When you choose MATCH Pewter, you are choosing handmade in Italy over mass-production, classic design over trendiness. The artisan quality and timeless aesthetic of each
piece is easy to see, but in a world filled with disposable, machine-made products, the ancient techniques employed by MATCH artisans can remain a mystery. Taken during a recent visit to our pewter workshops in Northern Italy, the photographs below aim to shed light on the processes, and the artisans that create MATCH.
MATCH is made in true artisanal workshops, not merely assembly points for parts made elsewhere. This is start-to-finish craftsmanship, from making the pewter alloy, to casting the pieces, right through the multiple finishing steps.
These images show how the beauty, detail, and character of match Pewter is born — quite literally — from raw elements.
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The heart of a pewter workshop is the casting room, with its crucibles, ladles, and heat.
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The three elements that make our pewter: Ingots of tin, strips of copper and bars of antimony. A local contractor supplies the copper scraps from his construction projects.
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The hottest room in the workshop has four crucibles and lots of ductwork.
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Skimming impurities before ladling the molten alloy into a mold.
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Ladles of different capacities used to hand-pour molten pewter into molds. Each object to be cast requires a different amount of alloy.
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The marks on the shaft of each ladle indicate its capacity.
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Every piece of our flatware has the traces of casting filed away and details sharpened by hand.
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The simplicity of the tools belies the beauty of the finished product.
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Away from the casting room, artisans take advantage of the natural light.
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Removing and smoothing rough edges left by the mold.
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Stacks and rows of different finishing brushes/wheels.
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No, she's not holding a pen. It's a very small torch. She is using it to solder the base of a julep cup to the body.
