Our Process

Every piece made this way.
Every single one.

Sixteen processes across seven stages. Two independent verification gates. One mandatory QC checklist. No piece bypasses any step — regardless of order size or time pressure.

16 Production Processes
2 Verification Gates
100% Pieces Scanned
Every single piece

The complete production pipeline.

Sixteen mandatory processes across seven stages. Two verification gates. No discretion — no exceptions. The seven stages are detailed below.

01
Designer Sketch & Approval
Stage 01 · Design
02
3D Model Generation
Stage 01 · Design
03
3D Engineering Review
Gate 1 · Casting Sim
04
XRF Gold Purity Testing
Stage 02 · Material
05
Gold Densification
Stage 02 · Material
06
Vacuum Casting / Handmade
Stage 03 · Casting
07
XRF Re-Test · Post-Cast
Stage 04 · Verification
08
ATOS 3D Scanning
Gate 2 · Tolerance
09
Filing & Surface Preparation
Stage 05 · Setting
10
Diamond & Gemstone Setting
Stage 05 · Setting
11
Filing & Refinement
Stage 06 · Finishing
12
Mirror Polish Finishing
Stage 06 · Finishing
13
Electroplating · 1 Micron+
Stage 06 · Finishing
14
Mandatory Quality Control
Stage 07 · Dispatch
15
Certificate of Engineering
Stage 07 · Dispatch
16
Insured Dispatch
Stage 07 · Dispatch
Zero discretion quality gatesOne failure at any stage returns the piece. No exceptions based on order size or schedule pressure.
Dual verification systemGate 1 uses simulation before casting. Gate 2 uses the ATOS Scanner after casting. Two independent checks.
Certificate-linked production recordEvery stage is documented against a unique serial number. The data ships with your piece.
01
01
Design · Engineering Review · CAD

Sketch artists and engineers
at the same table.

Every piece begins with a hand-drawn sketch. Before it becomes a CAD file, our 3D engineering team reviews it for structural integrity, ergonomic comfort, and long-term wear resistance. Engineering and design negotiate — the result is a piece that looks as the designer intended and behaves as the engineer specified.

Sketch & Approval
Master sketch artists produce the initial design. Reviewed and approved before a single CAD line is drawn.
3D Model Generation & Engineering Review
Our robotics and neuroscience team build the 3D model and evaluate comfort geometry, load-bearing sections, and wear resistance — proposing changes where science improves the design.
CAD — The Truth File
The approved design becomes a precision CAD file. Every subsequent measurement, scan, and future servicing traces back to this document.
02
Gold & Material Verification

We test every gram
before it enters production.

Every consignment of gold that arrives at our Delhi atelier is treated as an unknown until proven otherwise. We run two in-house verification methods before a single gram enters casting.

XRF Purity Testing
X-Ray Fluorescence analysis confirms elemental gold purity to four decimal places on every casting batch. The supplier's certificate means nothing to us — the data does.
Gold Densification Process
We assume incoming gold has coarse grain and apply a four-stage densification protocol — temperature control, grain refiner addition (iridium / ruthenium), solidification rate management, and mechanical densification.
Available in 18kt · 22kt · 24kt
All karats available. Every batch documented with alloy composition that ships in your Certificate of Engineering.
02
03
03
Casting Simulation · Gold Casting

We simulate the casting
before a gram is poured.

Before a single gram of gold is cast, our team runs a full digital casting simulation — modelling metal fill, solidification dynamics, and cooling behaviour. Predicted defect zones are addressed before production begins. Only then does the densified, XRF-verified gold enter the mould.

Digital Casting Simulation — Gate 1
A heatmap shows where the metal may fill unevenly or cool too slowly. Defects designed out before production.
Verified Gold Casting
Gold that has passed XRF testing and the densification process is cast. Cooling managed section-by-section to maintain grain structure throughout.
04
ATOS Scanner Verification

Every finished casting
measured against its
original design.

The ATOS Scanner — a robotic-arm-mounted 3D measurement system trusted by Swiss watchmakers — measures every finished casting against its original CAD file. Five million+ data points are compared. A deviation heatmap is produced. Green means pass. Red means rework. No red-zone piece has ever left our atelier.

±50–100µm Tolerance Gate — Gate 2
If any surface deviates beyond tolerance, the piece is reworked. It is never shipped out of specification.
Same visual language as simulation
Green: within tolerance. Amber: marginal. Red: rework required. The same colour logic from simulation to physical scan.
Scan data archived in your Certificate
The full 3D surface comparison is archived against your piece's serial number and ships with your order.
04
05
05
Stone Setting · Hand-Finishing

Set by hand. Filed
by hand. Every. Single. Piece.

The verified casting moves to our master artisans — who file, shape, and set every stone by hand. Each diamond and gemstone is placed individually using precision tools under magnification. The geometry the engineers specified provides the foundation. The artisan's skill delivers the result.

Filing & Surface Preparation
Artisans file the surface by hand — removing casting lines and working toward the smooth, precise surface the CAD specified. Dense grain means less material to remove.
Stone Setting — Pavé, Prong & Bezel
Every stone placed individually — held in tweezers under magnification, lowered into position, and secured by the setter. No automation at this stage.
IGI / GIA Certified Stones
Every diamond and precious gemstone is internationally graded. Certification documents ship alongside your Certificate of Engineering.
06
Filing · Polishing · Electroplating

The work that makes
a piece disappear
on the body.

