Your Questions, Answered

This page brings together the key questions we have received about our 2027 Remote Learning Jewellery Skills and Design Course.

It is intended to support prospective students in understanding the structure of the course, the requirements for remote learning and the format of our in-person on-site studio weeks in Dublin.

This resource is updated as needed to provide clear technical guidance and practical information for the 2027 Remote Learning Jewellery Skills and Design Course.

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  • A mentored, year-long professional training in jewellery making

    Learn jewellery making properly through a structured, closely taught programme, designed for students who cannot relocate for a full year — without compromising on standards, discipline, or depth of training.

    This is not a self-paced online course. It is a mentored hybrid education delivered remotely, with intensive in-person studio time built into the year.

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    The Remote Jewellery Year is for committed students who want to develop real bench competence and professional working methods, but need the flexibility to work from their own studio or home workspace.

     

    This programme is suited to:

     

    • Career-changers seeking rigorous, hands-on training

    • Artists and makers wanting a solid technical foundation

    • Students who value structure, critique, and accountability

    • Those prepared to commit seriously to a year of learning

     

     

    This programme is not designed for hobbyists or casual learners.

  • Most online jewellery courses focus on ideas, inspiration, or isolated techniques.

    This programme focuses on how you work at the bench.

     You will be taught:

    • Correct tool use and bench setup

    • Professional fabrication methods

    • Material understanding and accuracy

    • Problem-solving through making

    • Consistent working discipline

     Your work is regularly reviewed and corrected. Mistakes are identified early and addressed properly — the way they would be in a physical studio.

  • To support your learning experience, we will offer you a combination of the following:

    • Regular live technical help and support with Deirdre

    • Pre-recorded daily demonstration videos

    • Clearly illustrated worksheets

    • On-site attendance

  • September 2027: introduction and induction week with Deirdre and the team.

    Four further individual weeks to attend:

    • November 2027

    • February 2028

    • April 2028

    • June 2028

    Exact dates for the November–June weeks will be confirmed and made available before the end of February 2027.

  • Students should expect to commit approximately 30–35 hours per week to independent bench practice and making. This does not include time spent viewing pre-recorded demonstrations or attending optional live technical support sessions.

    Live technical tutoring sessions will provisionally be held on Saturday mornings. Attendance is optional, and recordings will be made available to ensure access for all students.

  • Yes, you will have contact with the other students in your course.

    There will be a weekly live Q & A with technical support (provisionally weekly on Saturday mornings) and we are planning an online hub for our team of students to compare notes — more structured than a WhatsApp group but just as immediate.

  • Tuition: €9,900

    Tools and materials: approximately €1,500 (purchased by the student)

     Applications are reviewed to ensure the programme is the right fit for both student and school.

    You will receive a detailed tools and materials shopping list to help you prepare.

    Expect to spend approximately €1,000 on carefully selected, professional hand tools and €500 - €800 on core silver & brass course materials, intended to support long-term professional practice.

    The Tool’s specified are the same tools that we use in our School. These are professional grade tools that you keep. We will also advise you on larger tools if you are interested in up-grading your workshop over time.

    Your Graduation Collection project materials cost will be approximately €500.00

  • You are not attending a course based on ‘access to a room’. You are gaining access to a masters eye, training experience and over 40 years experience in the jewellery industry.

    On completion of this course, you will be bench competent, with professional hand skills and will be ready to enter professional practice or undertake further advanced apprenticeship or training.

  • CAD is a valuable tool for volume jewellery manufacture that uses printed waxes to create jewellery components. Our students learn to understand the complexites of Traditional Jewellery Manufacture so that they can choose CAD as a future manufacturing tool if they wish.

    Our course is intentionally non-CAD-centric and rooted in the history of Traditional Jewellery Techniques, where hand skills and material knowledge are intrinsic to the craft.

    Our course tuition is grounded in traditional bench skills and hand fabrication, with close attention to proportion, line, material behaviour, and disciplined making.

    The course prioritises the development of judgement, precision, and a refined design sensibility that underpin high-end, bespoke jewellery practice.

  • Yes. This certificate course is designed as a focused, practice-led alternative to a traditional university or CAO pathway for those seeking professional training in jewellery making, and is structured to be accessible to national and international students.

  • By the end of the year, students will have:

    • A solid technical foundation in jewellery making

    • The ability to work independently and safely at the bench

    • Confidence using professional tools and materials

    • An understanding of standards expected in professional practice

    • A clear sense of next steps, whether employment, further training, or independent work

    • A Graduation Collection that has been manufactured using casting as a tool.

    • Your Graded Certificate from Deirdre O’Donnell - Jewellery Skills and Design Course