Jewelry Manufacturing Arts Course Descriptions

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Lab Classes

• Basic Repair and Setting Lab JMA320L  

  Guided by GIA experts, acquire basic repair and setting through hands-on training at your own fully equipped workbench. Learn to recognize and evaluate quality craftsmanship; identify and set basic mounting styles; size rings, tighten stones, and re-tip, and replace prongs; assemble and solder heads and shanks; and work with white and yellow karat gold, as well as sterling silver.

  What you earn:	Letter of Completion
  Duration:	5 days (35 hours)
  Tuition:	$840 (Carlsbad)
  Required Books and Materials:	$40
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• Intermediate Repair and Setting Lab JMA340L  

  Prerequisite: JMA320L or previous bench experience including basic stone setting and soldering

  Upgrade your bench skills. Through personalized instruction, integrated text and video plus practice at your own workbench, you'll learn intermediate and advanced techniques for assembling, gemstone setting, and remounting stones in intricate styles. You'll also practice setting fancy shapes. GIA provides all tools and materials for you to work with, including white and yellow karat gold and sterling silver.

  What you earn:	Letter of Completion
  Duration:	5 days (35 clock hours)
  Tuition:	$840 (Carlsbad)
  Required Books:	$40
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• Advanced Stone Setting Lab JMA365L  

  Prerequisite: Previous stone setting experience

  Through one-on-one instruction and hands-on practice, get the skills and confidence you need to accept more challenging stone setting projects. GIA provides all the tools and materials while you work with karat gold and sterling silver at your own workbench. Get real-world experience by practicing a variety of settings, including channel, flush, and pavé. This class is designed for those with some background in setting and focuses on practicing advanced techniques.

  What you earn:	Letter of Completion
  Duration:	5 days or 10 nights (35 hours)
  Tuition:	$880 (Carlsbad)
  Required Books and Materials:	$85
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• CAD/CAM for Jewelry Lab JMA350L  

  Discover the ease and time efficiency of Matrix, a 3-D computer-aided design (CAD) software program designed specifically for the jewelry industry. Through automated builder menus, learn to pre-calculate dimensions and see designs generated automatically. You'll learn how programmed specifications can create custom designs in less time. Matrix will provide students basic fundamentals and jewelry specific design tools to further enhance their experience.

  What you earn:	Letter of Completion
  Duration:	10 days (60 hours)
  Tuition:	$2,100 (Carlsbad and New York)
  Required Books and Materials:	$125
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• Casting Lab JMA353L  

  Take your designs and wax models and cast them in metal.  Acquire a range of new skills including wax mold injection techniques like spruing, treeing, and investing.  You’ll learn casting by centrifugal, vacuum, and chamber methods using silver and platinum, and induction vacuum casting in an oxygen-free atmosphere.  You will also learn how to make rubber molds.

  What you earn:	Letter of Completion
  Duration:	10 days (60 hours)
  Tuition:	$1,450 (Carlsbad)
  Required Books and Materials:	$110
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• Comprehensive Wax Techniques Lab JMA360L  

  Gain all the skills required to set up and operate a wax modeling shop for jewelry making. Learn the practical application of wax modeling through video presentations, project text materials, and personalized instruction.  Lay out ring, earring, brooch, and bracelet link projects using various soft and hard carving waxes.  Learn techniques such as pattern-transfer, contouring, layering, hollowing, precision carving and tool modification.  Inject soft wax into rubber molds to modify, reconstruct, size, and finish injected wax projects, along with all the proper spruing and casting procedures.  Perfect your wax carving and modeling skills, including wax model making, wax modification, and wax finishing.  By the time you complete the class, you’ll understand how to interpret a design and translate it into wax.

  What you earn:	Letter of Completion
  Duration:	7 weeks (210 hours)
  Tuition:	$4,150 (Carlsbad)
  Required Books and Materials:	$120
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• Laser Welding Lab JMA315L  

  Breakthrough laser technology has transformed the world of jewelry manufacturing arts. Through personalized instruction and hands-on training, learn to skillfully utilize advanced laser welders with pulse profiling. Encounter real-world applications such as sizing, dealing with porosity, and re-tipping. You will be provided with all course materials and a jewelry welding wire starter kit. We encourage you to bring your own pieces to work on so that you can take your work with you.

  What you earn:	Letter of Completion
  Duration:	2 days (14 hours)
  Tuition:	$535 (Carlsbad)
  Required Books and Materials:	$215
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• Mold Making Lab JMA325L  

  Learn the process of making rubber molds from metal masters using vulcanized rubber and room temperature vulcanization (RTV).  Learn how to cut various types of molds ranging from simple traditional designs to complex contemporary ones.

  What you earn:	Letter of Completion
  Duration:	5 days (30 hours)
  Tuition:	$800 (Carlsbad)
  Required Books and Materials:	$100
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• Working with Wax Lab JMA345L  

  Learn to make original wax models and offer your clients custom manufacturing services. Through personalized instruction, integrated video, text, and hands-on training, learn precise wax carving techniques. Work on projects designed to give you a wide range of wax carving skills. Practice carving various ring styles and preparing wax items for casting. Gain expertise with professional wax carving tools and instruments.

  What you earn:	Letter of Completion
  Duration:	4 days or 8 nights (28 hours)
  Tuition:	$800 (Carlsbad)
  Required Books and Materials:	$25
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• Comprehensive CAD/CAM for Jewelry JMA400  

  In this comprehensive seven-week course, you'll develop the skills necessary to create designs and share them with customers on the spot. By graduation, you'll have a professional level of skill in the use of state-of-the-art jewelry related software - Rhinoceros 3-D Design, Matrix 3-D Jewelry Design, Flamingo Rendering and V-Ray Rendering.  You'll learn to take jewelry design from concepts to photo-realistic renderings and finally to wax models ready for casting using a four-axis mill. 

  You'll practice designing jewelry on your own computer screen where you can make modifications in seconds.  Practically eliminating the expensive "trial-and-error" stage of design and manufacturing,  you'll learn to use computer-aided design (CAD) software which dramatically reduced your time to market. You'll see how automatically programmed specifications allow you to create custom designs in less time using automated builder menus to pre-calculate dimensions. 

   

  What you earn:	Comprehensive CAD/CAM for Jewelry Certificate
  Duration:	7 weeks (210 hours)
  Tuition:	$4,405 (Carlsbad)
  Required Books and Materials:	$65
  Total:	$4,620 + applicable sales tax
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