Handmade and cast and diestruck -- OH MY!

[Lynn B]

Handmade vs. cast vs. diestruck...

I *think* I should probably KNOW this, but I am a little unclear...

What are the differences? Similarities? Advantages? Disadvantages? And are there any other types of manufacturing styles?

THANKS!

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 11/3/2006 1:08:33 PM
Author:Lynn B
Handmade vs. cast vs. diestruck...

I *think* I should probably KNOW this, but I am a little unclear...

What are the differences? Similarities? Advantages? Disadvantages? And are there any other types of manufacturing styles?

THANKS!

I think with diestruck the pounding increases the density...

 

[Lynn B]

Thanks Cehra...
I hope some of the experts chime in here w/ more information, though. And maybe even (pretty pretty please???!) some photos of rings that were made each way. And how can a consumer tell which way their ring was made?

 

[Stone Hunter]

Yes I''d like to know about this too. I asked a while ago but nobody answered. I''d especially like to know how to tell how a setting is made.

 

[denverappraiser]

It’s not all that easy.

Casting involves making a wax or plastic model of the piece, poring a plaster like material around the wax and burning the original model. This leaves a cavity in the plaster that’s filled with molten metal and, when it cools, leaves a metal copy of the original wax. This technique has been used for several millennia to make things out of metal and it works pretty well.

Die striking involves carving a negative image in a piece of rather hard metal that is then used as a stamp to form a piece of softer metal into the shape you want. This too has been used for quite a while and is the standard approach for making coins, doorknobs, car hoods and many other metal objects.

Handmade is a tough one. Not everyone uses the term in the same way. The problem is that the craftsman is using tools and it’s necessary to decide what tools are acceptable for the particular definition. Is it still ‘handmade’ if it involves non-handmade components? Is it handmade if the craftsman uses semi-automated equipment? Is it still handmade if there are a multitude of workers involved in an assembly line type process? It gets pretty complicated. I mostly don’t use this term because of the confusion it causes.

Many, even most, jewelry items involve several processes and it can include hand assembly involving both cast and die struck components. It’s rarely an either/or type question. Heads, which are the prong assemblies that hold stones, are usually die struck for example. Attaching the head to the ring is almost always done by hand.

It’s generally a mistake as a consumer to target for a particular technique of manufacture as ‘better’. It all depends on the job and the craftsman should be using the correct method for the job at hand. This decision is part of what they’re being paid for. Sometimes this means casting, sometimes it involves fabricating from raw materials, sometimes it involves commercially available parts and sometimes it’s a combination of all of these things.
Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[Lynn B]

Sir Neil,

That was VERY informative and helpful -- thank you!

Lynn

 

[Cehrabehra]

excellent answer neil!!! very thorough!!

 

[widget]

Thanks, Neil! Another question...what exactly does "hand chased" refer to? And "piercing"?

Lyn.. www.vancraeynest.com uses dye struck methods and hand chasing, whatever that is.

They mounted my star ruby for me. If you visit their site, you can see that their work is incredibly fine and detailed...

I got to see quite a few of their pieces, and what struck me (beyond their delicacy and detail) was the weight of the pieces. They "felt" much heftier than they looked.

Neil...don't pieces that are mostly dye struck have denser metal??

widget

ETA: Here's a link to Van Craeynest, if anyone is interested:

http://www.vancraeynest.com/collections.html

 

[widget]

Oooh, I thought I''d thrown out this picture!

I snuck this picture of what I guess you''d call "dyes" of some ring when I was in their office....I can''t explain ''em, but they''re interesting! LOL. (That''s my unfinished ring in the upper righthand corner)

widget

 

[denverappraiser]

Chasing is a process of taking a small tool, pressing it against the metal and hitting the back end with a hammer. This makes a little dent in the metal the shape of the tool. You then move the tool a millimeter or so and hit it again. You’re ‘chasing’ the tool with the hammer as you move it across the work. It’s amazing what a skilled worker can do with this. It’s the way Paul Revere would make a punch bowl with images of dancing ladies around the outside edge, all dented from a single sheet of metal!

Piercing is where you drill a small hole in a piece of metal and thread a hairlike saw through it. You can then cut the hole into a shape other than round. As with the above, the work done by a master can take your breath away. It can look like a 3 dimensional sculpture made of metallic lace.

Doing these things well is really hard and they are both becoming lost arts.

Die striking doesn’t really make the metal denser but it does work harden it which, for most things, is a desirable affect. Poorly done casting can be porous but modern casting techniques and equipment has made huge inroads into solving this. There’s some very smart people working on this and they think nothing of things like casting in an argon atmosphere under tremendous pressure and details like using computers to control the casting temperature to a single degree. The concept is unchanged but its generally not done the same way it was 100 years ago.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[diamondseeker2006]

From the Facets/Signed Pieces website:

Die-struck Rings:

Die-struck jewelry is denser and more durable than casted or handmade pieces.

Since die-struck pieces are made from extruded metal - metal that is subjected to extremely high pressure - the pieces are free from porosity. This allows the ring to have a higher polish.

Even the thinnest die-struck prong is stronger than any casted prong.

The die-struck blank is cut to accommodate the exact size and shape of the diamonds.

http://www.thefacetscollection.com/diamond_wedding_bands.cfm

There are certainly pieces that I''d love to have handmade...Leon Mege, Mark Morrell, and Maytal Hoftman come to mind. But my jeweler recommended a die struck solitaire setting for my diamond because of the reasons listed above. So that''s why I was happy to hear that the H. Levi rings were die struck (and from the pictures, they do appear to have an excellent finish). I think the recent problems with the Lockes rings illustrated what can sometimes happen with handmade. I''d certainly love to have some handmade jewelry items, but I''d want the very best quality. But I didn''t really need a plain solitaire setting to be handmade.

 

[strmrdr]

sucky things can be made using any of the different processes.
And masterpieces can be made using most of them.

Its up to the skill of everyone involved in the process and the material itself.
In general cast is the most troublesome.

Die struck is limited in the designs that came be made from it.

Hand bent Wire is expensive because of the labor.

cnc machined is limited in availability and design.. these days its usualy just used to produce the wax for casting but its not unheard of for a ring to be made using it.

Laser/cnc will/has replaced hand piercing and can make some unbelievable designs.

then you have the powder and binder alloys where the item is actually printed out one layer at a time then the binder is melted out leaving the metal. (its complicated, don''t shoot me for keeping it simple)

I think the wave of the future will be the powder based printed designs and alloys.

In general and in my opinion from looking into it a die struck shank and a laser welded die struck head are likely the strongest.

 

[pyramid]

I am very interested in Widget's photo. Thank you for posting that Widget.

Can any of the experts tell what the stages are in the 3 dyes widget has posted? It is the same ring on the three isn't it?
Is the middle one for the side of the bezel setting + shoulders and the right hand one for the side of the head, the first one being the band and the other side of the head.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Oh my gosh. I just looked at that site Widget gave us and those rings are beyond gorgeous! I mean it! Why didn''t I know about this before!

I''m going to post some on another thread.

(And I agree with Widget about them feeling heavier. And they do not have rough areas..they are finely finished everywhere.)