Meet a Local Creator: The Team That Makes Our Pendants
In the heart of New York City, down a few small streets between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, lies the dazzling Diamond District (also known as the Jewelry District). There, you’ll find jewelry professionals from diamond dealers to polishers to engravers—someone to represent every aspect of the jewelry making process. In fact, over 90 percent of the diamonds that enter the United States come through this neighborhood, and more than $24 billion in business is conducted there every year.
We love being in the same city as the Diamond District; we’ve been able to find some of the finest jewelers and craftspeople in the world there. It’s important to us that we only work with the best local vendors, so we’re careful about only letting a few expert hands be involved in the process of creating our ethical jewelry for women and men.
One of our favorite Diamond District companies to team up with is Carrera Casting, a metal casting house we’ve been working with for almost the entirety of our six years in business. They play an essential role in the production of our Hidden Message Pendants and other signature jewelry—but because it all happens behind the scenes, not many of our customers get to see how they make the magic happen. Until now. We’d like to give you a peek into the world of custom jewelry casting.
Why You Should Know Carrera Casting
Since 1975, Carrera Casting has been one of the most accomplished jewelry casters in the world. The business is still owned and operated by the original partners: Owen Schwartz, Eric Schwartz, and Joel Weiss. The three artisans master a balance of traditional techniques and new technology—which is why Carrera is the only caster that’s been able to successfully create our pendants. Our unique symbols and letter pendants are difficult to produce, but together with Carrera, we’ve perfected the process—and can now go from a sketch or 3D model to a unique personalized jewelry item in the metal of our choice within 24 hours.
What is Jewelry Casting?
The first step in our physical production process is metal casting. One method—which we used up until recently—is called lost-wax casting. The process is a little complex, but here’s the basic idea: The team creates a rubber mold of the product (say, a Slice Ring) and fills the negative space in the mold with wax. The wax replicas are then attached in bulk inside of a canister where molten metal is poured in. The heat of the metal causes the wax to melt away, leaving just the metal pieces in the shape of our jewelry behind.
High-Tech Artistry
Carrera makes it a point to evolve with the changes, pursue innovation, and invest in new technology. One example: They recently acquired a game-changing 3D printer that bypasses the need for rubber molds and wax replicas while still retaining the original precision of the design. Even better? It’s no more expensive than the more traditional (and more rudimentary) lost-wax casting technique. That means our jewelry is extra precise, the production process is streamlined, and we don’t have to pass on any additional costs to you, our customer.
Sharing the Knowledge
Carrera has been in business for over forty years, which means by this point, they’ve built up an incredible wealth of knowledge. And rather than keeping that to themselves, they are passing that wisdom on to others by posting short educational videos on their website. The clips cover everything from how the casting process works to creating your own design files. By sharing what the business has learned over the years, they’re ensuring that the entire jewelry community grows stronger and produces higher-quality products.
Outstanding Customer Service
One of our favorite things about Carrera? If we’ve got a problem, they’ll work with us to resolve it and do everything in their power to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Often in this industry, you’re expected to troubleshoot your own issues, but our casting team always goes above and beyond to achieve success.
See the work of Carrera Casting for yourself by building a Hidden Message Necklace!