From drawing to making jewelry
Discover the steps in the creation of Lorenz Bäumer's jewelry
From drawing to jewelry making
Discover the steps in the creation of Lorenz Bäumer's jewelry.
What are the steps in creating a piece of jewelry?
The design of a jewelry model requires going through different steps listed below:
The design
The majority of jewelry is first designed by a creator according to their inspiration. This design can also (and increasingly) be done on a computer.
THE WAX MODEL
Once the drawing is completed, a model maker interprets it in three dimensions, meaning he sculpts it in wax while respecting technical requirements. At this stage as well, the computer can create a 3D vision of the jewel that will be used for its realization.
Lost-wax casting
The majority of the jewelry is first designed by a creator according to their inspiration. The previously made wax is then entrusted to a foundry. It is placed among other wax models on a pouring tree, also called a wax tree. The latter is then cast in a special plaster into which the foundry worker injects molten metal under high pressure. The high temperature and pressure melt the wax, which flows out through a hole left at the bottom of the mold, and the metal replaces the wax to form the skeleton of the jewelry.
It is then necessary to let the plaster mold cool before breaking it to retrieve the rough jewelry pieces. These, still attached to the sprue, are then cut and reworked in the workshop to improve the finishes. last. This design can also (and increasingly) be done on a computer.
Molding
After the previous step, the jeweler obtains a metal model, often in silver, which is once again entrusted to the foundry so that the latter can proceed with the final casting. This mold, made of rubber, allows for as many waxes as desired to be produced in order to automate production.
The source
The wax casts from the previous step are then placed again on a sprue tree and coated for a lost-wax casting. On the other hand, the metal used is the one desired for the final piece of jewelry (either gold for Lorenz Bäumer).
The obtained casting, called a mold, is reworked in the workshop. The jewelry is cut from the tree, smoothed, and polished to remove imperfections. Moreover, regarding rings, if the ordered ring size is not the same as the casting size, it needs to be adjusted.
Polishing
The jewelry is then polished to finish smoothing it and making it shiny.
Crimping
If the jewelry is to include stones, all the previous steps concern the skeleton of the jewelry (also called the setting, which is the metal part of the jewelry).
The setter must then fix the stones onto the mount according to the desired setting type (prong, bezel, semi-bezel, grain, etc.).
Rhodium plating
For white gold jewelry, a rhodium plating is added to make the jewelry shine.
FINAL POLISHING
Finally, a final polishing is done to perfectly shine the metal and give the jewel its full brilliance.
The punching
All jewelry weighing more than 3 grams must be stamped, meaning they must receive two stamps: the Master stamp (from the workshop) and the State stamp (which guarantees the metal's fineness, 375 for 9K gold and 750 for 18K gold).
