Will AI replace gem and diamond workers?

Not on current evidence. Less than 30 minutes of a typical shift goes to tasks that AI or robots are doing today. The other 8h (100%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 3.2% fewer of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

None of this job's tasks show regular AI use yet. That can mean the work is hands-on or in person, or simply that it rarely comes up in AI usage data.

Not in workplaces like this one, based on a 2026 review of robot deployments. 12 more tasks have only been done in factory setups built around the machine, so they stay with people here.

8h of a typical shift, or 100%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Hold stones, gems, dies, or styluses against rotating plates, wheels, saws, or slitters to cut, shape, slit, grind, or polish them. (1h 47m a shift)
• Examine gem surfaces and internal structures, using polariscopes, refractometers, microscopes, and other optical instruments, to differentiate between stones, to identify rare specimens, or to detect flaws, defects, or peculiarities affecting gem values. (53m a shift)
• Assign polish, symmetry, and clarity grades to stones, according to established grading systems. (47m a shift)
• Examine gems during processing to ensure accuracy of angles and positions of cuts or bores, using magnifying glasses, loupes, or shadowgraphs. (40m a shift)
• Secure gems or diamonds in holders, chucks, dops, lapidary sticks, or blocks for cutting, polishing, grinding, drilling, or shaping. (40m a shift)

Much of it comes down to where and how the work happens. In-person, hands-on and high-stakes work is where AI and robots have made the least headway so far. In the official O*NET survey of people in this job:

• 90% use their hands on tools, objects or controls more than half the time
• 87% are in constant contact with other people
• 82% say dealing with the public is very or extremely important

On Indeed, job postings in the Production & Manufacturing sector are at 124% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 12.6% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 3,700 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $52,540 a year ($25.26 an hour), 3% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $35,580 and $87,540 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects a decline of 3.2% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 32,000 jobs in 2035. Even so, it expects about 3,700 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 22,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.01% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 525th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 32,000 in 2035.

The most common requirement is a high school diploma: about 58% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 3 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: vocational school or associate's degree. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Quality Control Analysis, Monitoring, Speaking, Active Listening
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 8h of a typical shift

These use similar skills. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers (21m touched, $42k median pay)
• Manufacturing Potters (12m touched, $46k median pay)
• Hand Sewers (0m touched, $36k median pay)
• Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (29m touched, $54k median pay)
• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders (12m touched, $43k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 14 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.