TIGEL

Jewelry house · Casting, forging, polishing · New York

TIGEL

Gold melts at 1064 °C. Everything else is patience: wax, mold, hammer, felt.

The metal cools below

Collection

Four pieces · Each made to order

  • “Melt” Ring
    750·12.4 g·size 7.25·lost-wax cast
    Price$2,400
    Inquire →
  • “Link” Chain
    585·41.8 g·22 in·hand-soldered
    Price$4,300
    Inquire →
  • “Imprint” Signet
    750·24.1 g·size 9·forged
    Price$4,900
    Inquire →
  • “Crucible” Ingot
    999.9·100.0 g·50×29 mm·hand-poured
    Price$11,900
    Inquire →

The price is built from weight, fineness and hours. Not from a name. There is no catalog photography, by design: every piece is cast for its owner — no two are alike.

Write to the workshop +1 212 000-0000

Process

Melting · Casting · Forging · Polishing

  1. 01

    Melting 1085 → 1064 °C

    A graphite crucible, a torch, borax. The metal loses its shape — and nothing else, ever again.

  2. 02

    Casting 1064 → 960 °C

    The wax model burns out of the flask. Gold takes its place — with not a millimeter to spare.

  3. 03

    Forging 960 → 650 °C

    Annealed at 650 °C, struck cold. The grain tightens; the metal comes out harder than it went in.

  4. 04

    Polishing 650 → 20 °C

    Twelve passes: abrasive, flex shaft, compound, felt. The last pass — the palm of a hand.

Fineness and Weight

Hallmark · Assay office

Weight is taken after polishing, tolerance ±0.3 g. Fineness is certified by hallmark. Prices hold at a gold rate of $110/g.
Piece Fineness Alloy Weight Size Hours Price
“Melt” Ring 750 Au · Cu 12.4 g 7.25 34 $2,400
“Link” Chain 585 Au · Ag 41.8 g 22 in 61 $4,300
“Imprint” Signet 750 Au · Cu 24.1 g 9 48 $4,900
“Crucible” Ingot 999.9 Au 100.0 g 50×29 mm 9 $11,900

Workshop

We don’t do production runs. Every piece comes out of its own crucible.

Six people, two forges, one kiln. A commission takes four weeks at the least — the time a mold needs to cure and metal needs to cool.

  • 34hours of handwork in a single ring — from the wax to the final pass of felt
  • 12polishing passes: from P400 abrasive to 0.5 µm compound
  • 1064°C — the crucible’s working temperature. Any cooler and gold won’t pour
  • 0.01g — the resolution of the scale. The difference between “done” and “start over”
Graphite crucible Forge Casting flask Rolling mill 55 lb anvil Flex shaft Felt 0.5 µm compound 0.01 g scale Pyrometer