About New Approach School for Jewelers

Blaine Lewis - Director, Instructor

Blaine Lewis began his career in metals as a professionally trained industrial welder; his passion for creating metal objects soon transitioned into making jewelry. Books were his first teacher and he struggled with the lack of quality local instruction. He then decided to study under a master jeweler in Cincinnati, Ohio. With help from many top jewelers throughout the years, Blaine innovated and redesigned stone setting techniques for diamonds and fragile colored stones. He felt it was important that he share his knowledge. Over the course of the next three years he traveled to 26 different states and held workshops introducing his revolutionary methods to students.

In 1996, Blaine established New Approach School for Jewelers in his hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia where classes are designed to provide superior communication between student and instructor. Live demonstrations are projected on large video screens using high magnification HD cameras for students to see their instructor’s work with absolute precision. This visually intensive teaching method enhances our instructors’ ability to communicate even the most intricate detail. Blaine uses his twenty-five plus years of experience as a bench jeweler and the training of over 5,000 students as an open forum. This continuing evolution of innovative stone setting, metalsmithing and teaching techniques has taken the industry by storm.