My grandfather passed away several years ago, but recently a family member passed the remnants of his former jewelry business to me. Included are approximately 50-75 different deco-style findings, bails, settings, hinge pieces and other decorative elements intended for reproduction casting. I know this because they are in an envelope which reads “20 each silver”
I am not sure what they are made of- seems to be metal though- and I would love to have them cast up, as he intended, in silver.
How does one pursue this? I have zero casting experience. I would prefer to send these off and have them come back reasonably soon- and I would like to have the originals preserved- not destroyed in process.
I am looking for recommendations for this type of service as well as some hints on what they could be made of.
Hey thanks, unfortunately these are NOT for sale, but if you have any advice pertaining to reproduction I sure would love to see it posted here. Thank you for your interest though!
There are any number of casting houses which will make molds from the models and then cast multiples for you. It might be best to choose a firm that is close to where you live. If you can drop them off in person even better, as the folks there can explain the process to you, not that it is that complex.
As to what the models are made in… Most often model makers cast or fabricate their originals in silver, but I know of one jeweler who made all his models in platinum. When he retired he sold them for scrap, and the price had risen so much during the years that he made a pretty profit on the models alone. It is unlikely yours are platinum.
I am betting you’re right in that they are not platinum! They also are not silver though… They are brownish… Thanks for the tip- Google here I come… “Casting House” should turn up one or two results- though probably the closest will be Texas.
If they are brownish they may well be silver. In the process of making a vulcanized rubber mold the heat of vulcanization and the sulfur in the rubber will give a bronze or brownish cast to silver models.
I purchased an entire jeweler facility that a family had in storage for many years. Among the eclectic mix of molds, models, tools, and some unfinished castings. Of particular interest were the models which I had tested by a local university lab (called in a favor) and discovered they were cast in a bronze alloy.
Regards RLW
This is always fun for me. Because you have your own ideas for pieces, and tou see somebody elses work and it sometimes changes your ideas or, gives you new ones.
I think the bronze alloy models were the masters made from original waxes because there was a vulcanized mold for each one thus allowing for making multiple waxes.
OR
Maybe there was some other method I’m not familiar with
Because there are so many film production companies and sound stages in New Orleans, when I google search “casting house” I get the wrong kind of casting result… Are there specific companies that people here have had first hand experience with?
Thanks again… I keep forgetting to take pics… they are very pretty…
I have no clue if this picture will show up… but here are some of the findings… They are definitely metal- they aren’t magnetic- they appear both yellowish (bronze?) and also silvery, underneath the brown patina- so who knows… they are very very light- so prob not bronze… If you can tell me more about these I would be ever so grateful. Thanks- J
Hey everyone
Thanks for all your help. I need more!! Ha!
A relative just gave me the rest of Grandpas models.
There are many more than these here.
Is there an image search to make sure that I am not planning to reproduce non original work?
There are a variety of styles and some are more refined than others … makes me wonder about their origins.
I am not trying to violate copyright(although these are from the 1940-1950’s) or even artistic integrity, because that’s extremely uncool.
Thanks again. I have gone down the rabbit hole on the internet. It’s a vast place of interesting but mostly unusable content.
Sincerely, Janine, in New Orleans where it’s now Melty May
Janine: I have many Art Nouveau models which are almost all cast brass, the rest are sterling silver. I also have 20 some odd white gold plated sterling Deco rings.
I considered making silicon molds from them for folks to use with PMC, but the copyright issue stopped me. The copyright for art works like these evidently runs for 70 years after the artist’s DEATH, not when the piece was originally made. So, if a nouveau piece was made in 1900 by a 25 year old and they lived to 75 (dying around 1950) the copyright wouldn’t expire until 2020. If they lived to 95 (which could happen) it wouldn’t expire til 2040.
