Hand forged vs casting

[mellowyellowgirl]

Are hand forged rings supposed to be superior?

I've seen a lot of rings promoted as hand forged and they look totally wonky to me. They probably would have benefitted from a uniform mould rather than being clobbered up by whomever. Was the particular bench just dodgy?

I've always expected hand forged to equal hand crafted and therefore superior but some of the stuff is so crooked it makes me think a stock setting is a safer option sometimes.

Interested to hear your thoughts. Are your rings hand forged or cast? Which do you prefer?

 

[icy_jade]

Are hand forged rings supposed to be superior?

I've seen a lot of rings promoted as hand forged and they look totally wonky to me. They probably would have benefitted from a uniform mould rather than being clobbered up by whomever. Was the particular bench just dodgy?

I've always expected hand forged to equal hand crafted and therefore superior but some of the stuff is so crooked it makes me think a stock setting is a safer option sometimes.

Interested to hear your thoughts. Are your rings hand forged or cast? Which do you prefer?

Hand forged can be fabulous by really skilled craftsmen/benches and casted rings are more consistent. I don’t think one is always more superior than the other. It really depends on individual end product outcomes.

Mine are usually casted thanks to ready made casings. Discussed this with my regular jeweller and he did also warn me that hand forged can have some unevenness since it’s all handmade vs machine casted and given the uncertainty I opted for casted. I wouldn’t have minded either if I can be assured of the end outcome. That said, I love many of the beautiful hand forged rings shared in this forum and wouldn’t mind having them.

Are you doing a new project? Details pls!

 

[vintageinjune]

I like the idea of hand forged, and when done well they can be more structurally sound (from my understanding) as well as more elegant in their final form, but the key is : done well.

Done well costs $$$$. Money I'd be willing to spend in the future perhaps for a truly exceptional piece (if I could ever think of one to be made), but for now a skilled jeweler that casts is fine for me.

Many hand forged pieces, as you noted, lack the refined elegance that initially comes to mind when conjuring up a mental image of what "hand forged" quality entails. Most likely, the person doing it just likely needs more practice to hone those skills and get better results, or in some cases, it's a stylistic choice (albeit not one I'd spend my money on).

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Hand forged can be fabulous by really skilled craftsmen/benches and casted rings are more consistent. I don’t think one is always more superior than the other. It really depends on individual end product outcomes.

Mine are usually casted thanks to ready made casings. Discussed this with my regular jeweller and he did also warn me that hand forged can have some unevenness since it’s all handmade vs machine casted and given the uncertainty I opted for casted. I wouldn’t have minded either if I can be assured of the end outcome. That said, I love many of the beautiful hand forged rings shared in this forum and wouldn’t mind having them.

Are you doing a new project? Details pls!

Haha no! I actually, totally, truly, boringly have zero on right now.

It is hard to find something big to set! I've run out of big stones that I can afford so back in my cave plotting my next move!!!

Maybe I need to settle for a 9 by 7 and do crazy things to it?

I think all my stuff is cast! Haha I'm actually not sure but the jeweller always says "I'm sending your ring off for casting" so I assume it's cast!

 

[icy_jade]

Haha no! I actually, totally, truly, boringly have zero on right now.

It is hard to find something big to set! I've run out of big stones that I can afford so back in my cave plotting my next move!!!

Maybe I need to settle for a 9 by 7 and do crazy things to it?

I think all my stuff is cast! Haha I'm actually not sure but the jeweller always says "I'm sending your ring off for casting" so I assume it's cast!

If it’s 9x7 just get a ready made casing if you are looking at diamond halos. It’s usually so much cheaper than customising and those casings are usually more blinged up than anything you can imagine. At least that’s the case for me and I have so many halo rings as you know.

But the big question is whether you can go smaller?

 

[Cerulean]

Different styles lend themselves to different techniques. And yes, there will always going to be some very minor asymmetries with hand forged pieces because they are made by hand. However I think the skill and craftsmanship required makes well-done hand forged pieces really, really special and truly one of a kind. And a high quality hand forged piece should never, ever look sloppy.

