any experts?please help

[gemsource]

hi guys,
i enjoy your postings.i have a jewelry biz.one of my employees tom wants to pursue diamond cutting and diamond grading thru aidc.he has saved and is like 26 years old.
before he spends 20,000 dollars.can anyone give insight?
is there a big demand in the us>? i know there is cutters in ny dia district.do they get good earnings?i like tom like a son maybe because he so eager about gemstones.i explained to him in my position i do pretty good,but it relies on the season and advertisement.i think tom wants to make his own way in buiss.i hope he succeeds

 

[dimonbob]

Hello Phillip,

Tom is lucky to have a friend like you that wants to help him in life.

Most diamond cutters have older family members that are cutters and they are taken into the shop on a trial basis to see if they have an aptitude for it. A diamond is usually not cut by one person but several different people with expertise in different steps of the cutting process.
Unless you or Tom know someone in the diamond cutting business that is willing to bring Tom into the shop, he might have a little trouble getting into that end of the business.
My recommendation is for him to take the diamond correspondence course from GIA and work from there. That is almost where I started. I do not have family in the jewelry business, but I had a couple of mentors along the way.
There is a lot to learn. Good luck.

 

[gemsource]

i understand that diamond bob,aND THAT WAS MY THOUGHTS.THERE IS A SITE CALLEDAMERICAN INTRNATIONAL INSTITUTE DIAMOND CUTTERS IN FLORIDA.THEY ARE SUPOSED TO HAVE ALL THESE INSIGHTS ON THE BIZ.AND EVEN OFFER TO HELP FACTORIES OPEN.HAS ANYONE HEARD OF THEM.TOM DOES HAVE DIAMONDS DIPLOMA FROM GIA. THANKS FOR YOUR INSIGHT.