Surface processing

Mechanical surface processing is an important part of the jewellery making process. First of all, the cast skin is removed from the pieces of jewellery. This happens in the emery room with emery boxes, onto which the grinding engine has been mounted. Integrated in a cabinet underneath is a suction device, which collects the waste material, gold and silver dust and the harmful corundum powders, in order for the precious metals to be recycled.
When comparing the jewellery parts in the various stages of preparation, obvious differences become apparent. After the rough, porous cast skin has been removed, the piece will show its first silky shimmer. After that a rotating drum with ceramic pins is used to smooth out the emery surfaces. After about 4 hours, the pre-prepared pieces are polished in a rotation drum with walnut  granules for about 2 hours, resulting in a beautifully shiny surface. The jewellery is then brought to a high shine manually using rotating brushes, disks, and mandrels and special grinding and polishing pastes. After this step, the prepared pieces of jewellery are taken to galvanic section to be cleaned and degreased.