Also, hand forging definitely will equal a stronger ring if it’s done right. When you hand forge, you’re taking an ingot of the raw material and manipulating it by hand by rolling it, cutting it, filing it, etc. Whereas when you cast, you’re melting the metal and doing what’s called “lost wax casting” and pouring that molten metal into the mould - and the metal ends up being less dense (and therefore less strong) than something that was forged by hand. I’m not a jeweler, but I have worked in a metal sculpture studio that had both a foundry and forge, and have personally done forging and lost-wax casting for very different metals than you’d want for jewelry.

Back to the point - if you want something swoopy and organic, I’d choose casting because you’ll get a more refined look for much less expense (bc if you think about the fact that organic shapes and curves all need to be created by hand) - there are artisans that can probably do it, but it’ll cost you and you may not get the result you want

But hand forging is going to be much more suited to elements like a tri-wire shank, delicate filigree, pave, etc. If I wanted a halo or something with a more angular design (think art deco or even a simple solitaire) …I’d definitely go for handforged if I had the budget.

When you cast elements like delicate pave, it’s weaker than a hand forged version would be, or if you do delicate filigree it’s actually more challenging to get that perfect finish. Some benches for cast pieces are extremely capable of producing a really refined end result for intricate details, but most aren’t…leaving unsightly little “blobs” or “ears” between tiny spaces that should be cleaner with sharper lines. It’s just a limitation of the technique, if you think about the fact that they need to polish and perfect those teeny tiny details they need to get into a ton of nooks and crannies with tools…whereas with handforged, you can refine the individual pieces of metal before you actually solder them together so the end result is actually more refined.

 

[Peary]

Are hand forged rings supposed to be superior?

I've seen a lot of rings promoted as hand forged and they look totally wonky to me. They probably would have benefitted from a uniform mould rather than being clobbered up by whomever. Was the particular bench just dodgy?

I've always expected hand forged to equal hand crafted and therefore superior but some of the stuff is so crooked it makes me think a stock setting is a safer option sometimes.

Interested to hear your thoughts. Are your rings hand forged or cast? Which do you prefer?

Could you please name the vendors who makes wonky rings, marketed them as superior, and had the audacity to charge higher prices for them? I'd like to steer very clear of them.
I'm getting a couple of stones and was thinking I'd finally go the hand forged route and pay the extra. Now I don't want to take the chance.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Could you please name the vendors who makes wonky rings, marketed them as superior, and had the audacity to charge higher prices for them? I'd like to steer very clear of them.
I'm getting a couple of stones and was thinking I'd finally go the hand forged route and pay the extra. Now I don't want to take the chance.

I wouldn't want to say as tastes vary but I'm sure you can tell looking at a business' body of work!

The stuff I've seen over the years that I don't care for generally has a very rough crafty vibe to it! Uneven metal, wonky prongs, weird gaps that aren't even, bigger in some parts, smaller in others, more metal in some parts, less in others etc. I refer to these as "Me being set loose with pliers and a hammer"

I've also seen amazing stuff that looks absolutely meticulous. I summarize these pieces as "looks like the casted stuff but artsy and waaaaaay better."

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Just had a thought. I've seen some shocking cast stuff as well.

Wonky prongs, uneven amounts of metal in areas that should be identical!

Did they fail to get all the metal into the mould? Like if you pour jelly but you don't pour it into all the crevices?

 

[JSG2185]

My platinum VC ring is my first hand-forged piece, all my other platinum rings have been the cast type. To me they all look well done and I’ve never lost a stone or pave, etc… I will say my hand forged VC does “feel” different but not in a bad way. The platinum is a tad heavier if I had to try and put my finger on it. I think hand forged quality is going to come down to the skill of the setter.

Are hand forged rings supposed to be superior?

I've seen a lot of rings promoted as hand forged and they look totally wonky to me. They probably would have benefitted from a uniform mould rather than being clobbered up by whomever. Was the particular bench just dodgy?

I've always expected hand forged to equal hand crafted and therefore superior but some of the stuff is so crooked it makes me think a stock setting is a safer option sometimes.

