Make Jewellery at Home with the Lost Wax Method

The lost wax casting method, sometimes called wax carving, is one of the oldest jewellery making techniques in the world and my favourite way to make jewellery at home. This step by step guide covers the absolute basics of how to make lost wax jewellery as a beginner.

This method is perfect for you if:

You want to make jewellery from home without a full jeweller's bench or studio
You want to avoid open flames or working with molten metal
You'd rather design and create while outsourcing the casting to a professional
You want to work with quality metal like silver or gold without a complicated setup

When I first started, I was trying to figure out how to make organic, one of a kind rings from home. I tried electroforming, but it didn't let me work with metals like sterling silver or gold. I tried silversmithing, but it required a studio, more equipment than I had space for, and I felt creatively limited by what I could produce. Eventually I found lost wax casting and it changed everything. I could design from home and outsource the metal pouring, which made the whole process genuinely accessible.

What you need to get started making jewellery at home

You don't need a full jewellery studio to make lost wax jewellery at home. A clear and sturdy surface, good ventilation, and a basic set of wax carving tools is all you need to start. This lost wax jewellery making kit has everything you need in one place if you want to skip the online overwhelm & multiple shipping costs on tools.

Step 1: Set up your workspace for lost wax jewellery making

Set up a simple workspace with good airflow and enough room to work comfortably. A kitchen table, a spare bedroom, or any clear (stable) surface works fine. Make sure you have ventilation because you'll be using a soldering iron to melt and shape the wax and that can release some smoke.

lost wax jewellery making workspace tools at home wax carving setup

Step 2: Start shaping wax for your jewellery design

This is where you begin building your design using genuine jewellers wax. You can carve into a wax tube with a jeweller's saw to make a ring blank, alternatively you can use the build-up method to melt the wax and add layers on your sculpting mandrel to create organic textures. I often dabble in both techniques, but I much prefer the build-up method.
shaping wax on mandrel lost wax jewellery making technique at home

Step 3: File and tidy up your design

This is where the design really comes to life. Once you're happy with the base of your ring design, use a small file to tidy and refine the wax, smoothing out any rough edges before it goes to casting. It can look uneven or messy at first and that's completely normal. The organic, imperfect quality is part of what makes lost wax jewellery so unique.

Hands filing and tidying a wax jewellery design on a mandrel at a workbench, refining the wax carving before sending for lost wax casting

Step 4: Send your wax model to a casting house

Carefully pack the wax model in salvaged bubble wrap or any packaging you have on hand and send it to your chosen casting house. I ship from Queensland to Lenrose in Victoria. Most casting houses accept posted wax models, so your location usually doesn't matter too much.

The casting facility will use the investment casting process, which means:

They make a mould of my wax design
The original wax is melted away leaving a cavity in the shape of my design
That cavity is filled with my chosen metal, usually 925 sterling silver or 9ct gold

wax jewellery model ready for lost wax casting investment casting process

Step 5: Receive your raw metal casting

After about a week you'll receive your raw casting back in the mail. It arrives looking rough and unfinished, this is where the really part comes in (the raw metal finishing process).

raw lost wax cast silver ring casting before finishing wax carving

Step 6: Sand, polish & refine your raw casting

Remove the sprues, which are the small metal nubs left over from the casting process. Then sand and polish the piece until it's finished. This is where your wax design transforms into quality jewellery you can wear or sell..

Finished and polished lost wax cast sterling silver ring held in tweezers after sanding and refining the raw casting, final step in the wax carving jewellery making process

Why outsourcing casting makes lost wax jewellery so accessible

Outsourcing the metal pouring to a professional casting house is what makes this craft accessible for anyone, even if you don't have the space, equipment, or experience to melt metal at home. You design at home and they handle the dangerous part. You get finished pieces back in the metal of your choice and continue to refine with a very hands-on approach.

If you want to try lost wax jewellery making yourself, my free lost wax jewellery tools guide is a good place to start. It breaks down exactly what you need to get started at home. And if you want a full walkthrough of the whole process, the online lost wax jewellery making course covers every step in detail, with zero experience needed.

Written by Cassandra Djodan

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