A jewelry metal worker—sometimes called a bench jeweler, metalsmith, or goldsmith/silversmith depending on their specialty—is a craftsperson who creates, repairs, and alters jewelry using metals like gold, silver, platinum, copper, and sometimes more exotic materials like titanium or palladium.

Here's what they typically do:

Design & Fabrication

• Create jewelry from scratch based on sketches, digital models, or custom requests.

• Cut, shape, and solder metal components together.

• Use tools like saws, files, torches, and hammers to form and join metals.

Repairs & Alterations

• Resize rings, replace clasps, fix broken chains or prongs, and clean old jewelry.

• Restore antique or vintage pieces.

Metalworking Techniques

• Soldering: Joining metal pieces using a filler metal.

• Casting: Pouring molten metal into molds to form pieces.

• Forging: Shaping metal using hammers and heat.

• Annealing: Heating metal to soften it for shaping.

Detailing & Finishing

• Polishing and buffing for that final shine.

• Adding surface textures like matte, hammered, or brushed finishes.

• Sometimes doing delicate work like filigree or granulation (tiny metal beads).

Skills Needed:

• Precision and attention to detail

• Steady hands and good vision (often they work under magnification)

• Patience—some tasks are incredibly intricate

• Knowledge of metallurgy and stone-setting techniques

Some metal workers focus only on handmade, one-of-a-kind pieces, while others work in production settings where they make pieces in larger quantities. Many also work closely with customers or designers to bring visions to life.