[Jewelry making - Article 00817] - Re: [Orchid] GIA Grad. Jeweler Diploma...Worth it???

[Michael R. Mathews Sr.]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========


    Hello Warren: I was hoping that someone who had actually gone through
    the GIA jewelry training course would have commented. I, like
    everyone else that has replied to your question so far, have no
    information about the program. I am in the GG homestudy course and
    think it is very good. When you start to talk about a jewelry
    training course you must realize that there is no school that can
    teach you all that you need to know to do the job. The schools are
    going to teach you basic use of tools and technique. Also you must
    decide what it is you are interested in doing. There is a very large
    difference between being a bench jeweler and a jewelry
    designer/maker. Knowing how to make wax patterns and cast and polish
    and even set a stone is very different from being a bench jeweler.
    This course at GIA is to help you become a Bench Jeweler. Here is the
    course description (Quoted Below) 

    "GIA's On Campus Jewelry Design and Manufacturing Arts programs and
    classes provide intensive hands-on instruction in the basic bench
    skills employers require. Designed to prepare students for real-world
    jewelry design and manufacturing our core curriculum offers practice
    in the work that designers and bench jewelers encounter daily. You
    work with the same tools and materials professionals use on the job.
    And develop skills and confidence through repeated and supervised
    practice." 

    After looking at the GIA site and reading the course description I
    think that $13K for a 6 month course is pricey. Maybe that price
    includes room and board and tools and the metals used and an
    afternoon snack and beer? The course at the Texas Institute of
    Jewelry Technology at Paris Junior College in Paris, Texas was about
    14 months long back in 1982. It was a work at your own pace type
    program. I called recently and the tuition is like $5K for the whole
    thing including tools. I know that this doesn't help you because
    Paris is far from you but just as a comparison. When I graduated
    from trade school at Paris I could saw a straight
    line,solder,cast,make molds and cut them, set stones etc. I felt like
    I was prepared to be an apprentice. When I got a job in a real
    jewelry store trade shop I was floored by the amount of repairs that
    I had never done before. That is why it is so important to work for
    someone who can show you how to do the things in the real world. Also
    remember that it might not be so much what you learn at that school
    as who you meet there. You might learn some basics and find a job
    apprenticing through someone there. The big question you must ask
    yourself is do you want to make jewelry or do you want to repair
    jewelry or both? 

Michael R. Mathews Sr.   Victoria,Texas   USA


____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________