There has recently been a lot of discussion among professional jewelry appraisers as to how to describe how a piece of jewelry is made. The varying techniques of jewelry manufacture are many and are often used in combination. These techniques often, but not always have an influence on the value of an item, particularly if the appraiser is using a cost plus method to arrive at a value conclusion.

Precise labeling of these manufacturing techniques is often difficult to explain in one simple statement such as “the item has been hand-made ” or “the item has been cast” particularly as many items have been made with combinations of techniques. Those techniques include, the lost wax casting technique, (Cad Cam or hand carved ,whatever is applicable), hand assembled using die struck or cast components, die struck and hand fabricated to name but a few.

If you would like to learn more about the jewelry manufacturing techniques, stop by the office and we would be happy to let you watch one of the two videos that we have on the subject titled “Jewelry Essentials” or “The Complete Metalsmith”.


Master Gemologist Appraiser

4016 Cortez Road West
Suite 1201
Bradenton, FL 34210
ph: 941.756-8787