Interested to hear your thoughts. Are your rings hand forged or cast? Which do you prefer?

 

[elle_71125]

I have both hand forged and cast. My hand forged rings are from Victor Canera and Leone Mege so, as one would expect, they’re not wonky in any way. But I have seen so many hand forged rings that have more of a crafty / home-made vibe. I wouldn’t be spending hand forged prices on those, for sure.

Most of my cast rings are from David Klass, though I also have a couple from CvB, Cecile Raley Designs, and others. I actually love a cast ring. For me, it’s about bang for my buck. I get a gorgeous ring, at a fraction of the cost of hand forged. I think a lot of it comes down to the detail / finish work. Anyone whose seen a CvB piece knows what I mean. No blobs, no weird textures…just a perfectly finished ring. And though I’m loath to admit it, I’m not as refined as some people and I don’t really notice that much of a difference between hand forged and cast. I know, I know, please don’t come for me.

 

[Avondale]

Just had a thought. I've seen some shocking cast stuff as well.

Wonky prongs, uneven amounts of metal in areas that should be identical!

Did they fail to get all the metal into the mould? Like if you pour jelly but you don't pour it into all the crevices?

Well, usually cast rings are designed in cad, then printed, I guess? I’m not really familiar with the process in detail, so that a mould can be made.

However, a cast ring can also be hand made, instead of printed by design, right? I’ve seen my jeweller work on a wax model and I imagine he later used that to make the mould. It was a man’s ring, head of a big cat, turned out beautifully.

Anyway, I imagine a poorly hand carved wax model could lead to what you’re describing as well.

 

[chrono]

Just as there are great looking non precision cuts and terrible looking precision cut which is attributed to skill, the same applies to jewellery making. There are some perfect looking cast settings and some blob looking hand forged.

What I really love with hand forged is the finish. Nobody will see it and most don't mind it but I love seeing a clean and polished underside.

 

[chrono]

Just had a thought. I've seen some shocking cast stuff as well.

Wonky prongs, uneven amounts of metal in areas that should be identical!

Did they fail to get all the metal into the mould? Like if you pour jelly but you don't pour it into all the crevices?

I think this tends to happen when the stones are cast into place, instead of casting the setting then setting the stones and finishing the prongs.

 

[Rfisher]

Handforged I don’t think it would be the way to go if someone wants to see perfect symmetry. But I guess that’d be a question to ask that vendor if they feel they can achieve it- as I’m sure examples exist.

For me, I’d take that trade off for better/more thorough surface finishing 9 times out of 10 - but really it depends on the specific design.

 

[Cerulean]

Well, usually cast rings are designed in cad, then printed, I guess? I’m not really familiar with the process in detail, so that a mould can be made.

However, a cast ring can also be hand made, instead of printed by design, right? I’ve seen my jeweller work on a wax model and I imagine he later used that to make the mould. It was a man’s ring, head of a big cat, turned out beautifully.

Anyway, I imagine a poorly hand carved wax model could lead to what you’re describing as well.

The way lost wax casting works is that you create the shape of the ring in wax - whether you create the wax from a 3D software design called a CAD or create it fully by hand by carving it from a block of wax (maybe there are other techniques I don’t know) - this is where you can most easily manipulate the final design - and you create a mould out of a composite that can tolerate really high heat around your wax version of ring. That mould will be what molten metal is poured into - and the metal is much hotter and denser, so melts and replaces the wax when it’s poured into the mould (that’s why it’s called lost wax casting)

Hand carving at the stage where its wax is definitely going to be easier and true artists can create something beautifully sculptural, like Gary Roe, Cheyenne Weil and R Simantov.

But for example, if you carve tiny details like milgrain into the wax and cast, it’s going to be clunky and unrefined compared to milgrain applied to the metal casting. But as Im sure you can imagine, applying milgrain by hand to metal is going to be harder than using a tool to apply milgrain, or applying milgrain to wax. But applying by hand to metal will be the most refined of those 3 techniques, but the hardest and most costly option.

