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Jewellery Designer
As a jewellery designer, you create concepts, collections and products using your understanding of metals and materials, stones and gemstones and production methods. Then you establish costs and pricing for manufacture, whether you work for a company or as a freelance self-employed designer running your own business.
As a company employee, you design one-off bespoke commissions as well as ranges and collections that follow a house style. When you are self-employed, you maybe have more freedom to create your own designs.
Your day to day covers a good range of tasks:
Length of Training
1-2 years
Salary Expectations
£22,000-28,000
Qualification Requirements
Experience
Knowledge
Skills
Personal Attributes
Qualification Requirements
You have an HND, degree or MA in jewellery design or a related subject.
Role Also Called
Jewellery designer, Head of jewellery design, Senior jewellery designer, Head of product design
Meet the Jewellery Designer
Insights from jewellery designer, Emma Fathers, an award-winning designer working at Jessica Flinn Fine Jewellery.
Question
What advice would you give to somebody wanting to become a jewellery designer?
Answer
Experience is key! Being naturally creative lends itself to this sort of role, but without basic knowledge of jewellery, designing something that can translate from an idea to a real-life piece will be difficult. I knew I loved working with jewellery from my very first job in the industry, but I wanted to see what my true passions and skills were, so I’ve dabbled in different areas within the industry to hone my skills and learn as much as I could about all aspects of jewellery. I spent a lot of time at the bench in the workshop at my previous workplace and took any courses I was offered, including diamond grading and training with various watch brands. I even used my spare time to complete a silversmithing course at my local college in the evenings!
If you can work in a retail environment within the jewellery sector, whether customer-facing or behind the scenes, this will provide you with invaluable experience. Who knows where this could take you?
All experience will help you grow; just take every opportunity thrown your way. Finally, share your work and be proud of it. Don’t be scared to show your ideas and designs on Instagram or TikTok… you never know; the right person may just see it!
Question
Where did you train?
Answer
I didn’t go to university when I left school, as I had no idea what I wanted to do at that point! So, I started as an apprentice sales associate at Ernest Jones, gaining valuable customer experience and learning the basics of the jewellery world. From there, I then worked on the busy repairs counter at family-run jeweller HL Brown, which gave me a huge insight into the technical workings of jewellery.
Question
What is the best thing about your job?
Answer
I absolutely love having the creative freedom to showcase my designs! Especially if I’m given a particularly challenging brief… I enjoy researching different eras of jewellery styles throughout history to take inspiration from and adapt in my own way. I then create 2D designs showing the pieces from all angles to pitch to Jessica before passing these on to our CAD designer to get those final 3D renders once approved.
Question
What prompted you to become a jewellery designer?
Answer
Having always loved art & design throughout school and studying it for my GCSEs and A Levels, I always drew in my spare time and worked on commissions. After discovering my love for antique jewellery a few years later whilst working in a traditional high street jewellers, it felt like the most natural progression for me to combine my two passions into one – designing jewellery!
Question
What has been a career highlight?
Answer
Definitely winning an award last year at the Professional Jeweller Awards! I was presented with the Young Jewellery Designer of the Year 2022, and it was a fantastic feeling. It still doesn’t feel real… I’ve worked so hard to get here; there’s no stopping me now!
