Notes from the bench

Care & after-sales · Sep 2026

Wearing Gems Together: Hardness Compatibility for Stacked Rings

Harder stones scratch softer neighbors when rings stack together. Learn which gems play well on the same hand and how to protect your set.

Care & after-sales · Sep 2026

Jewelry Repair Services Explained: What a Workshop Actually Does

Customers bring in a ring and ask for "a cleaning" or "a tighten." The ticket that comes back from the bench is usually more involved, because the rep

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.

Buying guides · Sep 2026

Jewelry CAD Revisions: Change Orders That Do Not Delay Production

CAD revisions kill launch timelines after tooling. Our staged revision window, ECO log and approval gate that keeps custom orders on schedule.

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.

Buying guides · Sep 2026

Gold Fill vs Vermeil vs Solid Gold: What Buyers Should Know

Plated, vermeil, gold fill and solid gold all look gold. The differences are thickness, wear, price and what deserves a permanent spot on your finger.

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.