Jewellery FAQ

Yes most definitely! Techniques vary, but all jewellery made by Marina is fully hand fabricated. Some feature details are made using a casting method, however every original is hand sculpted by Marina in wax, a mould made in-house, and cast here in the studio. Other techniques are 100% only able to be made as one of a kind pieces, for example the Mitsuro Hikime collections, see below.

Lost wax is a very ancient technique, and involves many stages.
The first is the initial sculpting, usually in wax, and takes many hours to sculpt in miniature the required design.
The piece is then immersed in a high temperature tolerant plaster, and put in a vacuum chamber to get rid of any air bubbles.
The mould containing the wax is then placed into a kiln upside down, and heated slowly to 730 degrees Celsius, which melts out and then fully vaporises all the wax away. This leaves the plaster with an empty space inside, ready to pour.
While keeping the mould very hot, sterling silver, gold, copper or bronze is melted by hand using a flame to liquid rolling metal at temperature upwards of 1180 degrees Celcius. When the metal is at temperature, it is quickly but very carefully poured into the flask mould and then spun around in a centrifuge machine. This forces the liquid metal into every crevice before it can start to solidify.
We can then place the mould into a bucket of water, called 'Quenching' which makes a satisfying hiss and instantly cools the metal to a temperature we can hold in our hands. It also cracks the plaster away, so we now have a clean version of our original wax, but in precious metal.
And now the next stages begin, the cutting away any metal not needed, the cleaning, filing, sanding, polishing, soldering, setting stones etc... Very involved but also incredibly satisfying!

Sterling Silver is the main metal used for most designs. The alloy is 92.5% pure Silver, and 7.5% pure Copper. The copper makes the silver quite a bit stronger, and is best for Rings, Earring posts etc..
Pure Silver is used where we will be making small components, particularly when we want to fuse two pieces together, for Enamelling, and for 'Keum Boo' which is fusing gold leaf details onto the surface.
9 Carat yellow Gold - used where gold is the best for our chosen design, usually for rings. If you prefer a higher carat we can certainly arrange that, and Marina can make your piece to order with the current pricing.
Often 9 carat gold is also used on designs to bring that bling and flash of gold to the composition of the piece.
Copper - 100% copper is lovely to work with and brings that warm rich colour. It is also perfect for enamelling!
Bronze - not as common in Jewellery however Marina loves bronze both for the historical ancient practice of working with it, the inherent association with bronze sculpture, and the lovely warm brown tones it brings to a mixed metal composition.

I'm glad you asked! ;) This strange name is actually an ancient technique originating from Japan. The word Mitsuro (蜜蝋) means Honey Beeswax, and Hikime (引き目) is the action of pulling and folding the wax into beautiful combinations. Generally Jewellers wax is quite hard and inflexible at room temperatures, and is sculpted using steel tools. Beeswax is also hard at room temperature, but also is easily damaged and soft. The addition of Pine Resin into molten beeswax results in a mixture which, at slightly warm temperatures, can be folded multiple times, creating a unique texture and soft organic lines. It then hardens enough so it is not damaged in the casting process. We then twist, shape, flex, pull, until something miraculous appears in our hands.
Each finished piece of Mitsuro Hikime is completely unique, and is cast using the lost wax method into our chosen metal. Marina works with this special wax for its immediacy and organic quality, using it to bring to life the flowing curves and shapes born from her trails of adventure.
Additionally, Marina sources her beeswax from the bees of Tasmania, so while the technique is Japanese, the making is definitely local!

With every Jewellery purchase a small cleaning cloth, impregnated with polishing compounds, is included FREE!
Avoid immersing in spas or coming into contact with sulphur based products as this causes fast oxidation, known as tarnishing.
If your Jewellery is tarnished, simple wash in warm soapy water and a soft toothbrush, dry, and polish with the cloth. You can replace your cloth at your local supermarket.

Each order of Jewellery comes in a gold embossed black satin bag, along with a complimentary polishing cloth and care instructions.