I have a question for the seasoned jewelers out there. I have been a huge fan of a particular jewelry brand for quite some time, mostly for the texture on the pieces they produce. I have been trying to recreate this texture for a long time now and can’t seem to figure out how it’s done, and perhaps I’ve been putting in too much effort. Regardless, perhaps some of you can provide your suggestions and opinions.
So far, I’ve guessed that the aforementioned textures are produced in one of the following ways (but I could be wrong about all of them):
Sandblasting (least-likely considering the texture isn’t that uniform)
Light buff-stick or sandpaper work post-casting (I do see some vertical, uniform lines on certain pieces which MAY indicate this notion)
Minimal clean-up after casting (some of these pieces look rather “raw” and appear to have little-to-no finishing done at all, but you would have to do some clean-up to get rid of the button)
Tumbling (just spit-balling with this one)
I’ve provided photos below. What do you think? I would love to see your opinions!
The texture reminds me of cast iron, a lot, which is cast in sand. But I don’t think it is because of the complex undercuts. However, having said that, I have a Delft Clay casting video where the jeweler is casting a 3 dimensional cow. I always wondered about using a wax model with delft clay, dewax the mold and then casting as usual and maybe not pack the sand too tightly. Just spitballing here. I’m a fan of the rough finish myself. Have a book with gold jewelry that looks very roughly finished as well, when I find it will post the info. The jewelry looks to have a rough matte surface texture.
I have no experience with this type of finish…but here are my thoughts…
i see a few different things here:
in one cufflink photo, the texture is uniform, and very pronounced (more deep)
in most of the other photos, the texture is uniform, and very subtle (less deep)
in a few photos, the texture appears to have been applied over pieces that were not pre-finished…ie: there are deep scratches, gouges, etc that were not sanded down first…
overall, based on the uniform, non-directional nature of the texture, i would venture to guess sand/ bead blasting…
