JEWELRY MAKING PROCESS
Jewelry making at SOVATS
Every piece of jewelry is designed and handcrafted in-house to maintain control over our manufacturing process. We feel better knowing our products are made ethically and responsibly.
JEWELRY INSPIRATION
The Sketch
Almost all jewelry ideas begin with a sketch of a piece of jewelry. Although computer programs exist to standardize this process, we prefer pencils.
Creating a jewelry sketch involves drawing a detailed representation of a jewelry design before it's crafted. It typically includes aspects like the gemstone placement, metalwork, and overall design. Designs are often drawn from different perspectives since almost all jewelry is three-dimensional in concept.
Wax Model
The sketched design is carved into the wax. This model must be perfect and flawless in every detail since the final piece will only be as good as the model. So the master maker needs to make sure that the original wax model is made to perfection.
Jewelry Making, Master Model
The original wax model is encased in plaster-like investment, which is specially created for jewelry making. After the investment sets, the encased wax model is burned away in an oven, leaving a jewelry-shaped void in the hardened investment. That space is filled with silver, forming a duplicate of the original wax design.
Rubber Mold
The silver master model is then packed into a fat sandwich of special mold rubber and squeezed tight under high heat and pressure until it forms a solid block. The rubber forms itself around the master model, creating a perfect three-dimensional impression of the piece of jewelry. The rubber is cut in half to remove the silver master. Then the rubber is put back together and hot wax is injected through a hole in the rubber to fill the ring-shaped space inside, forming a wax reproduction of the master model.
Jewelry Making, Wax Tree
To finally turn wax into gold, a number of wax models, usually 10 or 20 are placed on a large branching wax tree. When the tree is complete, the whole wax structure is placed in a flask.
Jewelry Making, Burn Out
A special liquid plaster called investment is mixed and poured over the tree to encase it all in plaster. A vacuum is used to remove any air bubbles from the liquid investment. Like the single mold of the original model, after the investment hardens, the wax is burned out, leaving a branching tree hole to be filled with molten metal.
Casting
Grains of gold or silver and alloy (a mixture of other metals) is added to it and melted. When the metal has the correct temperature at around 950°C, it's poured into the hardened plaster mold with the tree impression. After the gold hardens the mold is cracked and the tree is removed from investment.
Metal Work
At this point, the jeweler refines the main structure of your ring, necklace or other piece. The jeweler files down the casting skin to reveal the metal underneath.
Jewelry Making, Gems Setting
Gem and diamond setting is a crucial aspect of jewelry design, enhancing the beauty and value of these precious stones. There are several popular setting styles, each with its unique characteristics: Prong setting, Channel setting, Bezel setting, and Pave setting are the most common.
The choice of setting depends on the desired aesthetics, stone type, and the jewelry's purpose. Each setting has its advantages and considerations in terms of security, maintenance, and overall appearance.
Finishing
In the final stage, a polisher works to make sure the metal is polished to perfection so it’s as shiny as possible.
Finally, the jewelry is inspected and imperfections are corrected.
Now you know the basic jewelry manufacturing process that gives you a better understanding of the many steps to a final piece of jewelry