How gold-plated brass jewelry is made

From the first model to the gold bath: the six stages behind every cast brass piece, explained the way a workshop would — with what you can specify at each step.

Start a project See the six stages

Casting molten brass
Stone cutting malachite cabochon
Plating gold bath

Concept visuals, not client work.

Carved green wax ring models beside two freshly cast raw brass ring prototypes on a steel workbench. — Concept visual

Stage 01

The master model

Every cast piece starts as a single master: carved by hand in jewelry wax, or printed in resin from a 3D (CAD) file. Its proportions, thickness and details decide everything that follows, so it is checked against your drawing before anything is cast.

Hand-carved wax or 3D-printed resin
Allowance for metal shrinkage and finishing
Checked against your measurements

An opened rubber mold with the cavity of a drop earring, a row of identical injected wax copies and a wax injector. — Concept visual

Stage 02

Rubber molds and wax copies

Once the first metal master is approved, it is pressed into rubber and vulcanized to make a production mold. Molten wax is injected into that mold to make as many identical wax copies as the run needs.

One mold per design — the reason small runs stay affordable
Identical wax copies for each piece of the run
The mold can be kept for reorders

Molten brass poured from a crucible into a hot investment flask in a casting workshop. — Concept visual

Stage 03

Lost-wax casting

The wax copies are attached to a central wax stem to form a tree, set in a steel flask and covered with investment plaster. The flask is heated: the wax burns out and leaves a cavity in the exact shape of each piece. Molten brass is poured in, the plaster is broken away, and a brass tree of pieces remains.

Also called investment casting
Brass is a copper–zinc alloy; composition can be specified
Each piece is cut from the tree by hand

Hands polishing a raw brass cuff against a spinning cotton buffing wheel. — Concept visual

Stage 04

Clean-up and finishing

Sprue marks are filed away, then each piece is tumbled, polished, brushed or hammered to the surface that was agreed. Findings, posts and jump rings are soldered on. The surface finish is set now: plating copies it, it does not hide it.

High polish, satin, brushed, hammered or textured
Soldering of findings and closures
Surface ready for plating — or shipped raw

A lapidary shaping a malachite cabochon on a wet grinding wheel, with rough stones and finished cabochons beside the wheel. — Concept visual

Stage 05

Stone cutting and setting

Semi-precious stones are sawn from rough, shaped on wet grinding wheels and polished into cabochons — or cut with facets for crystal and transparent stones. Jaipur has cut colored stones for centuries. Stones are then matched for color and size and set in bezels or prongs made for them.

Cabochon: a smooth domed stone, ideal for opaque stones
Faceted: flat polished faces that catch light
Bezel or prong setting, before or after plating depending on the stone

Freshly gold-plated earrings and pendants hanging in rows on copper plating racks above a plating tank. — Concept visual

Stage 06

Gold electroplating

Pieces are hung on racks and passed through a sequence of baths: cleaning (often ultrasonic), electro-cleaning, rinsing and acid activation, then the gold bath, where an electric current deposits a layer of gold on the brass. Thickness depends on current and time; tone depends on the gold solution.

Thickness is specified in microns — for example 1, 2 or 3 µm — and confirmed per piece
An underlayer and nickel-free processes can be specified for your market
Optional protective lacquer against tarnish

Quality checks, before anything ships

The approved sample is the reference. Production pieces are checked against it: dimensions and weight, surface finish, plating tone, stone color and matching, closures and findings. What is checked, and how, is written into your specification — see our process in six written steps.

Comparing production bases? Read jewelry manufacturing in China vs India.

Questions about techniques

What is lost-wax casting?

A method where a wax copy of the piece is encased in plaster, melted out, and replaced by molten metal. It reproduces fine detail and is the usual route for rings, pendants and sculpted shapes in brass.

How thick is gold plating on brass jewelry?

Thickness is measured in microns. Flash plating is a very thin layer; fashion jewelry built to last is often plated at 1 to 3 microns. The achievable thickness is confirmed with the workshop for each piece and written into the quotation.

Is gold-plated brass the same as gold vermeil?

No. Vermeil designates sterling silver plated with gold; gold-plated brass uses brass as the base metal. Use the right term on your labels and product pages.

Can gold-plated brass be nickel-free?

A nickel-free plating sequence can be specified. Tell us which requirements apply in your market — for example EU limits on nickel release — and we confirm with the workshop what can be specified and documented before production.

What is the difference between a cabochon and a faceted stone?

A cabochon is shaped and polished into a smooth dome, which suits opaque or banded stones such as malachite, lapis lazuli or onyx. A faceted stone is cut with flat polished faces that reflect light, which suits transparent stones such as rock crystal or amethyst.