Preserving age-old methods
We strive to uphold jewellery-making techniques that have been sustained for thousands of years, resulting in distinct and beautiful pieces. Find out more about the various stages of creating our jewellery.
Design illustration
Design illustration (also known as 'rendering') is an important communication medium between the designer, jeweller and client, as this helps to minimise confusion about proportions, materials, and actual size of finished jewellery.
Depending on the style and intricacy of a design, there are two methods of rendering our team chooses. We usually paint with watercolour and gouache on paper. Sometimes, we use digital drawing tools, particularly for very complex designs that may need multiple revisions. Computer-aided design is a challenge to hand-painting, but we hope the tradition will not be lost to time.
Gemstone selection
Each gemstone at TVRRINI is natural, meaning they may have unique features such as inclusions—the reason we love them. From effervescent shades to gentle tones, every kind of gemstone is a different opportunity to express our concepts, and we take our sourcing seriously.
We buy them from reputable gem and pearl suppliers who will cater to our requests. This includes having a good relationship with direct contacts to pearl farms for our Tahitian, South Sea, and Freshwater pearls. On occasion, we incorporate carved and custom-shaped stones to further distinguish our designs.
Wax modelling
To bring design concepts into three-dimensional form, wax is a common material that jewellers use due to its pliable and forgiving nature. The wax model can start as a block that is then subtracted by carving away the surface, or built on successive layers through gentle heat, and both techniques may be involved depending on the design.
If a design will be "organic-looking", we prefer carving it from wax without any rendering prior. By doing this, the model takes on its shape more intuitively, in contrast to visualising it as a traditional watercolour illustration. Throughout the wax carving process, we refine the model until the shape and volume are suitable before casting in metal.
Metal casting
We use the lost-wax casting process to create all jewellery designs. After creating the wax model, it is cast into metal (primarily sterling silver and gold), allowing for fine details to be captured and resulting in a unique piece. To maintain our high level of quality, we then polish and finish each piece by hand.
Casting clean-up
Once cast into metal, we use polishing tools in different grades of roughness, which cleans up grime and uneven surfaces. This step is important as it prepares the piece for setting. We are careful not to damage the stones while they are mounted on the metal.
Stone setting
By this stage, the metal will have been cleaned meticulously and ready for stones if any are part of the design. Stone setting demands high precision. There is often little room for error, so we actively make sure the mount can neatly and securely hold any stones that are part of the final design.
We then carry out the final polishing afterwards.
Hallmarking
The final stage before delivery, jewellery and objects made from precious metals are required to be hallmarked under British law. Our team makes sure each jewellery item is ready for presentation before sending it to the London Assay Office, who will then verify the purity of the metal and place the TVRRINI maker’s mark with a laser hallmark.