Working with a designer who understands the potentials and pitfalls of the specific jewellery materials and how jewellery works in relation to the body.

The cutting of metal into elements or units which can then be formed into jewellery items. The cutting is generally done with a piercing saw but laser-cutting may be an option. Forming is the shaping of the metal which can be done by hammering, bending, raising over a stake, sinking, die-forming or any number of other processes.



The joining of metal using heat. This can be done in many ways but the most usual is to use a gas-torch of some sort. Increasingly, laser-welding and TIG welding are coming into use in the jewellery studio.

Using wax models to create moulds which are then filled with molten metal. This is a complex and specialised process which allows for the rapid production of multiple units or for the production of units which might otherwise not be possible. Waxes may be carved by hand by specialist wax carvers or may be created by digital milling and while many jewellers do cast their own work, specialist casting companies are preferred by many.

 

The finishing of jewellery which has been completed. This is effectively the last stage in production and although their used to be specialist polishers – there are still a few in places like Birmingham and London – most jewellers now do their own polishing.