What college degrees does a lapidary need?

Answer 1

The short answer is none. All facets of lapidary can be learned by simply acquiring the machinery, the rough, and the books, and practicing. The process is much easier with introductory lessons from an expert, but in general it's not that complicated.

The long answer is many. The lapidary arts are, you might say, somewhat under the radar of the educational system, offered by very few colleges in North America. (Things are different in gemology hotbeds like Idar Oberstein, Germany, or the diamond centres of the world, or the cutting houses of India.)

To become a practicing professional, you might want to take courses from the William Holland school, or similar. You can specialize in faceting, silversmithing, jewelry making, or whatever. Lots of more commonly available community college courses would be useful if you're running a sole proprietorship; from accounting to web design, marketing, and business planning.