ENGRAVER DAVE

While working as a welder and machinist apprentice after high school, I met a jeweler at an exhibit in a local mall. He was manufacturing jewelry and I was fascinated with his work. I struck up a conversation with the gentleman and became more intrigued. I asked him how I could become a jeweler and he suggested going to college at Gem City College in Quincy, Illinois. He also said "If you want to be a good jeweler study hand engraving first. It will train your hands in a whole different dimension and make you a much better jeweler". That turned out to be some of the best advice I ever received. I liked the work I was doing and realized I was actually doing a similar thing by making objects fit into other objects with close tolerance and following design drawings. I, then and there, decided that I could expand on the training I already had by learning to make beautiful jewelry. I went home that night and told my Dad "I know what I want to do with my life"... After graduating from Gem..

Primary location: Taylorsville United States