Journal · 542 notes
Making & process
Written for buyers rather than for search engines: what a specification actually means, where an order usually goes wrong, and what to ask before you pay a deposit.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Stone Setting Tools Explained: What the Bench Actually Reaches For
Burnishers, prong pushers, setting burrs, bead tools, and the flex shaft: what each setting tool does and why the right one matters.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Stone Setting Tools: What a Bench Actually Uses
The real tools behind a tight, durable stone setting: burrs, pushers, burnishers, and why bench setup matters more than brand.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Mokume Gane: How Layered Metal Rings Are Made
Mokume gane bonds layers of contrasting golds into a single billet, then forge-shapes it into flowing wood-grain patterns. Here is the bench process.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Checking Prong Tightness: The Feeler-Gauge Method
Wiggly prongs lose stones. Our bench uses 0.05 mm feeler stock and a 1.5 kg pull test to verify prong fit before a ring leaves the shop.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Casting Porosity in Jewelry: What Causes It and How We Fix It
Gas porosity, shrinkage porosity, and microporosity: the three types bench jewelers see, what triggers each, and how we repair or remake.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Lost-Wax Casting vs 3D Printed Wax for Jewelry: What Actually Changes on the Bench
Lost-wax vs 3D-printed wax for jewelry: cost, detail, shrinkage, and the real break-even between carved wax and printed resin masters.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Why We Inspect Every Ring Twice Before It Leaves
A bespoke atelier explains the two-stage quality control that every ring passes: the setter check and the independent final inspection.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Setting Ring Band Wall Thickness in Jewelry CAD
How thick should a CAD ring shank be for comfort, strength and casting? Wall thickness rules for solitaire, stackable and wide bands.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Jewelry Soldering: How We Join Metal at the Bench
Jewelry soldering vs welding, alloys, flux, pickling, and why a clean seam matters in fine jewelry. Behind-the-bench from a manufacturing workshop.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Filigree Jewelry: How We Craft Lace-Like Metalwork
Filigree twists fine wires into delicate, lace-like patterns. Here's how bench jewelers plan, solder, and finish the technique without breaking it.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Lost-Wax Casting Step by Step: What Actually Happens After You Approve the CAD
A buyer-friendly walkthrough of lost-wax jewelry casting: treeing, investing, burnout, casting, knockout, and what each stage means for your order.
Making & process · Sep 2026
After the Cast Comes Out: How Much Hand-Finishing a Good Cast Really Needs
A fresh investment casting is a rough blank, not jewelry. The real cost and quality lives in filing, sanding and truing at the bench.