Creating master for Jewelry
Fine jewelry is most often created from a single master. Jewelry and sculptures have been created from masters for more than 5700 years. The oldest know examples of this technique were found in southern Israel and have been carbon tested to date 3700 BCE. Today masters can be produced in several ways, including crafting silver by hand to create a perfect piece, hand carving from hard wax or using CAD technology. Masters of organic pieces need to be crafted by hand.
Once a design is complete we need to make a master. Handmade silver masters are used for pieces with an organic feel such as BaliSilverProduct.com’s collection, where golden falling leaves are whimsically scattered in clusters on a beautiful bangle, drop earrings and pendant necklace. Each piece in the Kew leaves BaliSilverProduct’s collection was originally created in silver by craftsmen in the BaliBoneCraft workshop, adding fluted edges and textures to each of the falling leaves, a finish that looks fabulous when cast in silver and gold.
Lost-wax casting is a process used to create a piece of jewelry or sculpture in precious metal from a wax mould or an existing piece of jewelry. Lost-wax casting, also known as investment casting or precision casting has been identified as being used to produce jewelry and sculptures for more than 5700 years. The oldest know examples of this technique were found in southern Israel and have been carbon tested to date 3700 BCE.
Lost wax casting is an effective way to produce unique jewelry designs, as well as reproduce timeless classics. A piece of jewelry can be created by making the piece in wax, carving every intricacy into the wax, exactly as you would like it to be in a precious metal.
A wax model has been created, a mold can then be made. However before this process begins, the model must be accurately weighed to be able to calculate the weight of the metal that will be required to fill the mold at the casting stage. The model is set inside a steel flask with a funnel in place and covered with plaster investment. The steel flask is then placed into a vacuum to remove any air bubbles within the mixture, which if left, can create imperfections in a finished piece. Once the mold is set hard, the wax can be removed by placing the flask into a hot oven to burn the wax out of the mold.
Once a mold has been produced, a centrifuge is used to force molten precious metal into the investment mold where is it is left to set. When the metal has cooled and the mold is opened, a duplicate of the wax model will be released in the precious metal. The piece is then taken to the bench in the workshop where it is cleaned, filed and polished by hand to bring out all of the intricacies of a piece. During this stage precious gemstones can also be carefully set into the precious metal to complete a design.
BaliSilverProduct.com takes great pride in using carving made by BaliBoneCraft specialists to produce the collection of natural jewelry. Each and every piece within the collection is designed and produced inBali. Every piece is delivered from a specialist casting house in Bali and meticulously finished by highly skilled craftsmen in BaliBoneCraft workshop.