Handmade in NYC
What does Handmade in New York means?
Your jewelry is not just "designed" in New York, every step of its fabrication happens here in Big Apple upon your order. A big part happens in my jewelry studio, and some specific steps are executed by the hands of skilled professionals in Diamond District, New York.
When will I receive the jewelry?
It takes roughly two weeks to finish a piece of jewelry from start to finish, sometimes when customization for size or enamel color is not required or when you are lucky and the piece you ordered is in my inventory you get it much faster. If you have a time sensitive occasion, contact me prior to the order to make sure I can have the piece ready for you on time.
What are the steps involved in making my jewelry?
In most cases the jewelry involves a design element that is cast using the lost wax technique.
- My caster uses the molds of my designs and casts them using metals like brass, silver or gold that are recycled and refined.
- Then I clean up the piece from the mold metal arrivals also called "sprues": I use a hand saw blade, little and big files and a foot-controlled motor tool called a "flex shaft".
- Once I am done with pre-polishing the piece, I bring it to my local expert polisher who will give my favorite finish to the piece: a mirror polish, super clean and shiny!
- Once polished, I bring the pieces to my gold plater who will cover the piece either with a nickel free coating of silver or gold with a thickness of 1 micron.
- When the jewelry has been plated, the fun part starts: I mix the pigment with the resin and start hand decorating the pieces with enamel, bringing my colorful signature look.
- After 24 hours, the enamel is dry and the piece is ready to be assembled with jump rings, chains and all that good stuff that makes up the jewelry!