HAND-CRAFTED PRODUCTION
Handmade Gold Jewelry: Our In-House Production Process
At Cavinato Dino, every piece of handmade gold jewelry is produced entirely in-house — from the melting of raw gold to the final ultrasonic wash. In over 55 years of activity, our Vicenza facility has undergone continuous technological evolution without ever losing the artisan precision that defines Italian handmade jewelry.
We were pioneers in applying laser technology to gold processing, and continue to invest in state-of-the-art equipment – CNC machines, precision presses, laser engravers – always in combination with the skilled hands of our experienced production team. The result is handmade gold jewelry that meets the quality standards required by wholesale buyers and distributors across more than 30 countries.
Gold Foundry: From Raw Material to Gold Ingots
Our production begins with raw gold or silver, which is melted together with specific alloys and cast into moulding boxes to form small ingots. We work with a full range of gold karats – 18k, 14k, 10k, 9k and 8k gold, as well as 925 and 800 silver – giving our wholesale customers access to the widest possible product range from a single manufacturer.
The ingots are then heated and pressed through a rolling mill to obtain slabs of the precise thickness required for each product line. This foundry stage is fundamental: it is here that the density, weight and mechanical properties of the finished gold jewelry are first determined, whether we are producing solid gold cross pendants, gold religious medals or fine gold accessories.
Sheet Drawing: Precision Shaping for Every Design
Once the gold slab is produced, it must be drawn – reduced to the precise width required by the moulds for each specific product. This step demands accuracy: even a fraction of a millimetre can affect the fit of the mould and the uniformity of the finished piece.
Drawing is one of the processes where our Italian artisan jewelry tradition becomes most apparent – it requires calibrated machinery and constant human supervision to ensure the integrity of the material at every thickness.
Shearing & Stamping: Cutting and Imprinting Every Design
The drawn sheet is fed into the press, which shears it to the precise predefined shape of each product. Once sheared, the pieces move immediately to the stamping stage, where the required images, relief patterns or decorative designs are imprinted into the gold surface.
This stage is where the visual identity of each piece begins to emerge – from the arm profiles of a gold cross pendant to the relief portrait on a Saint medal or the fine lettering of an initial pendant.
CNC Machining
The gold plate is placed inside a numerically controlled CNC machine that — through its multiple precision functions — can apply a range of finishes in a single pass: standard polishing, satin-finishing, diamond-finishing or engraving. This flexibility allows us to offer the same pendant or medal design in several finish variants, giving wholesale buyers greater catalogue depth without additional production complexity.
The introduction of CNC technology was a turning point in our history: it allowed us to work with ever thinner gold sheets and produce more intricate designs, expanding what was achievable in Italian gold jewelry manufacturing.
Bench Processing: Sacred Images and Handcrafted Assembly
This is the most distinctly artisan stage of our production. Each piece is bench-processed by hand: sacred images are applied by welding, rings and clasps are fitted, and all necessary accessories are assembled with care. It is at the bench that a gold sheet becomes a gold cross pendant, a crucifix medal or a guardian angel pendant.
This stage is still personally supervised by Dino Cavinato, founder of the company, who continues to pass on his decades of goldsmith knowledge to our production team.
Tumbling: Surface Smoothing and Degreasing
Once bench processing is complete, all pieces are placed inside industrial tumblers. This process removes any surface micro-irregularities left by previous machining stages and thoroughly degreases the gold surface, preparing it for the polishing phase.
Tumbling ensures a perfectly uniform base across the entire batch — a prerequisite for the consistent, high-quality finish that our wholesale customers expect on every order, whether they are sourcing solid gold pendants, medals or accessories.
Hand Polishing: the Hallmark of Italian Handmade Gold Jewelry
After being passed through the tumblers, all our products are expertly hand-polished by our polishing operators to bring out every single detail. This is a fundamental process, a distinguishing feature of ours that is immediately evident on every single product.
Engraving: Precision Customisation on Gold Jewelry
After polishing, our pieces can be further customised through laser engraving – a technology we were among the first in the sector to adopt for gold jewelry production. The laser allows for extremely detailed and precise decorations: fine text, intricate patterns, sacred inscriptions and personalised motifs – all applied with a clean, contactless process that leaves no abrasions or burrs on the gold surface.
This capability is particularly valued by wholesale buyers looking to offer personalised gold pendants or branded pieces within their own product lines. It is also the technology behind the precision detailing of our gold cross pendant and medal collections, which are among the most refined in the Italian marke
Ultrasonic Washing & Quality Control: the Final Guarantee
The last step in our production process is the final washing of the finished products, which is carried out using ultrasound. After washing and subsequent drying, all products leave production for the strict quality control service.