I’m guessing this is how you can get sloppy or unrefined details through casting - some details really aren’t meant to be cast and should be done by hand. My knowledge ends roughly here for jewelry, but I’d guess pave, prong work, engraving, and other finishing by hand to smooth and polish the metal after its cast are critical - cast metal looks sorta rough and dull and needs to be brought to life before it looks like the kind of thing you’d like to wear and it takes skill with very delicate, tiny movements to create a really beautiful ring. I’m guessing this is why many benches are frankly mediocre and the incredible benches PSers do find are cherished and used over and over again

 

[LilAlex]

Could you please name the vendors who makes wonky rings, marketed them as superior, and had the audacity to charge higher prices for them? I'd like to steer very clear of them.

I think a lot of vendors and smaller shops use multiple benches (metalsmiths) behind the scenes. Some are amazing for one thing and less so for others.

A B&M shop made me an amazing ring (cast; perfect proportions and finishing, imo) and I wanted a similar ring for a similarly-shaped stone. They made me a mediocre CAD plastic model with none of the old-school elegance of the first design. They reassured me that it was the same as before and made a few caliper measurements to "prove" it. After I pulled up the wax model on my phone from the first ring, they finally admitted that they no longer worked with that person. A few spot width and depth dimensions do not uniquely define organic curves on a custom-made ring -- even a super-simple one.

And, in keeping with @Cerulean's post above, a big shout-out to Gary Roe if you want any combination of casting, forging, and engraving. He had nothing to do with either of the rings mentioned in the paragraph above but did amazing work with another stone.

 

[Cerulean]

I think a lot of vendors and smaller shops use multiple benches (metalsmiths) behind the scenes. Some are amazing for one thing and less so for others.

A B&M shop made me an amazing ring (cast; perfect proportions and finishing, imo) and I wanted a similar ring for a similarly-shaped stone. They made me a mediocre CAD plastic model with none of the old-school elegance of the first design. They reassured me that it was the same as before and made a few caliper measurements to "prove" it. After I pulled up the wax model on my phone from the first ring, they finally admitted that they no longer worked with that person. A few spot width and depth dimensions do not uniquely define organic curves on a custom-made ring -- even a super-simple one.

And, in keeping with @Cerulean's post above, a big shout-out to Gary Roe if you want any combination of casting, forging, and engraving. He had nothing to do with either of the rings mentioned in the paragraph above but did amazing work with another stone.

One day…I must work with Gary. His work is truly outstanding. He also seems like such a nice, down to earth guy!

 

[Victor Canera]

This is a very interesting topic. @Cerulean, your depth of knowledge on the differences between hand fabrication and casting is really impressive.

I would agree that some types of designs lend themselved to casting. Designs that have very flowing motifs can be done in a more efficient manner with casting. OTher types come out more nicely if theyre hand fabricated. Three stone and five stone rings benefit quite a bit from hand fabricating the design IMPO. The level of detail that can be achieved, with really nicely done undercarriages. Very nice cylindrical wire prongs for ex. can't be quite matched with casting.

Vintage platinum designs were hand fabricated back in the day so creating them using the same technique gives similar results. At that point the piece becomes completely true to period down to even how it's manufactured. These types of rings would be indistinguishable from 80+ year old pieces. Tri-wire shanks are ideally hand fabricated and hey, I came up with that term because these shanks are literally assembled from three strands of platinum wire (like copper speaker wire lol). There are other designs that come to mind that can really benefit from hand fabrication. Yes, there's more labor involved with manufacturing this way which is usally reflected in the pricepoint.

As far as symmetry, yes, there is more of a human element in hand fabricated pieces. The level of symmetry will depend on the individual craftsman. Sometimes even having a good or bad day can impact symmetry because it's a human being creating the piece lol.

We offer CAD designs now with our Bliss Collection so at the end of the day it's up to each client to make the best decision for their new piece of jewelry.

Btw. there's also the difference in preset and hand set pave but that's a different topic. I think it's one that's almost as important IMO. Most large vendors use pre-set pave when they produce their rings which results in chunkier pave which is of inferior quality.

All the best and happy holidays to everyone.

 

[Cerulean]

This is a very interesting topic. @Cerulean, your depth of knowledge on the differences between hand fabrication and casting is really impressive.

