In the jewellery world, it is important to know the difference between fabricated pieces and cast pieces. Fabricated jewellery has usually been formed and shaped from metal sheets and/or wire, piece by piece.
Cast jewellery often originates from a molds, and can be duplicated many times over. The details and lines in fabricated jewellery are typically sharper than cast jewellery, and there will often be slight variations in each piece. Jewellery that is duplicated on a grand scale will be significantly cheaper than pieces formed and finished by hand.
Buying handmade is one of the best ways to access fabricated, well-made original pieces. If you are not sure what you are looking at, just ask us! When it comes to handmade jewellery at a studio like Jewel Envy, many cast pieces are still original, one of a kind, and not duplicated.
The goldsmith may have carved wax by hand for a particular stone, and used the wax model to make something that suits only that stone, in a design that is difficult or impossible to create with sheet and wire. It is very likely that a goldsmith will create some carved, cast elements, and some fabricated elements, then put them together in the same piece.
The best way to know is to ask, and we are always here to walk you through the process of our handmade works!
