As a jewelry enthusiast since my teens, I recently made my dream come true by launching Expresse Yourself, an artisan jewelry company in France. Each piece of jewelry we create is a unique piece, designed with care and dedication, and I am delighted to share with you the creative process behind each piece of jewelry you find on our site
How are jewelry created at Expresse Yourself?
1.Inspiration: The Genesis of Each Jewel
It all starts with a source of inspiration. It can be a crush on a precious stone, a current trend in the fashion world, or even an emotion that overcomes me. Although difficult to explain, this first step is crucial, because it brings to life the idea that will turn into a magnificent piece of jewelry.
2. Drawing and Design: From Idea to Reality
For more complex designs, I start by drawing sketches to get a clear idea of what the jewelry will look like. This step is crucial to determine the feasibility of the project. Sometimes you have to make several adjustments before you get the perfect design.
3. Prototypes: The Art of Improvement
Once the design is finalized, we move on to the prototyping phase. We often use copper or brass to create initial models. These prototypes are rarely perfect, but they serve as a basis for making necessary modifications and improvements. This phase is essential for refining every detail of the jewelry.
4. The Reference Model: The Creation of Jewelry in Noble Materials
Once we have refined the design, we create “model 0”. This is made with real materials such as 925 silver, precious stones, steel or brass before gold plating. This model becomes our reference for producing other jewelry of the same style. Each material is carefully chosen to ensure exceptional quality.
5. Unique Models: exceptional creations
For unique jewelry, very limited editions of some of our silver creations, we always make a first model in silver. Often this model has slight imperfections, so we make a second one without these defects. It is this final model that is offered to our customers, without any imperfection. Each piece of jewelry is carefully inspected to ensure impeccable quality.
6. Robustness: Our Commitment to Quality
At Express Yourself, we don't stop at creation. We are determined to ensure the strength of every piece of jewelry we produce. Before offering them to our customers, we subject our jewelry to rigorous tests. For example, for bracelets, we subject them to strength tests by spinning them like a centrifuge to assess their durability. In addition, we hang certain jewelry with a weight on the end for more than 24 hours to check if they resist daily wear. It is obviously not recommended to carry out such a test yourself or to use your jewelry for play with your dog
The manufacturing step omitted in the design because it is specific to each piece of jewelry
Obviously, we have not talked about the production stages which are specific to each piece of jewelry and which vary greatly from one model to another. If we wanted, we would have to talk about the different techniques used to create each of our models, such as lost wax casting, wire wrapping, soldering, etc. These techniques are not used on all jewelry, quite the contrary. However, we can talk about an essential and common final step, polishing. It allows our little masterpieces to shine like never before (so much so that some of you don't think they are so brilliant). There is nothing magical, just many hours of work: a first descaling of the oxidized materials in a destone bath, then a pre-polishing with a metal brush (steel or copper) in coarse grain, a second with a brush with finer grains, then we will use cotton brushes always with the grinder of course soaked in the product to polish (varying if it is metal or stone, for example).
Craftsmanship and Quality at Every Step
At Express Yourself, we pride ourselves on creating each piece of jewelry by hand, with meticulous attention to detail. Our workshop in Mazan, France is the heart of our creativity, where myself and my mother work together to bring our unique designs to life. We are proud to offer you jewelry that is a reflection of our passion for craftsmanship and our commitment to quality. Every piece you purchase from us is the result of many hours of hard work and dedication. We hope this article has given you an insight into the creative process behind our handcrafted jewelry. We want our customers to have complete confidence in Express Yourself, knowing that every piece of jewelry we create is made with love and dedication. Feel free to browse our collection of unique jewelry on our website, and thank you for supporting our artisan business
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