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Octavia Jewelry is a California based company that manufactures jewelry with tools that were developed from 1850 through 1939. We create the masterpieces using the same machines and dies that were used by the artisans during America's "Gilded Age." The California gold rush of the mid 1800's brought thousands of miners, prospectors, goldsmiths, and toolmakers from all over the world. San Francisco became a Mecca for the jewelry trade. The Great San Francisco Mint was built to accommodate all of the gold and silver. Many Jewelry manufacturers established their businesses near the mint. Some began specializing in different areas, forming guilds. Designers would render their ideas in steel, which would later become tools to stamp the jewelry. The stamping machines, or presses, were powered by steam and could reach powers up to 100 tons. They produced exquisite gold patterns that were used in wedding rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and other Victorian jewelry. 
After the stamping process, the pieces were hand wrought and finished by master craftsmen. This type of production carried out through the Nouveau and Deco periods until the start of World War II. The changes in world history deeply affected the jewelry industry at this time. Because of the diversion of manufacturing to the war effort, jewelers were forced to modify their techniques. Steel became difficult to get and the die makers' talents were used to develop weapons instead of art. Casting, which did not require the same tools, became the most cost effective means of manufacturing jewelry. The expertise of the previous century was slowly forgotten. Except for relatively few exceptions, this art has been lost over time. Octavia has acquired many of the lost tools of this trade. We have restored the old presses and dies and succeeded in producing a line of antique and classic designs with the same integrity of the original masterpieces. They are sure to become the heirlooms of the next century.
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