From now until June 30th, you can take an additional 5% off!

New JSI Electives, Weekend and Evening Classes are now available!

Apply for a JSI 3Design Beginning and Advanced CAD Scholarship!

JSI happily announces their collaboration with Vision Numeric 3DESIGN to offer a scholarship for classes in Beginning and Advanced CAD. These back-to-back sessions comprise ten days of learning the most forward-thinking software in jewelry design and includes a six-month student license for 3DESIGN CAD. The value of the instruction and software totals $1900. 

The scholarship will be awarded to a student based on the answer to our question:

"Why do you want / need this JSI scholarship?"

    Click on 3DESIGN Logo to Apply!  

Basics Jewelry Arts Diploma - Individual Classes

JSI BASICS Classes are designed to teach fundamental jewelry fabrication and design skills, while producing finished pieces that you can take home!  Click on the picture or class link to locate class dates.

101-Rings & Bands

Master Goldsmiths and Certified Argentium Silver instructors will introduce you to basic jewelry making skills while working with Argentium Silver, Certified to be Responsible Silver: Never from a mine, always from recycling. Making rings with Argentium is simple and easy. Learn how to fuse, solder, twist wire, texture and fuse granulation for surface decorations and also learn to resize your rings up/down.     $750

No Prerequisite.  

102-Sawing & Flush Setting

Combining Argentium with copper, and brass, you will learn sawing, piercing, roller printing, fusing surface decoration, making ear-wires, sweat soldering, and patinas on metals. Learning to flush mount stones will give you the skills to take your projects to a higher level of ornamentation. The final day of class is for review and individual help learning the techniques necessary to finish to “show quality”. You may bring 18k gold or higher karat to add to rings. Gold will be available to purchase.   $750

No Prerequisite.

103-Earrings, Mechanisms & Granulation

Making four pairs of earrings, you will learn to fuse jump-rings and bezels, slump sheet over fused wires, set cabochon stones on granulated earrings, make filigree wire for filigree earrings with open wire-work, make mechanisms and twisted wire earrings with posts. On Friday, you receive a one on one review with the instructor for tips and tricks on finishing details.   $750

Prerequisite: Basic fabrication skills.  

104-Simple Clasps & Chains

The right components can make or break a showpiece. Learning how to make your own simple clasps and chain is an important step in designing and creating original work. You will be taught to make jump-rings, six different clasps and a chain for a finished bracelet all in Argentium Silver.   $750

Prerequisite: Basic fabrication skills.

105 Heavy Bezels & Setting

Incorporate faceted stones into your pieces! Join us to discover how to fabricate straight and tapered heavy-walled bezels in round, square, and oval shapes. Faceted stones will be mounted in your bezels and you will be taught how to add a bale to finish one of your straight walled bezels into a pendant. Pattern making and bezel modification techniques such as carving, piercing and granulating will be demonstrated enabling you to produce beautiful and unique design. This class will give you confidence and develop your abilities to create bezels to fit the most popular faceted stone shapes. Tapered walled Bezels are to be used in the Shanks & Bands with Bezels class projects. All projects are made in Argentium Silver.     $750

Prerequisite: Basic Fabrication Skills.

106-Shanks & Bands For Bezels

Fit your previously made tapered bezels to three different varieties of shanks. Learn how to forge a bypass shank, make a split shank. Create your own ring patterns based on the ring size you desire and learn layout techniques for fused and granulated decoration. You will add the tapered bezels that were made in the Heavy Bezels class. Faceted stone setting will be covered. Upon completion of the projects you will have three stunningly beautiful rings with heavy bezels out of Argentium Silver. Bring the tapered bezels from the Heavy Bezels class.     $750

Prerequisite: 105-Heavy Bezels and intermediate fabrication skills.

