The staff at Images Jewelers is proud to be a leading edge jeweler with traditional roots. While we have all studied and trained in classical jewelry repair and manufacturing, we have not limited ourselves to the past. We actively pursue all modern technologies that allow us to provide our cutomers with the highest quality jewelry made in the most efficient and practical way.
Let's take a very quick look around our shop:
Our first stop is our Jewelers Row. Along the north side of our shop we have a row of jewelers benches for our jewelers do the bulk of their work. Everything happens here. From fabrication, to repairs, to sanding and hand polishing, this is the place where most of it happens.
If you click on the image you can see Joe's bench in more detail. You can see the vast array of cutting and polishing wheels, gravers, racks of setting burs and hand tools, and, of course, every jeweler's most important tool the ever present cup of coffee.
Engraving and Laser:
On the other side of the room is our detail area. On the far left you can see our engraving bench. Equiped with a high power microscope, and an air operated graver station, we can carve, set, and finish any ring, in any metal, to and desired level of cut. From delicate bead and micro setting, to fine scrollwork, this is where it all happens.
In the middle of the room is our laser welder. It may look small, but it gives us the ability to do fine repair work around the most delicate of stones without fear of causing heat damage, or having to pull and reset, to stones, even Amber. Again, it has a microscope attached to it so that we can see even the smallest details and create a laser beam as small as .2mm to sneak it into even the smallest spaces. This tool has fired nearly 1 million laser pulses since it entered our shop, and we use it every single day.
And on the right, under our stained glass window overlooking the retail showroom, we have a wax carving area. Look there, yet another microscope. Using a huge assortment of custom made wax carving tools, some of the greatest wax designs come to life on that humble little table.
Casting:
Back in another room is our rather cluttered casting, milling, and polishing room. A real quick tour around the room, from the lower left moving clockwise, is our flat and square rolling mills with our ring stretcher. Straight back, in the center of the room, is our well used horizontal centrifuge. Here is where the casting happens. We melt silver, gold, and even platinum, using all new casting grains, place the flask in the cetrifuge, and let her fly! We cast one piece at a time, under carefully discovered conditions, all to get the best possible cast every single time.
In the far back right, under the white ventilation hood, is where our burnout ovens are kept. You could see them quite clearly from here if our huge lathe wasn't in the way. And yes, we do use this large lathe in jewelry work, just not very often. And then to the right, just out of view, is our small polishing area. We use high speed buffing wheels with literally dozens of different wheels to get the best finish possible on every single piece of jewelry that comes through our shop. Even the most simple of repairs gets a trip through the poishing wheel to return your jewelry to you in as near new condition as possible.
Right about now I'm guessing you are wondering what that wall in the back is all about. That is our model board. Many of the design we develop are recast in silver and have rubber molds made of them. Some may be reused, or used as starting points for new designs, and others may never be used again but we wanted to keep a solid history of what we have done in the past. There are hundreds of different rings, pendants, and other assorted jewelry pieces hanging there, with even more molds of past projects stuffed in every nook and cranny of our shop. We may be focused on moving forward with our craft, but we are proud to keep our past close at hand to remind us where we have been.
Did I miss anything? Or would you like to see even more detailed photos about a specific area of our shop? Let us know!