The beautiful and dazzling world of jewelry is not a simple one. There are many factors which contribute to the crafting of the jeweled works of art. The art of jewelry making can be traced back to the Egyptian and Greco Roman eras when the jeweler's art was revered vocation. The modern jewelry designers and craftsmen continue the same tradition.
. The contentment derived from the craft of jewelry making has been carried through the generations. The main factors involved in the art of jewelry making are design and craftsmanship.
The workmanship of a particular piece of jeweled art is significant both for its beauty and security. Well-proportioned and fascinating patterns smooth polishing and finishing characterizes the craft of jewelry making. Jewelry making is truly regarded as an art from conception to the execution of design. After the initial sketches and models are made, the following processes are involved to create an exquisite piece whose beauty will be a source of eternal joy
Hand Wrought:
This term is generally given to a process involved for the fashioning of an item of jewelry entirely by hand, including the task of melting the metal in a crucible, hammering and bending it to the desired shape, boring and sewing the necessary holes, using special tools for engraving texture on the metal, welding and soldering parts together and finally burning and polishing the metal.
Cast:
The ‘lost wax' or ‘centrifugal casting method' is employed for most fine jewelry pieces. The process involves the model being carefully sculptured in wax and then being placed in flax where the plaster is poured. After that the plaster investment is placed in a vacuum to remove bubbles and then allowed to harden. The flask is then placed in a centrifugal casting machine which throws molten metal into the cavity. A large number of pieces can be made by this process, thus allowing a large production of a quality product.
Die Struck
Finely machines dyes are made to the desired design and shape from a piece of unhardened steel to form a hub. After the hub is hardened and forced into another unhardened piece of steel to make a sunken die, the bar metal is shaped between the two dyes by tremendous pressure or with the aid of a drop hammer.
