Die striking is so old of a technique, there hasn't been much change.  We brought the the technique in-house, started doing here, and early on realized that we needed to push the boundaries and learn what else we can do.

People ask a lot about, you know, why die strike a cast piece?  It's a great question and different people have different responses.  But to us here at Stuller we feel that a die struck piece you know has got a much greater density, it's got a much greater hardness, and much more tough and will last a lot longer than a cast piece.  

For jewelry applications, that tighter density is better for holding stones.  There's a stiffness to it.  You get a longevity out of it.  It holds its form.  It also becomes that much more resistant to corrosion and outside environment and elements as far as friction, abrasion from wear and tear.  Along with that because it's tighter you hold a polish much brighter and longer.  

Casting still has this place in the industry but die striking when you need functionality and parts to have a certain you know holding power you know die struck is definitely the way to go.  Many people say that in a die struck piece you can have as much as thirty three percent increase in hardness, durability, and density.

We've been pushing boundaries even more recently with our premium forged technique. One of the limitations the die struck and bringing in new products of it is you're really blanking pieces out of a flat sheet.  Well we're now taking the best of both worlds and utilizing cast components, compressing them even further into a die, getting that tight grain structure, along with getting some kind of aesthetic beauty that you get from a cast piece.  

They take a blanket out just like you would a V head and then you take that you know that take that blank, put into a drop hammer, and you have two heads to come down with force and pressure, you squeeze the metal you know when it conforms into that die, just like a die struck piece that nice well blended cavity that gives a nice sharp radius to it.  You can't put those kind of radiuses on product just by blanking it out.

We as a company have long embraced the technique, pioneered some of its changes and new new directions.  Things like Premium Forged product now are a new venture for us.  Taking the age-old technique and moving it further and really blurring the lines between what's die struck, what's cast, and really just putting out a quality product.