Wax Carving for Gemstones
Brilliant Cut & Cabochon

Hosted in an extraordinary and professionally equipped workshop, you will be guided through designing a piece of jewellery to include gemstones and learn how to carve your wax to fit an exact stone (particularly useful for irregular shaped stones).

You will build on your existing lost wax carving skills as you carve a ring to include a bezel setting for faceted and cabochon stones. Cast in the metal of your choice (silver or gold), you will learn how to professionally finish your piece and securely set your stone.

Are you ready to level up and start making money? This course will advance your skills in jewellery design, refine your wax carving skills and provide you with the knowledge required to set various cuts stones and confidently say “Yes” to more challenging custom jobs.

When: Thursday 6:00pm - 9:00pm (Nov 6 - Dec 18, 2025)
Duration: 7 weeks (21 hours)
Class size: Maximum 7 people
Cost: $665

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ABOUT THE COURSE

Prerequisite

A basic understanding of lost wax casting and foundation level jewellery making is required (use of hand tools/micromotors etc). We recommend you complete Learn to Make Jewellery Stage One and/or Designing in Wax. Or provide evidence of completing the equivalent level programs.

You do not need prior stone setting skills - this course focuses on honing and developing your wax carving skills to include and seat gemstones (prior to casting) - hammer and hand setting skills are taught. If you are looking for a focused course on stone setting, now is the time to set yourself up and secure your bench in both Wax Carving for Gemstones and Stone Setting Introduction.

Course Objectives

Expand your wax carving skills, as you learn to prepare waxes to accommodate fabulous gemstones! Learn to create bezel settings for a variety of different shaped stones and different ways of carving and building up settings and finishing them. Lots of tips and tricks will be covered along the way. Wax is a great way to make one-off bespoke jewellery or replicable production pieces and collections. Casting can be a fantastic introduction to working with precious metals that you may have been too nervous to have worked with before.

Design and manufacture - Understand how to design, prototype and manufacture unique wax models for reproduction

Carving a seat for different shaped stones - Use the micromotor to create a wax design that fits with your own unique style.

Techniques in wax - How to carve your wax to fit your exact stone and prepare your wax piece for casting.

Methods of clean-up procedures - You will acquire knowledge of how to remove casting sprues and professionally polish your finished design.

Anatomy of a stone - Cabochon and faceted stones.

Mineralogy - Moh’s Scale of Hardness an in depth look at precious and semi-precious stones.

Stone Setting - Create, carve and set a bezel setting for a brilliant cut or cabochon cut stone.

Confidence - Feel more confident designing jewellery and incorporating gemstones.

Course Outcomes

You will build on your existing lost wax carving skills as you carve a ring to include a setting for your stone, you will then learn to set, leaving with brand new skills and a spectacular new piece of bling!

The course will focus on carving your design in wax to include a well-fitted seat and bezel walls for your selected gemstone. This course has many demonstrations, technical, practical and aesthetic. You will discover new methods to help carve your wax design, improve your finishing with new methods of cleaning up your casting, ensuring perfect stone placement, before learning to set your stone in the metal.

*Note that this workshop does not go into the more advanced setting E.g. “claw setting”. If you are proficient in bezels, tube and flush setting you may contact us for future dates for more advanced setting techniques. Get expert advice to help you set more efficiently and effectively or address troublesome setting issues. The focus of this course is to refine your skills and produce a high standard silver gem set piece of jewellery. The skills you learn are beneficial for future stone setting techniques such as prong/ claw and more challenging shaped stones. Each student begins by choosing a gemstone (supplied) and carving a bezel in wax (the bit that surrounds and holds the stone).

Discussion between tutor and the students as a group and as individuals will take place each week, to guide you to improve your skills and design jewellery to include stones (with regular and ongoing assistance outside of class hours).

Setting: Setting is the general term for the way a diamond or gemstone attached to the piece of jewellery
Bezel Setting: A metal rim that surrounds the gemstone to secure it in place by the girdle. The bezel setting style is secure but does not block light from entering the stone and creating brilliance.

