Buddha

August 24, 2006 7:23 AM

I have a small but detailed necklace pendant of the buddha cast in silver. How and where can I get an exact replica cast in 24k gold or platinum in NYC?

Like I said, I have a small, silver pendant (smaller than my pinky nail) but detailed (you can see the ruffles of his clothes) of the buddha.

I want to make an exact replica of it in gold, preferrably without ruining the original. (I cannot go to the original jeweler because she was in Amsterdam.)

Is this possible? Will I lose the original? Will it lose detail?

Where can I go, meaning specific jewelers? I think it will have to be a smaller jeweler because the job is pretty small. I'd also like to avoid wandering around Canal St. or 47th st looking for someone who can do the job.

Approximately how much will this cost?

posted by milarepa to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (4 answers total)

I can't answer the first question as I don't live in NYC, but as to some of your other questions, I have a friend who is making a ring for me right now and I can assure you that it is possible to make a highly accurate, detailed copy of your pendant. Whoever does it will probably use the original to make a silicone mold, the silicone mold will be used to make a wax replica, then the duplicate will be cast in something like a centrifugal or vacuum furnace using the lost wax process. It is a standard technique for jewelers and should not be too expensive (although a custom made gold or platinum anything won't be particularly cheap). I have tried to give you an idea of what's involved so you can negotiate prices better.

I do not know if there would be any concern about copying the work of another jeweler, but thought it worth mentioning.
posted by TedW at 8:14 AM on August 24, 2006

As TedW says, it's a relatively common & simple process for gold using various combinations of wax & silicon molding as long as doesn't have much in the way of overhangs that make the pour difficult and cause voids.

24k gold is about USD550/oz though the jeweller will charge perhaps closer to USD700/oz for their stock. Figure a few hours labour in as well for making the moulds, pouring the metal, cleaning up the casting and polishing, perhaps 50-100USD/hr.

I think it's unlikely you'll find a place that can cast platinum - the melting point is so high that most jewellers can't work it in the same way they do gold and I didn't find any that could cast it. It must be said that I don't live in NYC though...

I looked into getting some custom platinum earrings recently and the only manufacturing processes the jewellers supported on platinum were rolling, forging and grinding bits off. They start with bar stock (they all seemed to have 0.25" square section and various gauges of wire they'd rolled from it), roll & beat it into shape, file away the bits they don't want, polish and rhodium plate it. That's fine for original pieces with simple shapes but obviously not duplication of complex forms like a buddha.

Have you considered white gold? It's not 24k since it is by definition an alloy but it can look beautiful, particularly if it's rhodium plated. That way the surface finish will be the same as most platinum pieces because you're only seeing the rhodium plating. Obviously it'll be a hell of a lot softer than platinum.
posted by polyglot at 9:46 PM on August 24, 2006

And on second reading of your question... You won't lose or damage the original. I'm not sure how much detail you'll get from the lost-wax process, but it's quite a lot. I wouldn't necessarily think you need to go to a small jeweller - this sort of stuff is the stock-in-trade of any decent manufacturing jeweller.

Try looking up "manufacturing jeweller" in the yellowpages. I believe there's a patch of NYC that's full of them, perhaps near the diamond district but the latter part is a total guess on my part. The good places are totally professional and will expect you to have collected quite a number of quotes, so start on the phonecalls and go visit some of the more competent sounding ones.
posted by polyglot at 9:52 PM on August 24, 2006

You could go down to 47th between 6th and 5th (the diamond district, but there's all sorts of "to the trade" jewelery businesses there) and ask around a bit.

Probably want to see previous work and get more than 1 bid.
posted by Jahaza at 1:32 AM on August 25, 2006