What Can Happen In A Year Of Jewellery Training
What happens when jewellers give themselves the time, structure and support to truly focus on their making? In this collection of student stories from our Silver, Fine and Advanced Jewellery Diplomas, you'll hear directly from jewellers who took the leap and surprised themselves with what became possible. From developing technical skills and creative confidence to building momentum and finding a supportive community, these stories show what can happen when you commit to your jewellery journey.
Meet Roxy
Diploma in Silver Jewellery
Roxanne joined the Diploma in Silver Jewellery after years of thinking about it and looking for more structure and support in her jewellery journey. Starting at her dining room table while balancing life as a single mum to two girls and working as a chef, she dedicated evenings and time each week to steadily build her skills. Although stepping outside her comfort zone felt daunting at times, particularly when it came to techniques like stone setting, the structured projects and encouragement helped her grow in confidence and try things she never thought she could do. Supported by her mentor Ellen throughout the year, Roxanne not only developed her technical skills but discovered a new belief in herself. Since completing the Diploma, she has exhibited in gallery shows and says her advice to anyone considering it is simple: do it. It feels scary at first, but you'll have the best time of your life and you'll be incredibly proud of yourself.
meet iain
Iain Sainsbury came to jewellery making later in life after a career in the pharmaceutical industry and, despite only making jewellery for six years, has already built an established jewellery business.
As his skills developed, he found there wasn't an obvious route to continue learning in a structured way at a more advanced level, which led him to the Diploma in Fine Jewellery. Drawn in by the challenge of the projects, particularly the tennis bracelet, Iain remembers thinking, “I’ll never be able to make that” and then realising by the end that he could. For Iain, one of the biggest benefits of the Diploma was developing the underlying technical skills and repetition needed to progress, especially in stone setting. He describes the course as taking you from making simpler pieces into the level of complexity and craftsmanship needed to work confidently in fine jewellery. His advice is simple: definitely do it.
After completing the Diploma in Fine Jewellery, Iain continued his learning journey with the Advanced Jewellery Diploma at Jewellers Academy because he wanted to create more complex, detailed and technically challenging pieces. Looking at the jewellery business he wanted to build, he realised that his future wasn't in producing high volumes of lower value work. Instead, he wanted to create high-value pieces using gold and advanced stone setting techniques. The Advanced Diploma gave him the skills to move towards that vision. Iain particularly enjoyed the pavé and channel setting projects and valued the opportunity to tackle more ambitious work with expert guidance. He credits the clear teaching from Master Goldsmith Scott McIntyre and reflects that he wouldn't be where he is today without completing the Diploma programmes with Jewellers Academy.
meet risza
Risza completed all three Jewellers Academy Diploma programmes: the Diploma in Silver Jewellery, the Diploma in Fine Jewellery and the Advanced Jewellery Diploma. Before joining, she had been teaching herself jewellery making through YouTube, but found that she rarely finished projects and wanted a more structured way to learn. With young children still in primary school and only limited time available during school hours, studying online gave her the flexibility she needed to make consistent progress. The structure, commitment and deadlines of the Diplomas helped her create a routine and keep moving forwards.
Risza especially loved developing her stone setting skills and working with gold, and found the mentoring clear, supportive and easy to follow because techniques were broken down into manageable steps. Since completing the Diplomas, she has stepped more fully into her own artist-led brand, no longer struggles with imposter syndrome and now teaches jewellery making herself.
Her advice is that we need to invest in ourselves and our own lives, stretch beyond what feels comfortable and trust that confidence grows through doing. For Risza, the Diplomas helped her reach a professional standard and become part of the jewellery community and industry she loves.
Inspired?
See if a Jewellers Academy Diploma is for you → https://www.jewellersacademy.com/diplomas