While the process itself dates back quite some time, die striking remains a relevant, but more importantly, reliable method of creating strong and beautiful jewelry.
|
|
|
|
What is die striking exactly? Simply put, it’s shaping raw metal by fixing it within a restricted cavity. Forging is the core process, with the work piece beaten or pressed into shape between specially formulated, heat-resistant steel dies. This results in a strong, durable, and resistant product that’s perfect for holding stones securely, or for forming highly functional components.
Process Breakdown. First, a steel engraver carves the desired design into a heat-resistant block. This shaped block, or die, is the hub. It imprints the design into another steel blank, the master die. The master die, in turn, provides the model for working dies, the female dies used in production. Next, powerful drop hammers or presses repeatedly strike the work piece between the hub and the working die. The relentless compression creates a piece that is particularly dense, durable, and porosity-free.
Advancing the tradition. While others have moved away from this early process, here at Stuller, we continue to refine it. Coupling it with more modern processes like metal molding, we’re able to combine the best parts of both techniques fashioning an even better end result. Our Premium Forged Products, for example, involve a marriage of forging and casting.
Watch how it’s all done in this exclusive, behind-the-scenes video.
