The jewelry industry, like many other industrial fields, has to face a market at a crisis point in which precious metal prices keep rising. The production of difficult-to-copy and unique designs, filigree patterns, and hollow parts seems to be the accepted challenge in order to innovate. Where is the breaking point between virtual design and practical realization of objects? How thin can we cast? Several parameters must be considered to answer the aforementioned questions, from model production to finishing, in order to understand the thickness limits of a cast part. Issues related to prototyping, casting, and polishing must be considered as well as the wearability of the component and its durability. This paper presents a study of different thin filigree objects in order to evaluate the technological limits of both pattern production and object castability.

Author(s): Dr. Marco Actis Grande