Curriculum

Jewelry Designer Course Curriculum

Penn Foster’s Jewelry designer course curriculum covers fundamental topics such as ring sizing, molding, chain resizing, common jewelry store repairs, and more. Penn Foster also provides the equipment you can use for jewelry making, including assorted wires and solders, safety goggles and unlined nitrile gloves, and a two-speed rotary tool with bristle brush accessories.

Jewelry Design and Repair

Career Diploma

10 months

As low as $59/mo

Full Program Overview

1-800-275-4410 (9AM - 9PM ET)

Jewelry Designer Course Curriculum

7 courses
22.9 continuing education units (CEUs)
22 exams
4 graded projects

Estimated completion time:

Fast track = 10 months
Average time = 12 months

With Penn Foster, you can learn at whatever pace works best for you. Some learners will be more comfortable moving faster, and dedicating more time, and the fast track estimate will apply to them. The average track will apply to most learners who can dedicate a few hours per week to completing their coursework. The estimated completion times are based on completion times for learners enrolled in this program from May 2021 - April 2022, excluding withdrawals.

Succeed by learning how to use your Penn Foster program.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- Understand how to use your Student Portal.
- Access the Penn Foster Community and use it to find answers.
- Connect with Penn Foster on various social media sites.
Explore the components of a bench jeweler’s work area.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- Demonstrate how to construct a portable work area.
- Explain the parts and purpose of a flexible shaft machine.
- Identify the types and sizes of sawblades, files, and drills.
- Demonstrate the proper procedures for sawing, filing, and drilling.
- Identify the various types of pliers and hammers and explain their uses.
- Demonstrate how bench jewelers use mandrels, anvils, vises, and magnifiers
Get an overview of the history and development of the art of jewelry through the ages.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- Explain how metals are used in making coins, industrial items, and jewelry.
- Demonstrate techniques used to mix gold and silver with other metals to produce varying degrees of hardness and color.
- Understand the effects of heating and cooling on jewelry metals as you learn how to make metals harder or softer.
- Demonstrate the proper procedure for cleaning and finishing techniques, including filing, sanding, and polishing.
Learn how to use solder to create or repair jewelry.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- Identify the different methods and types of fuels and torches that can be used to solder.
- Recognize neutral and oxidizing flame characteristics.
- Demonstrate how to repair bracelets, chains, and other jewelry items.
This lesson will teach you how to resize different types of rings.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- Understand the different techniques and approaches to sizing rings.
- Identify the tasks and problems involved in ring sizing.
- Demonstrate how to size simple bands, rings containing stones, and special rings for people with arthritis.
- Understand how to properly use a mechanical ring sizer to size rings.
In this lesson, you’ll create a chain-link bracelet!

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- Create and solder links.
- Fabricate jump rings and solder them to other bracelet parts.
- Sand and finish the completed bracelet.
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use liquid metal alloy to create jewelry pieces.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- Create functional models out of wax.
- Properly invest items to be cast.
- Understand the vacuum and centrifugal casting processes.
- Recognize and correct casting defects.
Learn how to use molding to create unique pieces of jewelry.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- Understand the purpose of molding, including its advantages and disadvantages.
- Properly create and pack a rubber mold.
- Inject the mold with wax to create a reproduction.
- Mold an object using liquid silicone.
- Explore the steps involved in electroplating.
Create a stone-set pendant.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- Learn various wax modeling techniques.
- Carve a basic wax model for casting.
- Create a casting from metal.
- Set a gemstone in the finished pendant.
Get insider tips on how to develop your own home-based jewelry business.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- Assess your personal and professional goals.
- Create a business plan based on those goals.
- Know how to register your business and obtain a sales tax license.
- Understand methods of marketing and selling your jewelry.
- Recognize how to set up your home office.
Get tips on personal selling and basic selling techniques.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- Recognize the types of retailers and industry trends.
- Know how to identify a target market.
- Identify the characteristics of a retail jewelry business.
- Understand how store location, decor, layout, and displays can enhance a business’s image and increase sales.
- Understand the basic functions of all retail operations.
In this lesson, you’ll learn the characteristics of diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and other gemstones.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- Identify, grade, and evaluate popular gemstones.
- Understand how diamonds are formed, mined, marketed, cut, and graded.
Learn the steps involved in making common repairs.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- Understand how to receive jewelry for repair and document jewelry items.
- String pearls and beads.
- Identify the basic parts of a quartz watch.
- Change watch batteries.
- Repair eyeglass frames using the proper solders
Make a bezel-set onyx ring.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- Form a band from flat stock.
- Measure, form, and solder a bezel from bezel wire.
- Secure a stone in the bezel.
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to set stones.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- Identify the tools and burns used for setting stones.
- Understand how a prong setting is made.
- Recognize the steps needed to make any kind of stone setting.
- Know the characteristics of an effective setting.
Explore the fascinating principles and elements of basic jewelry design.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- Understand the parameters of jewelry design.
- Sketch your design ideas with paper and pencils.
- Recognize the aspects of three-dimensional objects.
- Know the types of settings and stones.

Note: We reserve the right to change program content and materials when it becomes necessary.