Looking for paid help

Hi all,

I create 3D designed jewellery, get them cast in wax then cast in metal. I have tried to learning finishing but don't have the experience , time or equipment.
So i thought i would try and get a expert to help me.

The main thing i need is someone who can finish a cast to a polished finish and attach any findings that are needed. Also hallmarks and maybe stone setting would be great but not needed at this stage.
To start with it would be very small amounts, but hopefully as the business grows so will the amount of work.

I need a idea on pricing so i can calculate if there will be any profit. So for example a simple silver wedding band casting, how much would you charge for a mirrored finish? i would rather pay a decent price for a professional service than have you find out later that it's not worth your while. So quality comes first.

The other option I am open to is a business partner? i could also do 3d models and get moulds cast for your designs if needed.
I would rather work with someone in the UK if possible.
I have attached a picture so you can see how challenging it will be, i have chosen one of the more difficult ones so you can tell me if it is even possible to do.

Thanks for taking the time reading this good luck with all your ventures.

I am open to Private messages if needed.
Attachment 9000 Attachment 9001

Paul

Hi Joseph'

What you need is a jewellery finisher. Sometimes casters offer this service, or will direct you to someone suitable. The main showrooms in Hatton Garden (Cookson, Walsh and Euro Mounts and Findings) and possibly in Birmingham, also have free notice boards for advertising services.

Failing an answer here, you might also browse this page: https://www.google.co.uk/?client=fir...+for+jewellers. Dennis.

Nice design ,for a mirror finish on silver for something that complicated may not really be economically viable depends on your markup I suppose, maybe use a magnetic pin polisher then highlight with a buffing machine ,maybe you could cad with textures and use oxidisation so reducing clean up time ? If you are casting from a grown model you will have to deal with grow lines. One way around this is to make a master model spend the time and have this finished well then take a mould from it,the surface on the injected modls will be smoother so taking less to clean up.You will need to account for shrinkage using this method.

Thanks Guys,
Dennis i have looked into using a finisher from Hatton garden and elsewhere, i have not got any idea how much they charge yet. But i would like to form some type of partnership with a individual or small team. I know the company i use to print my wax's charge a lot for finishing. for example the wax print costs around £10 and if i want the ring in silver polished the price would shoot up to over £50. Now the casters charge the following for the ring i showed you.


1.00 WAXPROVIDED PW0004 BLOSSOM RING INITIAL CASTING 1.70 1.70

1.00 MOULD2 to make mediumMOULD 15.00 15.00

2.00 PW0004 BLOSSOM RING SILVER 1.70 3.40
(this does not include grain cost but it was priced at 0.44 at the time.)


This was a couple of years ago but is really good price i think, and the cast didn't have many problems some seams to file down. I know finishing would cost lot more than casting but £50 is more than i can take.

Josef1 hi, on that particular ring i think you are right i would have problems getting that to the point i was happy with cost wise on finishing, it was just to show worse case. on the second picture is a cast that was pin polished i believe, i would only want to mirror polish parts of it and leave most of the centre satin finish or unpolished, so that make it viable.

I suppose my main problem is i come from a computer and art background and not a jewellery background, and having a partner who knows what will work and what wont will be a great help for me. For example should i put the finding on the model before casting or get them soldered on.

Again thanks for the help

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joseph Rose

Josef1 hi, on that particular ring i think you are right i would have problems getting that to the point i was happy with cost wise on finishing, it was just to show worse case. on the second picture is a cast that was pin polished i believe, i would only want to mirror polish parts of it and leave most of the centre satin finish or unpolished, so that make it viable.

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If I were finishing that meticulously from cast I'd be looking at a fair amount of use of ceramic rods (both rotary and hand held) to get the bulk of the work done before moving onto rubber abrasives where possible. Quite time consuming and not cost-effective with a low-cost metal like silver.

Boils down to a balance between what the market will support on price vs how much detail (or how much labour) can go into the piece.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ps_bond

If I were finishing that meticulously from cast I'd be looking at a fair amount of use of ceramic rods (both rotary and hand held) to get the bulk of the work done before moving onto rubber abrasives where possible. Quite time consuming and not cost-effective with a low-cost metal like silver.

Boils down to a balance between what the market will support on price vs how much detail (or how much labour) can go into the piece.

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I think you are right Peter, I did buy the small rotary stuff for this when I tried myself I made a pigs ear of it and lost detail on the swirls. it is to much for work for a silver item.

That was one design but most are a lot more simple, and would only take a expert a short amount of time to do. Looks like I will have to use a finishing service.

Thanks again