Fabricated products and findings constitute a vital component of jewelry production even in casting houses. At James Avery Craftsman, for example, "cast jewelry" comprises 70-75% of products produced and sold. Yet only about 10% of product sales contain no fabricated component whatsoever. From another perspective, 90% of our business is affected by the quality, availability, and cost of mill products.

While recognizing the importance of other processes, we will focus, in this text, on the rolling of sheet and strip, the rolling and drawing of wire, and the drawing of tubing. This is because a) these represent the bulk of mill products produced for jewelry, and b) many principles discussed are applicable to the others. Also, since the quality of our products in the mill are so heavily dependent on the parent material - the billet, we will discuss melting and casting requirements.

Author: C. Wynn Kilgore