jewellery

Jewellery Manufacturing : How Sterling Silver jewellery is made

jewellery manufacture
01
Aug

Jewellery Manufacturing; How Sterling Silver jewellery is made?

The process of manufacturing usually involves multiples steps. The followings are the basic steps of making silver jewellery in bulk.

The Common step in every jewellery factory for wholesale.

Table of contents

1. Jewellery Manufacturing step 1 : DESIGN

2. Jewellery Manufacturing step 2 : MOLD MAKING

3. Jewellery Manufacturing step 3 : CASTING

4. Jewellery Manufacturing step 4 : STONE SETTING

5. Jewellery Manufacturing step 5 : POLISHING

6. Jewellery Manufacturing step 6 : FINISHING AND PLATING

Jewellery Manufacturing step 1 : DESIGN

In order to start the actual process of Jewellery Manufacture we must have a design ready. Every collection starts with a concept that requires on-going researches, plenty of rough sketches and market analysis. Once a design has been selected, you must create a detailed sketch which specifies all the essential specifications including dimensions, approximate weight, size of gemstones, as well as other necessary details in every component of the design. There are many designing software available including 2D sketch, 3D Sketch, Matrix, Jewel CAD and Adobe Illustrator.

Jewellery Manufacturing step 2 : MOLD MAKING

After the final sketch has been approved, this is when the actual Jewellery Manufacture process starts. Master Mold must be made for Mass production.

There a few options for making a jewelry model ; carves a design out of wax(hand-carved wax) or sterling silver model, 3D printing is also being used in Jewellery Manufacture for creating metal prototypes, wax models, and 3D printed molds, which are later needed for actual metal casting.

Cast the model and polishes the casting to produce a silver “master” mold.
The master model is used to make a wax mold out of rubber, which is heated and vulcanized around the master casting to make a flexible wax mold.

Molten wax is injected into the rubber mold. This can be done over and over to make duplicate of the original design.

Jewellery Manufacturing step 3 : CASTING

With the wax copies, build the wax tree, which provides paths for the molten wax to flow out and molten metal to later fill the cavity.

The wax tree is inserted into a flask and surrounded by the liquid investment plaster.

After the investment material dries, the flask is placed upside down into a kiln, which melts the wax leaving a negative cavity in the shape of the original model.

The investment mold is further heated in a kiln to reduce the temperature difference forces the molten silver into the space where the wax tree was.

Then the red hot flask is dipped into cold water, which in a manner of explodes the plaster off the silver. The result reveals the silver tree after the spent plaster was removed.

Jewellery Manufacturing step 4 : STONE SETTING

The Setting Type refers to the metal base that holds a gemstone or diamond in place.

There are various ways in which your gemstones can be set into your jewellery.

These are some of the most common and widely used setting types.

  • Claw/Prong Setting
  • Pave Setting(pronounced “pa-vay”)
  • Bezel Setting
  • Channel Setting Semi Bezel Setting
  • A pressure setting (also known as a flush or rubbed in setting)
  • Bar setting
  • Tension setting
  • Bead setting

There is also an option ofstone setting in wax forcost-concerning and time-saving alternative.

Jewellery Manufacturing step 5 : POLISHING

In Jewellery manufacture the polishing process can be used a wide array of machines and hand held tools to remove uneven or rustic surfaces from silver jewellery. Buffing and polishing are the two procedures used to produce the final high luster on jewellery; withrubbing wheel, sander, and-or laser welding machine to work on each piece of jewellery to reveal its truly brilliant shine.

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Jewellery Manufacturing step 6 : FINISHING AND PLATING

To create uniqueness and give each piece its own identity, there are different types of finishing

  • classic high polish
  • sand brush
  • satin
  • laser cut
  • hammer finishing
  • ice-skating

Plating is a method of coating, There are many reasons for plating such as: to change the color, to add value with a layer of a more expensive metal, or prevent tarnish. The common plating options for Silver jewellery are:

  • Silver plating
  • E-coat
  • Rhodium plating
  • Gold plated
  • Black rhodium
  • Rose gold plating
  • Two-toned color technique

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