Before, While and After
The Idea
A design doesn't come from a brief. It comes from a shape spotted somewhere. A worn edge, a geological layer, the way light catches a surface. Sketches come first, loose and fast. The real designing happens with the hands.
Carving
Each ring is carved by hand from a block of blue jeweller's wax. Using a drill, small carbide burrs and heat, the form is worked slowly. Material is removed and added until something worth keeping emerges. It's closer to sculpture than manufacturing. No two carvings are identical, even when working from the same design.
Casting
Once the wax model is finished, it goes through an ancient process called lost wax casting. A technique used by jewellers for thousands of years. The wax is encased, burned away, and replaced with molten silver or gold. The original is gone. What comes back is metal. This is why every Palla ring carries something handmade in its structure, even after casting. The organic texture, the slight irregularities. Those aren't imperfections. They're the point.
Finishing
The raw cast piece is cleaned and refined by hand. Where a stone is involved, it is set carefully into the silver or gold. No two finished rings are quite the same.