Momique

Designed in Spain · Cast in Yerevan

The process: from wax to metal

Every Momique piece goes through the same hands and the same stages: drawing, model, casting, setting and finishing. A technique thousands of years old, with today’s tools.

  1. Screenshot of the 3D model of a signet ring with Armenian ornament, in the design software.

    Spain

    Drawing and 3D modelling

    It starts with an ornament: an eternity sign carved on a khachkar, a pomegranate, a letter from a manuscript. Momik draws it and turns it into volume in 3D modelling software.

    3D gives control that is almost impossible by hand: the exact thickness of an ornament line, the symmetry of an interlace, the weight of a ring before it is cast.

  2. ProcessResin-printed master model of an ornament ring, held between fingers over the workbench.

    Spain

    The master model

    The model is printed in resin on a high-resolution 3D printer. This master is not the jewel: it is the exact form that will be reproduced in metal.

    Some pieces still start as hand-carved wax, like the figures of the DavXmoM exhibition. The master then travels to Yerevan.

  3. Freshly cast, unpolished pieces on a wooden table in the Yerevan workshop.

    Yerevan

    Lost-wax casting

    In the family workshop the model is invested in a heat-resistant mould. Heat burns the model out (hence the name: the wax is "lost") and molten metal takes its place.

    Momique casts in brass. It is the same technique used for jewellery and bronzes in antiquity.

  4. Pieces on a cloth beside the polishing motor in the family workshop.

    Yerevan

    Filing, setting and finishing

    The piece comes out of the mould rough. The sprues are cut, it is filed, stones are set and it is polished by hand. When the design asks for it, the metal is darkened so the ornament reads better in relief.

    Every piece is checked before it travels back to Spain.

Hand-carved wax

Before 3D, and still today for sculptural pieces, the model is carved directly in wax. These are figures from the DavXmoM exhibition and the wax model of a stone-set ring.

3D modelling of an ornament ring.
ProcessFigures of athletes, faces and a motorbike carved in wax on a white sheet.
ProcessWax model of a ring held in the hand over the workbench.
Process3D file view of an ornament ring in turquoise.
Ornament rings, Momique: two openwork Armenian-ornament rings on a hand.

The result

Cast metal, finished by hand, with the ornament reading in relief. The first pieces are already in the Momique line.

The Momique pieces

Frequently asked questions

What is lost-wax casting?

A casting technique in which a model (wax, or castable resin) is covered in a heat-resistant mould. Heat removes the model and leaves a cavity of its exact shape, which is filled with molten metal. The mould is then broken and the piece finished by hand.

Are the 3D-printed pieces for sale?

No. 3D printing is only used to make the master model. What you receive is always cast metal, finished by hand.

Why designed in Spain and cast in Yerevan?

Momik lives and designs in Spain. Casting, setting and finishing are done by his family’s workshop in Yerevan, which has decades of experience in metalwork and metal maquettes.

How long does a piece take?

It depends on the piece and on shipping between Spain and Armenia. We give you a precise lead time when the commission is confirmed.

What metal are the pieces?

The current Momique line is cast brass. If a piece is plated or set with stones, its page says so.