H&B London was started by Stephen Brister whose vision is to create in the UK luxury products for men. When I met Stephen recently it was clear that he is passionate about the skills and care needed to create a high quality product. He showed me some of his leather goods and silver cuff links and it was clear that he understands the design and manufacturing process intimately. Like many, he likes to make in the UK so that he can retain close control of the manufacturing process.
Stephen's cuff links combine designs that are classic yet modern and are different enough to demand serious consideration when cuff links are so often very derivative in design.
I asked Stephen to tell me how his cuff links and wallets are made. These topics will be covered in two posts over the next couple of weeks, starting here with cuff links. To find out more, or to order H&B's products, visit H&B's website here.
How We Make Our Cufflinks by Stephen Brister of H&B London
Each design starts life as a pencil sketch. A rough model is then made from clay to give a clearer idea of how the piece will look. Once all the dimensions have been finalised a 3D computer model is created.
A physical model is then printed using the latest 3D printing technology and employed to create a metal master. A mould is formed from the metal master by surrounding it with vulcanized rubber and placing it in a kiln. Once cooled, the mould is cut open and the master removed. It is then resealed and injected with hot wax to create perfect copies.
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| Computer 3D model |
Cutting the Mould
The waxes are then attached to a central stem, a process called spruing or treeing up. The tree is placed in to a cylindrical flask and filled with a paste called investment mixture. The flasks are placed in to a kiln and left until the mould has set properly and the wax has drained away.
Treeing up
Once the wax has drained away the flask is placed under a crucible. Pellets of Sterling Silver are added to the white hot crucible where they are melted at a carefully calibrated temperature. The molten silver is then injected in to the flask below, where it is left to cool down.
Pouring raw metal into the crucible
Once the flask has cooled, the metal tree is removed and each piece is detached and individually finished.
Filing the item at the bench
This involves filing and sanding each cufflink to remove cast marks and any remnants of the tree.
Sanding the item at the bench
Once the piece has been finished, the back must be soldered in place by hand.
Soldering the back into position
Each cufflink is then polished before being given its signature brushed finish by hand.
Polishing
Finally, each pair is placed in an H&B London gift box before being given to the customer.
Cufflinks in Gift Box
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| Photo Grey Fox |
