Reddit reviews The Jeweler's Directory of Gemstones: A Complete Guide to Appraising and Using Precious Stones From Cut and Color to Shape and Settings

Rambling ahead (I'm so sorry but hopefully it helps, even if just a little bit!)

I haven't spoken directly with many customers, instead I have store employees calling from wherever their respective store is to either harass us about getting stuff done two days ago or 'this repair was done wrong omg how could you we know more than you do stop explaining just work your sorcery correctly this time or else!'

Just remember the majority of your customers aren't going to have a damn clue how repairs work, nothing about jewelry maintenance and care, and little to no knowledge about stones, aside from 'my grandmother got it from her blahblahblah in ww1 and she was blahblah and it means a lot to me blahblahblah it's irreplaceable oh it's also etc etc etc....' and what they've seen on tv or read in passing.

When in doubt, CYA CYA CYA!! Photograph the pieces before doing work. Specifically photo the damage or focus area if it's in for more than a clean and polish. Color photos are better than black and white, but anything helps. Print the photos, have customers sign off on it, whatever. Anything you do, HAVE THE CUSTOMER PHYSICALLY SIGN ACKNOWLEDGING THEY ARE AWARE. If a stone is clear, diamond test it before taking it in, verify that it is what the customer says it is (or isn't), whenever possible, and verify with the customer. Many center diamonds in engagement rings are inscribed with their own id # somewhere along their girdle. Ask if theirs has one, and check under a scope. Again, verify! Anything and everything you can do to protect yourself. People are idiots, assholes, and generally a pain. Idiotproof yourself as much as possible, so that you can't be taken advantage of. Repair is the branch you'll be dealing with that the most.

As far as not having much knowledge and not going to GIA, don't worry so much about it. I'm unschooled and put out extremely high quality repairs and restorations without. You know where you can learn a bunch? Other jewelers. The internet. Books. Tons of great references, just look for them. Research what you think will help you. I obsessed over gems when I started so I knew as closely as possible what they could be as they came in. A really great book to have on hand? This. Out of all my books, it's the only one I have found that has gemology information catered specifically for jewelers, and it's completely worth every penny!

I also found and talked to loads of jewelers in person in the shop, at other shops, at trade shows, at gem shows, online, anywhere and everywhere, and I still do. There is so much you can learn just from asking people.

But! Get a heat tolerance reference chart of some sort (or make one!) to follow for your gems. Learn about the differences between why metal A does this but metal B does that. Same with stones. Opal loses its color flash when heated but if it's not fried that flash (opalescence) comes back. Amethyst loses its color under heat. Natural pearls don't like pickle or rhodium! Blah blah. You should invest in some gem goop for soldering, like Thermoshield or Kool Jool. I use Thermoshield and it's saved more stones than I can count - it's a weird texture and looks like vaseline, but it keeps the stones cool. Pull stones out before solder work if it's easier for you to reset them than use goop. There are tons of references all over the place for just about everything.

I've rambled too much but look into that book and check out Ganoksin if you haven't yet, tons of info there, for free. YouTube is great for learning certain techniques if you're curious or would like pointers for improvement. If you're on fb? Young Jewellers Group. I recommend all my new and old jeweler acquaintances try connecting with this group, as there are SO MANY jewelers from all over the world (they're based out of AU) and each has knowledge they can share. Photos, progress, group venting about idiot customers, anything. It's a good group. And never forget Google. I abuse it like a madwoman when I'm hunting for information. Let me know if there's anything I can help with. I'm around. :)