So you want to make jewellery using the lost wax technique - you've sorted your wax tools, rotary tool, soldering iron, and gemstones. You've learned to make wax jewellery, now you're ready for the exciting part: sending your waxes to a casting house!
Here's a list of lost wax casting companies within Australia that you can send your wax models to . They'll cast them into gold, silver, brass, bronze, or whatever you request!
Lenrose & Ace David (Melbourne, VIC)
Chemgold (Sydney, NSW)
Pure Casting (Marrickville, NSW)Â
Palloys (Brisbane, QLD)
Apecs Casting (Melbourne, VIC)
Pallion (Sydney, NSW)
FAQ
Do I need to bring my waxes to the casting company in person?
No. You can post your waxes to your casting house. Click here to learn more about how to package your wax jewellery models safely. You can also bring your waxes to your casting house in person if you live in the same city, e.g. Brisbane, Sydney, or Melbourne.
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Do I need to be a "proper" business to get my waxes cast?
Some companies will only cast your waxes if you show that you are operating as a business. The requirements aren't strict. I was able to send my wax rings away for casting in the first month of business. Include your ABN and business name on a note in the package.
Learn more about how to safely and correctly package your waxes to send them to a casting house here.
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Do I need to live in the same state as my casting house?
No. You can send your waxes to any casting company in Australia. I live in Queensland, but have sent waxes to casting companies in Sydney and Melbourne.
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How much will it cost to cast my wax ring/pendant/jewellery?
Metal prices are dynamic and are influenced by economic factors. Each casting house will have different prices on offer. It can be helpful to call around/research websites for the best price.
Don't expect to get the same price every time. Metal prices change weekly.
To understand how much casting your wax ring or pendant will cost, use a metal calculator tool like this one. Simply enter the weight of your wax ring and select your chosen metal (gold, silver, brass, bronze, or whatever else).
The metal calculator will give you a figure in grams that reflects how much metal your design will need. You can then cross reference this figure against your casting company's listed metal price.
Example:
My wax ring weighs 2.3 grams. The metal calculator tells me this will convert to 15 grams of sterling silver.
The listed price of sterling silver is $4 per gram.
$8 x 15 grams = $60 total cost to cast my ring into sterling silver.
Don't forget to add on the cast fee! (typically under $10)
Be mindful of GST, return shipping, and credit card fees.
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Lost wax jewellery making is a really easy way to make DIY jewellery at home because we can pay a casting company to do the tricky part. Not everyone has the time, workspace, or funds to set up a complex casting setup.
Casting houses make it easy for beginners to make jewellery at home and especially to make jewellery to sell! I started my handmade jewellery business over 3 years ago and I have consistently used reliable casting houses in Australia to help me produce my organic and unique jewellery.
