Old School Process

It all begins with a conversation between jeweler and client

The process begins at the design table, where the conversation begins between jeweler and client.Stones are chosen, sketches are drawn, and models are approved.

Sketch : Conception

We formulate designs in many ways. Listening to a client’s stories and ideas is the most important component in beginning any project. Gems are laid out on paper and sketches drawn around to try different compositions. Detailed sketches are drafted and then carved to scale model in wax.

Wax Process: Carve

An initial ring model is carved out of a special hard wax. Files, saws, drill bits, and even dental tools are used to shape and refine the model. Stones are temporarily inserted to check setting size and show approximate finished effect.

Wax Process: Mold

The wax ring is embedded in plaster within a steel flask. The flask is set in a small burnout kiln to remove the wax, which leaves a hollow ring mold.

Wax Process: Cast

The hot flask is set in a centrifugal casting machine, lining up the exit hole in the crucible with the entry hole of the flask. The gold or silver is weighed and placed in a high temperature ceramic crucible, where the metal is melted with a torch.

Wax Process: Finish

When the metal has become fluid, the pin is released the force of the spinning machine shoots the metal out the end of the crucible and into the hollow mold within the flask. The hot flask is plunged into a bucket of water, where the plaster dissolves to reveal a ring of solid metal, ready for clean up and stone setting.