JEWELRY MAKING

Jewelry making is a fascinating process that encompasses master model construction, wax injection, casting, jewelers (pre-finishing), gem setting, polishing and plating.

Gem cutting and gem matching

Completely reliant on the eyes and hands of skilled professionals, expert faceting and matching for size and color is critical in ensuring that the key ingredients in a gorgeous handcrafted piece of jewelry, the gems themselves, really shine! Before being set in jewelry, qualified professionals carefully examine each gem, separating them according to their clarity, color, cut and carat weight.

Jewelry design

Jewelry design is both an art and surprisingly, a science. Inspiration and ideas come from the most unexpected sources. With a rich and varied color palette, using both hand-drawn and computer-aided design, our design team imagines stunning jewelry creations to complement our gemstones.

Our jewelry design team regularly travels the world's major jewelry markets in Asia, Europe and the US to stay abreast of the latest design and fashion trends. Gems TV has the expertise and flexibility to design high quality contemporary jewelry that is current with the latest European, global and Hollywood fashions, as well as timeless pieces that embody classic design. Keeping you at the forefront of fashion, style and beauty, in November 2006 Gems TV was delighted to have one of our rings featured in British Vogue.

Working hand in hand with our master model makers and jewelers, our design team ensures that their creations are realized exactly how they were imagined. Gems TV has over 13,000 existing designs and creates over 70 new designs every day.

Handmade jewelry

Many of the handcrafted pieces start from gold bars or grains. Jewelers take the correct amount for the design and then alloy is added to create 14K or 18K gold. The first step is to soften the gold to make it easier to craft. To do this, the jeweler uses an atmosphere control melter to heat the gold to a temperature of 1,877°F.

For some designs, rather than starting with nuggets of gold, the jeweler starts with a length of gold that is already shaped into a round rod. Once the gold has been heated and cut into a rough state, the jeweler then starts to shape the body of the ring. This art is fascinating to watch, as within minutes you see a flat piece of gold transformed into jewelry by artisans whose only tools are their hammers and a wealth of experience.

Master model construction

When handcrafting larger quantities, wax molding technique is used to construct the first step of the ring.Silver model makers and wax carvers. turn one-dimensional drawing into a three- dimensional master model ensuring that the finished jewelry exceeds all expectations. As with the old carpenter's adage, measure twice cut once, master models must be exactingly precise, as any mistakes at this stage are going to appear in the finished jewelry.

Wax injection

The wax injection process comprises four sub-processes: rubber mold making, wax injection, quality control and repair, and wax tree preparation. While wax injection team carefully works with pre-set wax injection machines, the rubber mold makers understand the importance of correctly prepared rubber molds for improved wax injection. Quality control ensures wax pieces are cleaned and in a proper condition for casting.

From a drawing either a silver or wax master model. Once the master model is produced, a mold can be made using rubber. These rubber molds are used to make multiple wax copies and these are then checked to ensure they are perfect. Remember, each of these will be a piece of handcrafted jewelry after casting - any mistakes here will show up in the finished design. Next, individual wax molds are affixed to a wax tree ready for casting.

Casting

Again, like wax injection, the process itself is actually very simple. The tree of wax molds in a cylinder, ceramic cement, is poured out and the cylinders heated up until the wax melts out. Next the gold and silver is poured in a vacuum to ensure every crevice is filled.

Jewelers (pre-finishing)

Jewelers carefully prepare and assemble the jewelry components ready for gem setting, all the while understanding the finishing needs for each individual design. In the case of bracelet assembly, the components are all assembled by hand with the only high technology employed being laser welding for superior strength.

Gem setting

At this stage, the gemstone or gemstones will be placed in the determined setting. Expert craftsmen are able to handset an average of 150 gemstones per day.

Polishing and plating

This is the final step of the process before an exquisite piece of gemstone jewelry is unveiled. To ensure that the best shine and finish is achieved, but not at the expense of essential design details. Individual polishing needs mus be carefully seperated. For example, when plating is required, plating specialists apply a carefully calculated formula of rhodium or gold plating with an emphasis on both color and brightness.