In The Studio

Every piece of Curious Magpie jewellery is handcrafted in our rural Leicestershire studio. Using traditional jewellery techniques and processes each piece is crafted to order meaning no two pieces will every be the same, making them truly special and unique. 

Many of the pieces are created using the ancient craft of Lost Wax Casting. This technique transforms actual pieces of nature into solid metal replicas which become beautiful, one-of-a-kind pieces of jewellery.

 Lost Wax Casting

The art of Lost Wax casting is an ancient technique, with early examples dating back to the Chalcolithic period (4500-3500 BC).

Many of our pieces of jewellery are created using this intricate technique, capturing the rustic and organic beauty of natural objects.

The pieces of nature are attached to a wax tree called a spru. Once dry, an investment plaster mould is created around the tree. The mould is agitated so the air bubbles rise to the surface, ensuring there are no irregularities within the mould. 

Once dry the mould is placed in a kiln and heated to a high temperature, burning away the wax tree and the pieces of nature, leaving a negative space inside the mould.

Once the mould has cooled it is removed from the kiln and molten metal is then poured into the space. A special tool is used to ensure that the metal is poured in quickly and that it reaches all parts of the space inside. 

The metal then cools and the investment plaster mould can be removed. It is dissolved in water, revealing a perfect metal replica of the wax tree with the natural objects.

The pieces of nature are then removed from the tree and washed and cleaned ready to be formed into beautiful pieces of jewellery.

Bespoke

As everything is handmade is our studio we can create bespoke pieces specifically for you. If you have an idea for a piece of jewellery, or need some inspiration please contact us and we would be happy to help.