
  30. 30Rotate molds to distribute alloys and to prevent formation of air pockets.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Artist
  • Caster
  • Chaser
  • Setter
  • Arborer
  • Crafter
  • Facetor
  • Girdler
  • Jeweler
  • Pronger

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. Typical entry

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationHigh school diploma

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

Visual Art (PSV)Draws directly on Design — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Technical Comm. GraphicsDraws directly on Design — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Engineering DrawingDraws directly on Design — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Design & Technology (RBT)Draws directly on Production and Processing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Mechanical Engineering StudiesDraws directly on Production and Processing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Customer and Personal Service86%
  • Design81%

    Visual Art (PSV)Technical Comm. GraphicsEngineering Drawing

  • Production and Processing77%

    Design & Technology (RBT)Mechanical Engineering Studies

  • Sales and Marketing76%

    BusinessEconomics

  • Administration and Management75%

    BusinessEconomics

  • Mechanical68%

    Mechanical Engineering StudiesPhysicsDesign & Technology (RBT)

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
  • Leading or coordinating othersVery high
  • Handling conflict situationsOften
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Time spent sittingMost of the time

Where this job is heading

Newer tasks O*NET has flagged for this occupation, a hint at how the role is changing.

  • Measure, cut, and file pieces of jewelry, such as rings, brooches, bracelets, and lockets.

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

4%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
See pay for a related career: Welder

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Asasi / Foundation

One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.

12 months

Diploma

Skill-first qualification. Work after, or enter degree Year 2. Polytechnics keep it affordable.

2.5–3 years

Related careers

If this interests you, these are worth a look too.

About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org

Programmes that lead here

Programmes from the official UPU (KPT) and MQA catalogues whose field of study typically leads to this career. Matched by field, not a job guarantee.

Public universities (UPU)

Private institutions (MQA-accredited)

Search the programme catalogue