I’m Zac Sommerville, the Midwest Jewelry Academy’s first Master Jeweler Graduate. I work for a little jewelry store up in the UP of Michigan where I’ve been since I dropped out of college in 2023. My initial goal was to learn on the job as an apprentice, but my boss, being the only goldsmith, didn’t have enough time to train me to an effective level as quickly as either of us wanted so I did a little searching and found the Midwest Jewelry Academy. A few weeks later I packed my bags and went to take the one week Jewelry Repair course spring of 2024.

Stephen, the instructor and owner of the Midwest Jewelry Academy and adjoining jewelry store, Stephen Shannon Jewelers, taught my class of four the basics of torch control, jewelry identification, blending and finishing. Specifically, and most importantly, we learned how to head, set and size rings, and how to repair prongs and a few common chain styles. When I returned my employer noted significant advancement in my abilities, and started throwing me customer jobs to work on, though only in silver. Overall the one week course is a terrific introduction to the world of goldsmithing and provides the basics anyone will need to work the bench and start a career as a jewelry repairman.

Over the summer I increased in skill slightly and started working on almost all of the simple silver jobs that came through the door, but I wanted more. Once again I turned to the Academy to take their 15 week Master Jeweler program. The first four weeks were the Certified Bench Jeweler course, which I went through with one other student. This was far more in depth than the Jewelry Repair course, though we started with the same basics: torch control, blending and finishing. We effectively went through the entire Jewelry Repair course in the first day, then moved on to more advanced stone settings. We went through all of the fancy cut stones (oval, marquis, trillion, cushion, princess, etc.) as well as round channels, pave settings and flush settings, including flush setting fancy stones. We also learned how to form gravers and did some bright cutting. The last week of the Bench Jeweler course was devoted to wax carving, casting and mold making. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone looking to work in this industry, either as a repairman or as a designer. At the end of the course I was confident in my ability to set virtually any stone in any fashion, and had a greater grasp on goldsmithing as a whole, as well as the processes by which jewelry is created. The Certified Bench Jeweler course covers everything needed to work as a professional bench jeweler.

The first four weeks really laid the groundwork for the rest of the Master Jeweler program as most of the next 11 weeks was spent practicing, reviewing and building upon the skills I learned in the Certified Bench Jeweler course. I spent a lot of time working on stone setting, as well as ring sizing, fabrication and detailing. I also did plenty of wax carving and casting as well. The greatest strength of the later 11 weeks of the Master Jeweler program, however, was that Stephen shifted his teaching from telling me what to do, to asking me what I thought I should do, which really made me think more about what I was doing and what courses of action would be the most effective to take in any given situation. This made the later part all the more valuable as I was able to work in an environment much more similar to an actual shop, rather than a school. I don’t think the Master Jeweler program is necessary for everyone, however it is definitely worth taking, just to go that little bit further. I noticed a significant difference in the quality of my work from the beginning of the course to the end, as did my employer when I returned. Nothing is better than experience, and this program sure packs a ton of experience into a very short amount of time.

Overall the Academy’s greatest strengths are small class sizes and an amazing instructor. Stephen likes classes to have at most four students, which allows him to focus on the specific things each student needs help with, while merely skimming over the easier things. This allows for a more complete, and efficient, education as much more time is devoted to what the students require more time with. Aside from his flexible teaching style, Stephen is also a very skilled goldsmith himself and is very excited about the subject, which helps students to be as well. He’s not afraid to challenge his students and point out where they’re going wrong to help set them straight, and in the end be a more effective jeweler. I learned more in my short time there than I did at a traditional college, and I’m now well on my way into an  amazing career in a terrific field. All thanks to the Midwest Jewelry Academy.