15th October 2012 - Every piece of fashion jewellery is a work of art. The jewelry designer taps his talent and imagination in bringing about a piece of jewelry. His designs must showcase wear ability, the subject matter, desirability, and originality.
He must decide on the types of materials he will use for his masterpiece: faux pearls, rhinestones, sterling silver, white metal, pot metal, base metal, etc. For the finishing of fashion jewellery, he must put hard word in enameling, plating, hand setting stones, and hand detailing.
How a Molded Jewelry Is Manufactured
For Molded Fashion Jewellery, a designer first creates a detailed drawing of the design. From the drawing, a model is then handcrafted so that a mold can be made. Once the mold is finished, a metal is casted to make the setting. The piece is then polished and plated. Some intricate designs need various pieces. The pieces are usually hooked or riveted together. For plating, it follows a 3-step process: copper, nickel then gold, rhodium, or gun metal. Most metals today do not need to be plated because its casting metal is already made from silver or gold color. Lastly, rhinestones are attached in place.
How A Stamped Jewelry Is Manufactured
Just like the molded jewelry, the designer needs to make a detailed drawing of his design. When the drawing is done, a steel machine die is made. Base metal is use in the stamping process. After stamping, the piece of fashion jewellery is polished and plated. When there are multiple pieces in one design, each piece is hooked or riveted with the other pieces. Again, the plating consists of a 3-step process: copper, nickel then rhodium, gun metal, or gold. Because casting metal already has a silver or gold color, there is no more need for metals to be plated. The last step of the manufacturing process is the setting of rhinestones in place.
Repairing Costume Jewelry
It is advisable not to purchase fashion jewellery which still needs to be repaired because repairs can greatly decrease the value of expensive costume jewelry. More often than not, costume jewelry repairs are more difficult and more expensive than repairs of genuine jewelry. In general, if needed to be repaired, rhinestone replacement is the most common repair needed. When replaced, the rhinestone must be of the same quality, shape, size, and color as the rest of the rhinestones. Re-enameling and re-plating are very expensive. Vintage costume jewelry will usually lose its vintage-look if it has been re-plated or re-enameled. Micro-welding or soldering can be done when the jewelry is broken. When jewelry goes through this process, the rhinestones and finish of the piece must be protected. On the other hand, pin replacements and conversions can cause the loss of value of the fashion jewellery.
A lot of people, women especially, like to wear fashion jewellery.
Knowing the intricate process of jewelry making and repair will endear the pieces of jewelry to the wearer.