Virtual Museum and Factory Tour

Meet Our 'Ohana:

Learn about the jewelry-making process

Click on the photos of each step for a video clip from our factory
(and don't worry about adjusting your volume, these videos have no sound)!

Mold-Making Department
After our skilled jewelers create an original design, our mold-making technicians use tough but flexible rubber to create molds of the design. When the original piece is removed from the rubber mold, it leaves a negative impression of the piece that can then be filled with wax to create identical pieces of jewelry.

Wax Patterning Department
Our Wax Patterning Department maintains the library of thousands of molds. When our stores need more inventory of a particular design, our waxing techs inject the molds with molten wax at the correct heat and pressure to create wax trees for the Casting Department.

Casting Department
Our Casting Department takes the wax trees and invests them in an extremely fine plaster mix. Once dry, the plaster is placed into kiln where the wax is burned out overnight, leaving a negative space in the shape of the wax tree. Molten metal is poured into the cavity, and once the metal has solidified the hot plaster is boiled away in cold water leaving a gold tree of jewelry.

CAD/CAM Department
Computer-assisted design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) allows Maui Divers Jewelry to accurately engrave our logo, our Made in Hawai‘i guarantee, and even custom inscriptions into each piece that comes through our factory.

Lapidary Department
All of the beautiful Black Coral and colored shell cabochons, inlays and beads that we use in our exclusive jewelry designs are created right here in our factory. Our skilled lapidary team selects only the finest Black Coral or exotic shell pieces which are then milled and hand-finished to our exacting specifications.

Coordinating Department
Once all of our cast pieces and custom lapidary items are created, they go to the Coordinating Department to be matched together, along with other raw materials such as glittering diamonds and lustrous pearls. The coordinating department is also responsible for testing samples of each casting that is produced by the factory, to guarantee that our gold and silver pieces have the correct amount of precious metal to be called 14-karat or Sterling Silver.

Assembly Department
After all of the raw materials are organized into lots, they are given to the Assembly Department to create the final jewelry pieces. Pearls are strung and mounted, diamonds are set, and separate castings are soldered together.