It’s necessary to know about the process of jewelry manufacturing if you’re a novice jewelry designer seeking to get your bearings in the industry.

If you want to work with more than one studio from beginning to end, having a fundamental understanding the process of jewelry manufacturing is crucial. Finally, it will make it easier for you to comprehend how the various expenses of making jewelry are categorized, allowing you to make the best decision possible when you get that invoice.

Here are 12 Phases of Jewelry Manufacturing

Phase 1: Making Design

The first step in the process of jewelry manufacturing is the design of the individual pieces. The process of making jewelry is comparable to performing magic. Jewelry is created by a multi-step process, beginning with the conceptualization of an idea and ending with an evaluation of the piece’s quality.

The first thing that has to be done in order to make a piece of jewelry is to think of a design for it. After giving it serious attention, the jeweler moves on to the designing step of the process, during which he or she takes an idea for a piece of jewelry and makes it a tangible reality.

Phase 2: CAD/CAM Technology

The computer-aided design and manufacturing phase, often known as the CAD/CAM phase, is the second step after the design phase. CAD software, which stands for computer-aided design, is used often by designers in order to improve the accuracy and quality of their work in both two and three dimensions. It is also helpful in the creation of a database for manufacturing. After the jewelry designer has completed the conceptualization of a piece, the next step is to render it on paper and develop it digitally. This move from “concept on paper” to “system” is made easier by computer-aided design software, more often referred to as CAD software. The machining and production stages of a manufacturing cycle may both be automated with the use of software that is classified as computer-aided manufacturing, or CAM for short.

Phase 3: Create a model

Casting a silver model is part of the “Model Making” stage that comes after it. This model is a master design that is used to build related pieces of jewelry using a rubber mold. The resin that is produced by the CAM system is utilized in this step.

Phase 4: Rubber Mold

The fourth step, which is known as the Rubber Mould stage, is a very important part of the whole production process. Utilizing a Rubber Mould makes it simple to create multiples of the same item of jewelry at the same time, which is a time saver. Because the designs are saved, safeguarded, and imprinted into the rubber mold, it is feasible to utilize the mold again to create jewelry that is similar to what was previously made. Vulcanizing is the process of creating a mold from raw materials such as natural rubber, silicone, or metal. Vulcanizing is also known as vulcanism.

Phase 5: Waxing

The production of wax models is the next stage in the fabrication of jewelry, which is the following step after casting. For the casting of the wax figures, silver master rubber molds are used. Wax models may be manufactured by mounting a rubber mold onto a wax injector machine and then forcing molten wax into the cavity created by the mold while it is under pressure. These wax sculptures are being used to make castings right now.

The technique of welding wax components onto a wax stem is referred known as “treeing.” Treeing is the process of affixing miniature spruces to the stems of individual wax figures at an angle of around 45 degrees. The things that are less heavy are placed higher up the tree for storage, while those that are heavier are placed lower down.

Phase 6: Casting

Casting is the second step in the creation of jewelry at KOSH, and it is generally acknowledged as one of the most complex processes used in the industry as a whole. Casting is an art form that requires the skills of seasoned specialists who have been doing it for a long time. The casting process proceeds with the addition of a slurry of chemical powder, which, after about one hour, hardens after being added to the wax tree that has been placed inside of a steel flask. After that, the flask is warmed in an electric furnace until it is ready for use. This results in the wax melting, which reveals a cavity inside the tree. When the metal has been molten long enough, it is then poured into flasks to be allowed to cool. After the liquid metal has had time to cool, it is broken up into smaller pieces so that the jewelry casting may be seen.

Phase 7: Grinding

Grinding is the process that comes next in the manufacturing process of a piece of jewelry. During this stage of the casting process, a polisher is utilized to remove the nub that was left behind after the casting process (a nub formed at the location where the spruce was joined to the gold piece after the raw casting is hacked off from the casting tree). The gold in the piece of jewelry is given a shiny finish with the assistance of a motorized grinding equipment. During the last phase of the polishing process, the piece of jewelry is pressed up against a rotating grinding wheel. This step allows the surface to be buffed and smoothed to the required degree.

Phase 8: After filing and assembling comes the final finishing

The process of filing a piece of jewelry is the next stage in the creation of the item. During the step known as “Filing,” any excess solder or metal is cleaned off of the surface. After the casting layer has been scraped away, the surface is next finished using burns and files to make it as smooth as possible. After the filing step, the next step is assembly.

The next phase in the process is polishing, which results in the jewelry seeming more polished and well made, and also raises its value. The polishing procedure is broken down into three stages: tumbling, pre-polishing, and hyper cleaning. Tumbling is the first stage. When shopping for diamond jewelry, it is important to remember that the diamonds must be pre-polished before they are set. This is because polishing the diamonds after they have been placed might possibly cause them to become less reflective.

Phase 9: The setting of metals

In the process of manufacturing a piece of jewelry, step nine and the very last step is the application of the metal setting. When making jewelry, the gemstone is “set,” which means it is joined to the metal setting. Altering the parameters of the metal may provide a broad variety of different appearances. Even the use of many different metals for the setting adds to the eye-catching aesthetic of the item. As was previously said, there is a wide variety of subcategories to be found within the realm of metal settings. The prong settings, the plate prong settings, the bezel settings, the pressure settings, the bead settings, the flush settings, the invisible settings, the fishtail settings, the miracle plate settings, and the channel settings are only few examples.
After the metalwork is finished, any gemstones that will be featured will be set. Expert jewelers use small, precise hand tools to place gems and diamonds in precious metals like gold and platinum. Gems are set into precious metals by having slots carved into them so that they may sit flush before being tightened. Setters are experts at gently pressing on beads, prongs, and walls over fragile stones until they are securely fastened in place.

Phase 10: COMPLETE THE PROCESS BY POLISHING

The jewelry is completed after it has been polished, which is the very final stage in the process. After the stones have been set, the jewelry is polished so that their full brilliance may be seen. Polishing may either be done manually or mechanically, depending on preference. To manually polish jewelry to a high shine, jewelers use a wide variety of tools.

Phase 11: APPLICATION OF RHODIUM,

The process of creating jewelry is almost finished when it is given a coating of rhodium. A piece of jewelry may be made more resistant to scratches and corrosion by undergoing rhodium plating, which involves applying the precious metal rhodium, which has a dazzling white color, to the surface of the item. Rhodium is used to adorn yellow gold for aesthetic reasons, while it is used to whiten white gold for the same reason (due to the fact that white gold in its purest condition is not particularly white).

Phase 12: will be dedicated to quality control.

In the process of jewelry manufacturing, quality control comes at the very end and is perhaps the most important stage. When we get to this stage of production, the final product is subjected to quality control inspection to see whether or not it meets the quality standards that have been set. The three most important aspects of quality control are measurement, a visual inspection, and a mechanical inspection.