A Labor of Love: The Art and Science behind BRUNA’s Jewelry

Have you ever wondered about the process behind creating your favorite pieces of jewelry? If your answer is yes, you’re in the right place!

Jewelry-making is a fascinating process that can take up to almost 100 steps. It requires expertise, care, and traditional craftsmanship skills - as well as all the latest technologies.

We’d love to take you on a journey through some of the key steps in our jewelry production process, from initial design to finished product. We’ll also introduce you to the highly skilled artisans who make all of this possible.

Alessandra Gargiulo June 29, 2023

Whether you’re a jewelry enthusiast, curious about the art of jewelry-making, or just looking to gain a deeper appreciation for the craft, this step-by-step journey will provide you with some insight into how your favorite pieces come to life.

What awaits you

1. Design & 3D printing the master model

2. Rubber mold preparation & wax injection

3. Wax tree preparation and investment pouring

4. Casting

5. Cooling & investment removal

6. Polishing

7. Electroplating

8. Diamond Setting

9. Pearl assembly

Step 1: DESIGN & 3D PRINTING THE MASTER MODEL

The process of creating our jewelry starts with an initial design, which is digitized using a computer-aided design software and 3D-printed to create a highly detailed and precise master model of the jewelry piece in wax or resin.

Step 2: RUBBER MOLD PREPARATION & WAX INJECTION

Next up, the master model is used to create rubber molds which contain the hollow shape of the jewelry piece. These molds are later injected with molten wax, to create a wax replica of the master model (our jewelry piece). This process is repeated by wax injectors, like Poo, to create multiple wax replicas, which are then attached to a central sprue to create a "wax tree."

Poo has been working as a wax injector for over 15 years, following in the footsteps of her older brother.

"No one really knows what the jewels look like before they become metal. I feel like I have a privilege to understand where the jewels come from... Me!"

Step 3: WAX TREE PREPARATION AND INVESTMENT POURING

The wax tree is inserted into a flask filled with a plaster-like material known as investment.

Step 4: CASTING

The filled flask is then heated in an oven to solidify the investment. During this process, the wax replicas of the jewelry pieces burn, leaving a cavity or hollow shape where the wax tree was.

Next, the flask is placed in a casting oven, where metal such as silver or gold is melted and poured inside the cavity left by the wax tree, creating a metal replica of the wax tree.

Step 5: COOLING & INVESTMENT REMOVAL

Once the metal has cooled down, the investment mold is removed to reveal the metal tree. Each silver or gold piece is cut from the tree and so starts to take its shape as an individual piece of jewelry.

Taw has been working for 4 years as part of the metal control team. Her work includes cutting the cast metal trees, as well as keeping stock and control of all recycled metals.

"I like my fellow workers, we are a family and it gives me pleasure to have them by my side. It makes me proud to be part of the process for such a beautiful product."
- Taw, metal control

Step 6: POLISHING

Each individual jewelry piece taken from the metal tree is carefully polished to remove imperfections, smoothen out its surface, and recover the original shine of silver or gold.

Daeng has been a jewels polisher for over 30 years - and you can really tell by the quality of her work!

"Many industries are set up for young people but my work and expertise is valued so I am happy to do this work."

- Daeng, polisher

Step 7: ELECTROPLATING

At this stage, silver jewelry pieces that need plating - such as our gold vermeil pieces - are placed on a rack and go through electroplating.

This is a process during which a layer of metal (gold) is coated onto silver jewelry. First, the silver jewelry is cleaned and placed into a solution containing dissolved metal ions. Then, a metal plate called the anode is added into the solution. Both the jewelry and the anode are connected to a power source, which causes a flow of electrons. As the electrons flow, metal ions from the solution are attracted to the jewelry, where they stick to the surface and form an even layer. Science or magic? We are not too sure, but what we do know is that the jewelry now has a shiny new layer of gold!

Step 8: DIAMOND SETTING

Our laboratory-grown diamonds are set into the jewelry piece with careful precision by skilled stone setters.

Noi has been in the industry for 20 years. "Stone setting is the most special part of jewelry production. I get to see a plain piece of jewelry before the stones are set and when I look at it after I set the stones, I get to see how my work - my stone setting - makes the jewelry piece look so beautiful and that makes me happy"
Noi, diamond setter

Step 9: PEARL ASSEMBLY

Another delicate piece of work is picking the most beautiful pearls for our designs. If you have a pearl jewel from BRUNA, it is likely that your pearls were selected by Fon and Daa.

"It feels nice to know my work means there are women all over the world wearing something I helped to make!"

- Fon, assembly work

"I have always loved to put things together and when I was a child I liked to put puzzles together. To others, maybe stringing pearls does not seem like a fun thing to do but for me stringing pearls and assembling jewelry parts with the pearls is so interesting because you have to have an eye to match all the right pearls together!"

- Daa, pearl assembly

At BRUNA, we take great pride in our jewelry production process, ensuring that each piece is crafted with care, precision, and passion - always. This is only possible because of the highly skilled artisans who work behind the scenes in our supply chain, meet them here.

By working with these skilled artisans who not only do a beautiful job but care about what they do, we’re able to guarantee that our jewelry is of the highest quality, with every piece created as a true work of art, and a labor of love.