Handmade vs. Cast Jewellery
WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCEWhen it comes to fine jewellery, most folks only think about what it looks like, but few understand the craftsmanship that goes into its creation. Have you ever wondered what makes one piece of jewellery more expensive than another? The answer often lies in the manufacturing process, which can significantly impact the quality, long-term durability and design of the final piece.
Two production methods commonly used in jewellery making are casting and handmade fabrication. While casting methods are more efficient to save time and money, handmade fabrication involves the skilled and trained hands of a jeweller to craft a piece entirely from scratch. Hand fabricated jewellery is a unique creation, with every detail carefully considered and crafted to perfection.
At Wild to Ware, we specialise in one-of-a-kind offerings that are entirely hand fabricated. Our skilled jeweller (he won’t like that we called him that, but he is! 10+ years experience, no less), Tink, personally crafts every single piece in our studio.
So why choose handmade jewellery? Let’s break it down for you:
After an ingot is poured it is rolled into a square rod shape, then drawn (pulled by hand) through a plate to create the round wire profile. From there, Tink rolls and shapes an engagement ring band to its initial shape.
Hand fabricated pieces that make up our Toi et Moi ring.
Handmade (or hand fabricated) Jewellery
Handmade jewellery is a rare and unique creation, involving a high level of craftsmanship and attention to detail. Unlike mass-produced jewellery, handmade jewellery doesn’t rely on models or moulds. Instead, the process begins with making sheets or wire (pictured above) from pure gold, other base and precious metals to create the desired alloy (aka. white, yellow, rose gold). Or as we do at Wild to Ware, create alloy from recycled gold and natural gold nuggets. From there, the metal is carefully cut, hammered, shaped, and annealed (heated and cooled) to create the desired design. Once the metalwork is complete, the piece is polished, and any gemstones are carefully set by pushing or hammering metal over the stone. One final polish to finalises the creation.
Pros:
Handmade jewellery is significantly harder than cast jewellery, resulting in a more durable piece that is less prone to scratching and bending. This is because it’s work-hardened during the crafting process. We won’t bore you with the science but basically we’re changing the metal molecules to a hardened state. For example, this is done by forging, heating, cooling, rolling, bending and hammering.
Handmade jewellery allows for finer, stronger and more delicate designs, as opposed to bulkier cast jewellery.
Handmade jewellery has no porosity, which is a common flaw in the casting process. Porosity is where gasses are trapped in the molten metal when pouring, making it softer.
In the hand fabricated jewellery process, you have complete knowledge of the materials used and where they have been sourced. At Wild to Ware, we can tell you exactly where every part of the jewellery is from, down to the riverbed or hillside where the gemstone and gold was sourced.
Each piece of handcrafted jewellery is entirely unique, making it a one-of-a-kind treasure with it’s own creation tale.
Measuring and creating the setting for each stone. Because one-off custom stones requre custom beds to sleep in (ahem. settings!). Every tiny detail is considered, right down to the claws that hold stones in place. Minor angles are tested and examined to ensure the most amount of brilliance (light) is reflected back from each stone.
Soldering each setting into the shank (band). Hand fabricated claws and settings are stronger when hand fabricated and less prone to bending like their cast counterpart. This means you’re less likely to loose your precious stones!
Cast Jewellery
A lot, and we mean a lot of jewellers and retailers produce cast jewellery. This method involves pouring molten metal into moulds made by carving wax (also known as ‘lost wax casting’) or 3D printing a wax model of the desired piece. The model is then covered in plaster and heated to melt out the wax, creating a female mould in the plaster for the molten metal to be poured into.
Another process (which we’ll cover another time, for the sake of clarity!) is called ‘hand assembled’ which is a fancy term used to make you think it has been skillfully handcrafted. But it is simply cast sections of metal, soldered together to create a piece of jewellery. But let’s not get too sidetracked for the moment – below are some reasons why you might want to steer clear of cast jewellery.
The use of casting in metalwork poses a risk of porosity (small air pockets within the metal). Porosity causes the finished product to be weaker and more prone to breaking. i.e. A significant drop in quality.
If you have a cast ring, it is in its softest state possible, period. This is because it doesn’t have the benefit of being work hardened like hand fabricated jewellery. This makes it more susceptible to bending, scratching, and the potential loss of precious stones due to the metal's lack of strength in holding them securely in place.
Mixed metals cannot be made with the casting process. i.e. creating a two tone (white, yellow, rose gold) band. However, they can be ‘hand assembled’ with separate cast sections.
We are passionate about creating handcrafted jewellery that is not only beautiful but also durable and ethically sourced. By using the traditional techniques of metalworking, we ensure that each piece is crafted with the highest level of quality and attention to detail, resulting in a product that is unique and will last a lifetime. We firmly believe that the extra time and effort required to create each piece of jewellery by hand is worth the investment, and we take pride in providing our customers with jewellery that they will treasure for years to come and perhaps one day hand down as heirlooms.
