Jewellery Manufacturing Process

In this Session we will be knowing the various processes of Jewellery Manufacturing in detail , this will help any designer to understand his /her  visualisation of designs passes through various phases of  jewellery making

 

 

 

The Jewellery:                                                                                       
From the ancient era men or women wear different kinds of Jewellery. When they don’t know the word “Jewellery” or “Ornament” they decorate self body by leaves, beads, seeds, flowers, pebbles, bone etc. The singular purpose of Jewellery is to adorn the human form: to decorate the part of body. Necklace, Pendent, Earrings, Bangles, Bracelets, Rings, Studs, Armlets, Tika, Chains… thereis no limitation of the range of Jewellery. Men & women wear Jewellery in many parts of body; accordingto age, occasion & personality. This ornamental pieces or Jewellery are made from various metals according to demand. Mainly Gold, Silver & Platinum are used for Jewellery purpose; but, Copper, Bronze, Nickel, Brass, Wood, Bone, Teeth, Ivory, Clay, Lather are other materials used for Jewellery. Many different materials used for give smarten look to Jewellery are Diamonds, Precious or Semi-precious stones in different cutting & colour, Pearls, Enamel, Wood etc…

To make Jewellery is not simple, but by learning the processes by a right person or at right place you can make your own Jewellery, also at home. Jewellery making dose not require big space, in fact the work area can be rather compact and just allow enough room for a work-bench and some small tools of lower price.

 

 

Benefits to learn Jewellery making:                                        

• If you are in the business of Jewellery…
  You can get best work from workers, by using your knowledge. 

• If you are worker…
  You can give better finishing to your ornamental piece.
   

• If you are buyer of Jewellery…
  You can buy better work piece from show-rooms or Jewellery house.
  
• If you don’t have your own business of Jewellery…
  You can make your own Jewellery by your self.
  
• If you are housewife…
  You can make & adorn your own Jewellery.  

Basic processes to make Jewellery:                                                 

“Jewellery”, when thinking about, eyes are sparkling like diamond, and if the jewellery with diamonds don’t have imagination for the happiness to have it. But, if you know after many processes done on metal pieces, the jewellery is become. Mainly jewellery made by Manual (hand made) or Casting machine made). The processes done on jewellery are here.

Art of Jewellery Designing: Before learn to make Jewellery; you have to get the knowledge of Jewellery Designing. Jewellery Designing is the process where you imagine the Jewellery before making and make (place) it on the paper. Jewellery designing is necessary because, to make an ornament you have a reference to make it.

Forging: Forging utilizes the malleable quality of metal which allows it to be hammered into various shapes. One of the advantages of this is the spring tension created by the hardening of the metal.
Sawing: Sawing is a technique; that can be mastered quickly, enabling you to saw precisely along any line or cut out any shape from metal piece.

Filing: Metal pieces are shaped bi files, curves are cut, contours rounded, edges beveled and planes smoothed. Filing is also used after sawing to refine forms or to correct them where necessary.
Drilling the holes for the stones: To drilling the holes for the stones for appropriate size; always make the starting from the centre hole. A most important thing for drilling the stones is that the hole must be bigger in front side & must be smaller at the back side, because it gives support to the stone. The stones should be fall if the holes were made in the vertical sides. To put stone properly, the top hole should be made sufficiently large.

Drilling the holes for the diamonds: Before to drill the holes for diamonds; we can mark out the place where we drill. The process of drilling the holes for the diamonds is based on the size of the diamonds. The back of the holes should be neat but in simple pattern. The value of this process is costly but a little extra time spent on this process, it gives a good finishing.

Soldering: The method used to unit metal surfaces by heat and solder is called soldering. There are different types of solder used to solder jewellery. Lower purity metals, silver, copper or cadmium are mainly used. In diamond jewellery manufacturing the process of soldering is generally used soft soldering is quite different from silver soldering and gold soldering. In jewellery manufacturing, there is no place for soft soldering except it is used in minor parts of some jewellery. It is widely used in some kinds of repairing of jewellery.

Cleaning: Surfaces that are to be soldered together must be perfectly clean. All traces of grease, dirt or fingerprints must be removed in order for the solder to flow properly.

Mounting: The actual article which is made from the precious metal and suits the diamonds or gemstones in the article is called mounting of jewellery.

Enamelling: Enamelling is the technique; which is applied on ornamental pieces since many years ago. In ancient time, people from northern India, Egypt and Greek are used this method to make ornaments colourful. In enamel finely ground powered glass is fused on to a metal base. When heated, the powder of enamel will melt and fuse to the metal to produce richly coloured pieces of jewellery. Three types of Enamel used on jewellery. Enamel is available in transparent and non-transparent.

Buffing: Final finishing is the last step for jewellery making. But, before setting all the scratch marks, excess solder and surface blemishes are removed with fine files and emery cloth or in machine. This process is called Buffing.

Setting: In the finished product where the stone is actually brought in their appropriate place is called setting.

Polishing: To apply the final finish to the pieces is the last basic step in jewellery making.

Surface Treatment: Jewellery made by the basic processes given above, but to give it a smarten look the surface treatment is given. Many different techniques used to decorate the surface.

• Hammering: by using hammer, many different textures will made on jewellery surface.
  

• Engraving: this technique is used to cuts or incises lines into the surface of metal.
  

• Etching: this technique which produces a relief design to the surface of the metal by means of acid and an acid resist is easier to master than engraving, but certainly no less effective.
  

• Embossing: the process to emboss a different designs or textures on metal pieces.
  

• Sand Blasting: to make the metal surface grainy, like sand.
• • Oxidizing: Antique jewellery is the oldest form of traditional ornaments. To give jewellery an antique look, it’s oxidized. This process is done by chemicals.
     

  • Colouring the metal: When the ornamental piece or jewellery gets finish, to five it a more rich or new look its coloured. Liquid form of the metal Rhodium used to coloured jewellery. Rhodium is used on diamonds or stone’s prongs, grainy surface of sometimes all over the piece.

  • Casting: Casting metal into a mould is done on a specially constructed machine, simple in principle and in operation by depending, nevertheless on the judgment and skill of its operator. Centrifugal force is relied upon to send the molten metal into every part of the intricate design and pattern of the model and also to eliminate gas bubbles and porous ness.

    Casting Platinum:
    No flux is needed when casting platinum as the metal is not subject to oxidization and stays clean at all stages of melting to the job of casting is primarily one of getting sufficient heat to make the metal flow freely. Platinum melts at around 1750’C but considerably more heat is needed to make it fluid enough to cast. It is difficult to define the colour of the metal ready for casting but perhaps the best description is ‘pearly white’. When viewed through the dark green goggles of the operator. When this colour has been reached, the arm of the machine is released and spins in an anti clock wise direction, forcing the metal into the mould.

    Casting Palladium: 
    Palladium casting is not quite so easily achieved. Although it melts at a slightly lower temperature it is more sluggish metal and more treacly when melted and requires the same casting temperature as platinum. Palladium is subject to oxidization and to overcome this flux is needed. The best time to add this to the melt is when the metal is just beginning to become molten. By carefully, manipulating the torch, the metal is washed around in the flux to help in achieving this cleanness, after which the flame is held quite steady in the centre of the melt until maximum heat is reached and the metal is ready for casting.

    Casting Gold:
    Casting gold into a mould is similar in principle to casting palladium but the heat required is not nearly so great. After the mould has been prepared and cooled down to the appropriate temperature. The remaining procedure will depend upon the quality. If gold to be cast, white gold needs greater heat than yellow gold and the higher the quality the greater the temperature required. This means that 18 Ct white needs to be hotter than 9 Ct before casting.

    Mold: mold is made by two processes:

  • Hand-made: – by using this process, mold is made by worker at the same process used to make jewellery.
    

  • Machine-made: by using CAM (Computer Aided Molding) techniques mold is done in machine. In this process first the design of ornament is made in 3D CAD (Computer Aided jewellery Designing), after than it’s applied for mold in molding machine. And the CAM machine is made the mold automatically.
     

  Making the Wax-Model & Wax-Tree: From the mold which made by hand or CAM machine; wax model is made. The wax models, which are made by this technique, are than sticking in wax rod, which called Wax-Tree.

  Lost wax Casting: Investment is the mixture of P.O.P. (Plaster of Paris) or other clay and water. A small amount of investment is coated over the wax-model by hand or brush and in machine it’s putting in large quantity surrounding the wax-tree placed in furnace. The furnace is then turn on. During this process of heating, the investment will bone dry and the wax will flow or burn out. This process called “Lost Wax”. For casting lost wax is the classic form.

  Granulation: Granulation is the art of fastening gold or other metal’s granules onto another body of gold or other metal without the use of solder.

  Electro forming: Electro forming is the art of building metallic pieces; by electro-deposition on a base or matrix, which is than removed in whole or in part, leaving a shell of electro deposited metal.