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
Hand Setting Diamonds: Behind the Bench With Our Setter
A look at how diamonds are set by hand, why we set under magnification, and how the setting determines whether a stone stays on your hand.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Replacing a Gemstone: How Jewelers Remove and Reset Stones
A chipped center stone or an outdated heirloom? Here is the bench process for removing an old gem, matching a replacement and resetting it cleanly.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Wholesale Ring Manufacturing: The Factory Process Explained
How ring factories turn CAD files into finished wholesale rings, and the tolerances and QC checks buyers should audit before reordering.
Making & process · Sep 2026
How Jewelry Is Made in a Factory: From CAD Drawing to Finished Piece
A station-by-station walkthrough of a jewelry factory floor: CAD, model making, casting, finishing, setting, QC, and what buyers should ask.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Electroplating Thickness: How Plate Wears Over Time
Plate thickness in microns predicts when jewelry will show base metal. What buyers should specify for rings, chains, and everyday wear.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Wholesale Jewelry Factory Tour: 7 Zones Buyers Must Inspect
A wholesale jewelry factory tour checklist covering casting, setting, polishing, plating, QC and packing. 7 zones buyers must walk before signing a PO.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Casting Tree Size and How Many Pieces It Really Holds
Flask diameter, sprue length and piece density: how many rings or pendants actually fit on one tree without cold shuts or porosity.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Checking Prong Tightness After Stone Setting
Tweaker drag, stone wobble, and 10x loupe clearance: the three-check prong test that stops loose stones after shipment.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Hand Polishing: Why We Finish Every Ring by Hand
An atelier explains hand polishing, why we do not use machine buffs on fine jewelry, and the difference it makes in how a ring feels and ages.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Rhodium Plating: The Process and the Wear Cycle Buyers Should Plan For
Cleaning, strike, flash, and the wear cycle: how rhodium plating is applied on a jewelry line and when buyers should plan replating.
Making & process · Sep 2026
3D Printed Wax Patterns: Why We Print Before We Cast
A modern atelier explains how 3D printed wax patterns work, why they replaced hand-carved wax for most designs, and what we still carve by hand.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Mokume Gane Jewelry: Layered Metal Patterns at the Bench
Mokume gane fuses contrasting metals into a single billet, then slices it into flowing wood-grain patterns. Here is how it works and what it costs.