How Fine Jewellery Is Made?
If you understand the basics of how fine jewellery is made, you’ll appreciate your ring more — and you’ll be able to make an informed choice between handcrafted jewellery and pieces that are mass-produced.
Below is a practical overview of the most common manufacturing methods in use today, and what each one means for durability, finish, and long-term serviceability.
Handmade jewellery
Handmade jewellery begins with a design concept. A designer prepares a detailed sketch that combines the specifications of the diamonds or gemstones, the metal (for example 18K gold), and the required finger size into a balanced, wearable design.
How a goldsmith makes a piece by hand
The goldsmith interprets the design and typically proceeds as follows:
- Melting and casting an ingot: Precious metal granules are melted (in an electric furnace or with a gas flame) and poured into a mould to form an ingot.
- Forming bar, sheet, or wire: The ingot is rolled into bar or sheet, or pulled through progressively smaller holes in a drawplate to form wire.
- Annealing: As the metal work-hardens through rolling and stretching, it is annealed (heated to a controlled temperature) so it can be worked further without cracking.
- Marking and cutting: The design is marked onto the metal and cut with shears and a fine jeweller’s saw.
- Shaping: The metal is shaped using pliers, bending blocks, hammers, and anvils into the required form (for example a ring shank).
- Refining: Files and rotary tools refine contours, edges, and surfaces.
- Joining components: Elements such as claws or gallery components are joined by soldering (or, in some cases, laser welding).
- Preparing settings: Seats and holes for diamonds or gemstones are drilled and prepared accurately.
- Pre-polish: Pre-polishing is completed before setting begins.
- Setting: A setter secures the diamonds or gemstones, followed by final polishing and hallmarking.
- Rhodium plating (if required): White gold may be rhodium plated to achieve a brighter white finish.
It is meticulous work — and that precision is what makes properly made fine jewellery feel different on the hand and last through decades of wear.
Why custom make?
Handcrafted jewellery is unique and reflects time, skill, and careful finishing. Because the metal is shaped, worked, and refined by hand, many designs also benefit from strong structure and excellent serviceability over time.
Handmaking usually carries a higher labour cost than mass production, but that labour translates into control, refinement, and the ability to tailor the piece to the wearer’s lifestyle.
You are welcome to visit our atelier to observe the craft of jewellery making and understand what goes into a piece before it is worn.
Mass-produced jewellery
Mass reproduction uses methods such as stamping and electroforming, but the most common modern route is computer-aided design followed by casting.
Computer Assisted Design (CAD/CAM)
CAD allows a designer to build a 3D model that can be rotated, refined, and adjusted precisely. The final design is then used to produce wax models with a 3D printer. In some cases, clients can handle or try a wax model shortly after the design is finalised.
CAD/CAM can be an excellent route when the design is engineered correctly, and when the finishing and setting work is done to proper standards.
Lost-wax casting
Wax replicas are attached to form a “tree”, placed in a metal cylinder, and covered with an investment slurry (similar in behaviour to plaster-based materials). Once hardened, the cylinder is heated so the wax melts and drains out, leaving a cavity — the “lost-wax” process.
Molten metal is then forced into the cavity (commonly via vacuum or centrifugal casting). After cooling, the investment is broken away, the cast tree is revealed, and individual items are cut off and finished. Final hand-finishing and precise setting work remain critical to the quality of the final piece.
What this means for durability and repairs
Many cast items are designed to use less metal. That can be perfectly acceptable when the design is engineered for strength, but extremely light construction can make some pieces harder to resize, repair, or alter later. The right method depends on the design, the wearer’s lifestyle, and how the piece will be used.
Which method is right for your design?
We can advise whether a piece is best made by hand, cast via CAD/CAM, or produced through a hybrid approach. If you’re planning a bespoke piece, speak to our jewellery designers in Cape Town. For resizing, repairs, rhodium plating, or setting checks, see our jewellery services.
Your consultant is a call away — we’ll guide you based on your design goals, budget, and long-term wearability.