Masters
The final step before production is the master. The key to a successful production is established through the master. Every detail must be as clean and as defined as possible because any discrepancies will be visible in the mold, which would affect the final piece.
For this piece the customer requested that the feathers be more detailed. Here can be shown the master reworking the feathers with the feathers marked red as the updated version.
The quality of detail in a master is essential, but it is also important to remember that the master will be bigger than the final piece.
Furthermore, the master will not always look like the final piece. This is the because a master can be composed of several components even if the final piece is one single part. This is to make production easier for filing and polishing of the final piece.
For these reasons, we prefer to not show the customer the finished master as it is not always indicative of the final piece so instead we show the drawing and final piece.
In some cases, the master works in silver and not use computer software or in wax carvings.
This is done for small pieces which is becoming more common as wax becomes hot, making smaller pieces more difficult to work with.
Flat engraved pieces are produced using Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining or laser cutting.
Once the master is finished, we move on to the mold.