While many customers might believe that the name "Black Hills Gold Jewelry" denotes a certain type of mined gold, it actually refers to the design of the jewelry.  Based on the legend, Black Hills Gold features grape leaves, grape clusters, and grapevines in a tri-color motif of green, rose, and yellow gold.  The distinctive green and rose gold colors are created by adding silver and copper alloys to yellow gold.  By Federal mandate, this style of jewelry must be manufactured in the Black Hills of South Dakota in order to carry the name "Black Hills Gold Jewelry".

Every new design begins with detailed sketches, and the handcrafting of a master wax model by skilled artisans.  Next, a silver model and production models are created.  A sturdy rubber mold is then made which allows for the reproduction of a design many times over.  Each rubber mold is pressure injected with hot molten wax.  Cooled wax designs are fused to a tree which is placed in a stainless steel can.  Liquid plaster of Paris is poured into the cans, surrounding the wax trees.  After the plaster is set, the cans are stacked in a kiln for an overnight burnout cycle where the plaster hardens and the wax is completely melted.  Hence, this type of burnout is termed, "the lost wax process".

Next, the cavities in the plaster, left by the melted wax, are carefully filled with a mixture of melted gold and alloy.  When the gold cools and hardens, the plaster is knocked away and the cast gold designs are cut from each tree.  These jewelry designs are then tumbled for an initial polishing.  Component leaves are wriggled in a special technique to create a frosty finish and engraved with cuts to add a shimmering look.  Leaves, grapes, and other findings or jewelry elements are then soldered to the cast design in a soldering oven.  Once all of the gold components are soldered in place, the jewelry is tumbled again for additional polishing.

We take pride in the fact that our jewelry is not flashed with gold plating.  Rather, we commit great time to the polishing and buffing stages in order to enhance the natural karat gold sheen that is more appealing to our customers.  After the polishing and buffing stages, each piece of jewelry is meticulously cleaned and subsequently coated with a special solution to preserve its beauty.  Finally, precious and semiprecious stones are set as the original design determines.

Absolutely no jewelry is released until it has been inspected by artisans specifically trained in identifying even the most minute imperfection that would prevent it from meeting our tight quality standards.

Black Hills Gold Jewelry by Coleman proudly provides a lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship.