CHENNAI SCHOOL 3D CAD JEWELLERY EDUCATION TRAINING INSTITUTE DESIGN DIAMOND GRADING Gemmological: jewellery manufacturing

Saturday, 11 May 2013

Jewellery Manufacturing

AESERA Jewellery DESIGNING ACADEMY

No 144/74, Eskay building, 3rd floor,
Greams Road, Thousand Lights
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
India,
Mobile: +91-9444100081,+91-9840689781

seshu.gopal@jewelrydesignacademy.com

A piece of jewellery begins as a figment of the imagination. It takes years of training for a designer to translate this thought onto a design platform. He has to learn the intricacies of jewelry design and drawing and have an understanding of all of the various precious metals and stones that are included in the product. A designer also requires an understanding of how to balance various metals with gemstones to create a viable product. Also, creating trendy or value-driven designs requires extensive industry and market knowledge.

A skilled craftsman with many years of experience transforms a two-dimensional drawing into a three-dimensional wax model. Many varieties of wax exist, each developed for a particular application. Some wax is designed for carving, while others are cut from sheets, and are heated and fashioned by numerous methods to define shapes and details in the wax.

Lost-wax investment casting was established in the early 1900s in the dental industry. It soon became the leading method of creating reproductions because of its increased accuracy over existing methods. It soon evolved into a process for jewelry, where it has grown to be the dominant form of mass production. The goal of lost-wax investment casting is to create wax copies that allow mass production of items identical to a handmade original.

It begins with a piece of metal jewelry called the model. In order to make a rubber mold, one must cover the metal model with a solid layer of unvulcanized rubber and subject it to pressure and heat. Then, using a very sharp knife the rubber mold is dissected and the original model is removed.

Molten wax is then injected into the resulting rubber mold – a process that can be repeated to produce mass numbers of the original model.

Next, the wax models are placed on a sprue. The term "sprue" generally refers to a wax rod, or series of rods, that secure a wax model to a specifically configured rubber or plastic base. Once the waxes have been securely attached to the sprue base using sprue rods, a stainless steel flask is carefully inserted inside the outer lip of the sprue base, so as to surround the waxes while still leaving, minimally, a quarter inch space between the wax and the inside of the flask.

Investment, a material that resembles plaster of Paris, is poured around the wax models to completely fill the open spaces.

After the investment has set, the sprue base is removed and the object is placed inside of a kiln. This process is called the burn out. The temperature of the kiln is slowly raised to an excess of one thousand degrees Fahrenheit, completely “burning out” the wax to leave a mold.

Once the investment is thoroughly cured, the temperature is brought down to a specific temperature and allowed to settle before pouring in the liquidized metal. As a general rule, the greater the detail and the finer the areas the metal must fill, the hotter the flask needs to be in order to allow the metal to completely fill the voids where the wax was before the metal freezes. Once the flask has cooled, the investment is removed, leaving a rough version of the original design.

Although lost wax casting is still the dominant form of mass production, new technologies, such as rapid prototyping, offer future promise to reduce manufacturing time and costs associated with the lost wax method.

Now that a raw piece of jewelry has been removed from the kiln, there are various processes required to give the piece a finished look. The goal of the final steps of finishing is to achieve a bright, mirror-like polish that is free of any visible abrasions, dents or irregularities. The polishing stage requires many different types of wheels that are used for particular applications, such as corners, flat surfaces, and difficult to reach areas. Polishing is the final abrasion or smoothing of karat gold before buffing. It leaves a dull finish and removes visible traces of sanding or other abrasive procedures. Next, lapping is a step in the polishing process for karat gold jewelry that has sharp corners or flat surfaces. Lastly, buffing creates the mirror-like finish and causes little-to-no metal to be removed. It is the final step in the professional finishing process.

Adding gemstones and diamonds to the finished casting is a very delicate process. The art of setting requires years of training. An accomplished setter is adept at protecting the gemstone while securing it tightly into the ring. There are multiple types of settings that secure the stone in the finished casting. Diamonds, for instance, may be set in seven different types of settings, each displaying the diamond(s) in different ways.

	Bar: Metal bars hold the loose diamonds in a channel-like setting.
	Bezel: The metal is formed tofit around the diamond, cupping it into place.
	Channel: A row of smalldiamond stones are set in a groove in the diamond rings.
	Chevron: V-shaped prongs thatusually hold a marquise or princess-cut diamond for solitaire style rings.
	Invisible: Diamond set in agroove without visible prongs.
	Pave: Tiny stones are embeddedto look like the piece is paved with loose diamonds.
	Prong: Several prongs hold thediamonds to let light pass through without interference.

The final stage of manufacturing includes the finishing touches that assure the customer a quality product. Rhodium or gold plating may be added to the product to enhance its attractiveness, followed by a thorough cleaning process. After adding a trademark symbol to the finished product to identify its origins, the product goes through a rigorous quality control process. This process is in place to ensure that there are no scratches or pits in the metal, no broken or loose stones in the setting, and no rough edges on the prongs. Once these qualifications are met, the piece of jewelry is ready for shipping.

Tuesday, 5 June 2012

Designing gems of art - Chennai Jewellery Designing School Jobs Oppurtunities Careers Institute Courses Rhino 3d Jewel CAD

Where to study?

Jewellery designing is an art – a unique and intriguing art. But this art was closely guarded earlier, confined to select few artisans or ‘kaarigars' and handed down generation to generation.

Now with the recent boom and opening up of the branded market, jewel design is flourishing like never before. And it's no longer restricted to designing traditional gold and diamond pieces either. This ever-growing industry offers immense opportunities for exclusive, contemporary, stylised and designer jewellery in keeping with latest fashion trends. Not to forget striking prospects in semi-precious and costume jewellery as well.

All in a Day's Work

Jewellery design is one of the most creative professions where you get to craft innovative jewels right from conceptualising the style and design, drawing sketches, fashioning detailed drawings to preparing structural models, computer simulations or sometimes even a full-scale prototype.

This requires you to understand the market, identify the consumer needs, visualise ideas to suit the demand and create impressive presentations to communicate your idea clearly.

But the job doesn't end with designing. Jewellery artists also have to be involved hands-on in the actual manufacturing process where craftsmen use specialised hand tools and equipments to turn the designs into exquisite, flawless pieces!

Getting Started

Formal training is essential for refining this creative skill. Both Bachelor and Masters Degree of Fine Arts include jewellery designing. Or you can opt for a diploma or certificate course offered by numerous specialist institutes in India. There are long-term, short-term and even online/distance learning programs varying from a few weeks to one to two years. Course costs ranges from Rs.10, 000 to a lakh plus depending on the type of program.

These courses impart knowledge about drawing skills, design themes, colour science, diverse kinds of stones, environmental exposure, form and space, presentation, jewellery costing and fashion trends. Some even include computer-aided programs for designing jewellery and accessories. CAD eliminates tiring efforts of umpteen redesigning on paper and imparts flexibility of exploring numerous alternatives.

These courses not only hone your designing skills, but also help you learn the basics of jewellery making techniques right from metal textures, stone settings, casting, cutting, polishing to even engraving, enamelling and electroplating. It also includes identification of gems/diamonds and testing quality of precious metals/stones. In fact, this rudimentary knowledge is crucial for becoming a good designer.

Apart from designing, you can also choose to specialise in other streams like jewellery manufacturing, gemmology, diamond grading, etc.

What it takes?

Generally, a school level or 10+2 background is essential. An art background or an internship with a design studio/jewellery designer can give you a head start in the competitive industry.

What it takes is a penchant for jewels and a flair for design. A creative and imaginative mind with an eye for detail and colours is essential. You have to be meticulous as nothing but perfection is acceptable. Being able to work with patience and concentration is also important.

It goes without saying that you have to be well-versed with the fashion scene and stay updated with the changing trends.

Career Prospects

Besides designing there is plethora of career options in jewellery design houses, fashion houses, export houses, antique/art auction houses etc. Big names like Tanishq, Swarvoski, DeBeers and D'damas regularly scout for remarkable talent.

You can choose to work as an in-house artist, freelance or be a self-employed entrepreneur. Or specialise in any particular aspect of jewellery making like goldsmith, bench jeweller, lapidary, quality assurance consultant, diamond and gemstone grader, etc. But as vacancies in this field are not advertised much, you have to build and maintain a good network in the industry.

Generally, jewellery designers start small by designing for the mass market and then move to custom designs as they gain prominence. And once you build your own inimitable style, you can even launch your own line or open your store!

Starting pay packets range from Rupees10-12,000 depending on the type of work. Pay packages/incentives keep rising with top designers raking in lakhs a month.

With talent, skill, initiative and experience on your side, there is literally no limit to what you can achieve! So, unleash your imagination and love for all that glitters by converting your passion into a fascinating, rewarding and fulfilling profession!

For a Demo or Detailed Brochure Contact Us:

Unique Soft Tech Solutions

No 144/74, 3rd Floor, Greams Road

Thousand Lights, Chennai – 600006

seshu.gopal@uniquesofttech.com

Mobile: +919444100081 and +919840689781

Glitz- Jewel digital virtual trial rooms through iPad in retail stores or boutiques , offer the convenience of browsing at home or work and trying jewels virtually to select the right look.

Virtual Trial room helps buyers make a purchasing decision by letting them view themselves in desired jewel via an interactive web-cam application.

This feature simulates offline customer behavior of trying out various jewels in front of a mirror to help them overcome their anxiety of how the apparel featured online would actually look on them.

It works on reducing any anxiety of not being able to actually see how the jewel looks on oneself before purchase online.

Virtual trial rooms with the help of better technology can help replicate the 'look' more realistically.

http://uniquesofttech.com/jewelrystudio.html

With Glitz, You Get

To Create Categories & sub categories to archive your jewels
Search filters by Price, Keywords, themes, Caratage etc
To create Favourite Lists & Jewel Pricing Module.
Order Form generation , intuitive business intelligence Report
Jewel Trail Room : Try – on multiple jewels at once on your photo.
Have a rich feel of wearing a jewel. .

Benefits

a) Opportunity to provide customers with more options for jewelry instantly with our inventory management solutions.

b) Valuable and personalized consultations and advice for each customer.

c) Standardization of operations through centrally controlled administration.

d) Build customer delight and loyalty Generate positive word of mouth advertisement and get new customers.

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