text: The jewelry repair business is good. There are a number of good jewelry repair schools around the country depending on where you live. Most work on a one week beginners course for basic repair and then more advanced courses for stone setting, etc. You could also make a deal with an existing repair-person to learn from them for little or no pay.\n\nYou can make a living with just repairs. Custom work is more complicated and takes quite a while (a few years) to learn. Most bench jewelers that I know are still learning new techniques even after many years in the business. You need a special dispossion to do this kind of small, intricate work all the time