The Art of Lost Wax Casting
The oldest known example of this art of producing is a 6,000-year old amulet from Indus valley civilization. Other examples from “Late Cycladic” are datable in the 17th century BC. Columella, a Roman writer of the 1st century AD, mentions the processing of wax from beehives in De Re Rustica, perhaps for casting. Many bronze statues or parts of them in antiquity were cast using the lost wax process. Conservative estimates of age from carbon-14 dating date one items to c. 3700 BC, making it more than 5,700 years old.
This particular art of construction had in the Renaissance, as a reminder of Hellenism, an important development in Florence with the most eminent goldsmith artists of the time. First of all the famous Benvenuto Cellini who perfected some passages during the processing of Perseus, exhibited in Piazza della Signoria in 1554.
The “Treaty of Goldsmithing” written by Benvenuto Cellini in 1568 (an original copy is in the Archivio Storico Torrini 1369) emphasizes this technique with a detailed description of what were the principles and bases for the realization of sculptures, large and small, through “lost wax casting”.
A way of making jewels that has been further enriched over the time by the experiences of other goldsmiths, including the members of the Torrini family. Torrini that has contributed to making this art to produce a wise base to give shape and depth to all the models that carry the ancient trademark Torrini registered in Florence in 1369. Over the years they have linked all the technological innovations relating to the various passages aimed at obtaining ever better results for a type of lost wax casting without apparent defects due to possible air bubbles that lurk inside the metal, making the structure of the jewel fragile.
A unique unmistakable cultural base that makes Torrini’s jewels different from each other precisely because lost wax casting allows you to perform one piece at a time. An invisible added value that makes Torrini's customers proud to wear it. The Torrini Jewel!
