We offer the most unique lines of antique, Victorian, Art Deco & Art Nouveau jewelry in the market today by several manufacturer's. Our most popular line's are made right here in the United States by craftsmen who have preserved the 100 to 150 year old hand engraved dies or reproduced original antique jewelry. We do not out source our settings from China,  India or any third world country that forces children & adults to work long hours in unsafe sweat shops for little money. We  prefer to work with individuals who are craftsmen and small businesses here in the United States that consider their work their passion. Their jewelry can be found in these categories: Mountings & settings, Engraved bangles, Whimsy rings, Signet rings, Wedding bands & Bracelets.

Our jewelry is manufactured by a number of processes which will be explained below:

Die striking process, the method which results in much higher density and durability than cast manufactured jewelry made in low pressure molds. After alloying, the parts are formed by using metal dies applying 50 tons of pressure repeatedly to the ingot as it is formed into an item that will have a high luster and high density. Jewelry manufactured in this method is durable, has no porosity and holds a higher luster which is desirable for engagement rings. However die struck jewelry comes with a price tag and can cost 2 to 3 times higher than a casting. Most of our die struck jewelry can be found in these sections: Semi mount rings & sets, Engagement rings & sets, Anniversary bands, Earrings & Pendants and necklaces. If it's important to you to purchase a die struck item such as engagement ring, please ask before purchasing and we will inform you of the method of manufacture.

Lost wax casting, is cost effective but a very complex process. It starts with a model which could be modeled from hand carved dies or the actual item being reproduced. The model can be made out of many different materials such as an item that has already been produced in metal, a wax carving, a plastic carving, or just about anything that will not react to the mold rubber negatively. Molds are used to produce wax replicas of your model. Waxes are injected into the molds to produce wax replicas of the model being produced. Then the wax replica is attached by a sprue and arranged on a wax tree. Wax trees can contain as many as one hundred or more items or as few as one. When finished they are placed in a metal flask which is filled with a plaster investment that covers the wax tree. The plaster Investment dries and is then ready for the 12 to 16 hour burn out cycle in the casting ovens. This is where the Lost Wax Casting name comes from. All wax is slowly burned out to leave a plaster Investment mold that will be used to pour the casting metal into. Casting is done by placing the flasks in a centrifuge or a vacuum casting machines and then heating the metal and pouring the metal into the flasks. The result of the casting is a metal (gold, silver, platinum) tree of your items. When the metal trees come out of casting they must be cleaned, each cast item must be cut from the tree and de-sprued and tumble finished.

All cast jewelry has been trimmed and is tumble polished. Only settings and bands that we are resizing or setting stones in or items we are selling as a finished piece will be hand finished by our goldsmith. Hand finishing includes filing, final buffing & polishing and rhodium plating (on white gold only). You may request not to have your white gold rhodium plated if that is your preference, however it does not reduce the purchase price. Sterling settings depending on the maker may have a heavy antiqued surface which if too dark you may request for us to remove or have a local jeweler buff and polish the antiquing off. Many polish an item for no charge and some may charge a small fee for this. Mold lines or seams may be noticeable upon close inspection to the unaided eye or under magnification and porosity, minute pits in the metal, may also be found under magnification. These are not considered defects but are a result of the lost wax casting process. We do inspect for porosity and reject items with eye visible pitting or areas of porosity that will affect the safety & structure of your ring.

Also the symmetry of the filigree designs and embossed patterns may not be perfectly even or symmetrical along the filigree work and impressions on shank sides. This is an intended charm of this line, they are not meant to be perfect, pristine and brand new looking. Many of our items are copies of an authentic antique item that had signs of wear, which have been transferred onto the reproduction. They may have also been reproduced from the original works of 100 to 150 year old hand carved steel dies which may have dings, tool markings and variations in the engraved art work. The point of these pieces is to capture them for the works of art that they are with their original details as rendered by the artist to appreciate and preserve a part of history. If your looking for perfection in all detailing with crisp sharp details we suggest you consider purchasing a die struck manufactured item.