I would agree that some types of designs lend themselved to casting. Designs that have very flowing motifs can be done in a more efficient manner with casting. OTher types come out more nicely if theyre hand fabricated. Three stone and five stone rings benefit quite a bit from hand fabricating the design IMPO. The level of detail that can be achieved, with really nicely done undercarriages. Very nice cylindrical wire prongs for ex. can't be quite matched with casting.

Vintage platinum designs were hand fabricated back in the day so creating them using the same technique gives similar results. At that point the piece becomes completely true to period down to even how it's manufactured. These types of rings would be indistinguishable from 80+ year old pieces. Tri-wire shanks are ideally hand fabricated and hey, I came up with that term because these shanks are literally assembled from three strands of platinum wire (like copper speaker wire lol). There are other designs that come to mind that can really benefit from hand fabrication. Yes, there's more labor involved with manufacturing this way which is usally reflected in the pricepoint.

As far as symmetry, yes, there is more of a human element in hand fabricated pieces. The level of symmetry will depend on the individual craftsman. Sometimes even having a good or bad day can impact symmetry because it's a human being creating the piece lol.

We offer CAD designs now with our Bliss Collection so at the end of the day it's up to each client to make the best decision for their new piece of jewelry.

Btw. there's also the difference in preset and hand set pave but that's a different topic. I think it's one that's almost as important IMO. Most large vendors use pre-set pave when they produce their rings which results in chunkier pave which is of inferior quality.

All the best and happy holidays to everyone.

That’s kind of you! I studied painting and sculpture in university and spent a lot of my free time working and making sculptures in the foundry - while I worked mostly in bronze and iron, I had a chance to try centrifugal casting with a small silver sculpture and nearly lost my mind during the finishing process because it was so finicky due to its small size -- I stuck with large sculptures after that

Working with metal is loads of fun but takes a ton of skill and patience…I stayed a novice, but observed truly brilliant artists…so I have a soft spot for really well done, hand forged jewelry pieces, because I feel I have a sense for how hard it is to do well! But a great finish on a cast piece is no small feat either, im guessing

I’d be very curious to understand the different types of pave - im guessing preset means that the rings are precast with “cut outs” for pave? Metal shrinks as it cools in my experience…seems like a poor choice for a snug fit. I’m taking a guess here…maybe you’re right that it’s fodder for another convo…

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

I have both hand forged and cast. My hand forged rings are from Victor Canera and Leone Mege so, as one would expect, they’re not wonky in any way. But I have seen so many hand forged rings that have more of a crafty / home-made vibe. I wouldn’t be spending hand forged prices on those, for sure.

Most of my cast rings are from David Klass, though I also have a couple from CvB, Cecile Raley Designs, and others. I actually love a cast ring. For me, it’s about bang for my buck. I get a gorgeous ring, at a fraction of the cost of hand forged. I think a lot of it comes down to the detail / finish work. Anyone whose seen a CvB piece knows what I mean. No blobs, no weird textures…just a perfectly finished ring. And though I’m loath to admit it, I’m not as refined as some people and I don’t really notice that much of a difference between hand forged and cast. I know, I know, please don’t come for me.

I'll defend you! Tally ho!

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

Jumping in with some milgrain input… I have had multiple cast pieces with milgrain. One is awesome, two had minor imperfections that I could live with, one sucked like an overpowered Roomba.

 

[yssie]

@mellowyellowgirl - I really appreciate that you posed your question in terms of “superiority”, not “strength”. Because #stronger doesn’t necessarily mean more durable!! And sometimes, for some pieces, aesthetic might take priority over durability…

The last lots-of-years - and some failures, and some successes - have taught me that the best method of manufacture is whatever your trusted vendor recommends. I live by that credo these days: Choose my vendor carefully, trust my vendor fully.

The challenge is that “superiority” depends on so many things - function, design requirements, metal, specifics of alloy, method of manufacture, vendor preference... I don’t even know how most of my custom pieces are made these days - it matters so little to me that I don’t even ask!! But just as a side note, many PS-beloved vendors use a mix of casting and hand-forging, and many (not all, but many) who cast exclusivity will cast in parts and assemble - which address concerns about getting a fine finish in the nooks and crannies.

