So why does making a piece of custom jewelry take so long?

When a manufacturer creates a piece of jewelry for mass production, they go through a process of concept, design, create a sample, modify the sample if needed, create a mold, create a master model, then make multiple waxes from the mold. All of that is done before the first piece is created for a client. Then they can make a thousand from all that setup and work.

Below I’ve illustrated some of the parts to this process

For a custom piece, I start a discussion with a client to come up with a concept, we create a design, modify the design to make it possible to cast it. Create a wax model, Cast a piece. (Sometimes there needs to be a modification at this point) Sometimes a casting comes out with a flaw (not a big deal if you are casting 100 of them) when this happens, you make a new wax then cast again, then the typical finishing and setting. So, all the setup and design that goes into making a thousand pieces goes into making one piece just for you.

Custom Jewelry Prototype

Custom Jewelry Waxes