Manufacturing

Sherle Wagner International’s specialized metal foundry performs lost wax casting. Wax models of original designs are individually hand-refined before casting begins. Fittings, hardware, and accessories are cast in solid brass and bronze. The quality is tangible through the weight of a Sherle Wagner piece in the hand, and its beautifully articulated detail. The factory also contains sophisticated equipment for machining metals.

Sherle Wagner International’s plating facilities practice precisely timed chemical processes, which vary from finish to finish. We offer nineteen metal finishes, including precious metals such as 24k gold and platinum. All products are hand chased and hand polished. Chasing further refines the pieces’ intricate details. As with all processes performed by our artisans, chasing and polishing require a highly trained touch.

Sherle Wagner International’s ceramic shop produces sink bowls, vessel sinks, pedestals, and lighting, as well as small ceramic details for metal fittings and hardware. Products are often first conceived on the wheel. Once the design is fully realized, a slip mold is created. When it emerges from the mold, a ceramic piece is refined and perfected by hand before going in the kiln.

Once formed, ceramic pieces are glazed. Sherle Wagner International offers twenty-three specially formulated glaze colors and is able to custom mix new colors to specification. Gold and platinum glazes, containing precious metals, undergo a hand burnishing process, during which a brush is expertly used to bring out the gleam of the metal. Ceramics are also offered in hand-applied decals, and even in fully hand painted designs.

Many Sherle Wagner International fittings, hardware, and accessories begin as wax models used in the lost wax casting process. Working from original designs, artisans carve, shape, and refine each model by hand. The pliability of wax allows minute adjustments to be made. Intricate ornament, from crisp edges and fine lines to layered botanical and figurative details, can be fully articulated before the piece is cast.

Every surface must be resolved at this stage because the wax model determines the form and detail transferred into solid brass or bronze. Artisans correct proportions, restore definition where sections meet, and perfect details that would be difficult to reach once the piece is in metal. Wax modeling also supports the development of custom designs, adaptations of existing collections, and faithful reproductions for historic interiors.

After casting, each metal component passes into the hands of Sherle Wagner International’s skilled metalsmiths. Excess material is removed, and the raw casting is cut, filed, drilled, machined, and shaped until the intended form emerges. Surfaces and edges are refined, while individual components are carefully fitted together to create faucets, hardware, lighting, and accessories.

Much of this work is performed by hand and requires an intimate understanding of solid brass and bronze. Artisans continually check line, proportion, alignment, movement, and fit as each piece develops. The combination of traditional bench skills and sophisticated machining makes it possible to achieve exacting precision, accommodate custom dimensions, and bring even the most sculptural Sherle Wagner designs to functional form.

Sherle Wagner International’s decorated ceramics range from hand-applied patterns to designs painted entirely by hand. Using fine brushes, skilled artisans build color, line, and ornamental detail across sink bowls, knobs, levers, accessories, and lighting elements. The decorator must respond to the curvature and scale of each object, maintaining the composition as it moves across a three-dimensional surface.

The company offers an extensive repertoire of floral, botanical, chinoiserie, and geometric motifs and can develop custom patterns and colors to specification. Each ceramic component is decorated and kiln-fired individually, creating subtle variations that distinguish the work of the hand. Details containing precious metals, including gold and platinum, are expertly burnished to bring out their characteristic gleam.

Finishing encompasses the exacting hand processes that give each Sherle Wagner International piece its final clarity, texture, color, and luster. Metal surfaces are carefully prepared and chased by hand. Chasing sharpens relief, restores details softened during casting, and allows artisans to refine recessed areas and ornamental contours. Every edge, plane, and curve is then polished in preparation for its specified finish.

Each finish requires its own sequence of precisely controlled processes. Depending on the specification, pieces may be polished to a brilliant reflection, given a softer satin surface, or plated in precious metals such as 24k gold or platinum. Following plating, every piece is again polished and carefully inspected for consistency, definition, and quality. The process demands both technical precision and the highly trained touch of the artisan.