@Cerulean You’re a font of knowledge, thank you for sharing!! Your posts are so interesting

 

[Victor Canera]

That’s kind of you! I studied painting and sculpture in university and spent a lot of my free time working and making sculptures in the foundry - while I worked mostly in bronze and iron, I had a chance to try centrifugal casting with a small silver sculpture and nearly lost my mind during the finishing process because it was so finicky due to its small size -- I stuck with large sculptures after that

Working with metal is loads of fun but takes a ton of skill and patience…I stayed a novice, but observed truly brilliant artists…so I have a soft spot for really well done, hand forged jewelry pieces, because I feel I have a sense for how hard it is to do well! But a great finish on a cast piece is no small feat either, im guessing

I’d be very curious to understand the different types of pave - im guessing preset means that the rings are precast with “cut outs” for pave? Metal shrinks as it cools in my experience…seems like a poor choice for a snug fit. I’m taking a guess here…maybe you’re right that it’s fodder for another convo…

Correct, preset pave is when the beading is already in place from the casting as opposed to starting out with a blank “slate” of metal. The CAD\CAM carves the beads out on the wax and its cast in other words. Hand made pave would be starting out with a blank slate of metal, carving the beading out with a “graver” (sharp tool to carve out metal) and setting the melee. The former is the inexpensive way of setting pave. It has much lower labor costs and can be completed quickly BUT the result is chunky/clunky pave. The latter takes more time but you achieve more delicate, finer pave. In my experience ALL of the large online vendors sell their rings with preset pave. It’s the standard pretty much. Even the smaller online vendors do preset pave. The more high end custom design companies will offer hand made pave. There’s a big quality difference to my eyes and most consumers even prosumers aren’t aware of it. There hasn’t been a discussion of it in Pricescope as far as I’m aware for example.

This discussion of preset vs. hand made pave is separate from the base metal frame of a mounting. Hand forged jewelry is used to mean that the metal work on the setting was done without the use of casting in my book. You can have hand made pave on a metal setting that was cast as well. In other words you can cast a ring with the beads already in place OR leave it blank and then have hand made pave. In hand forged jewelry, the only option is hand made pave.

 

[Cerulean]

Correct, preset pave is when the beading is already in place from the casting as opposed to starting out with a blank “slate” of metal. The CAD\CAM carves the beads out on the wax and its cast in other words. Hand made pave would be starting out with a blank slate of metal, carving the beading out with a “graver” (sharp tool to carve out metal) and setting the melee. The former is the inexpensive way of setting pave. It has much lower labor costs and can be completed quickly BUT the result is chunky/clunky pave. The latter takes more time but you achieve more delicate, finer pave. In my experience ALL of the large online vendors sell their rings with preset pave. It’s the standard pretty much. Even the smaller online vendors do preset pave. The more high end custom design companies will offer hand made pave. There’s a big quality difference to my eyes and most consumers even prosumers aren’t aware of it. There hasn’t been a discussion of it in Pricescope as far as I’m aware for example.

This discussion of preset vs. hand made pave is separate from the base metal frame of a mounting. Hand forged jewelry is used to mean that the metal work on the setting was done without the use of casting in my book. You can have hand made pave on a metal setting that was cast as well. In other words you can cast a ring with the beads already in place OR leave it blank and then have hand made pave. In hand forged jewelry, the only option is hand made pave.

Ooooh this is a really helpful discussion. Thanks for explaining. I would have assumed that cast = preset pave for the most part but I now I totally see that they aren’t mutually exclusive.

 

[Victor Canera]

Ooooh this is a really helpful discussion. Thanks for explaining. I would have assumed that cast = preset pave for the most part but I now I totally see that they aren’t mutually exclusive.

I agree it's an important distinction and one that's not discussed (overlooked?) by the internet jewelry shopping public in general. It makes a big difference to my eyes in the final product. We've been meaning to write a blog post or educational article about this for a while now.

