As you might expect for an art this ancient, there are many different techniques for forming precious metals and gemstones into jewelry that you can wear.

Each method has advantages. For example, some jewelry is manufactured using a technique called die striking: sheets of metal are stamped into shape under enormous pressure using an engraved metal die. Because the dies and machinery used are expensive, die striking is generally used to manufacture large numbers of a single style. On the other end of the spectrum is hand fabrication, which is, as you might expect, the labor-intensive making of an individual piece of jewelry by hand, using tools and heat to bend and shape the metal.

The majority of jewelry created today is made using lost-wax casting, an ancient method updated with modern materials so that it can be used to make one or many copies of a jewelry design. We will take you step-by-step through this process to show you how the jewelry you enjoy was crafted.