DESIGN:
The manufacturing process begins with the design, which in reality means producing ideas and sketches as per required market trends, the form, functionality and salability, capturing every dot on a piece of paper and giving birth to an art that you would value tomorrow. Several versions are drawn by hand, to achieve the right aesthetic value.

The design plays a very important role as it is the designers who lend their creativity to the ornaments and finish them with immense opulence. The design also, should take into consideration the actual manufacturing method and price.

Once the designs are approved they are sent for master making that can be CAD or manual.

COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN (CAD):
CAD, computer software assists the designers to give a realistic dimension to their sketches and ideas. It enables the transmission of the designed geometric patterns to other programs for machining.

COMPUTER AIDED MANUFACTURING (CAM):
CAM is a computer controlled production activity.CAM technology enables the CAD design to be produces directly by a machine.

The result of the CAM process is a resin model of the CAD design which can now be used to form a rubber mold for further production.

MASTER MAKING :
A prototype of a design is produced manually in silver, also known as "Master". A well-executed master is a perfectly engineered piece that eliminates the need of excessive, labour-intensive finishing.

A finished master, after detailed inspection, is sent for further processing to make a rubber mould.

RUBBER MOULD:
Rubber mould is made out of silicon rubber, which helps to generate multiple replicas in wax of the master piece.

Rubber Molding is a process where the master made in silver is put between the strips of rubber. A nozzle, which is a brass former with a conical shape, is kept for the injection of wax (Waxing). Once the master is positioned properly, the rubber to be molded is placed inside the "frame" and is set for the vulcanizing process.

Vulcaniser is a machine, which heats the rubber strips at 150 degree centigrade. It is kept for almost 45 to 60 minutes. Once this is done, it is soaked in water for almost 2 minutes to cool it down and then cut accordingly. The ideal time to cut the rubber mould is best when it is warm.

The rubber mould for finished Resin pieces are made from Liquid silicon rubber as it cannot withstand heat and pressure of vulcanization. In this process liquid silicon rubber is poured into the closed frame containing the Resin piece attached with a sprue at the base and left overnight for solidifying.

Mould Cutting:
After the Vulcanizing Process or solidification of liquid mould, the Rubber mould is cut in two equal halves. The two halves have to be entirely separated keeping the internal cavity of the mould absolutely clean. The rubber mould is given various vent cuts in order to release the trapped air during the wax injection process.




WAX :
Wax Injection: Wax is injected into the mould in order to achieve typical shape of the master. It is very important to use good quality compact wax specifically developed for investment casting.

Wax Tree:
After the patterns are thoroughly checked, the tree is made out of the selected patterns. The attachment is done by heating the bottom of the wax sprue and then fixing it on the wax rod. This is then sent for casting.

CASTING:
Investment Process: Investment casting is also known as "Lost Wax Process". Special investment powder (Plaster of Paris, Binder and Powdered Silica) is mixed with water to slurry and poured around the wax tree. It is placed under a low vacuum to remove air bubbles and allowed to set and harden to form the refractory mould.

The flask is then inverted and the wax removed by melting in steam or in air in a furnace (the burn-out oven). The investment mould is then carefully heated in the burn-out oven in set stages to the maximum burn-out temperature of 750°C for several hours and then cooled down to the temperature required for casting (typically in range 450-650°C).

The hot flask is placed in a casting machine. The gold metal or alloy is melted in a crucible and then poured into the investment mould. It is allowed to cool and solidify and is then quenched into water which helps to break off the investment mould material to leave the cast gold 'tree'. Tree is cleaned with pressurized water flow.

Grinding:
For the removal of the runner from the gold piece, it is taken through the process of grinding. The extra part of the piece is filled off in this process.

FILING:
This process manually removes the extra gold metal from the pieces. The main purpose of filing is to clean up the piece and bring evenness to it. In this process soldering, finishing and assembling of jewellery is done.