107-Hollow Form Beads & Rings

Two beads and two rings will be taught, each involving different types of fabrication skills. Making a bead, you will learn to use dapping tools, form wires to fit a curved surface and patterning for proper alignment for a more “finished” design. Projects will feature your individual pattern layout, enhancing your surface fusing and embellishment skills. Completing the projects you will leave class with confidence and exquisitely finished pieces in beautiful Argentium Silver.     $750

Prerequisite: 105-Heavy Bezels, 106-Ring Shanks & Bands or basic fabrication skills.

108-Basic 3Design CAD/CAM

Participants in this class are given an in-depth introduction to the 3Design CAD/CAM program. Understanding the program and learning the basic functions is the focus of the exercises. By the end of class you will be able to create simple designs using this powerful application. Every class day features four hours of demonstratiion and four hours of supervised lab time. A 3Design student license, valid for six months, is included in the class price. Students should bring a suitable laptop to class in order to install the student version of the program to take home. Students must have a computer with the required specifications to run the 3Design CAD/CAM program.     $950

Pre-requisite: Computer experience required, Download Computer Minimum Requirements PDF here.

109-Basic Casting, Wax & Mold-Making

Casting is an ancient technique that remains popular for jewelry production. In this class you will learn to do your own casting in bronze and Argentium Silver. Basic wax construction from sheet and wire, creating wax bezels, and casting from nature or plastic items will be taught. You will be shown how to use a centrifuge to cast pieces and implement the lost-wax casting technique to create items you can take home. You will learn to make a basic mold for creating duplicates.    $750

 No Prerequisite.

110 Rendering, Design & Project Planning

Color rendering is important skill to communicate your ideas to your customers. You will create a “blueprint” to help evaluate a design before investing precious time and materials. Design development will help to visualize the steps and plan the processes that are necessary to execute a project. You will learn about materials sourcing, setting up supplier accounts, cost estimation, time.     $750

 No Prerequisite.

111 Final Independent Project

Using the skills learned during the semester, you have the chance to develop and execute your own independent project while building your confidence and putting your knowledge to practice. Instructor will be present to assist with project execution and problem solving. Project review will be done one on one and suggestions for improvement offered with the intent of finishing pieces to a “show standard”. You are given a $100 budget with any materials over this amount becoming your responsibility.     $750

This class is intended for you as your final graduation project to complete your JSI Basic Jewelry Arts Diploma. Prerequisite: All 10 classes or proof of similar experience.

Advanced Jewelry Arts Diploma - Individual Classes

JSI ADVANCED Classes are designed to teach advanced jewelry fabrication and design skills, while producing high quality finished pieces!

201-Hinging Mechanisms

Mechanisms are the key to creating your own distinctive jewelry. In this class you will explore a variety of solutions for mechanisms broadly used in jewelry making. You will learn how to make a pin-back for a broach, a clasp with a spring, French-back earring mechanisms and cuff links. All projects are made with Argentium Silver.    $750

Prerequisite: Intermediate fabrication skills.

202-Inventive Stone Setting

You can express your individuality in your work by adding unusual stone settings. While working in Argentium, you will make a unique setting using rivets, a prong setting from sheet, create a stunning fold-over tension-set pendant, a channel set pendant and an oval faceted stone set from the back. You will receive John Cogswell’s book Creative Stone Setting.   $750

Prerequisite: Intermediate fabrication skills.

203-Advanced Clasps

Although a variety of clasps exist on the market, creating your own clasp with your personal design and style makes your work stand out from the rest. The advanced skills learned from these projects will help bring your fabrication abilities to a higher level. You will make a box clasp, a hinged watchband type clasp, a magnetic clasp and a spring-loaded clasp.   $750

Prerequisite: Intermediate fabrication skills.

204-Prong Fabrication, Setting & Laser Welder

Techniques, tips and tricks for producing stunning large stone mountings with wirework will be featured. Laser welding, which is great for precision, is a relatively new technology which can save you time in fabricating pieces by tacking pieces to prepare for soldering allowing you to solder everything at once. You will be making emerald cut, oval and pear mountings.   $750

Prerequisite: Intermediate fabrication skills.