What’s Included

A materials pack is supplied for your project.
We provide you with a selection of precious and semi-precious gemstones - the course focuses on round, oval and pear-shaped stones (faceted or cabochon). Wax tube, twisted wax blade and jeweller’s saw blades, stone setting tools, equipment, consumables and bits for micromotors.
You will receive The Bench industry supplier connections, course notes, manuals and ongoing assistance once you have completed the class.

Casting cost of wax model is not included - you may or may not choose to cast your wax model.
Casting costs are priced as follows:
+ cost of model
+ cast fees
+ GST
Your tutor will assist you in your costing calculations. (Non-tarnish silver is $5.20 per gram in October 2025 - prices are subject to change)

A selection of materials will be available to buy from your tutor at cost price.

The Tutor: Erin Pearce

Erin Pearce is an award-winning Jeweller, who began her career almost 20 years ago with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Practicing across multiple artistic disciplines allowed her the opportunity to pursue an increasing motivation to explore concepts through jewellery making. Erin expanded her skills through a number of roles and jewellery courses within the industry, before undertaking an apprenticeship in Jewellery Manufacture.

In 2020 Erin formally launched her own jewellery manufacturing business, Mill Foundry, with a personal focus on further exploration of technique and a desire to learn through every piece she creates. Her work is influenced by mid-century modern design and a constant consideration of the placement of both herself, and her work, between the worlds of Contemporary Art and traditional jewellery manufacturing.

Weekend Workshop Facilitator.

The Tutor: Erin Keys

Erin Keys has over 20 years’ experience as a jeweller, designer and educator with a diverse range of achievements in various facets of craft and design. Participating in nearly 100 exhibitions in Australia and overseas since 1999, her practice spans one-off exhibition pieces, bespoke commissions and a limited-edition laser cut production range available through several stockists.

Erin has taught beginner to advanced jewellery courses at Sturt Summer School, JamFactory, SquarePeg Studios and is currently a sessional teacher at UNSW Art & Design.

For the past 10 years Erin has had extensive involvement with design and education, working as a Jewellery Design Developer for over 5 years at one of Australia's leading design companies Dinosaur Designs and for Louise Olsen X ALEX AND TRAHANAS.

Evening Workshop Facilitator

The Workshop

The Bench is a modern, light filled, industry standard workshop focusing on education and training. It is a relaxed and friendly place to learn traditional and contemporary jewellery techniques, a space to develop ideas and projects such as ring making, silver jewellery and stone setting gems. We provide concept based jewellery classes to the absolute beginner, the aspiring maker and to the professional jeweller.

The Bench is a safe working and learning environment, complete with a wide inventory of tools and equipment, such as Vaniman polishing extraction, enamelling kiln, fume cabinets, micromotors, soldering torches, rolling mill, tumbler, ultrasonic and more.

Location

The Bench acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of our land – Australia. The Bench acknowledges the Gadigal of the Eora Nation as the traditional custodians of this place we now call Sydney.

The Bench is located at the exquisite historic site, Joynton Avenue Creative Centre in Green Square, and is easily accessed by bus, train (Green Square Station), ride or walk.

The Bench cultivates inclusive, creative and accessible spaces for everyone to have the opportunity to feel safe and welcomed.

The building has full wheelchair accessibility, ramp access from street and park entrances, internal lift for access to upper levels and a unisex accessible toilet on each level.

THE BENCH, Joynton Avenue Creative Centre
3A Joynton Ave, Zetland NSW 2017

Additional notes

All the tools, materials and consumables you need for the course will be available at the venue; including an apron. You may want to buy further materials from our metal suppliers – your tutor will provide you with supplier information.

For health and safety reasons, please bring along with you the following

The workshop has air-conditioning/ heating. You will be comfortable!

Please wear closed toe shoes (NO CROCS, NO SLIDES, NO HIGH HEELS, NO SHOES EXPOSING SKIN).
(If possible) long pants should be worn - NO SHORTS.
Avoid wearing loose flowing garments (exposed legs will not be allowed in soldering area).
Sensory plugs are allowed e.g., Loops. NO HEADPHONES WITH AUDIO.
Hair tie. If you have long hair, please bring along something to tie it back with.
Peepers! Remember to bring your glasses if you need them. OPTIVISOR or magnification is recommended!

Book your course

Questions?

Email us at: jewellery@thebench.sydney
or call us on: 0406 794 112