The two-year, comprehensive Jewelry Making & Repair program prepares students to become professionals in the industry. The program attracts students from around the world who share a love of materials, artistic expression, and working with their hands to make jewelry that transcends time.
Jewelry fabrication and stone setting requires exceptional hand skills, focus, and a thorough understanding of materials. Throughout your studies, you’ll continuously challenge yourself and fine-tune your skills. You’ll create and repair jewelry of lasting value using traditional techniques and modern technology.
You’ll work on increasingly complex projects to develop proficiency in:
"The amount of precision and the quality of work the program demands was like nothing I had ever encountered. I completed projects that I never thought I could make."
Colleen Matthews JM '12
View More Jewelry Making & Repair Alumni Profiles
Current Jewelry Making & Repair student Kailey Maraglia JM '21 left a corporate apprenticeship to pursue jewelry making training at NBSS. Though working quickly had been highly valued at her previous job, her first few days in the JM program felt like a dramatic slam on the brakes and a parallel to her time in the Marine Corps. Read how through making a twisted wire ring, Kailey learned "that slowing down was the only way I could really pay attention to the work my hands were doing."
Take a virtual tour of e. scott originals, a boutique jewelry store in Somerville, MA owned and operated by Emily Scott Surette JM '07. The cozy 415 sq ft space is filled with vintage furniture and hand-crafted jewelry of all kinds for sale. A small showroom and consultation area fill the front, and you can see straight through to Emily's workspace in the back. She has operated this boutique storefront for nine years, growing into a local go-to for unique, handmade, custom jewelry.
The work of Emily Scott Surette JM '07 aims to be timeless: a ready-to-wear style that's functional while still elegant, found everywhere from the hands of local brides-to-be, to the inside of swag bags at the Oscars. Her dedication to the craft keeps Emily going, and her jewelry business thriving. "Working with your hands has a bearing on your self-esteem," Emily says. "Making a tangible product that you can hold and can say 'I made that' is huge. It does a lot for someone's self-confidence. I wouldn't trade it for anything."
Merit-based scholarships at NBSS recognize excellence and provide a benchmark toward which future students strive. The Gladys Brooks Foundation Scholarship is one of the School's newest offerings, and NBSS is proud to announce Marei Dose JM '18 as the inaugural recipient.
"The more you work with your hands, I think the more respect you have for your hands. I think that people who don't work with their hands might not understand exactly how hands learn, but hands do learn." Watch this video of NBSS President Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez CF '99 describing how the hands and mind work together when honing your craft.
Ann Cahoon JM ' 02, Department Head of the Jewelry Making & Repair program, is a designer goldsmith whose work focuses on high carat gold and platinum fabrication. She founded Flying Marquis Studio in 2005, and now works alongside her metalworker husband, who owns Chris Ploof Designs. Their combined 10,000 sf shop is fully outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment and technology.