The Commission Process

Individual and inspirational designs are what Cove Jewellery are all about, with each step detailed below showing you how we achieve your desired jewellery piece. You can also see every stage of your own order, from conception to completion.

Design

Firstly the direction of the design has to be established, by means of initial consultation with the customer to find out what they desire in the piece, these are loosely sketched out based on preferences, customer images, customers stones or intended sourced stones.

Once the direction of the design is clear, this can then be refined and “ tweaked “ to achieve what the customer has envisaged, final sketches with dimensions, weights, ring size, metal content and stones are presented for approval.

Wax Model

Wax modelling brings the 2-D sketches to life, and shows the customer exactly how the finished item would look like, based on the chosen finished design, accomplished in stage 1 of the process.

Wax is supplied in sheet, wire or contoured tube form, and is extremely versatile in being cut, melted and carved to the desired shape and form.

Outlines and dimensions are scribed onto the surface of the wax, this gives the parameter in which to work in, excess material is taken away initially, known as BLOCKING, to shed unnecessary material and define the intended design.

Centre holes are enlarged in the wax tube to create the correct finger size, then stone locations are marked out, along with the setting and shank.

Following the guide lines the settings are carved, along with the shank, which has now reached a refined stage, with a clear resemblance of the finished product.

Further filing and smoothing are achieved to create a refined wax model, ready for the customer to view and approve.

Casting & Hallmarking

The wax model is sent for casting, in short, this involves the wax being moulded by plaster investment liquid, once cured, the wax is melted out leaving a hollow void in the plaster investment, which in turn is replaced by liquid precious metal via a centrifuge machine, once the metal has cooled, it is quenched with water to shock treat the plaster and breaks away from the internal metal core.

 

Shot or sandblasting removes the residue and the jewellery items are snipped and sent back to the manufacturer.

Hallmarking is done at this stage, which is done at the casting company, or at the assay office for verification of metal content….. All corresponding marks are applied to show its authenticity.

Cleaning & Preparation

The raw casting is back at the manufacturer, where the surface is cleaned and prepared with files & wet and dry paper to eliminate the grainy casting surface and to define the shape of the product, there are usually 2 stages of filing and 3 stages of emery paper.

Internal areas of the settings are cleaned and opened to accommodate for the stones.

Stone Setting

Using various rocker tools, the stones are positioned in the settings and methodically, are encapsulated with the compressed setting edge, 3 stages of the setting technique are applied to achieve a crisp, secure setting.

 

 

Polishing

Rouge and platinum polishing compound are applied to the jewellerys’ surface via a polishing mop and motor, there are 5 stages to the completion of the polishing, with each mop and polish becoming finer, thus achieving a high polish and deep lustre.