Refining & assay
Four steps, in order, every time: melt, assay, cast, stamp. Nothing is rushed, and nothing is struck before it is read.
01
The metal is melted until it runs — one crucible, one pour, no shortcuts.
The pour is the first decision the metal makes: too fast and it traps air, too slow and it cools in the crucible. The hand on the crucible is the whole craft at this step.
Step 01 / 04 — Next: Assay
02
A sample is taken and read. The fineness is written down before anything is struck.
Assay is the reading, not the stamping. A bead is drawn from the melt, cupelled, and weighed against the standard — the number that comes back is the number the bar will carry.
Step 02 / 04 — Next: Cast
03
The metal is poured into moulds and left to cool. The surface keeps the texture of the cast.
Cooling is left alone. The mould does the shaping; time does the rest. A bar pulled early keeps a soft face and a weak edge, so the cooling is never hurried.
Step 03 / 04 — Next: Stamp
04
Weight and fineness are struck into the face — once, and only once.
The stamp is struck once. A second strike would double the mark and spoil the face, so the press is set, checked, and fired a single time.
Step 04 / 04 — The piece is struck
Slow is the method.
A bar that is rushed shows it — in the face, in the edge, in the weight. The four steps take the time they take.
From the refining
Photographs from the refining and the vault, shown again here — the pour, the assay, the cast, the stamp, and the hands between them.
Photographs from elsewhere in the catalogue, shown again here.
From the furnace to the catalogue
See what the steps make.
Every piece in the catalogue passed through these four steps. The collections are where they end up.
Explore the collections