Hygrade Casting will be closed from 20th December 2024 and re-opening again 20th January 2025. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Hygrade Casting will be closed from 20th December 2024 and re-opening again 20th January 2025. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
We provide optional post-processing services that save time behind the bench and money associated with gold loss, from simple flush-cuts to enhanced surface texture to age-hardening treatments.
We offer five optional post-processing services, each designed to save you time, labour, gold loss and headaches. They're charged separately from casting and metal processing fees, so you can see exactly where your money’s going. No bundling, no guesswork. Every casting is a clean, abrasive-free dull finish (what we call a raw casting), ready for whatever workflow suits you.
Some of our clients want a "clip n ship" service (no post-processing) whilst others want their castings "clean n lean" (with post-processing), we cater for both, without playing hide-and-seek with your margins. You can pick and choose what options you want.
You may notice some casting houses include things like our Ultra-Satin Finishing and/or Flush-Cutting by default. Sounds generous, until you realise those costs are quietly baked into their metal pricing at a much higher rate. So yes, you’re paying for it whether you asked for it or not.
Our flush-cut service reduces the main feeder sprue length from the standard 5 - 10mm down to around 1.50 - 2.00mm from the casted item. We do not go any closer as we do not want to risk damaging your castings. Using industrial-grade equipment and precision German-made flush-cutting blades, we handle the heavy work, but note, this is not a full de-sprue; filing and sanding is still required on your end.
For an average 18k gold ring, we remove roughly 0.70 - 1.30g of gold. You’re not billed for this material as we retain it, which lowers your invoice, cuts down on your own refining, and streamlines production.
Ideal for workshops processing multiple jobs or working under pressure, but just as useful for one-offs where time and metal efficiency count. That 0.70 - 1.30g of removed gold is around $105 - $200 (including low-volume metal processing charges).
Our Snip n Save Service, is designed to safely remove the internal flow gates from your casted items. We make the first contact point cut by hand with a jewellers saw using Swiss-Made blades. This initial cut by hand is done to cleanly break-open the connection so when we proceed to snip the remaining contact points, it does not deform your item.
We leave approximately 1.50 - 2.00mm of material at each contact point leaving them ready for filing, sanding and polishing, this is done to ensure we do not damage your castings profile. Our standard fee for this services covers a regular sized ring with up to 4 contact points. Items with more than 4 contact points or large bangles need to be quoted.
For a typical 18 karat gold ring with four contact points at 1.4mm thickness, the Snip n Save Service removes approximately 0.70 - 1.0 grams of gold, which translates to approximately $110 - $155 worth of 18 karat gold (inc low volume metal processing fees) that you are not invoiced for (as we keep this gold). This saves you time and eliminates the losses associated with refining, on larger pieces such as bangles, this service can account for a gold saving of 10 - 20 grams.
Transform your casting from raw and dull to refined and clean with our Ultra-Satin Finish, a premium surface treatment ideal for those chasing a higher standard straight out of the flask.
We use a precision-calibrated vapour honing system that combines nano micro-glass beads, water, and high-pressure air to gently smooth and matte the surface. This creates a consistent, ultra-fine satin finish that’s ideal prior to magnetic pin polishing, or for clients who simply want a cleaner starting point with minimal gold loss.
This is a true micro-abrasive process, removing on average 1 micron across the piece: around 0.01 - 0.02g of gold on a typical 18k ring, or $1.50 - $3.00 in value (including low volume metal processing fees). Unlike rougher blasting methods used elsewhere, we don’t hide porosity with heavy grit, we’d rather show you what’s there than mask it and pretend it isn’t.
Note: This is not a full polish, printing lines and surface texture will remain visible. And yes, the tiny amount of gold lost in this process is unrecoverable, as it becomes permanently mixed with the micro-glass media that is impossible to separate/refine.
Our Ultra-Shine service transforms raw, abrasive-free castings into a clean, ultra-bright finish through a two-stage micro-abrasive process designed for professionals who don’t have time for inefficiencies.
Gold Loss You Can Actually Measure for 18 Karat gold:
Most jewellers quietly bleed gold at this stage, chasing micrograms of dust through filters, buckets, and refining slips that never pay out. Add up the time, the wasted labour, the underperforming refining returns and it’s clear: you're not saving money. You're losing it. We’ve built this service to cut your losses, save you time, and streamline your output. No mess. No guesswork. No hidden weight loss. You’re invoiced only on the final post-finish weight.
Note: This is not a full polish. Printing lines and surface texture will remain visible.
For clients seeking enhanced hardness and tensile strength in their 18 Karat gold castings (not recommended for Silver or 9 karat), we offer mild age-hardening treatments (3-4hr process). This process improves the durability of your pieces while maintaining a careful balance, avoiding the excessive brittleness associated with stronger hardening treatments, this process does change the grain structure of the metal. Our approach ensures a mild increase in tensile strength without compromising overall structural integrity, the result, a casting that is much harder to bend and scratch.
The treatment is performed in a fully temperature-controlled environment, where your castings are heated to precise temperatures, held for the optimal duration, and cooled in accordance to the metal type. This process ensures even and consistent results across every piece. Age-hardening is NOT recommended if you are going to be soldering after casting as this would ruin the grain structure (making it soft again). This service is only recommended where soldering and re-sizing is not required.
