Design
The brief is calculated, all the necessary detailed information is gathered from the client, it is the first step to a good project.
The paper approach is the basis for the birth of a piece of jewelry. Through a few sketches you are able to translate an idea into an object.
The designer will make a piece of jewelry from the initial concept to the final creation, it is a process that requires great technical knowledge, being able to calculate and harmonize important aspects such as size, weight, colors, materials, always referring to the client’s request.
Casting
A reproduction of the jewelry is made in wax (by hand or by special 3D printers) from which a plaster cast is made. Inlet and outlet casting channels are created.
The plaster mold is placed in an oven at about 200 °C temperature. At this time the wax melts and flows out of the channels.
Once the wax is “lost,” molten metal is poured through the inlet channels into the mold.
When the metal has solidified, the plaster mold is broken, obtaining the object.
Finish
Finishing is the combination of various processes; it is used to clean the jewel of casting imperfections. Files of various sizes and grit are used to “rough up” the jewel as much as possible, then move on to increasingly delicate finishing. This processing must be done in great detail, removing all scratches on the surface to prepare the jewel for polishing.
Polishing is the last process, through the use of brushes of different sizes and materials, and with the help of polishing pastes, the jewel is polished to a high shine.
Stone Setting
Setting is the most delicate technique; it is considered an art, used in goldsmithing to “fix” gemstones of various kinds and shapes in jewelry inside special housings. The stones are carefully selected, those that best suit the design of the jewelry, in size, shape and cut. This work is done with specific burins and special microscopes, which allow for very high precision work that is difficult to achieve with the naked eye.