From drawing to realization
From drawing to making jewelry
Discover the steps involved in the creation of Lorenz Bäumer's jewelry
What are the steps involved in creating a piece of jewelry?
Designing a jewelry model requires going through the following steps:
THE drawing
The majority of jewelry is first designed by a creator based on their inspiration. This design can also (and increasingly) be done on a computer.
THE WAX MODEL
Once the drawing is complete, a model maker interprets it in 3 dimensions, meaning they sculpt it in wax while adhering to technical requirements. At this stage, the computer can also create a 3D vision of the jewelry that will be used for its creation.
Lost-wax casting
Most jewellery is first designed by a creator based on their inspiration. This design can also (and increasingly) be done on a computer. The wax previously created is then entrusted to a founder. It is placed among other wax models on a casting tree, also known as a wax tree. The latter is then moulded in a special plaster into which the founder 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 mould, and the metal replaces the wax to form the skeleton of the jewellery.
It is then necessary to let the plaster mould cool before breaking it to retrieve the rough jewellery blanks. These, still attached to the casting tree, are then cut and reworked in the workshop to improve their finishes.
MOLDING
After the previous stage, the jeweler obtains a metal model, often in silver, which is then entrusted to the caster again so that the latter can proceed with the definitive casting. This mold, made of rubber, allows as many waxes as desired to be cast in order to automate production.
CAST IRON
The wax models from the previous stage are then once again placed on a casting tree and invested for lost-wax casting. However, the metal used is the one desired for the final piece of jewelry (gold for Lorenz Bäumer).
The resulting casting, called a "fonte", is reworked in the workshop. The jewelry pieces are cut from the tree, smoothed, and massaged to remove imperfections. Additionally, for rings, if the ordered finger size is not the same as the casting, it must be modified.
Polishing
The jewels are then polished to smooth and shine them.
Setting
If the jewel is to include stones, all the previous steps concern the skeleton of the jewel (also called the setting, i.e. the metal part of the jewel).
The setter must then fix the stones on the setting according to the desired type of setting (prong, bezel, half-bezel, pavé, etc.).
RHODIUM PLATING
For white gold jewelry, rhodium plating is added to make the piece shiny.
THE FINAL POLISHING
Finally, a last polish is performed to perfectly shine the metal and give the jewelry its full sparkle.
PUNCHING
All jewelry weighing more than 3 grams must be hallmarked, meaning they must receive two hallmarks: the Maker's mark (i.e., from the workshop) and the State mark (which guarantees the metal's fineness, i.e., 375 for 9K gold and 750 for 18K gold).