TUMBLING:
Tumbling is the process where jewellery is mixed with abrasive shapes or polishing compounds . It can also be done by burnishing(hammering)the surface with hard materials such as steel pins and cones or porcelain balls. Tumbling process brightens the pieces with little labour force and is used for mass finishing.This Technique results in a fine "hammered or grinding" effect on broad flat surface which help in giving a quality finish.

After tumbling Process, the jewellery pieces are cleaned in Ultrasonic Machine to remove powder, dust, stones etc.

DIAMOND BAGGING:
Diamonds and colour stones required for setting are assorted as per shape and sizes required in jewellery and are issued for the further process of setting. Diamonds are assorted taking into account or calculating the resultant shape, clarity colour of the finished diamond.

SETTING:
Before setting the diamonds the jewellery is pre-polished to get the shine on the seat of the diamond. Here the settings of diamonds or the other stones such as Ruby, Sapphire etc are set on the jewellery.
Types of Setting:

• Prong Setting
• Pave Setting
• Channel Setting
• Pressure Setting
• Flush Setting
• Invisible Setting
• Tension Setting
• Bezel Setting

POLISHING:
Polishing is a process where a smoothing operation is done with relatively hard faced polishing wheels mounted on a polishing motor. The process eliminates tool marks and scratches giving it a uniform surface. In order to achieve uniformity, considerable amount of metal is removed from the surface.

Buffing is followed by polishing. Very fine abrasives are used on softer wheels than are used in polishing and little or no removal of metal occurs, resulting smooth metal surface ranging from semi-bright to high mirror finish.

After completion of this process, the piece is taken for steaming and then for the final quality check

FINISHING/PLATING:
The way the surface of a piece is polished or textured is known as finishing. The finish of jewellery refers to the polish on the external surface of the metal. The various types of finishing include high polish, matte or brushed and plating.

Types of Finishing /Plating:

• High polish Finish
• Matte Finish
• Satin Finish
• Sand Blasting
• Gold Plating
• Rhodium Plating

High Polish:
High polish is a finish achieved by buffing the surface of metal so that it shines brightly, often with a mirror-like finish. This finish is most widely used.

Matte Finish:
It is a dull finish surface created by sandblasting, stone finishing or brushing.

Satin Finish:
Satin finish is also known as Brushed Finish. This is a precious metal texturing technique used on jewelry where a series of very fine parallel lines are scratched by using fine metal brushes on the surface to create a uniform texture.

Sand Blasting:
Sand blasting is a process to give a matte finish to the metal. Generally the areas not to be sand blasted are covered with adhesive tape and blasted with AL203 giving the exposed area a required matte effect.

Gold Plating:
This Process is done with the electroplating method. It is done to the piece when there is a need to cover it with a thin gold layers. It helps in hiding small defects found like small scratches, it also gives a better finishing and colour to the product.

Rhodium plating:
A metal that is part of the platinum family is applied to base metals, gold, sterling silver, or some other alloy, to give it a shiny white surface like platinum. Rhodium is the most common plating material used to plate the prongs which provide diamond a brighter look. It is applied on two tone and white gold pieces.

Rhodium is available in various colours like White, Pink, Green and Black.

QUALITY CONTROL:
It is a final step, but it is used on every stage of manufacturing as the jewellery has to meet the standards. Quality control measures the jewellery on the following criteria:

• Filing Defects
• Soldering defect
• Change in color due to soldering
• Air Bubbles found on the piece
• Minor cracks on the piece
• Marks on the pieces
• Parting lines
• Improper shape of prongs
• Uneven placement of prongs
• Prongs are broken
• Prongs are long
• Size differences in prong
• Broken Colet
• Loose setting of stones
• Improper setting of the stones
• Uneven pave of metal on the stones
• Broken Stone or cracks in the stone
• Uneven placement of the stone
• Different color of the stone
• Improper fitting of locks in the pieces
• Improper finishing