Gem and Diamond Workers Career, Salary and Skills
Gem and Diamond Workers have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $52,540 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 22,440. Wage data is published for 137 locations.
Occupation description
Fabricate, finish, or evaluate the quality of gems and diamonds used in jewelry or industrial tools.
O*NET code
51-9071.06
Job zone
3
Typical education
Not recorded
Experience
Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
National salary and employment
Median annual
$52,540
Hourly median
$25.26
Employment
22,440
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
$35,580
10th
$39,520
25th
$52,540
Median
$69,810
75th
$87,540
90th
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Quality Control Analysis | 3.38 | 4.00 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Monitoring | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Active Listening | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Speaking | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Writing | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Mathematics | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Active Learning | 2.75 | 2.75 |
Typical tasks
- Identify and document stones' clarity characteristics, using plot diagrams.
- Estimate wholesale and retail value of gems, following pricing guides, market fluctuations, and other relevant economic factors.
- Examine gems during processing to ensure accuracy of angles and positions of cuts or bores, using magnifying glasses, loupes, or shadowgraphs.
- Examine diamonds or gems to ascertain the shape, cut, and width of cut stones, or to select the cuts that will result in the biggest, best quality stones.
- Examine gem surfaces and internal structures, using polariscopes, refractometers, microscopes, and other optical instruments, to differentiate between stones, to identify rare specimens, or to detect flaws, defects, or peculiarities affecting gem values.
- Advise customers and others on the best use of gems to create attractive jewelry items.
- Locate and mark drilling or cutting positions on stones or dies, using diamond chips and power hand tools.
- Assign polish, symmetry, and clarity grades to stones, according to established grading systems.
Technology
- Business accounting software
- Gem identification databases
- GemCad
- Inventory tracking software
- Jewelry design software
- Spectrophotometer analysis software
- Web browser software
Gem and Diamond Workers salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Gem and Diamond Workers Salary in New York, NYMedian $61,360 · Employment 4,440
- Gem and Diamond Workers Salary in NYMedian $61,720 · Employment 4,300
- Gem and Diamond Workers Salary in CAMedian $60,790 · Employment 2,300
- Gem and Diamond Workers Salary in TXMedian $47,590 · Employment 1,810
- Gem and Diamond Workers Salary in Los Angeles, CAMedian $61,150 · Employment 1,190
- Gem and Diamond Workers Salary in FLMedian $51,470 · Employment 1,070
- Gem and Diamond Workers Salary in MAMedian $51,060 · Employment 830
- Gem and Diamond Workers Salary in NJMedian $59,480 · Employment 780
- Gem and Diamond Workers Salary in NCMedian $55,420 · Employment 770
- Gem and Diamond Workers Salary in PAMedian $54,880 · Employment 760
- Gem and Diamond Workers Salary in Providence, RIMedian $48,800 · Employment 710
- Gem and Diamond Workers Salary in ILMedian $54,990 · Employment 610
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Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.