ZRIN jewelry workshop

The jewelry we see as a finished product in jewelers' shops passes through a great many processes so that you can wear it at the most important moments of your life, looking exactly as it does when you see it finished. The beautiful jewelry you notice in a jeweler's window — necklaces, bracelets and rings — passes through a range of processes before it comes to grace the hands, necks and fingers of its new owners. Many of you have surely wondered how jewelry comes to be, how long each kind takes to make, and how the special designs you can see at ZRIN come about. In what follows you will find everything about the latest trends in the world of jewelry, the ways jewelry is made, the ideas hidden in the heads of young creatives, and the processes a piece must pass through to reach the final form we look at as customers in the ZRIN salon.

How is jewelry made at ZRIN?

Before we begin describing how jewelry comes to be in our workshop, we would like to say that every piece we make is made with a great deal of love, effort and energy. When we make our jewelry we put every atom of our strength into it from the very beginning, so as to meet the wishes of all our clients and, in the end, to bring a smile to their faces. Nothing pleases us more than a satisfied customer, whose genuine happiness makes everyone at ZRIN who took part in making the piece very happy indeed. We would like to add that every piece of jewelry at ZRIN is made and finished as though it were made for brilliants. For that reason we always like to say that this is what sets us apart and makes us particular, and also that we are recognised beyond Croatia's borders, where the quality of our work is valued.

The many people at ZRIN make up one creative team. Each person is responsible for their part of the work, and every one of us is a professional in that part. Before a piece can come to be, there has to be a vision, an idea, that later turns into a finished product. A creative person, when drawing, enters a particular world of imagination, and then all sorts of ideas come to mind. You draw something, a little later you change a few things, and the result is an entirely new piece of jewelry that you could never have imagined arising from one creative's initial idea. We would like to add that we follow world trends closely and try to keep up with the latest developments, so as to offer our clients — present and future — only the best and the finest. Our jewelry is singular and particular, since it arises from the imagination of our creative team, from the wishes and requirements of our clients, and from following the state of design on the world jewelry market. Following what customers want is necessary, because trends differ and shift a good deal from year to year.

How is a particular kind of jewelry produced, and how long does it take?

Producing any kind of jewelry takes roughly three to five days. It is important to point out the factor the speed depends on: everything depends on the piece being made. To speak of a rough timeframe, we can say that even the simplest piece needs at least three days, because it is impossible to do it all in less. In brief, the whole process of making jewelry looks like this: coming up with the idea, drawing, printing, which takes several hours, applying the plaster, which stays in the furnace for around 12 hours, casting, cooling the flask, which takes about 2 hours, breaking out the plaster, and only then the remaining processes such as finishing, stone setting, polishing and rhodium plating.

What is worth pointing out is that making pieces with straighter, simpler lines is not the same as making pieces with more irregular ones. By which we mean that some pieces, such as a classic engagement ring with a simple crown, can be drawn within 24 hours, while demanding rings can take several days to draw. It is not the same whether we are making a simple kind of jewelry or pieces on which a great many things need shaping (ducats with saints on them, say, pieces where hands and feet must be modelled, raised pieces and the like), since on those we can work for several days.

The production process in brief

Roughly six people are involved in the production process itself, and each is responsible for their part of the work. In making jewelry it matters that every person is a professional in their part and that together they all function as a team. The first steps in the process are designing and printing, and the last are polishing and rhodium plating. Here is an example that tries to show how many people are needed to make one kind of piece: at the very start you need someone for designing and printing, someone to set the stones into the wax, someone to attach the pieces to the tree, then plastering, casting and breaking out the plaster, someone for polishing, someone for stone setting, and at the very end whoever will do the rhodium plating.

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What determines the quality of jewelry?

Several factors determine the quality of a piece. Among them is its strength, where it matters a great deal that the piece neither cracks nor bends. Rings are a good example: we wear them on our hands and use them most, so it stands to reason that they are the first to be damaged. Thin, poorly made rings crack very often, which is why the width of a ring needs care. The second important factor is the correct setting of the stones. It matters that they are set well so they cannot fall out, and from the very start it matters that they are set level and that the thickness of the prongs holding the stone is right, so the prongs cannot break. Good quality is also determined by the finishing and the polishing, since every part of a piece needs to be worked. The last point we would mention as important in determining quality is the alloy used, particularly in making white jewelry. As one of the leading jewelers in Croatia, we want to say that we use only the best alloys, materials and techniques, so as to give our clients the best and the finest choice of jewelry — and that beyond quality raw materials, a great deal of time, love and effort goes into what we make.

Key facts:

• Producing any kind of jewelry takes somewhere between 3 and 5 working days
• How long a piece takes depends on the piece being made
• Pieces with straighter, simpler lines need to be distinguished from those with wholly irregular ones
• Roughly 5 or 6 people are involved in the production process
• The first step in making jewelry is designing, and the last is rhodium plating
• Several factors are taken into account in determining quality: the strength of the piece, correct stone setting, finishing, polishing, and the type of alloy

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