Mortality was investigated for the years 1950-1980 for 1,009 male members of a New York jewelry workers union, and for the years 1984-1989 among 919 men and 605 women identified as jewelry workers on death certificates from 24 states. Malignant neoplasms were excessive for male union members (proportional mortality ratio [PMR] = 1.17; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02-1.33) and female jeweler deaths from the 24 states (PMR = 1.24; 95% CI: 1.07-1.42). Deaths due to nonmalignant causes were not unusual, except for excesses, in union males, of the circulatory system (PMR = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.02-1.19), including arteriosclerotic heart disease (PMR = 1.25; 95% CI: 1.14-1.37) and rheumatic heart disease (PMR = 3.02; 95% CI: 1.94-4.50). Cancers of the digestive tract were proportionally elevated among union males (proportional cancer mortality rate [PMR] = 1.13; 95% CI: 0.89-1.41) and among deaths from the 24 states (PCMR = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.01-1.47). For the 24 states, excesses for digestive cancer were found for both males (PCMR = 1.19; 95% CI: 0.90-1.54) and females (PCMR = 1.26; 95% CI: 0.96-1.62). Regarding specific sites in the digestive tract, colon cancer excesses were found in union males (PCMR = 1.53: 95% CI: 1.05-2.15), and for men (PCMR = 1.27; 95% CI: 0.82-1.88) and women (PCMR = 1.36; 95% CI: 0.92-3.27) in 24 states.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)