205-Metalsmithing for Jewelers

This workshop will focus on creating dramatic three-dimensional forms that are created quickly, using the hammering techniques of basic forging and forming, fold-forming and anticlastic metalsmithing. You will explore the plasticity of the metal, while creating beautiful forms with hammers, stakes, and a rolling mill. Fold-forming earrings and an anticlastic ribbon from copper, anticlastic earrings from Argentium Silver, and a brass anticlastic bracelet will introduce three-dimensional forms that can be used for a stunning effect. Since the future of the jewelry industry is to be more “green” and environmentally aware, you will learn to recycle your Argentium scrap. Finished projects will include a forged bracelet and ring from Argentium Silver scrap that was first made into an ingot.    $750

Prerequisite: Basic fabrication skills.

206-Chasing & Repousse´

Learn the techniques required to do chasing, repousse and granulation on Argentium Sterling silver through close-up photos and a live demonstration. Repoussé is a technique in which the metal is ornamented or shaped by hammering from the reverse side. Chasing is the opposite technique to repoussé and refers to working from the front side, and the two often are used in conjunction to create a finished piece. Make your own tools to keep and take home with you. You will take home three projects – two in copper and a final piece of your design choice in Argentium Silver. To finish the final project, you will learn to fuse a heavy square border and fuse granulation or wires on the surface.    $750

Prerequisite: Basic fabrication skills.

207-Hinged Box & Heirloom Locket

This is the perfect class for those wishing to further their fabricating skills and take their craft to the next level. You will make a hinged box with a decorative lid and a round heirloom locket with a carved bale. You will be given the opportunity and encouraged to explore individual design solutions.   $750

Prerequisite: Intermediate fabrication skills.

208-Fabricated Model Making

Model making is the key to production. In this class you will learn to make a master model that is then molded to produce a silicon rubber mold for production. You’ll also learn about shrinkage allowances to duplicate and produce multiple components for creating bracelets and necklaces, which can then be transformed into a one of a kind piece or used for mass production.   $750

Prerequisite: Intermediate fabrication skills.

209-Advanced 3Design CAD/CAM

Building on the skills learned in the Basic 3Design CAD/CAM class, you will discover new tools, tricks and their functions to advance your CAD/CAM skills. 3Design will allow you to develop your ideas, create a virtual inventory and market your work without spending precious time and money. Modeling your work in 3Design CAD/CAM also gives you a virtual inventory that allows you to produce the pieces as they are sold, a useful and much-needed feature in today’s economy. Your student license from the previous class will be renewed for another 6 months. Pre-requisite: Basic 3Design CAD/CAM.   $950

Pre-requisite: Computer experience required. To Download computer requirements, click on link to go to the 3Design website and select: 'To View minimum requirements for computers'.

210-Advanced Casting, Wax & Mold-Making

Learn to set up a casting tree of multiple components to produce your designs in Argentium Silver or bronze. Cast multiple components from the original molds made in class (or you can use ours). You will also learn to carve and cast two different rings. CAD/CAM pieces may be cast in your choice of bronze or Argentium Silver.    $750

Pre-requisite: Fabricated Model Making For Production or intermediate fabrication skills.

211-Advanced Independent Project

Having acquired advanced skills, you now have the opportunity to develop and execute an independent project while exploring your design potential and concentrating on expanding your skills. An instructor will be present to assist with problem solving and execution. Project review will be done one on one and suggestions for improvement offered with the intent of finishing pieces to a “show standard”. You are supplied with a materials budget of $100 for metal and stones. Any additional costs for materials will be your responsibility. This class is focused on producing your final graduation project to complete your JSI Advanced Jewelry Arts Diploma.     $750

Prerequisite: All JSI Basic and Advanced classes or proof of similar experience.