The Best Jewelry Design Schools

Jewelry Design is a ltitle more niche than other design subjects covered at DHS, so it can be harder to find useful information in order to inform your choice of Jewelry design education.

Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers use a variety of common and specialized hand tools and equipment to design and manufacture new pieces of jewelry; cut, set, and polish gem stones; and repair or adjust rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and other jewelry. Jewelers usually specialize in one or more of these areas and may work for large jewelry-manufacturing firms, for small retail jewelry shops, or as owners of their own businesses. Regardless of the type of work done or the work setting, jewelers require a high degree of skill, precision, and attention to detail.

Job Outlook (US Department of Labor)

Moderate competition is expected for skilled positions, and strong competition is expected for lower skilled manufacturing jobs. New jewelers also will be needed to replace those who retire or who leave the occupation for other reasons. When master jewelers retire, they take with them years of experience that require substantial time and financial resources to replace. Many employers have difficulty finding and retaining jewelers with the right skills and the necessary knowledge. Some technological advances have made jewelry making more efficient; however, many tasks cannot be fully automated. Jewelry work is a labor-intensive process that requires excellent handiwork

Read also:

• Top 10 Industrial / Product Design Schools in the World
• 10 Good Reasons to Study Jewelry Design

Top 10 Jewelry Design Schools in the World 2016

1. Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester NY, USA

Rochester Institute of Technology ‘RIT’ is one of the oldest universities in the United States, founded in 1829. The College of Imaging Arts & Sciences offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts, B.F.A – Metals and Jewelry Design and a Master of Fine Arts M.F.A within its School for American Crafts Department which also has Ceramics, Furniture Design and Crafts programs. The school is internationally recognized with a learning environment that focuses on both the concepts and practical techniquies of metalsmithing and design.

Students the opportunity to learn about hollowware, jewelry, sculpture, and furniture within the metals environment.The school also focuses on preparing students for life after graduation by teaching core skills such as soldering, stone setting, silversmithing, forging, fabrication and casting. The school also gives students the opportunity to study 3D design and concept drawing. The school maintains close connections with industry and creative leaders with invited guest speakers from the field conducting discussions in topics such as design, studio management, gallery relations, professional practices and technical and aesthetic issues. Students may participate in fild trips to museums, artists’ studios, and art centers.

Amanda White : Senior Thesis : RIT

The program enhances students’ drawing and rendering skills and develops their design ideas and artistic methods. The final year of the program involves students presenting their work in a senior exhibition. By the time students graduate they will have build a portfolio and a resume to showcase for potential creative projects and to present to potential employers.

In the 2 year Master of Fine Arts program students participate in a residency program at the School of American Crafts, a community of creatives with students collaborating with experts and specialists.

2. Istituto Lorenzo De Medici – The LdM School of Design, Florence, Italy

The LdM School of Design ‘LdM’ was founded in 1973 in Florence, and is Italy’s best established international institution of higher learning. LdM has its main campus in Florence, and additional campuses in Rome, Tuscany and Venice. LdM hosts over 2800 international students each year from all over the world.

LdM offers an artistic and cultural reference program for students who want to pursue their degree in the field of Jewelry Design. A variety of jewellery-making techniques will be taught by experienced designers. Jewelry students learn to drill, file, weld and shape materials, before polishing and setting precious and semi-precious stones into finished products. Students at LdM learn every step in the jewellery-making process, ensuring they have the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in creative and professional endeavours.

Students are encouraged to develop their own style using metal as well as alternative materials and jewels to create rings, earrings, bracelets. LdM is one of the few schools in the world to teach students the to create relief works, a centuries-old Florentine traditional craft. Students at LdM learn every step in the jewelry-making process, both in the classroom and in the workshop from design to finished product.

It’s also worth checking out LdM’s Jewelry Design Blog

3. Birmingham City University, Birmingham, United Kindgom

4. Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London

Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London offers a 3 year Bachelor of Arts (Hons) – Jewellery Design at its College based near Kings Cross / St Pancras in central London. Students have the opportunity to acquire a range of skills in hollowware, jewellery, sculpture, and furniture within the metals environment. The College encourages innovation and original creativity which is fostered and displayed through project work, including projects undertaken with industry names such as Cool Diamonds, Swarovski, Nissan, Avakian, Topshop, Chow Tai Fook, Legle.

In 2015, a small number of students from the Jewellery Design major were selected to work with jewellery designer and retailer Theo Fennell. Each student was presented with a stone and given the task of using the stone within a piece of jewellery. Students selected the materials to use and worked with craftsmen to bring the designs to life and on to market where the final pieces were put on sale in the firm’s main store.

Lola-Lou : University of the Arts London CSM

The College operates exchange opportunities with Geneva, Switzerland and Pforzheim, Germany during year two of the degree and has held study trips to Amsterdam and Munich to gain insight into jewellery design in the creative and commercial world. The program also benefits from shared resources and collaboration with other design programs run at the Central Saint Martins College.