The challenge for vendors that take the time to do things right is educating the shopper about the difference. Our cast collection of engagement rings, the Bliss Collection that we launched a while back offers hand made pave but some clients still compare it to larger online vendors. They're not directly comparably IMPO. The issue is that large online vendors offer a perfect representation of their rings on their websites using 3D model videos of their rings. Well, those rings are then cast using preset pave and the final result isn't the same as was on their website. I'm being a bit generous here in my description.

I'm still surprised that this hasn't been discussed on Pricescope before.

 

[llamacat]

This is such an interesting thread.
It reminded me that CRD made some blog posts related to this topic a little while a go -

Colored Gems are not Diamonds: How We Make Stuff, Differently

It happens to us at CRD all the time: a client with a low budget asks for raw castings so that they can set or glue their own stone. And we tell them: you can’t set anything that way, there will be no beads to push over, there’s no millgrain, sometimes no hole for the gem. The casting will...

www.cecileraleydesigns.com

How we Make Stuff, Continued: Wax Model, CAD Model, or Hand Fabrication?

As I briefly discussed in my previous blog, Cecile Raley Designs primarily designs jewelry using CAD. This is probably the most cost-effective way to produce a jewelry design, but it’s by no means the only way. Let's first have a look at the other two ways of making a piece of jewelry: wax...

www.cecileraleydesigns.com

Personally I like and have both cast and hand forged jewellery but I have come to the realisation that I detest preset pave and must have hand made pave if casting.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

I agree it's an important distinction and one that's not discussed (overlooked?) by the internet jewelry shopping public in general. It makes a big difference to my eyes in the final product. We've been meaning to write a blog post or educational article about this for a while now.

The challenge for vendors that take the time to do things right is educating the shopper about the difference. Our cast collection of engagement rings, the Bliss Collection that we launched a while back offers hand made pave but some clients still compare it to larger online vendors. They're not directly comparably IMPO. The issue is that large online vendors offer a perfect representation of their rings on their websites using 3D model videos of their rings. Well, those rings are then cast using preset pave and the final result isn't the same as was on their website. I'm being a bit generous here in my description.

I'm still surprised that this hasn't been discussed on Pricescope before.

Please do a write up if, and when, you find time. I think it would be invaluable to many, many people. Knowing the differences would be a huge determinant in how people choose their mountings. I can say personally that the nuance involved in manufacture/technique never really occurred to me. I learned something, thank you!

 

[yssie]

I'm still surprised that this hasn't been discussed on Pricescope before.

It’s come up, but not recently as far as I can recall and I’m not sure if ever in this depth. This is helpful, thank you!

**Edit: The blog linked by @llamacat answered both my questions and more. Adding one more on using CS melee:

Pave Setting - Hand Set versus Pre Cut

I thought I'd devote this blog entry to my why my setter Pierre has lost his hair. Or so he says: by hand setting my tiny little and very soft glittery colored stones into hard metal castings that aren't ready made for the fast setting type that is the standard nowadays. Let's first talk about...

www.cecileraleydesigns.com

 

[Cerulean]

I agree it's an important distinction and one that's not discussed (overlooked?) by the internet jewelry shopping public in general. It makes a big difference to my eyes in the final product. We've been meaning to write a blog post or educational article about this for a while now.

The challenge for vendors that take the time to do things right is educating the shopper about the difference. Our cast collection of engagement rings, the Bliss Collection that we launched a while back offers hand made pave but some clients still compare it to larger online vendors. They're not directly comparably IMPO. The issue is that large online vendors offer a perfect representation of their rings on their websites using 3D model videos of their rings. Well, those rings are then cast using preset pave and the final result isn't the same as was on their website. I'm being a bit generous here in my description.

I'm still surprised that this hasn't been discussed on Pricescope before.

Well, this may be uncouth or in violation of PS rules but i'm a writer by trade (yes, despite my appallingly lazy and ungrammatical posts here on PS )

I'm interested in the topic so if you don't have a writer on staff...let me know. i'm by no means soliciting my services, this would be for fun. My username is the same on Loupetroop w/ my email address.