Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Enchanted Hibiscus Morganite Ring by Dawn Vertrees
Sunday, November 26, 2023
The Cast-in-Place Process, Jewelry by Dawn Vertrees
I use this process for my One-of-a-Kind designs.
My rings shown right after being cast in gold with the Rough Ruby and Diamond in place.
The Cast-in-Place process produces the strongest rings available and is the perfect choice for active people.
I create these rings by sculpting my wax directly on the stone. These stones become my canvas and allows me to create natural flowing designs.
Once the design has been completed, the stone and the wax are cast together, this process results in a ring where the stone and the metal literally become one piece, also making each ring a one-of-a-kind creation.
Once we melt the gold at 1000 degrees, it flows around the stone where my wax was previously, I will post the Lost-Wax-Process next.
The picture shows two rings that were recently cast-in-place with the stones prior to polishing. The only stones I can use in this process are Rough Diamonds, Rubies and Sapphires and other stones will not survive.
These stones are considered precious gemstones and have a hardness of 9.5 to 10 on the Mohs scale. These stones can endure the 1000 degrees temperatures without cracking once the gold hits them. Another benefit in this process is that the gold actually shrinks 1% allowing a tight fit around the stones.
I hope you enjoy reading about my processes. -Dawn
My technique for creating my jewelry, the Lost Wax Process
In 2004 I went on a quest to find the perfect medium for me and my jewelry.
I started with Clay, then on to Porcelain clay, Art Clay/PMC and then I came across Jewelers Wax also known as the Lost Wax Process...It fit me perfectly.
The accuracy of the process was the key, what I sculpted in wax came out accurately once it was cast in silver or gold. I would spend many hours on a leaf ring or a starfish ring and once my wax was cast, I had an exact duplicate in metal.
My wax rings are called Models. Lost wax casting builds a mold around a sacrificial wax model. After the mold investment is set, the wax is melted out and forms a cavity where the metal or glass flows in. Using this method of casting captures fine details in both metal.
I hope you enjoyed this short introductory to my process and I plan on sharing more including a few of my quick sketches. -Dawn
Friday, January 14, 2022
Lost Wax Artist - Dawn Vertrees of DV Jewelry Designs
Lost Wax Casting |
3.20ct Crystal Rough Diamond |
Each leaf drape over the diamond |
The stems wrap around the edge of the diamond. |
Details including additional pictures and prices are available,
Leaf, Twig & Berries Wedding Set |
Friday, November 22, 2019
The Lost Wax Process and Cast-in-Place Process
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I am a Lost Wax Artist |

I have tried many different mediums, such as clay, ArtClay, etc.. until 16 years ago, I found jewelers wax which allowed me to get details I was wanting in each piece. With different tools I was able to give my leaves, twig and vines the look I was wanting.
Once in a while I will make a rubber or silicone two-piece mold on some of my pieces which may take up to a week to create an original piece. This is needed to keep the cost down for my customers because creating original works take many hours and some clients need their rings much faster than I can sculpt them but I still insist, to this day to modify each wax model to fit my customers needs. I can also modify the wax model to make it into another unique one-of-a-kind piece.
The History: The oldest known example of this technique is a 6,000-year old amulet from Indus valley civilization. Other examples from somewhat later periods are from Mesopotamia in the third millennium B.C. and the objects discovered in the Cave of the Treasure (Nahal Mishmar) hoard in southern Israel, and which belong to the Chalcolithic period (4500–3500 BC). Conservative estimates of age from carbon-14 dating date the items to c. 3700 BC, making them more than 5,700 years old. Lost-wax casting was widespread in Europe until the 18th century, when a piece-molding process came to predominate.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Lake Norman Magazine - Accessible Art
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corporate career, an unexpected mentor came into Dawn Vertrees’ life. Volker Kracht, a senior master jeweler from Germany, put off retirement for three years after seeing a stunning orchid pendant that Vertrees made from three sheets of wax.


In the coming months, Vertrees says her business will come full circle as she’s in the process of building a wholesale market and will eventually only sell through brick-and-mortar stores.
Read more here: Accessible Art