After stone setting, the piece passes to artisans who file, polish, and electroplate by hand — working within the precise geometries the engineers specified. Comfort geometry is not assumed. It is designed in, and the artisan's finishing delivers it.

Filing & Refinement
Surface irregularities filed away by hand — the artisan working to the geometry of the original CAD, not their own judgment of what looks right.
Mirror Polish
The fine grain structure densified at the alloy stage means a flawless surface arrives from polishing — not from filling imperfections.
Electroplating
Rhodium plating for white gold, gold plating for yellow and rose gold variants. Applied uniformly under controlled conditions.
06
07
07
Final QC & Certificate of Engineering

Pass every checkpoint.
Then — and only then —
it ships.

The last gate before a Zefire piece leaves the atelier is a mandatory QC checklist. Every single point must register PASS. One failure returns the piece. No discretion. No exceptions. Once cleared, the Certificate of Engineering is issued and the piece is sealed for dispatch.

Mandatory QC Checklist
Dimensional, structural, stone security, surface finish, plating quality. Every point must register PASS before dispatch is authorised.
Certificate of Engineering Issued
Your Certificate contains alloy composition, ATOS scan report, QC checklist confirmation, and unique serial number. Printed, sealed, and placed with your piece.
Insured Dispatch
Every Zefire piece ships fully insured. The serial number links your physical piece to its complete production record — permanently.
Pass Rate 97% first pass
Within tolerance
Marginal
Rework
Casting simulation ATOS scan overlay CAD vs reality Archived in Certificate
The Heatmap

The same visual language
from simulation to scan.

Before casting, our simulation software outputs a thermal deviation map showing where metal may fill unevenly or cool too slowly. After casting, the ATOS Scanner produces a real-world surface deviation map comparing the finished piece to the original CAD. Both maps use the same colour logic — green means within tolerance, amber means marginal, red means the piece must be reworked before it can proceed.

No red-zone piece has ever shipped from our atelier.

The heatmap is not decorative. It is the decision-making tool. Green proceeds. Amber is reviewed. Red is reworked. This is what zero-discretion quality control looks like.

Gold science

We assume coarse grain.
Then we engineer fine.

The starting assumption at Zefire is that incoming gold has coarse grain — regardless of what the supplier certificate says. This assumption drives our process. We apply a multi-step densification protocol to every casting batch, engineered to produce the finest, most uniform grain structure we can achieve.

XRF Testing — Every Casting Batch

X-Ray Fluorescence analysis gives us elemental composition to four decimal places. Every batch tested before entering production. The data, not the supplier's word.

Four-Stage Densification Protocol
1
Controlled melt temperature
Prevents uneven dissolution of alloying elements — eliminating the supersaturation that causes coarse grain nucleation.
2
Grain refiner addition
Iridium or ruthenium introduced at calculated quantities to create nucleation sites — dramatically reducing individual grain size.
3
Solidification rate management
Cooling speed controlled section-by-section. Faster-cooled sections produce finer grains — the geometry and the cooling profile work together.
4
Mechanical densification
Where design permits, controlled compression further closes grain boundaries — increasing density and reducing micro-void formation.
Wears for decades, not years
Fine, dense structure dramatically increases ductility and fatigue resistance. The piece maintains its form under daily stress for a generation of wear.
Porosity eliminated at source
Coarse grains leave voids as gold cools. Dense grain closes those voids — producing a solid, non-porous casting that polishes to a flawless surface.
Sharper detail from the mould
Fine-grained gold fills intricate mould geometry completely. Every engraved line, every setting arrives crisp from casting — less hand-finishing required.
Enables thinner, lighter comfort geometry
Dense alloys allow thinner sections without sacrificing integrity — the foundation of the lightweight, all-day-wearable designs Zefire engineers.
What you receive

The document that
proves quality.

Every Zefire piece ships with a physical Certificate of Engineering — not a brand booklet, not a thank-you card. Three data points that transform a promise into a record. This document exists because the data exists. It is the paper trail that makes Zefire's quality claims verifiable by anyone who receives a piece.

1
Alloy Composition Report
The exact elemental breakdown of the gold in your piece — from XRF testing of the casting batch. Purity confirmed to four decimal places. The data your piece was cast from.
2
ATOS Dimensional Scan Data
The deviation map produced when your finished piece was measured against its original CAD specification. Confirming ±50–100µm tolerance was met. The proof your piece is dimensionally correct.
3
Unique Serial Number
A permanent identifier tied to your piece's complete production record — including the original CAD file. Enabling future servicing to the original specification, not from approximation.
4
QC Checklist Confirmation
Confirmation that every mandatory quality checkpoint was completed and recorded as PASS before the piece was sealed for dispatch. A final audit trail.
📜
Certificate of Engineering
Physical document · Ships with every piece
Alloy Composition · XRF Verified
ATOS Scan Data · ±50–100µm
Unique Serial Number
QC Checklist · All Points Pass
IGI / GIA Stone Certification
BIS Hallmarked Gold

See it in person.

Book a private consultation at our Delhi atelier. We will walk you through the process, show you the ATOS Scanner report, and introduce you to the Certificate of Engineering.

Book a Consultation Why Zefire