Handcrafting Jewelry: Guided Tour

The GemsTV jewelry workshop accommodates all aspects of both silver (925 Sterling) and gold (9K, 14K and 18K) handcrafted jewelry creation, including gem faceting, gem matching, design conceptualization, master model construction, wax injection, casting, jewelers (pre-finishing), gem setting, polishing & plating and quality assurance.

Gem Cutting & 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. With satisfaction as our highest priority, GemsTV invests tremendous effort towards ensuring that only the highest quality gems are perfectly matched before being set into a stunning array of handcrafted jewelry designs.

Design Conceptualization

With a rich and varied color palette, using hand drawing and computer aided design, our design team creates beautiful designs to complement the gemstones unearthed from mother nature.

One of the design department’s key responsibilities is to ensure that the designs are correctly communicated to the master model makers and in the process of finishing, checked for design correctness and manufacturing suitability.

We create over 70 new designs everyday.

Handmade Jewelry

For smaller quantities, the jeweler literally starts with an amount of gold and then cuts, shapes, heats and stretches it into the final jewelry. For larger quantities, we make an original masterpiece and then cast the required quantity of pieces from the master, finishing them all by hand.

Many of the handcrafted pieces start from gold bars or grains. The jewelers are given the correct amount for the design and then alloy is added to create 9K, 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 1,025ºC.

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. The equipment we use to stretch the gold to the correct thickness is traditional and the skills have been passed on many generations. 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 hammer and a wealth of experience.

Master Model Construction

When handcrafting larger quantities, we use a wax molding technique to construct the first step of the ring. The master model making workshop comprises two sections - silver model makers and wax carvers. Their expertise is diverse and includes everything from simple prong set and lightweight gemstone jewelry designs to artistically crafted masterpieces. These craftspeople are of critical importance, as their ability to turn a one dimensional drawing into a three dimensional master model is vital in ensuring that the finished jewelry exceeds all expectations. As with the old carpenters adage, measure twice cut once, all our master models must be exactingly precise, as any mistakes at this stage are going to appear in the finished jewelry.

Our designers, model makers and jewelry teams work closely together to ensure the very best results are achieved.

Wax Injection

The wax injection department comprises of four sections: rubber mold making; wax injection; quality control & repair; and wax tree preparation. While the 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. Down the line, the quality control team ensures wax pieces are cleaned and in proper condition for casting.

While all this sounds very complicated, the handcrafting process is actually very simple. From a drawing we produce either a silver or wax master model. Once we have a master model, we make a mold of these in rubber. We then use these rubber molds to make multiple wax copies. Once these have been 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), the individual wax molds are placed on a tree ready for casting. 

Casting

At the GemsTV jewelry workshop, the casting room includes the complete array of equipment for handcrafting jewelry, including investment preparation facilities, curing ovens, vacuum casting, a high water pressure investment cleaning area and waste water disposal facilities. With the right experts controlling this process, the very best results are achieved ensuring minimal complications for other processes further down the line. Again, like wax injection, the process itself is actually very simple. We simply put the tree of wax molds in a cylinder, pour in ceramic cement (i.e. investment powder), heat up the cylinders until the wax melts out, pour in the gold or silver in a vacuum to ensure every crevice is filled, wait till the metal sets, crack & clean away the investment and our handcrafted jewelry is well on its way to taking shape.

Jewelers (Pre-finishing)

Once removed from the casting tree, the pieces of jewelry, while starting to take shape, have a while to go before they look like the gorgeous handcrafted creations you see on GemsTV. Our 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. As with all stages involved in handcrafting jewelry, an imbedded quality control team approves every handcrafted piece before they are transferred to the next stage.

Gem Setting

The gem setting team employs carefully selected gem-setters with abilities in both quality and quantity setting; true craftsmen and women, they handset an average of 150 gemstones per day per person. GemsTV have successfully produced a multitude of handcrafted jewelry designs featuring a wide variety of precious and semi precious gemstones. Having a proven record with gemstone setting, GemsTV continuously ensures that the highest quality standards are met, while breaking new ground in both the types of setting and the gems within them.

Polishing & Plating

At the polishing stage, we ensure that the best shine and finish are achieved but not at the expense of essential design details. This is done by careful separating individual polishing needs. When plating is required, plating specialists apply a carefully calculated formula of rhodium or gold plating with an emphasis on both color and brightness.

Quality Assurance

Quality assurance at the GemsTV jewelry workshop encompasses two areas. The first being quality control teams that check each step of the handcrafting process and secondly, the final quality assurance after polishing. The successful implementation of quality control teams has helped minimize and eliminate problems downstream, and plays a key role in maximizing the quality of our handcrafted jewelry. The final product approval is done by quality assurance professionals with years of experience in the creation of high quality handcrafted jewelry. By working closely with quality control teams embedded in each department, they ensure quality standards always exceed expectations. This method ensures that suggestions and improvements are easily implemented throughout the creation of our handcrafted jewelry, where and whenever required.