Master Model
Also called master pattern, master piece
A master model is the first finished version of a jewelry design, cut or cast to the exact shape the workshop wants to repeat. Molds are taken from it, so every later piece inherits its proportions, its stone seats, and any flaw it still carries.
In other words, it is the original piece a factory copies from. Get it wrong and every casting made after it is wrong in the same way.
How a master model is made
Most master models start as a CAD file. The file is grown on a wax printer or cut on a mill, then cast in silver or a hard metal and finished by hand until the surfaces are clean.
Once the model is signed off, a rubber or silicone mold is taken from it. That mold produces the wax copies used for production runs, which is why the master is kept and never sold.
- Design the piece in CAD
- Print or mill the pattern
- Cast and hand finish the master
- Cut a mold from the finished master
- Inject waxes from that mold for production
Why it matters for rendering
Cutting a master model costs metal, machine time, and a bench jeweler's hours. A render costs a file. If a client wants the shank thinner or the halo tighter, changing the CAD and re-rendering is the cheap moment to find that out.
We render straight from the same file the master would be grown from, so what the client approves on screen is the geometry the model gets cut to. Two revision rounds are included, which usually covers the back and forth that would otherwise happen at the bench.
What we need from you
Send the CAD file in 3DM, STL, OBJ, or STEP. Tell us the metal and the stone sizes if they are not already in the file, because shape-only formats do not carry that information.
You get 9 HD images and 3 videos per file in rose, white, and yellow gold, on a white background. That is enough to show a client the model from every angle before the mold is ever cut.
Questions about Master Model
Can a render replace a master model?
No. A render replaces the approval step, not the model. You still cut a master to produce molds, but you cut it once, after the client has agreed to the design on screen.
Do you need the master model to make a render?
No. We work from the CAD file, so we can render a design that has never been cut. That is the point: you see it before you spend on it.
What is the difference between a master model and a wax model?
The master is the permanent original that molds are taken from. A wax model is a disposable copy that gets burned out during casting.