Choosing the best jewellery caster, or at least the right casting partner for you, is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as a jeweller or small jewellery brand. A good caster ensures your production pipeline is smooth and your customers can trust you. Consistent quality, protects your designs, supports production timelines as well as cost targets, and can scale with you as your business grows. Use this blog guide to assess a caster before you use them, based on the practical, commercial and creative needs of your brand. Hopefully it will prepare you for what to expect from a jewellery caster and shed light on how to choose a jewellery caster in London.
1. Clarify what you need
When thinking about your production needs, consider the volume and frequency or your orders, the materials you use, the techniques utilised in your work and your lead-times and need for support in finishing your pieces.
Are you producing one-off bespoke pieces, small batch runs, or larger production? As a boutique casting workshop, we specialise in smaller batches, more artisanal work rather than huge batches produced en masse. Some casters have expertise or equipment only for specific alloys or casting methods. We offer silver, gold and platinum investment casting with your choice of metal provenance making us a great option for eco-friendly jewellery casting. We can finish and set your work for you in-house to support your workload and turnaround times.
2. Assess technical capability and equipment
Look at their offering. Does the potential casting partner accept hand-carved, 3D-printed or injection-moulded waxes to be right for you? Are they happy to work from CAD models? We are!
Ask about processes for inspecting castings and quality control. Can they store and produce moulds if this is something you need. Methods of casting have pro's and con's, vacuum, centrifugal and induction, discuss which they use and why for your designs. As we have grown we have begun offering services our customers requested, like bespoke casting for heirloom jewellery and stone-in-place casting for unique gemstone and diamond jewellery. We are always willing to discus new opportunties to accomodate our parters.
Can they handle batch increases if demand rises? We have been steadily growing our offering and capacity over the years with demand. So if you want to really collaborate with your caster and not be just another account, we could be the perfect choice.
3. Examine workmanship, consistency and commercial terms
We welcome all new potential partners to order a small batch or one off with us first. This helps you assess the quality of our work and compare it to your current precious metal caster. In testimonials our customers are routuinely impressed by the high quality of our castings and our finishing service. Katie of Crux London said "what really stood out was the quality of the setting and finishing."
Ask for detailed quotes - unit cost, setup costs, casting and additional charges, minimum order quantities, and lead-times. We have no minimum MOQ's for and will always provide a quote before beginning work if you want one, so there will be no surprises.
4. Communication, service and flexibility
Good communication, a willingness to problem solve and collaborate, as well as location and logistics are key markers of best jewellery casting houses.
Communication saves time and prevents costly mistakes. willing to
We are always happy to advise on design for manufacture, metal selection and finishing options, and we will offer practical suggestions to make designs more easily cast and avoid any design failures. Especially when we work on your CAD files. As we are a London-based caster, this reduces shipping time if you would like to collect, and can eliminate the worry that comes with relying on Royal Mail to receive such high investment parcels. We are also very happy to welcome you into our Exmouth Market workshop for a chat or to see our facilities.
5. Compliance, sustainability and ethics
Health & safety, environmental practises and responsible sourcing is also a huge consideration when considering moving to a new jewellery casting supplier.
We are an incredibly mindful business, we follow safe handling of investment, metal fumes and waste. We are always conscious of our disposal of investment, chemical use, and waste handling. are important. Responsible sourcing is our USP (unique selling point), many makers and designers come to us specifically for our sustainable and ethical jewellery casting options. Whether you choose AgAIN silver, 100% recycled silver, gold and platinum, Single Mine Origin, e-waste, Fairtrade or Fairmined gold you can rest assured we have a chain of custody and have done the responsible sourcing for you.
If you have gotten this far and are still wondering about whether we are the right jewellery casting partner for you then please get in touch to find out more or ask us any questions you may still have about working with us.
