A design only becomes jewellery through a manufacturing process, and each process shapes what the design can be. The main families are hand fabrication, lost-wax casting, stamping and die-striking, and — increasingly — digital modelling with rapid prototyping.
Fabrication
Fabrication means building a piece directly in metal: sawing, filing, forming and soldering sheet and wire. It suits one-off work and designs that must be exact. It is labour-intensive — most of a fabricated piece’s price is the maker’s time. The bench skills involved are the core of the JDMIS metalsmithing programme.
Casting
Lost-wax casting starts from a wax model — carved by hand, or grown from a digital file. The wax is surrounded by investment, burned out, and molten metal fills the cavity. Casting suits complex, sculptural forms and repeat production; finishing and stone setting follow. A designer who understands casting designs walls, sprue points and tolerances that the process can actually deliver.
Stamping and digital
Stamping and die-striking press shapes from sheet at production scale — the world of chains, blanks and mass-produced mountings. Digital design closes the loop: a model built in CAD can be prototyped in resin and cast directly, which is why design training and CAD skills now reinforce each other in the trade.
Why designers must know this
Knowing the techniques keeps designs practical and priced honestly — the reason manufacturing overview sits inside the JDMIS design curriculum from the start.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main ways jewellery is made?
Four families: hand fabrication (sawing, filing, forming and soldering sheet and wire), lost-wax casting (from a hand-carved or digitally grown wax model), stamping and die-striking at production scale, and digital modelling with rapid prototyping.
Why is fabricated jewellery expensive?
Because fabrication builds a piece directly in metal with hand processes, it is labour-intensive - most of a fabricated piece's price is the maker's time. It suits one-off work and designs that must be exact.
How does lost-wax casting work?
A wax model is surrounded by investment, the wax is burned out, and molten metal fills the cavity. Casting suits complex sculptural forms and repeat production; a designer who understands it designs walls, sprue points and tolerances the process can deliver.
Keep exploring: Types of Jewellery: A Working Guide for Designers · Design Principles: How Elements Become Jewellery
Explore further: find your Artisan Archetype in JDMIS’s visual quiz, or book a visit to the school.